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sub-contractor damages to company vehicle

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ollias

Guest
in the state of georgia I worked for a carpet cleaning company following the guidelines of a written contract for sub-contractors. I refused to sign this contract due to the owner not fullfilling his stated obligations ; supplying a van with a truck mounted cleaning system in good working condition. after 18 months I was told to sign the contract or end my employment, at which time I chose to end it due to the unimproved condition of the equipment. during the 18 months i incurred damage to the van , a cracked windshield, and a dented front right fender. both incidents were reported to the company office as insurance coverage on the van was paid by me through payroll deductions. I was told they refused to make any repairs having the deductable set at $500. now i have recieved a letter from the company's attorney informing me he is trying to collect a valid debt and will file legal suit if I do not respond. the amount is $1,783.18......I personally spent over a $1.000 making various repairs during the 18 months.....I have until march 10th to contact the lawyer.......how should i proceed?
Thanks for your time!!!
 


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loku

Guest
From what you say, it sounds like you probably do owe them something for the repairs.

I believe the first thing you should do is contact the lawyer and get a detailed statement costs. Id you agree with the statement, pay it. If you do not, then contact the attorney and tell him/her what you think the correct bill should be.

If the attorney is reasonable and you can negotiate a settlement, then that ends it. Otherwise, come back to the bulletin board with the new facts.
 
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ollias

Guest
THX ...4the responce....question???

this contract states that "only this signed written contract shall be legal and no other verbal agreements are valid......

I plainly stated the problems with the contract and nothing was done. I feel I was treated as an emplyoyee and fired , not given the time to make the repairs which were not of my doing,,,,I was backed into at a parking lot , and a piece from the opposite side of an interstate accident hit the left side of the windshield........what good is insurance, i was willing to pay any deductable at the time, it's sinply that the owner didn't want to make a claim because he is losing a law suite in the millions for his own reckless driving.......I had to pay his high rate for insurance to cover his vehicle because of his driving record!

opps...sorry to ramble on, but this is a crisis for my family! I will not have the money to pay this man anything, anytime soon........surely you can think of some idea to help me!?
 
L

loku

Guest
Damage to van

I would need a much clearer picture of this situation to be able to help.

Let’s start with your sub contractor contract: you did not sign the written one offered to you; therefore, that contract was not applicable to your situation. You were, in effect performing as a contractor under a contract that was either implied from the situation, or that was agreed upon orally.

Somehow you agreed to pay for insurance coverage on the van, but apparently because of the deductible amount, the insurance was no help.

As for the damage to the van: your liability for damage to the van depends on the oral or implied contract you had. If you did agree to be responsible for damage to the van, either orally or by the way you acted, then you are responsible for the damage and what remains is to find out if they are charging you the right amount.

If you did not agree to be responsible for the van, then you do not owe them for it, unless you were negligent and the negligence caused the damage.

Sorry, I can not give you a SOLUTION. It all depends on what your agreement was. Without knowing that, there is no way to help, as far as I can see.
 
O

ollias

Guest
THX again....your reply understood...

Most of the basic administrative procedures from the contract were followed to conform to the office payroll schedule as well as the invoicing of customers.

I had no contact with the owner for 8 months as his 20 year marriage ended in a bad divorce and his son ran the business, but made little or no contact with me. I , however, was at the office each week to pick up my check (stamped signature). So as I attempted to live up to the contract, he did no soliciting for business, handleing problems with accounts, van inspections, etc! I basically ran my own methods and procedures!

The insurance (full coverage) being deducted from my check each week, was solely for the purpose of repairing damages incurred by me. Why wasn't I given the option to use it?

During the entire time of working in the van , I made several thousand dollars of repairs to get the equipment running right. The owner made no initial inspection of the condition of the van inside or out. I had a qualified mechanic inspect and recommend repairs to the equipment of over $3,000. This was a mechanic recommended by the owner. He then agreed verbally to share the responsibility of any problems with the van 50/50 and did follow that when the 18hp motor for the cleaning system finally blew up as predicted by the mechanic! He paid $400 of an $800 proposed new engine to be installed into the van, of course he installed only a rebuilt engine from his spare parts shop, and didn't even do that properly. Some 'shade tree' mechanic he knew came in one day to put it in, I worked with him 4 hours doing it and he didn't even have a muffler to install on it, so I had to take it to a muffler shop to have that done and he wanted me to pay for half of that as well!! There is much more unprofessionalism about all this, but i am trying to stay with facts so you can help me if possible!

Tomorrow I will call the lawyer and get the list of damages i am to pay for. I do have a customer who is a lawyer in our city, and he may be able to help me, but i really appreciate your preparing me for dealing with this.....I have never had anything like this to deal with in my 12 years of being a professional, and to think I worked making over $50,000 for this man, I had just winterized the van and completely overhauled the brake system as well as new tires.....?

THX....Ollias
 

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