Mechanic Refuses to Finish Work

[gpdiesel]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: New york

I was rear ended in a car accident recently. There was some minor damage to my car. My back bumper is slightly out of place and i can't open my trunk because the floor was bent upward. I opened a no fault claim and took my car to an auto body shop based on friends recommendation. In order for geico to inspect the damage the mechanic took off the door panels on my trunk and broke the door latch to open the door and gain access to take of the back bumper. The gieco inspector came over a month ago and gave the mechanic an estimate . At this point everything seemed to be going fine and i thought i would have my car back in no time. i called mechanic a few days later and he said it would be done at teh end of the week but it wasn't. I called the 2nd week and he said it would done by the end of the week but it wasn't. i called begining of third week and he said he had to order latch. I drive by the end of the 3rd week and mechanic shows me the latch that just came in. he said it came in today and he ordered it last week. He also says he'll have his guy paint the bumper and install the latch tomorrow. I call the 4th week and one of his employees says they lost my bumper and had to order another one.

At this point i just want to take my car and get it out of there but im not sure if geico will allow it since they are paying for it. WHen i called gieco they still haven't sent out check and they said i can have it mailed to me or mechanic. After i get my check what are my options.

I'm afraid of this guy trying to charge me storage fees on top of the little work he did on it (take apart panels and bumper) or filing a mechanics lien. is he setting me up for this ?

Thank you in advance for any help or insight you can provide. I really appreciate it.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If I were to guess at the issue, for whatever that's worth, it would be to speculate that the mechanic underestimated the cost of repairs. If you accept the check from the insurance company as satisfaction of your claim, that's all you're going to get. Similarly if you authorize the insurance company to pay the mechanic as satisfaction of your claim, that doesn't mean that he'll work any harder or faster - just that you're ending the involvement of your insurance company. It's unfortunate that you chose the mechanic, as that makes what appears to have turned out to be a poor choice your responsibility.

You can try instructing him that you need the car repair completed, that he's repeatedly promised to have the work done by specific dates, and that if he is unable to complete the work you will have to have the vehicle towed elsewhere for completion of the repair, deducting the cost of completion from the amount he agreed to accept to perform the repair. I can't promise that he'll have a smile on his face if you present such an ultimatum, but it may inspire him to finish the work.