Not to fan the flames, but I'd like to play devil's advocate for a moment, if I may. It seems to me that he responded to you and gave you some excuses, but what if they're legit (stranger things have happened)? If he's injured and can't work on this, he's laying his reputation on the line and using someone else for the work. That's a risk he took and he's paying the price now.
I have a little sympathy for the guy because I've been there. When I was part of a group building hot-rod Corvettes, our chief welder and fabricator was hit by a drunk driver and couldn't work for 4 months (broken ribs, liver damage, etc.). We had a stack of cars waiting for roll cages that couldn't be finished without him. We had irate customers demanding refunds or immediate delivery of their cars or some special consideration OR ELSE (whatever that means). I got called names. But the truth is, sometimes **** happens and though you want to fulfil your promises, you just can't. It seems to me that this is what has happened in this case. His E-mails seem sincere and prompt, and he wants you to be a happy customer (all business owners do), but circumstances got the better of him.
However, as far as charging the credit card, I never charged a card until the part shipped. Never. And that's what the credit card companies tell vendors they have to do. Charging first and shipping later is against their contracts with the card companies. That's a no-no.
So, I think you are somewhat justified in your irritation (the part shouldn't have been sitting around for 2 months--you could polish it yourself on a weekend), but making threats isn't going to help your cause. If he was serious about his health problems, then your threats are the least of his worries. He offered to refund most of your money minus the work he's done. He asked you what you thought was fair. You responded with a demand for 100% of your money, and the threat of civil action. Take your loss on the part (so you get 70% of your money back, big deal), get the part back, and move on. You'll spend more time and money suing him than you would lose just taking him up on his offer to return the part minus his time. Just because you're the customer, that doesn't give you the right to dictate how he does business.
Flame suit on. Just a perspective from a guy who has seen the other side.
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Matt Harwood
Harwood Performance Engineering
Cleveland, OH
1993 LX coupe: built 342, GT-40X heads, ported Cobra intake, JBA headers, 3.55s, etc., etc., etc.
FOR SALE: 1997 Ranger Splash Supercab: 1995 Cobra 5.0L, 8 PSI Kenne-Bell supercharger, Tremec 3550, 75mm Pro-M, 3.55s, fully functional PS, ABS, ice cold A/C and emissions legal.
See it all at:
www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com
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