Deal With a Bad Repair
Every once in a while, you may have to know how to deal with a bad repair. Be it to your furnace, your car, your jewelry or some of your other possessions, regardless of the object, you will have to take swift action to have the matter resolved.
Steps
- Address what the issue is. Was the craftsmanship poor, is the item still not running like it should, or is it in worse condition than when you took it in or called in for repair?
- Write down everything wrong that you can visibly see or notice. Jot down ideas of how you would like to see the issue resolved.
- Contact the repair company to address your concerns. Take your car or your jewelry back into the shop. Call the furnace repair person to come back out to your home. Calmly and accurately describe what is bothering you about the repair job.
- Tell the repair person what your ideal repair situation would be, and see if he can oblige your request. If not, determine why. If the item is truly not repairable, determine why you were not informed of that either at the start or throughout the process.
- Find out what the repair person is willing to do to address the situation. Will he try to fix the item again, or will he refund your money? Is he willing to work with you, or are you being blown off?
- Consider getting a second opinion and a quote from another repair shop. Find out what is really wrong with your item, and take the second opinion assessment with you to speak to the original repair location.
- Take the matter to the Better Business Bureau if you are not seeing the satisfaction that you want out of the resolution dealings.
- Think about retaining legal counsel if matters are not resolved. Oftentimes the threat of a lawsuit is enough to get the ball rolling in your favor without actually having to go to court.
- Speak to your insurance provider if the repairs are being handled through your insurance (e.g. for a vehicle after an accident). If you are unhappy with the repairs, the insurance company is obligated to help you straighten out the matter as it is usually the one retaining the services of the repair person or company.
Tips
- Look into obtaining state legal help if you cannot afford an attorney. Just because you cannot afford a high-power lawyer does not mean that you can be taken advantage of by bad business practitioners.
- Make sure that your service person gives you a receipt and that you hang on to it. This is your legal proof that you retained that person or company's services.
