A customer of Southern Automotive in Pineville, NC, took the automotive repair shop to small claims court to get his truck back, which the shop had been holding for the past six months. The court ruled in the customer’s favor because there was no written estimate for the $2,000 repair, which is required in North Carolina.
Below is the article as it appeared on the WCNC-TV Channel 36 website.
Man wins claim against auto repair company
by Tony Burbeck/NewsChannel 36
Posted on May 18, 2010 at 5:53 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man who claims a local auto repair company did unauthorized work on his pickup truck won his case in small claims court and now has his truck back.
Keith Rogers’ Dodge Ram 1500 looks worse for wear because it’s been in storage for six months.
That’s how long he battled Southern Automotive in Pineville over a $2,000 transmission repair bill.
"They put a transmission in without my permission," Rogers said.
Southern Automotive claims Rogers authorized the work and when he didn’t pay, they kept the truck.
"I got my truck back," Rogers said Tuesday.
Rogers took Southern Automotive to small claims court last week and won.
Rogers said, "The judge saw that there was no signed, written estimate."
State law requires a written estimate for repairs costing more than $350. Rogers says Southern couldn’t produce one because he never signed one.
Win in hand, Rogers thought the truck was fixed. After all, Southern told him he owed them $2,000 for the repair. But Rogers says the truck still isn’t fixed.
"Doesn’t shift properly," he said.
When NewsChannel 36 first reported this story in January, Southern Automotive told us it did nothing wrong, that Rogers authorized the work and they even discounted the price and looked forward to settling it in court.
On Tuesday, the manager at Southern Automotive had no comment.
Rogers says he is going back to court at the end of the month to determine if Southern has to fix the truck or compensate him for damages.
To read this article on the WCNC-TV Channel 36 website, visit http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Man-who-claims-auto-repair-company-did-unauthorized-work-goes-to-court-gets-truck-back-94191539.html.
