Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Georgia
I had my car towed into a shop because it stalled on me. After about a week of not hearing from them, I called and was told I had transmission problems. The cost of repairs was very costly and I told them I couldn't pay it all at once. They suggested a payment plan. So I agreed to see what the payment plan would be and then I would decide if it was worth getting the car repaired. After another week, I called and told them that I didn't know if I wanted to invest a lot of money into getting it repaired. I was told that the car was already finished and that I owed them money. How could my car be ready when there was no agreed payment plan made and no permission was given to repair my car. What can I do? I don' think I owe them anything because I never gave them permission to repair my car and no payment plan was agreed upon. Can someone assist me in handling this situation?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You owe them a check. And you have learned a lesson.
The magic and mistaken words you used over and over were "I called." You never do that with a car repair. (Even worse you waited a long time between calls and seem to have an idea that a car place will simply store a car for free for a long time).
When it was towed it was your responsibility to IN WRITING get a repair order and on that order specifically kinit what they could do or charge without additional written consent. Without that you gave them a blank check.
Pay them and make sure you heed the expensive lesson you have learned about what to do when a car needs work.