This is why I hate to take referrals from friends.

So, as you may recall, I was looking to pick up a 1950 Dodge Route Van that had been sitting for 50+ years, and was a bit concerned about being able to unearth it and get it home, as it was over 2 hours away, and I was working (7) 11 hour shifts each night. 

Well, my friend recommends a guy that he has been using to pick up derelict Step Vans for years. $250 he says.  I ask if he has shown the guy photos of what he is dealing with.  He says he has. I say "DEAL!"  

Well, a couple days later, and now it is up to $300. What can I do? I've already scheduled with the seller. Then I find out he isn't planning to contact the seller with an approximate pick up time until he is about a hour away.  I get that sorted out the day before pickup. 

Then, the day of, I get a text from my friend saying it was hard to get out of the ground. "What do you want to do?"  What can I do?  I just threw away $300.  But the kicker is in the next post...

So I contact the seller, since I want to know how long this guy actually spent trying to get the Route Van out. I was told "over an hour" which is still a third of how long I expected it to take me if I went there. 

However-

And that's not the worst of it...

It's going to take some time for me to stop being POed about this one...

In reply to Sine_Qua_Non :

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Ouch. 

Cooter said:

In reply to Sine_Qua_Non :

I have no idea what you are talking about.

I was making a guess about Ian F’s prediction but you already came out with your kicker before I posted it. 

Mistake one:  You didn't talk to the moving guy directly and explain the condition as you and him looked at the photos at the same time.

I've been involved in managing engineering and fabrication jobs for over 25 years. 

So I have dealt with lots of costly miscommunications where I have been called in to fix the problem after the deeds were done.

Every disconnect comes from one or both parties making assumptions by filling in the blanks via their imagination instead of digging in and making sure everyone fully understands all the rat killing necessary to get the job done.      Its the old saying: When you assume you make an a$$ of you and me.

Gotcha. He didn't even try. That rear suspension has a ton of droop, and he would need to crib it and reposition the jack several times just to get the wheels to start lifting. He made up his mind to just take the money and make zero effort to get it out. 

Now I have to go down there myself and take care of it anyway.

jharry3 said:

Mistake one:  You didn't talk to the moving guy directly and explain the condition as you and him looked at the photos at the same time.

I've been involved in managing engineering and fabrication jobs for over 25 years. 

So I have dealt with lots of costly miscommunications where I have been called in to fix the problem after the deeds were done.

Every disconnect comes from one or both parties making assumptions by filling in the blanks via their imagination instead of digging in and making sure everyone fully understands all the rat killing necessary to get the job done.      Its the old saying: When you assume you make an a$$ of you and me.

I couldn't talk to the mover directly. It was my friend's account. 

And both my friend and I were very clear on what was needed. He had photos, and was told it had been sitting for 50 years up to the frame. I was very clear about that. 

Cooter said:

jharry3 said:

Mistake one:  You didn't talk to the moving guy directly and explain the condition as you and him looked at the photos at the same time.

I've been involved in managing engineering and fabrication jobs for over 25 years. 

So I have dealt with lots of costly miscommunications where I have been called in to fix the problem after the deeds were done.

Every disconnect comes from one or both parties making assumptions by filling in the blanks via their imagination instead of digging in and making sure everyone fully understands all the rat killing necessary to get the job done.      Its the old saying: When you assume you make an a$$ of you and me.

I couldn't talk to the mover directly. It was my friend's account. 

I do not wish to offend you but that is the point to walk away.   $300 is the price for this life lesson...  Its like Ronald Reagan said "Trust but verify".  Its actually an old Stalin saying Reagan stole to throw Gorbachev off balance.    It really means don't trust anyone .

So why the heck did you pay him?

I don't have every text message, here is some of the the conversation on FB.  This was also carried out via phone, email, and many texts. This guy has pulled out vehicles in worse shape, and in worse dispositions. 

In reply to GarageGorilla :

He was paid in cash up front.  He also had the money to buy the vehicle, since the seller didn't have the title in hand when I first went to see it .

In reply to jharry3 :

I did verify.  I asked for information of what jobs the guy had done before.  I had seen those jobs on FB.  I was in contact the entire time. 

As I was reading post #1 I expected this to end with something like, "it's too rough, you don't want it."  Then I expected him to buy it out from under you (with some of your own money.) 

Or, "I can't pull it out." Then he pulled it out for himself. 

I figured this since the guy had a reputation in step vans. 

I'd say it was a Ole fashion street berking.  You'll have to solve it with some Ole fashion street justice.  Take it out of his ass, somehow. 

In reply to John Welsh :

My friend has the the reputation with Step Vans.  We have made hundreds of deals over the years, including trips to pick up vans for each other. He will be going with me to get the Route Van this weekend if the seller can get it up out of the holes by then.  

The guy who was supposed to transport was flat out dishonest.  But he has never owned a step van, nor is he interested in them. 

So now that his phone number is on the internet we should be mature about this right? 

John Welsh said:

I'd say it was a Ole fashion street berking.  You'll have to solve it with some Ole fashion street justice.  Take it out of his ass, somehow. 

It's really not worth the effort, to be honest.  In the end, it is just money.  Money that I can't afford to throw away, but money, nonetheless.    It isn't worth bringing myself down to his level just for revenge.   I've been through too much in my life to let this turn me into that sort of person.

1SlowVW said:

So now that his phone number is on the internet we should be mature about this right? 

If you can't be mature enough, at least be smart enough to realize exactly whose number that is....

In reply to Cooter :

Full disclosure it was a joke and I don’t have it in me to harass people I’ve never met. 

I certainly wouldn’t harass someone who’s selling that van so it can be saved as opposed to being crushed for scrap.

The owner of the van is in a nursing home, after suffering a stroke and a traffic accident a while ago.   The son has Power Of Attorney, and lives in Nashville.   The number is of my contact who is facilitating the sale.  He is a neighbor who has been a caretaker of the property for some time now.   He is selling off the property, and the vehicles on it, to help pay for the bills at the nursing home for the owner of the van and his wife, who has been at the nursing home for a few years now.

The whole thing is a really sad story, to be honest..

Wow that does sound rough, hopefully this whole botched trucking incident doesn’t get you down. Looks like a cool project and it sounds like the money your paying them is going to a good cause.

Cooter said:

And both my friend and I were very clear on what was needed. He had photos, and was told it had been sitting for 50 years up to the frame. I was very clear about that. 

And he was getting paid if he brought it back or not- all he had to do was show up and make an effort.

So, that's what he did.

Sorry it worked out that way for you. That sucks.

Would a diesel 4x4 with good tires in 4 low pop it free?