Abandoned bass repair

[james condino]

I'm looking for a bit of perspective from both sides. In October, I had a new customer bring in two basses for repair. I fixed up one with good results and the customer was supposed to make a couple of descisions on the second and get back to me within a week or two. It has been 7 months with no response or return phone calls and her broken bass is still in the condition she left it and I feel like I need to get back some shop space and be finished with it.

Her original claim was that someone else (ex- boyfriend) damaged the bass (complete scroll separation at the nut) and that they would be paying for it. It is a mid price import fully carved bass. I've tried to contact her with no luck and am not interested in keeping the bass around for a loaner / rental /et cetera. I'm usually pretty up front and even have it on the paperwork that after 30 days there is a monthly late charge, and after 90 days, I consider it abandoned and it will go up on ebay. This is a first for me- usually people can't wait to get their bass back; dealing with these scenarios is always awkward.

I understand times are tough, but I'm over looking at it and would like to get it out of the shop, but feel like anything I do will make me look like a jerk. I have not done any work on it yet and would like the space back. Would I be out of line selling it or putting it up on ebay as is?

Suggestions???

j.

[Cody Sisk]

7 months?! If you've tried calling and threatening to sell it and still no response, I'd say the bass is yours now. You have overhead to pay for are not a storage facility for people's broken crap. (well, the crap they don't plan on paying you to fix..) What she's making you do here makes her the jerk. If she happened to finally show up, I'd be tempted to charge her rent for the space!

On another note, her failed love affairs aren't going to pay for a broken instrument. She doesn't understand that she's still responsible for letting said clumsy dumb**** boyfriend anywhere near her bass..

[somegeezer]

To above - I don't think he was clumsy. You don't just accidentally break 2 basses. =P... But yeah, if you have in a contract that after 30 days they will be sold, then you've been way more than generous. Get rid of it. I'll take it off your hands for free? =P

[bigolbassguy]

Sounds to me like it needs a good home.

[fdeck]

It might be worth a couple bucks to have a lawyer tell you what procedure to follow in order to be in the clear when you sell these basses. I'm not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that there is a law called "mechanic's lien" that applies here.

[Jojabeau]

Find out what you need to do to sell it without any blowback if she shows up. In my state you have to send a certified letter before you can proceed with a sale. BTW 7 months is MORE than reasonable, you are in the right just CYA.

[Ed Fuqua]

Also, do you know if they're still around? she may have departed the locale or something may have happened. The young friend of my friend down there had one of those weird sinus or ear infections that went straight to her brain, she was in a coma for 3 months.

I'm just saying...

[Eric Swanson]

I truly don't know, but I wouldn't sell it yet. I think that you might have to do a bit more due diligence, as noted above.

I am neither a luthier, nor an attorney, nor would I pretend to know your trade. I am a professional cabinetmaker with a few days on the job, including running my own shop for 10 years. I have a little experience dealing with some bizarre client behavior.

As we all know, we are in a service industry and our esteemed clients have many interesting ideas about what that might mean. We often don't know what they want until we don't provide it, somehow.

I would cross my i's and dot my t's. I would check with an attorney. I would, at least, send a certified letter to whatever address you have, with both a signature and return receipt required.

Who knows what is going on in this woman's life; detox, mental institution, car accident, bad hair day, other mental health issues, etc. I would move slowly on this and find someplace to store the bass.

Another idea would be to rent secure, insured storage space, if nothing free is available, notify the client of your intent to charge her for storage (again, certified mail, etc.) and make space that way.

I would consider selling the thing as a last resort. Clients are often mind-blowing, its true. I just would hate to see you get exposed, legally.

[George700DL]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Also, do you know if they're still around? she may have departed the locale or something may have happened. The young friend of my friend down there had one of those weird sinus or ear infections that went straight to her brain, she was in a coma for 3 months.

I'm just saying...

That's actually the first thing that popped into my head - what if something happened to the lady? Why would anyone abandon a bass? I'm not a luthier nor a lawyer, but I wouldn't necessarily jump into conclusions right away.

George

[Jojabeau]

Go to the small claims court and file to sell the basses for services rendered and storage fees. Figure the value of the basses and then file for that amount. You are better off high-balling your fees, you wouldn't have to hold cash in excess of your charges. Good luck.

[Uncletoad]

This is not a conversation to have on TB. This is a conversation for you and your lawyer. I've had this conversation many times with my lawyer and in each instance ended up storing the instrument that has been abandoned for a long long time.

Some are fetched some are not.

I have signed statements from each customer defining our abandoned instrument policy but they are very difficult to defend throughout the course of Ohio legal procedures without spending more money than is practical.

Your local laws are what's important here and what your attorney is willing to do and not do in conjunction with them.

Don't sell anything without having a consult with your attorney. If you don't have an attorney get one. You can't stay in business for a long time without legal assistance.

[Bassamatic]

When I was running a pawn shop, we had to send a letter with "Proof of Mailing" to the persons before the goods could be sold to recoup the loan cost. This was stated in the agreement as well.

I'd say you are covered by your agreement and you excess wait time.

If you really wanted to be a good guy, you could go or send someone to her address to see what is happening. Methinks that she has changed her life and is no longer interested.

[krafty]

+1 for at least checking with a lawyer before you sell the bass.

People can easily find themselves upside-down, especially in this economy. Often when that occurs you find they'll hide for no other reason than they're scared. In the auto repair business I have a few customers who for whatever reason have left cars in my facility long after the repairs were complete. In every case, I did much better at getting the car home and recovering my money by being nice, honest and doing it in person.

If she's local and you have the address, pay her a quick visit... not to threaten but to assure her that the basses are safe and you'd like to work out some way of getting them back to her. This is where the lawyer is good, however. If she is willing to do a monthly payment you may need an agreement written up. If she wants to let the basses go you may want to get something drawn up that she can sign (like a waiver) basically turning them over to you for what you have in them.

All that being said, if you can't find her then talk to a lawyer and start whatever process you need to start, keeping good records of everything along the way (in case of a lawsuit).

[drurb]

Just a point of clarification. As I understand the OP, there is ONE bass left in the shop-- the broken bass. The other one, on which work was done, has been picked up. Yes?

[Bass]

My great Uncle Clarence used to repair boots in the back of Aunt Hilda's shoe store.

I recall seeing shelves full of boots that had been there for many (many) years. The rightful owner either didn't pay or died.

[Ozmoid]

We do framing work, and regularly have things that belong to the client in our possession for long periods of time. Our lawyer tells me three years with a couple of contact caveats before I can sell/dispose of the item as if it were mine. I would ask before taking any action.

[fdeck]

One option: If you can reach the customer, maybe she's just out of money. You might be able to buy the bass from her at a price that reflects the condition of the bass while allowing you to make a reasonable profit from the repair after you sell it. Cash changing hands would eliminate any ambiguity about your right to dispose of the bass in the manner of your choosing.

[james condino]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, the first bass was picked up and I have the other one here.

In a lot of ways I feel this is a reasonable post for TB. My lawyer does not play the bass, do restoration work, or own a bass shop; a lot of you do (I wish he did, so we could barter a little). I also wanted to get a few different perspectives.

For now, it looks like I'll keep holding on to it. I've already got enough unfinished projects in my own closet of life's anxieties; it starts getting crowded when other folks add to the pile....

j.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by james condino

In a lot of ways I feel this is a reasonable post for TB. My lawyer does not play the bass, do restoration work, or own a bass shop; a lot of you do (I wish he did, so we could barter a little). I also wanted to get a few different perspectives.

j.

Perhaps I should have said something slightly different there, I have no problem with this discussion on TB, I guess I would have rather warned not to take legal advice from Bass Players who aren't lawyers in your area.

Disposing of someone else's property you have been charged with harboring is a legal issue. The relationship with the customer is something else entirely. Erring on the side of caution is always my policy.

Many years back a man left his instrument for repair. Several years later it had never been picked up and all my attempts to contact had failed to connect. In cleaning out our storage area I started calling on stuff we'd given up on. I discovered that the fellow had died and his wife didn't know he had left an instrument with us. We ended up selling it for her and covering the bill.

I had a fellow come in to claim a repair job just last week that was done since April of 2008. He was in Iraq serving and forgot he left it before he was deployed.

In neither case did we tack on storage fees or other late charges although by our documented and signed policies we have the right to do so. Sometimes slack given is appropriate. In the long run it's usually good business practice.

On the other hand a local stereo shop has a clear policy that says they take $45 up front to diagnose the problem and pay for disposal if the item is left for longer than 30 days. He's very prompt about tossing stuff out or selling it on ebay when it's abandoned. So far he's still in business.

My attorney advised me not to behave like that. The downside is unaffordable he says. One guy with more money than you can sink you in court.

[james condino]

Thanks Phil.

On a side note, will you be in Nashville in a couple of weeks for the NAAM shindig? A few pints might be in order for Friday night; maybee head over to George's place and put a few scratches on a fancy old guitar or two.....

j.