[jbtsax]

What policies do the repair techs on this forum have with regard to repairs that are not picked up in a timely fashion by customers once they have been notified that the repairs are finished?

Another related question is do you require an up front deposit on repairs that are more expensive? If so, how much do you charge? Thanks.

 

[simso]

Here in australia, we are bound by the law, which I would assume is the same there.

If a customer does not pickup then you have to make all attempts at contacting them. after this you must notify the police and give them the contact details of the client. After this you must run an advertisement in community paper detailing the fact that you are holding an instrument for XXXXX and they are to pick it up by a said date. After this you may sell the item via auction to recoup your costs, any profit made over and above your recouped costs must be returned to the customer or can be held until the customer claims there money back

 

[griff136]

We have something similar in the Uk to what Simso has mentioned they do "down under".

 

[milandro]

I would have thought that all of this was, as it is here in Holland, ruled by law , by-laws, or by the generals terms trade and conditions that each company or commercial sector deposits at the Chamber of commerce.

 

[abadcliche]

Yep, we've got similar laws here regarding contact and then sale of the instrument and holding profits over cost of repair.

I've only had this happen once on an expensive repair on an expensive horn. Basically as long as the worth of the instrument is more than the repair, I do the repair and they pay when they pick up. If someone wanted me to do a full overhaul and gold plate on a Bundy II, they are paying in advance.

 

[jbtsax]

Most of the states in the US have what are call "lien laws" or "mechanic's lien laws" which require the person who has done the repair to contact the individual after a set period of time to announce that it will be sold if not picked before a certain date. Those same laws require the repairer to keep only the amount of the repair and to return the balance to the original owner of the item.

These laws can be circumvented by the person doing the repairs by requiring the owner to sign a form waiving all rights to the item prior to the repair, and by selling the unclaimed item to himself/herself through a separate (dummy) corporation established for that purpose for the amount of the repair only. That way the item can then be resold for its full value by the "dummy corporation" the owner of which then can "legally" keep the entire amount.

 

[tictactux]

Most of our local laws can be superseded by a written contract between (in this case) repairer and customer. If the customer signs a form that says "equipment not picked up within 30 days after notice is subject to storage fee and will go into possession of the repairer after 12 months" then this contract is binding.
(of course, such a contract may not violate superior rights, decency etc. So the "give his soul over to xyz" clause would be invalid)

 

[Gary59]

I hear of a repair man in Louisiana who doesn't wait for the customer to pick up a horn. He says he doesn't have it!

 

[Pete Thomas]

I hear of a repair man in Louisiana who doesn't wait for the customer to pick up a horn. He says he doesn't have it!

Then the customer has only himself )r herself) to blame for not getting a receipt. Or dealing with someone not very trustworthy.

IMO, you either deal with people you trust or get paperwork.

 

[dzve]

I just keep calling them till they come & pick it up....

 

[Doc Frazier]

I hear of a repair man in Louisiana who doesn't wait for the customer to pick up a horn. He says he doesn't have it!

That would be SOUTH Louisiana! Definitely not our shop.

 

[jbtsax]

At the music store where I formerly worked, the repair tech contacted the customer when the work was done, and then the completed repair went upstairs to a shelf in a back room. An employee was charged with calling customers who had instruments left over 30 days once every month to remind them. Occasionally an old junker in for a minor repair would left over a year, and at that time it became a "parts instrument". No rent was charged for keeping the instrument on the shelf, nor was any instrument ever sold.