lindenengineering
Well-known member
No because both my Tech Mel and Linden Management opted to drop charges by advice of legal council .
My Workman's comp insurance and shop liability insurance picked up the slack and ran with it against our Mr Molehusband
Obviously if he had killed Mel it would be different.
The issue was that he eventually got stopped south of Pueblo but denied all knowledge of it and being at my shop! It might have been different if I had the security camera system operational at the time! This incidence and police interaction prompted me to install a security system. Its been invaluable ever since.
One thing to note though!
Colorado State law on something like this which we discovered post incident.
Skipping out and not paying your mechanic's bill even if you have a signed R/O is a civil matter in Colorado even if you do property damage during the fleeing process. The only criminal bit is if you do breaking and entering a premises.
Try doing that with hotel lodgings or foods service and its a criminal offense . Warnings are posted on all Colorado hotel/motel rooms. Obviously then Colorado deems skipping out on lodging much more seriously than ripping off and doing a runner with bone fide auto repair shops.
Now over the state line in Utah its a different kettle of fish all together
My next door neighbor had a used car lot which went belly up. Lot is still there but he has long gone, fled to Florida.
He apparently bought a car at auction in California, and it broke down in Salt Lake City.
A dealer repair shop fixed it, but he then went to their shop in the dead of night cut down the dealer fence and fled with his car. He got as far as Green River where he was pounced upon by the "old bill" and spent a month in jail.
Silly boy!
So it comes back to my series of posts.
Qualify the customer before signing a repair contract and do your best to avoid these sorts of things. Its better and safer for all parties involved.
Nowadays we never hand over keys until the bill is satisfied and we implemented lots of other precautions/policies which are followed as part of shop day to day practice all listed in the employee hand book.
Dennis
My Workman's comp insurance and shop liability insurance picked up the slack and ran with it against our Mr Molehusband
Obviously if he had killed Mel it would be different.
The issue was that he eventually got stopped south of Pueblo but denied all knowledge of it and being at my shop! It might have been different if I had the security camera system operational at the time! This incidence and police interaction prompted me to install a security system. Its been invaluable ever since.
One thing to note though!
Colorado State law on something like this which we discovered post incident.
Skipping out and not paying your mechanic's bill even if you have a signed R/O is a civil matter in Colorado even if you do property damage during the fleeing process. The only criminal bit is if you do breaking and entering a premises.
Try doing that with hotel lodgings or foods service and its a criminal offense . Warnings are posted on all Colorado hotel/motel rooms. Obviously then Colorado deems skipping out on lodging much more seriously than ripping off and doing a runner with bone fide auto repair shops.
Now over the state line in Utah its a different kettle of fish all together
My next door neighbor had a used car lot which went belly up. Lot is still there but he has long gone, fled to Florida.
He apparently bought a car at auction in California, and it broke down in Salt Lake City.
A dealer repair shop fixed it, but he then went to their shop in the dead of night cut down the dealer fence and fled with his car. He got as far as Green River where he was pounced upon by the "old bill" and spent a month in jail.
Silly boy!
So it comes back to my series of posts.
Qualify the customer before signing a repair contract and do your best to avoid these sorts of things. Its better and safer for all parties involved.
Nowadays we never hand over keys until the bill is satisfied and we implemented lots of other precautions/policies which are followed as part of shop day to day practice all listed in the employee hand book.
Dennis
