Hired a local vinyl guy. Do you guys think this is acceptable?

[Martin_J]

or to put it another way..... I do a fair bit of sewing ranging from sail covers to sail repairs and even clothes...

For a perfect result I would often spend at least double what others would expect to be spending per sq. meter on fabric...

 

[Graham_Wright]

Whatever action you take make sure it is on paper. Proving the spoken word is generally impossible.

 

[Hypocacculus]

Why not talk to Trading Standards. On the whole more reliable than us Barrack Room Lawyers.

 

[ryan450r]

He wants to charge me $1700 for this work. I now know that I can buy the skins direct from Formula for $1200.

 

[RivalRedwing]

He wants to charge me $1700 for this work. I now know that I can buy the skins direct from Formula for $1200.

If going near Trading Standards etc it would be very helpful to have a letter from an 'independent' professional who is prepared to state that the work is shoddy... I wish you luck

 

[KenMcCulloch]

He wants to charge me $1700 for this work. I now know that I can buy the skins direct from Formula for $1200.

Skins? I thought it was vinyl? Most posters here are UK based so wherever you are the law around contracts will apply. We recently had our whole boat reupholstered, but in tasteful blue fabric, I have no idea whether $1700 is fair for the work in the picture. If it's leather and the material cost was $1200 he is not charging much for labour.

 

[Lakesailor]

It happens quite a lot, that we get a New User who gives no detail about his query.
We don't know where he is, what the boat is, what the agreement he made with the supplier was, anything at all really.
Our advice is pointless as we all assumed that English law would prevail.

 

[robertj]

If you do not rebuff his claim in writing within 14-28 days he can sell your seats, that's the law.
Send him a Notice of intent and claim of Right regarding your property. Offer a price you feel fit for the job he has done, this now take you into the realm of opening dispute which if not settled by you and the vinyl guy, only the courts can decide.
If he does sell you seats then just thank you lucky stars and start court proceedings as he will be in dishonour of the Notice.
Inform the police that he has stolen you seats, they will try and fob you off and say this is civil not criminal, remind them that he has the right under civil law to pursue you via the court system and ask the constable to stand under his 'Oath', this particular phrase concentrates their mindset somewhat.

Good luck

It is very difficult to get seats to bend and not have wrinkles which if pointed out to you in the first place by the guy you're on a looser with him.

I don't have them. He's holding my seat and telling me I need to pay him in full or he is selling my seat in 30 days. Says he doesn't care what I think.

 

[robertj]

First he has to get his seats back.

It's **** workmanship. Tell him to either correct it, or you will get somebody else to do so and deduct that cost from his bill. Do it in writing and give him a fixed date to have it sorted out.

 

[ytd]

pay the man. they will get creased the first time you sit on them and by season's end will have acquired permanent creases and some stains.

 

[Jassira]

It's worth considering how much of your life and boating time could be swallowed up trying to litigate your way to justice. It might be better to take it on the chin and get on with your life.

 

[Lakesailor]

I'm guessing it's a mobo. Part of the raison d'etre is to look nice.

 

[longjohnsilver]

pay the man. they will get creased the first time you sit on them and by season's end will have acquired permanent creases and some stains.

Agreed. They look fine to my untrained eye.And if you don't, as you're talking $ we have no idea what your legal standing is in whichever country you are.

 

[Steve C Cronin]

Isn't rucked leather considered fashionable? The door panels on my BMW have a similar finish.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Although some seams are not parallel which is a pity, the back rest panels look as if they only need a little more padding out and would then look loads better.

As others have said...."what country?" whose dollars?

S.

 

[TimBennet]

In this country, in order to legally NOT pay for all or a proportion of the bill, you have to prove that the supplied goods were not 'fit for purpose' or that there was a breach of contract.

'Fit for Purpose' is easy to contest when you bought something to perform a function and it doesn't do that. The intended function of the item forms an implicit part of the mutual understanding you had with the vendor and as such, doesn't need to be detailed or specified. Similarly (and despite what might be depicted in porn films), asking someone to come round and service the boiler is contractually sufficient as it's a common and widely understood task.

However, issues of aesthetics are much, much harder to contest. These seats probably are 'fit for purpose', so you would have to prove that either; in the buying replacement seats for a Mobo, the aesthetics is so central and so basic to the process that no specific reference to standards needed to be mentioned, or alternatively, that in the drawing up of the 'contract' with the upholsterer, you showed 'due diligence' in ascertaining the quality you wanted. Did you take along a sample, a photo or look at some of his other work to establish the standard you were after?. If you didn't show due diligence with regards to the quality required and just focussed on the price and time scale etc, then pay up and enjoy them - they're all yours.

Managing customer's expectations of paint jobs in yacht refits has been a life long millstone. Unless a customer says 'I want the very best regardless of cost' you have to establish where the compromise will fall for both parties to the contract to be happy.

 

[KellysEye]

Assuming you haven't paid him walk away and take the pictures to Trading Standards.

 

[NickTrevethan]

Looks pretty dreadful to me. Getting your seat back is the key.

I think you need to remind him that the seat is your property and if he sells it, you will file criminal charges for theft. Tell him you are happy to meet him in court if he want to claim ownership.

As for the work it is substandard. In fact it needs to be redone. If the material is useable, pay for that and a token amount for cutting etc.

Then pay someone else to do job right.

 

[ffiill]

To me that is a very complex bit of work with all the "decorative " inserts.
Vinyl cushion covers as an amateur with sewing machine skills I have done no problem.
Agree it looks poor but wonder at what the man usually does-bar seating? Or does he advertise as specialising in complex shapes ?
I also wonder about the weight of the vinyl as lighter stuff is more likely to do this.
In my opinion that's the advantage of traditional upholstery given a dry boat like mine

 

[abraxus]

In the absence of any solution from the supplier have you tried this?