Florida.
I own and operate a small automotive repair shop. We have only been in business for about six months but we do everything by the book. We are registered with the state and the county and keep records of every job we do. As required by the state we have Estimates and Invoices that customers sign, which are filed when the job is completed.
Yesterday I received a letter at my home along with a notification of a certified letter waiting at the Post Office from an attorney regarding a customer who I have no record of. The letters claim that his client brought his vehicle to my shop to be repaired and that I took it to my home and damaged it so it had to be repaired at another shop. The letters do not say what he came to our shop for or what damages we did to his vehicle. The letters also say that a copy of the invoice from the other shop was included but it wasn't in either one. This man wants $600 and an additional $75 for the attorney who wrote the letters or he's threatening to file a lawsuit. Aside from the fact that we have no idea who this man is, the letters came to my home and not to my business. I am listed in the phone book and so is my business but the business listing only shows my physical address, which has no mail delivery. The business cards that I give to everyone who will take one includes my business mailing address and it's also on our Estimates and Invoices.
I guess my question is, how should I respond to this? Do I call this attorney and ask for his client to provide more information or write him a letter? Every job we do has either an Estimate, an Invoice or both and they are numbered. We have done this since we opened because it is the law. I have never had any reason to take a vehicle to my home as all of my tools are at my shop. I have turned down a couple of jobs that I felt would be too much for me to do and I suspect that this man might be someone I turned away who is angry that he had to end up paying more someplace else. My labor rate is posted on the wall of my shop and is a little more than half of what the other shops charge because I'm new and trying to build a customer base. Since I haven't been open for that long I know that I would remember an unhappy customer and no one has contacted me about this until now. Can this person actually sue me with no paperwork? I've looked through all of my files and every Estimate and Invoice is accounted for. Can this man sue me without any paperwork? This would cause me to have to hire an attorney and lose time from my business which is what I'm thinking he wants. Thanks.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I own and operate a small automotive repair shop. We have only been in business for about six months but we do everything by the book. We are registered with the state and the county and keep records of every job we do. As required by the state we have Estimates and Invoices that customers sign, which are filed when the job is completed.
Yesterday I received a letter at my home along with a notification of a certified letter waiting at the Post Office from an attorney regarding a customer who I have no record of. The letters claim that his client brought his vehicle to my shop to be repaired and that I took it to my home and damaged it so it had to be repaired at another shop. The letters do not say what he came to our shop for or what damages we did to his vehicle. The letters also say that a copy of the invoice from the other shop was included but it wasn't in either one. This man wants $600 and an additional $75 for the attorney who wrote the letters or he's threatening to file a lawsuit. Aside from the fact that we have no idea who this man is, the letters came to my home and not to my business. I am listed in the phone book and so is my business but the business listing only shows my physical address, which has no mail delivery. The business cards that I give to everyone who will take one includes my business mailing address and it's also on our Estimates and Invoices.
I guess my question is, how should I respond to this? Do I call this attorney and ask for his client to provide more information or write him a letter? Every job we do has either an Estimate, an Invoice or both and they are numbered. We have done this since we opened because it is the law. I have never had any reason to take a vehicle to my home as all of my tools are at my shop. I have turned down a couple of jobs that I felt would be too much for me to do and I suspect that this man might be someone I turned away who is angry that he had to end up paying more someplace else. My labor rate is posted on the wall of my shop and is a little more than half of what the other shops charge because I'm new and trying to build a customer base. Since I haven't been open for that long I know that I would remember an unhappy customer and no one has contacted me about this until now. Can this person actually sue me with no paperwork? I've looked through all of my files and every Estimate and Invoice is accounted for. Can this man sue me without any paperwork? This would cause me to have to hire an attorney and lose time from my business which is what I'm thinking he wants. Thanks.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
