Car broken into at repair shop - who is responsible?

[hudsonam]

My family has been going to this shop for years and years. They aren't in the best neighborhood, so usually we take everything out of the car first. DH didn't think to do that, and left my expensive Oakley sunglasses sitting out in plain site. We also have a ton of junk in the car, but nothing really valuable unless someone wants a couple frames from Kohl's and a cart cover and other such baby items. So the car was left unlocked all night last night, and when I got in, I noticed that my sunglasses were gone. And some change was gone, and stuff was thrown all over the place. DH wants them to pay for the sunglasses, which are $200+. I'm also upset that I have my insurance card and registration in there with my name and address on them. I talked to the owner, and he pointed out that people have expensive radios in their cars and nothing else was taken or broken into, and that if it was locked, they might have broken my window, but sometimes a kid just wants an easy take, not necessarily the trouble of taking a radio out of a car or breaking a window. Am I crazy? Anyway, he offered to do our next repair for free, but said he "didn't know if he could give me $200." I know DH is going to demand the money, or dispute that much of the charge on our credit card. We paid over $500 for repairs. I just don't know what to do. What would you do?

[o_mom]

If they were the ones that left it unlocked, they should be responsible. If you left it unlocked (say you dropped it off at the end of the day, left the keys, but no expectation that they would work on it beofre morning) then I think it is partly your responsibility.

I would think that they would have insurance for this, but they may not want to make a claim. Many times they will have signs that say they are not responsible, but I'm not sure how much weight those carry legally. Kind of like the liability waivers that say they are not responsible for injury, but if they are negligent you can still sue them and win. At the very least, you should file a police report so that if you pursue it there is a record.

For compensation, you might suggest that they compensate you as part of THIS repair since you don't know when the next one will be. Depending on the bill, maybe offer to pay the parts and have them comp the labor?

[hudsonam]

DH was happy with the idea of them comping us a repair job, but we're going to see if he'll comp this one. The shop left the car unlocked overnight. The repair was done yesterday and we told them we were going to pick it up in the morning. He did say they have coverage for things like this (well, really he said if our window had been broken or something), but the deductible would be higher than the cost of the glasses.

[newmomto3kids]

If they left it unlocked, it is their responsibility in my opinion. They should definitely comp you on THIS repair, who knows what would happen as time passes and they "forget" or whatever. Claiming it on your insurance is not an acceptable reply from this guy. That still costs you a deductible, plus could affect your premiums. Yikes!
In the future, I would take your stuff of value out of the car, in case it was an inside job.
Sorry this happened...

[s7714]

Do they by chance have something in their work agreement/contract outlining who is responsible for damage or theft to the car while it is in their possession? Most of the places we go to state something like that in their paperwork (even the independant single owner place we used to frequent).

Ideally, I think if they left the car unlocked and in a non-secure environment, then they should be responsible for the replacement value of the glasses. Comping you on the current charges would be acceptable IMO. I'd also suggest that because of this situation you're not sure if you can comfortably bring the car(s) into them for future work. If they can't keep the cars locked and something major gets stolen next time, are they still going to be arguing that it's not their responsibility? IMHO I'd also be wondering if it was just a random criminal act or if it was an inside job that could happen again, iykwim.

Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Limit Tester 6/05

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