ComplaintsforDiana Gardner

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In Feb. 2020 I met ***** ******* at the Quilt Shak where she is an affiliate ( or employee) for the purpose of her examining an old quilt and giving an estimate for the cost of repair. My sister ***** ****** accompanied me and heard the conversation I had with *****. She looked it over saw where it needed repair. As she is a quilt expert with apparently lots of experience I believed she could give me an in- formed opinion about what was needed and the cost. Her first thought was a repair cost of $300-$400. Then said it could be $500. I indicated $500 was more than I wanted to pay. Then she made a suggestion that the cost could be kept down if she removed several inches of the damaged quilt from both ends, I.e. there would be less to repair hence less cost involved. I was impressed by her knowledge of quilt repair and trusted that she gave an informed estimate of the cost. For nearly two years she kept the quilt, not working on it for an extended time while she was engaged in overseeing the production of medical masks. I contacted her several times about the status of the repair but she would not commit to a date of completion. I felt put off and was getting concerned about why she hadn't finished the quilt. I called her again several days ago to learn it was finished. She emailed the invoice. I was stunned to see a bill for $1000 for her work. The invoice detailed a charge of $6,000 for hours worked, a credit for a deposit I gave her for $100 and a very inexplicable "cash discount" of $4900 with the remaining balance due of $1,000. See attachment My thought was that if it looked like she had invested 240 hours of her time valuing $6,000 and generously bestowing a 4,900 credit that I would happily pay her the balance due of $1,000. I based my decision to hire her on her experise and ability to give an accurate estimate. I never imagined a balloon payment at the end. She never informed me during 2 years the price had gone up above the original estimate.

  Business response

  12/20/2021

  1. I am not an employee or an affiliate of the Quilt Shak and I did not state or represent myself to be employed by this business. 2. I did state to Miss ****** and her sister, Mrs. *******, that my fee is $25.00 per hour with a two-hour minimum of $50.00. 3. I did state that I could not give her a specific cost for the repairs. 4. She insisted that I give her an estimate. 5. I gave her a rough estimate and told her it could be $500 or more. Miss ****** did not tell me that she did not want to pay $500. 6. She did make a deposit of $100 with a personal check. 7. I did not make the suggestion that the cost could be kept down by removing several inches from both ends of the quilt. 8. Miss ****** suggested that I just cut off the ends that were damaged. 9. We did not agree on a completion date. 10, I did have the quilt for two years.

   

  See attached.

  Business response

  12/30/2021

  The quilt appraiser, Mrs. *******, is available on Friday, December 31,
  2021 to make the appraisal.  I have made an appointment to meet her at 9:00
  a.m.  She will examine the quilt and take photos prior to preparing her
  written appraisal report.  A certified report with photos  will then be
  mailed to me.  Mrs. ******* has indicated that it may take up to 3 weeks
  for me to receive the report.  I suspect it will not take that long.)  As
  soon as I receive it, I will forward a photocopy to you.
  
  My offer of settlement is:
  

  
  

  1.  To accept the value of the quilt as determined by the certified quilt appraiser.
  
  2.  For Miss ****** to sign a contract agreeing to make payments to ***** Gardner, on a regular monthly basis.  Said amount will be based on the current value of the quilt and continue until paid in full.
  
  3.  Upon payment in full, ***** ******* will return the Butterfly quilt to Gail ******, by delivery to the Better Business Bureau office at **** West **** Avenue, Fresno, California within 10 days.  
  
  4.  Miss ****** will sign a receipt acknowledging acceptance of said quilt as finished and complete.  Copies of said receipt will be given to the BBB and Gail ******.

  
  5.  This matter will be closed without a negative review placed on Ms. ******* in the BBB files.

  
  

  If this is not acceptable to Miss ******, please provide me with a reasonable offer of settlement.  If no offer of settlement is submitted, I will refund the $100 deposit and, in lieu of payment, for the hours expended, I will accept writen transfer of ownership of the quilt to me.  

  Customer response

  01/04/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  From the CONSUMER:

  Sent 12/30/2021 9:35:44 AM

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  < The value of the quilt now is irrelevant to the complaint I filed. Why did MS ******* research the quilt if not to find out if it was valuable enough to justify a greatly increased bill she might present to me. Which is exactly what she has done. A person who works on and restores an old painting or piece of furniture does not get paid because of any increased value of the object repaired but by the terms they agreed to upon undertaking the repair project. The estimate she quoted $300-$400 was accepted by me but not the estimate of $500 which I told her was too much. I would not have left the quilt with her but would have found someone else to repair it. The size of the quilt would be determined by how much she had to cut off. I am not a picky person and could have used the finished quilt as a bed or sofa throw or wall hanging. The finished size was not a big factor. The cost was.I never said I wanted the "whole quilt". I had already agreed to her suggestion to cut off the ends.As for an hourly rate, she never said anything about an hourly rate. We discussed what it would cost in dollars only.She did mention a few months ago that her rate was $25 an hour. After having received her original estimate of what it would cost, I didn't know why she told me that as the cost had been decided at that first meeting. Nothing had been said at our first meeting about any hourly rate NOTHING. I never agreed to pay her an hourly rate, not at the first meeting or afterwards.Her recount of our first conversation has been greatly enhanced. You can confirm the particulars if you wish by contacting my sister. I believe her knowing that I valued the quilt for sentimental reasons gave her an impetus to overcharge me believing I would pay anything to get it back. To reiterate: No hourly rate was discussed at my meeting to get an estimate and I never agreed to pay her an hourly rate NEVER. In order to resolve this I will pay $450 less $100 deposit I gave for a Check amount would be $350. This is $50 more than I agreed to.
  

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