Or was the mechanic?

[catcurl]

Contacted a specialist mechanic this morning to enquire about a job over the next few weeks, surprisingly he could come to me within the hour. Alarm bells should perhaps have rang but has some good reviews online etc. The particular service be provides he comes to customers.

We agreed on £135 in advance. He said that either bank transfer or cash was fine. All good.

After he was finished, I asked for his bank details to send on the money. He said he had the bank details and would like to be paid there and there. I had presumed most services are happy and prefer to send an invoice but said this was fine.

I tried to add him as a new payee, but do this so infrequently, I forgot the password needed for this and inserted it wrongly several times, the panic didn't help!

I said to him that I would get cash, but would need my husband to bring this, who was a five minute run away with the baby. Out in running buggy, so could get to me quickly not so much vice versa if that makes sense.

Honestly, I never carry my Debit card (use contact less on my phone!) and explained that my husband could go to the nearby cash machine and bring along.

At this point, his tone became hostile, trying initially to go to the cash machine with me, then asking me where I lived and if I could not get cash there, and insinuating we would both go.

All whilst shaking his head and saying 'this is very strange' and putting my car key from the ignition into his pocket.

He seemed to lessen slightly when he heard me phoning my husband and explaining the honest situation to him as well, with the agreement that he would be five minutes.

My husband was along after a very difficult five minutes, and I still feel a bit upset about it all.

I appreciate that he wants to be paid, I would too. But I was taken back by the aggressive tone, the immediate assumption I was trying not to pay, all whilst I tried to explain it was an honest error and trying to arrange a swift solution.

Any thoughts appreciated!

YABU. A trade for a quick job who says pay bank transfer or cash clearly expects to be paid immediately on job completion. Cash implies payment on completion - you aren’t going to send it in the post!

If you took your car to get a tyre changed or similar you’d have to pay before you drove your car away. I’m surprised you expected or were hoping for a pay later option!

Yabu. Someone does a job you pay the second they finish in this case. You do sound dodgy and sounds like he has been burnt before by other none payers.

This is the key bit of the situation which stands out to me:

We agreed on £135 in advance. He said that either bank transfer or cash was fine.

You agreed to pay him in advance, therefore you should have been ready to do so in one of the forms specified. You should either have got cash out of the bank, or have looked up how to set up new bank transfers before he got there, not got all flustered and confused when he asked for his money!

He was wrong in being aggressive about it, but I don't think he was wrong in being about to refuse to release your car, given you hadn't paid him. If he'd have let you go to be paid later, you could have spun him sob stories for weeks, while driving around in your newly fixed car.

As previously said. Do you expect to say to tesco to send you a bill for your shopping! Would they say if your card was declined it's ok pay us later. Of course they won't.

Your previous posts show you are (talking out your)...rubbish.

Understandably he wants paying before you leave with the car.
I always pay when garage call me to arrange collection then I just turn up get the key and off I go.

You knew what the bill would be, you should have had the money ready either in cash or the ability to make a bank transfer. You knew you were having the work done, he is self employed so of course he wanted paying there and then.

Thank you for the replies so far (ignoring the wording of a few!)

To clarify a few points raised:

We didn't agree payment on completion in advance. It was essentially an at home service. We don't have a parking spot so my car was on the street.

Yes I should have had payment in case needed, which was why this was an honest mistake. I'm usually very careful about these things, but he said he would arrive 11 to 11.30 and arrived at 10.40. He also asked that I stay with him throughout, which was an hour.

Normally I would have used this time to double check I had payment in case needed.

Did you agree an invoice sent at a later date? He arrived 20 minutes early to your job, not two hours. You are completely wrong.

Stay with him? What did you do lol? Watch him or sit in car.

He was only 20 mins early. It was your error, just accept it.

It was a bit odd! But yes, I was happy to leave him with the car and offered twice. So I stood beside him as he completed the work!

Yes, time I personally would use to go off and get cash/check my password to add a payee etc.

But you could have contacted your husband in that time to arrange the cash to be ready surely?

This is you being unreasonable I am afraid. Of course you knew you needed to pay him. If you waited for an hour for him to finish that was plenty of time to sort out the payment.

I thin you need to accept that on this occasion, you are wrong.

You’ve done nothing wrong op, he was a dick and I certainly wouldn’t use him again.

I totally appreciate that it was my error. I normally would bring payment as well as invoice options. Previous tradespeople I gave used have usually preferred invoice, don't like to carry cash etc.

I found his reaction to an honest situation I tried to explain and resolve quickly, unreasonable.

We also paid him extra for the few minutes wait.

If you had say a cleaner or a beautician visit your house and you’d pre agreed a price and cash or bank transfer and at the end the person suddenly discovered they couldn’t pay, you’d be pissed off too!
They’d done their job and wanted to get onto the next one, you should have had payment sorted straight away and should have already checked you could use online banking if that was your method.

YABU

He probably deals with entitled people like you not valuing his time allll the time 🙄

He probably thought you were not going to pay, I expect he has had experience of non payment before. Try to look at it from his point of view.

That's because with Tesco you're getting standardised goods. With a tradesman you don't know if they'll do a good job until after they've done it. And then good luck getting your money back. Most of them are shit and will skimp on things if they're allowed.

Like in the same way a tradesman has no luck in getting payment from a non paying customer after he has left.

I never pay anything unless I receive an invoice in writing for it. He or she is welcome to pull out a pad and pen and do an invoice then and there, but I need an invoice and a receipt.

I also take a photo of their licence plate in case it's needed for IDing them later. And yes, it has been needed before.

They know where you live and also have enough info for small claims.

Read the original post. It wasn't done at their house.

If you had to wait with him why didn't you get your husband to get the cash out while the mechanic was doing the job, instead of going through all that unpleasantness caused by you. You admitted you called your DH afterwards so your husband had been available to do it. I'm in agreement with the mechanic. You need to be more organised - be more adult and less childlike.

ODFOD. Why don't you try to be less fucking patronising. There was no need at all for that last sentence. People make mistakes and are sometimes disorganised. That does not equal acting like a child.