Sasappis said:
1208HawkTree said:
I didn't read every word of every post, but I didn't see this mentioned. Does the shop have security cameras? Maybe there is a recording what actually happened.
It doesn't matter what happened. It happened while in their custody and control caused by their employee. They are liable per se
Does he have it in writing from them that it happened at their shop? Does he have video proof that it happened in their shop?
Believe me, I've dealt with a similar situation.
Wife went to Discount Tire for B/R. Wife gave the keys to the kid, walked inside. Wife walks back outside to get the car when they were done, notices dents/scratches/paint marks all the way from the rear driver door to just above the tire, and even markings on the tire. When she questioned them about it, they stared at her and said they had "no idea how it happened". Luckily, I had her take photos of the brick wall of the cargo bay, which clearly had been hit more than it should have.
Long story short, they didn't want to pay at all to repair the damages. I threatened to take them to small claims court for roughly 4x the value of the damage estimate for diminished value/time lost from work, etc. They finally agreed to cover the repairs so long as I would sign what was effectively a gag order not to go to the media, along with a statement that said DT was not responsible for the damage, but was extending a courtesy repair for a customer.