Thieving mechanic

cheapman1

In case anyone is interested:

I called and texted further with no reply.

Today I went to his house, luckily his wife (who was very pleasant) was there. She said he was busy but in the corner of my eye I noticed the shoes lying around next to one of his cars. I told her that I could see my parts and was going to take them. She went away, came back and said "he said you can just take them". I thanked her and left with the parts.

I will never know what his intentions were. What I do know Is that he deceived by telling me he had fitted the new parts for some reason, charged me for work that wasn't completed to my specification and for some reason either binned my new parts or kept them for his own benefit.

Whilst calling him a thief may be unfair, as there might be a reason for his actions that I can't understand, but obviously there was something not right.

Cheers

Nobbie1967

And they all lived happily ever after.....:rotfl:

bigjl

arcon5 wrote: »

Silly question really

Not really

If the OP felt unable to change the shoes how did he find no problem in stripping the drums to inspect how much wear was left and evidence that they had just been cleaned up?

bigjl

arcon5 wrote: »

What makes you think you have no rights op?
You paid for a service and he didn't provide that.

I'd be fuming, don't let him use bin collection as an excuse. In fact I'd pop round his house randomly to check whether he was actually in or not.

If he doesn't give you them back then tell him how much he owes you! Ie cost of shoes plus your thirty quid back

Lol

Hilarious.

It was a cash in hand job.

Consumer rights.......

arcon5

bigjl wrote: »

Lol

Hilarious.

It was a cash in hand job.

Consumer rights.......

Even if he was a private individual fixing another individuals car doesn't mean you have no rights. The law doesn't permit you to do anything to anybody you know!

Cash in hand also doesn't mean a transaction is a B2C. How he accounts for income is his business.

What's hilarious is your idiotic response.

Wouldn't pay much attention to this op. Even if he was a private individual doesn't mean he can defraud you effectively out of your property.

arcon5

bigjl wrote: »

Not really

If the OP felt unable to change the shoes how did he find no problem in stripping the drums to inspect how much wear was left and evidence that they had just been cleaned up?

Stripping the drum?
By which you mean sliding it off its stub axle. Not really 'stripping' anything is it. In fact it is less bolts than taking a wheel off. Maybe a single center bolt, maybe a couple retaining screws, may be nothing at all... Compared to 4 or 5 wheel nuts.

So yes it was a stupid question. Most people can open a bonnet, doesn't mean they know how to repair an engine!
You can use your eyes to inspect a brake shoe without feeling confident enough to dismantle everything, especially since there are a fair few parts to assemble in a drum brake setup

AdrianC

arcon5 wrote: »

Even if he was a private individual fixing another individuals car doesn't mean you have no rights. The law doesn't permit you to do anything to anybody you know!

Cash in hand also doesn't mean a transaction is a B2C. How he accounts for income is his business.

Transaction? What transaction?

arcon5

AdrianC wrote: »

Transaction? What transaction?

Please! People can't just deny things nowadays and think if you can't prove it tough luck. Phone records, texts, witness'... Many ways of putting the balance of probabilities in your favor.

Norman_Castle

cheapman1 wrote: »

Whilst calling him a thief may be unfair,

He had no explanation for what he had done. He's a lair and a thief.

cheapman1

bigjl wrote: »

Not really

If the OP felt unable to change the shoes how did he find no problem in stripping the drums to inspect how much wear was left and evidence that they had just been cleaned up?

To attempt answer your question :

I had attempted the work previously and was familiar with the basic setup of the drum. I unbolted the drum and after doing so the shoes were visible for inspection and can also be cleaned/adjusted in situ if required. No other parts had to be removed from the system to inspect the shoes to the level required, as a result, my limited level of mechanical proficiency was sufficient to inspect the condition of the system.

As you may know, to replace the shoes there are various springs and levers to pry out and the system has to be dismantled and then reassembled correctly . Without the tools, experience and workshop manual available, I didn't feel confident enough to carry the work out myself in an efficient and timely manner.

I also contacted VW for the original part number and material thickness to crosscheck as evidence that no parts had been replaced.

cheers