dvd-fisherman

I just got screwed by a company...

What do you guys think about this? I called up a glass company to cut 4 sheets of plexiglass to size. Before I drove out to see the colors and make the order, I asked for a quote and got $4.50 per square foot. Since I asked certain dimensions I was given a total quote at $140.

So my glass is cut today and I call up to make sure. I am told the total is $288. WTF? I said why. The answer was that because the glass was weird dimensions he had to purchase extra glass and that I would have to pay for the entire sheets. He then mumbled something about covering costs. I told the guy that I didn't care what happened at their end.

I don't care about them covering costs or whatever - that's their business and their worry. I continue on and say that as a consumer, all I care aboutis what I ask for and the quote I was given. He responds again with some covering costs and that their obviously was a miscommunication. I say you're d*mn right there is a miscommunication. So I give him one last chance and say is there anything he'll do (ie cut some cost). He says the price stands and that he is a business and is barely covering costs.

So I am now calling other companies to get my order. And I want to cancel my $50 deposit I left with him. Is this ok? Isn't it true that if they don't honor their end of the bargain, the "contract" is void. As far as I'm concerned a verbal and written word is the same in the court of law. Help me please!!!

foxdvd

if it is not in writing, then you have nothing you can do...courts will only care about what is in the contract..

Sonic

www.betterbusinessbureau.com

It's possible this company gets off on scaming people.

TCR

If you made a verbal agreement/contract some states require that the final cost be within a certain % of the quote. If it will be more then & tehn the business must show they have notified you. The BBB would be where I would start, sometimes they can be of a world of info or at least point you in the right direction. If a business did this to me I would do the following: If you left the deposit on a cc do a chargeback and explain in detail what happened to the cc company. If you wrote a check you will most likely have to pay 15.oo or so to cancel it. But be prepared for the business to respond unkindly. That really sucks...hope it works out in the end!

huzefa

dvd-fisherman, what were the dimensions of the plexiglass? I work in a hardware store too, so I can tell you if the quote was out of line to begin with. I dont' want to play devil's advocate here, but sometimes what that company says does in fact happen. If your order is for weird dimensions, then you do in fact have to buy the whole piece of glass and throw the rest away. But this merchant's mistake is that he should have told you this first. We always tell the customer if this sort of thing can/will happen.

foxdvd

The most important thing to understand though is what is in the contract. If the contract says nothing about a quote, or says the price will be determined after the product is made or something along that line, it does not matter what he said to you. It is very common for a business to get a person to sign a contract, telling them all sorts of things, and then not deliver on them. You go back to the contract, and all those promises are not listed, and you have nothing you can do. You need to ALWAYS get your estimate in writing. Like someone said above, if he were to go above that estimate by a certain percentage, he would need your permission to do so. A good estimate will have the amount, and the contract should have in it what should be done if that estimate is not right. If these things are not in place, do not do business with that person.

edlin303

I believe most courts will uphold a verbal agreement, as long as their is no written one in place. I remember something to that affect from back in high school, but don't quote me on it.

I agree about the BBB. If they have a good rating right now, they probably won't risk it over $50. After they get the letter from the BBB, I imagine they will offer to honor the quoted price, since they've already cut it and will be out all the money otherwise.

Was the deposit on a CC? If so, you should be able to dispute it as goods not delivered as agreed upon.

foxdvd

That was not the point of my post. There is no doubt that a verbal agreement is a binding contract. If there was a verbal agreement alone, this guy is in great shape. He will get his money back. The problem will be if there was a written agreement, along with the verbal. While legally a verbal agreement is binding ( if that point is not specifically countered in the contract) the bottom line is when you go before a judge, he is not going to get into a “he said she said” case. He is going to look at the contract, read what it says, and go by it. While the guy above may have a "legal" verbal contract, the courts do not look fondly on them as binding contracts in court cases when there is also a written contract, because if so NOTHING would ever get done in court. If you did not like something, you could easily say “Well we had a verbal contract”

So if he has a contract, and it says nothing about an estimate... he might have a small chance getting his money back. If he has a contract, and it does say something about the estimate, especially if that point says the cost will be determined from the actual store cost, there is nothing he can do. No court will side with him.

greenerdog

I'm no lawyer, but I did take a couple of courses in business law.

A verbal contract is certainly enforcable. If they quoted you the price, that's what you should pay. I won't go into the gory details of offer and acceptance.

However, the truth is it is only $50 that you are out. You are not going to take someone to court over $50. Call around, get other quotes. Maybe the guy is telling the truth, or maybe he made a mistake in cutting and tried to pass the mistake on to you.

If you used a credit card, dispute it. If you paid by cash or check, you are out the money. File a complaint with the BBB (just remember that they have no legal authority to solve anything - everything is strictly voluntary). Does your local newpaper have one of those "consumer investigations" columns?

Alternately, just sit tight. Write him a letter and tell him that you expect him to honor the price he quoted you, and that he should have gotten in touch with you if the price was going to go up (especially by a factor of two!). At this point, he has an unhappy customer and a bunch of plexiglass that he can't sell because it is cut in weird shapes. If he is a good businessman, he will sell them to you because his (alleged) loss will be smaller.

Trust me, you are going to get cheated out of much more money than this in your life!

foxdvd

he will ONLY get his money back if there is not a written contract, or that contract does not go into the cost.....anything else, and even a dispute will not work.

It would help if dvd-fisherman would let us know about a contract, and what it says in it....

Jericho

This is a grey issue of law, because it's a price quote that was agreed upon, and is a valid contract. Any attempt to raise that price would not be valid because it has no consideration. Yet, practically, all contract work is like this so generally from a legal standpoint it would be enforceable I believe if it is made under good faith dealing.

dvd-fisherman

Thanks for everyone's help. Well, I guess about a day to think about it gave the guy some time to realize what he was about to do to his company. He called me back the next day and completely changed his story, apologizing for his mistake and gave me the original quote. Despite this, I think I know where not to go next time.

TCR

This is another reason to always write on an estimate "Estimate given to customer $$$$.$$. Final expenses are not to exceed the estimate without written express permission from consumer" Then sign your name and make it all big. This has been on several "consumer protection" public announcement ads here.

If a verbal and written contract are in place the written must have something like "This contract supersedes any verbal contract, promises, or statements and shall be contrued as the final binding contract between the two parties involved with this agreement." to make the verbal contract meaningless.

Glad to know it worked out for you... I would have found a way to let him keep his cut product and found somewhere else even if it cost more. Just to make sure he learned from his devious ways of doing business.