garage starting to charge for storage - is there a minimum notice period?

purrple-haze

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can tell me if there's a minimum notice a business (garage) must serve before they start charging for storage fees?

I currently have a car at a garage (very amateurish). Talks on proceeding with work have broken down (no pun intended) and I was told to pay up what I owe 'til now and remove by Friday of this week. I am having trouble arranging a transporter to move the vehicle and am out of the country next week.

I have no problem paying what I owe (for inspection and some other work) but have asked for an itemised invoice which I have not been given and will not pay until I have this invoice. The garage have said to me 'not to even think about getting the car' until they've had payment so it's in their best interest to get the invoice to me ASAP.

It's extremely unlikely that the car will be collected until later in the month. Can the garage hit me with unreasonable storage fees for next week (whilst I'm away) or do they have to serve a notice before charges of this nature?

As mentioned it's a very amateurish garage. I honestly think this might be the first time they've been asked to issue an invoice so that will keep them occupied for a while trying to figure out how to draft one.

Thanks.
PH

AdrianC

purrple-haze wrote: »

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can tell me if there's a minimum notice a business (garage) must serve before they start charging for storage fees?

I currently have a car at a garage (very amateurish). Talks on proceeding with work have broken down (no pun intended) and I was told to pay up what I owe 'til now and remove by Friday of this week. I am having trouble arranging a transporter to move the vehicle and am out of the country next week.

I have no problem paying what I owe (for inspection and some other work) but have asked for an itemised invoice which I have not been given and will not pay until I have this invoice. The garage have said to me 'not to even think about getting the car' until they've had payment so it's in their best interest to get the invoice to me ASAP.

It's extremely unlikely that the car will be collected until later in the month. Can the garage hit me with unreasonable storage fees for next week (whilst I'm away) or do they have to serve a notice before charges of this nature?

As mentioned it's a very amateurish garage. I honestly think this might be the first time they've been asked to issue an invoice so that will keep them occupied for a while trying to figure out how to draft one.

Thanks.
PH

How long has your car been there?

It's quite simply not true to say that you are having trouble organising transport. You could probably have it collected by the end of the day if you really put your mind to it, and most definitely by the end of the week. There are dozens of vehicle transportation companies around, and there are websites dedicated to getting comparative quotes.

It's fair enough to expect an invoice for work before you pay, but I rather suspect there's a lot of backstory in that.

Herzlos

Does the car run at all? You should be able to get it moved within a day or 2 easily.

I assume the delay is more about the invoice - have you gone in and asked for a breakdown of it? I assume you want it itemized so you can argue about some of it?

purrple-haze

Very true there's a lot of backstory in the whole thing but I don't find it pertinent to the thread. A notice period for commencing storage fees (if required) should be the same regardless?

And again true that I could arrange transport today. Possibly. It's a specialist and rare car (but not particularly valuable) and due to height/clearance and body shape certainly not suitable for all loaders and the car is in a town 40 miles away. But I need/want to sort payment out first rather than hoping an invoice will be issued on X day and hoping that a suitable transporter will be free then too.

PH.

purrple-haze

No, the car does not run currently.

To try and be brief....the car was in for an engine rebuild and I wanted a particular person to work on the engine. Unfortunately that person left mid-build and I want the rest of the work to be finished by the same builder as he and the other guy have vastly different opinions on engine builds and I have no trust or faith in the quality of the work buy the remaining guy at the garage.

I am more than happy to pay for work done until now but my bill so far (no invoice, just a random number being demanded via FaceBook) is far higher than previous comparable jobs so I want to see a break down to make sure I'm not being overcharged out of spite. The garage have also been allowed to keep some parts from the car which was agreed to be part payment so I want to check if this has been deducted and if not assurances that the parts will be returned. Like I say, if I owe it, I'll pay it no problem and without issue.

PH.

Herzlos

What's the car if it's so unusually sized it can't fit on a flatbed? Does it need to be in an enclosed trailer?

Is the car being transferred to the previous builder to finish the work? If so, can you get him to take care of it?

How does the bill compare to your quote?

AdrianC

purrple-haze wrote: »

Very true there's a lot of backstory in the whole thing but I don't find it pertinent to the thread.

Indeed. But it may well be pertinent to the reason your car is still there, because you haven't had an invoice "itemised" to your satisfaction...

But I need/want to sort payment out first rather than hoping an invoice will be issued on X day and hoping that a suitable transporter will be free then too

... and that invoice is clearly germaine to getting the car moved.

I notice you didn't say how long the car's been there.

You did not contract an individual to build your engine. You contracted a business to build your engine. You requested the individual build your engine on behalf of the business, but that is no longer possible. So it comes down entirely to your differing opinions on the invoicing. You have no legal right to remove the vehicle until you've paid. You have no legal right to leave the vehicle there, without paying for storage. There is no legally required minimum notice period before storage can be charged.

There really are only two ways to resolve this...
* Amicably, like a pair of grown adults.
* Through the courts.

purrple-haze

I'm sorry but I don't wish to say what sort of car it is as there's not many around and I don't wish to identify myself online.

My car was there since just before Christmas. I was expecting it to be finished by February but work didn't even commence until end March/April.

Until the problems arose I was a personal friend of the garage owner. His garage is a very laid back affair. The given quote was ambiguous but that's how he operates. Hence the request for an itemised invoice so I can check how quoted man hours tally up and see where I might have been charged for parts which I supplied to start with.

Thanks.

PH.

EDIT: I am trying to pursue this amicably, professionally and legally (legally in the way I want paperwork etc. Don't want to go to the courts unless absolute necessary)

BeenThroughItAll

purrple-haze wrote: »

I'm sorry but I don't wish to say what sort of car it is as there's not many around and I don't wish to identify myself online.

How exactly is that going to happen?

jaydeeuk1

Well seeing as you aren't giving further info, then the answer to your question is 'no'.

If you're worried about the garage owner typing in the model of car, then enter it as 'v4uxh411 ch3v3tt3' or something, won't show in up google searches.

agrinnall

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

If you're worried about the garage owner typing in the model of car, then enter it as 'v4uxh411 ch3v3tt3' or something, won't show in up google searches.

Although that does rely on everybody else in the thread following the same convention.