as most know my 68 short step truck went to get painted. it was dropped off at shop A to get the job done, then unbeknowns to me it went to a diffrent shop (carlos took it there) cause he got fired from shop A. after 8 mounths of his lies of when hes gonna be finished with it, and numerious phone calls and emails (i got no answers from), i finally got ahold of him.. i streight-up asked him when he would have it done, he said April 12. he also said since i wasted my time driving 8 hours (1 way) driveing to him (the first time) he'd deliver it to me in tulsa.. welp he changed his story to meeting me half way in dallas, when i called to confirm the plans on WED april 9. i agreed to meet him in dallas to get the truck...i rented a trailer, drove 4hours one way to dallas, and asked my brother (who took off work) to go with me, we get out there and 12pm rolls around (the desinated pick-up time) and he doesnt show... i call his cell # and get no answer, i call his shop phone and get no answer, so i keep calling both of them for 45min streight till a girl answers and i ask if he was there. she said yes but hes with a customer, can he call you back?, i tell her tell him this is don and i wanna talk to him now. she does and he comes to the phone and starts yelling at me cause i told her to interupt his conversation.. i told him i drive 4hours to meet him and he doesnt even show, hes lied to me numerious times, :blah:..... so bottom line is the day ended with me driveing over 600mi and over 130$ worth of gas, and me calling Houston PD and reporting my truck stollen....
TO ALL THAT HAVE BEEN SCREWED BY HIM, I WILL BE SUIEING HIM AND ILL BE WILLING TO FOOT THE BILL IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN ME IN A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT...

-
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=260335

LockDoc

Sorry to hear about your trouble but I think I would have driven the rest of the way andf picked up my truck no matter what condition it was in.
Hope you work it all out!

Kevin
LFD Inc.

IM thinkin that I would have driven the rest of the way also...but then agian maybe I would not have knowing that my anger would be throught the roof by the time I got there and things could have gotten real ugly..possibly? Man I sure hope you get your ride back..

Man that sucks whay a jacka$$ hopefully you get your truck back soon!

whats his address. I can drive by and see if its there and what if anything has been done on it.

whats his address. I can drive by and see if its there and what if anything has been done on it.

I would think some of the people that sent cowl panels to him would have it... (In the link I posted above) Sounds like it might be at a shop somewhere though.

LockDoc

If we would have driven all the way, Carlos wanted to charge $8800+ for a truck that is IN PIECES AND NOT FULLY PAINTED! This is above the agreed amount owed for a COMPLETED truck by more than $6000! He has already been paid for the work he has done up to this point, and the rest was to be paid today when we went to pick it up half way. This guy is a straight up crook plain and simple. I hope my brother gets his truck back, and I hope Carlos gets what he deserves! :mad:

whats his address. I can drive by and see if its there and what if anything has been done on it.

"CARLOS BERNAIL OF ALL-PRO COLLISON IN DICKINSON TEXAS 4815 FM 646 RD E"

If we would have driven all the way, Carlos wanted to charge $8800+ for a truck that is IN PIECES AND NOT FULLY PAINTED! This is above the agreed amount owed for a COMPLETED truck by more than $6000! He has already been paid for the work he has done up to this point, and the rest was to be paid today when we went to pick it up half way. This guy is a straight up crook plain and simple. I hope my brother gets his truck back, and I hope Carlos gets what he deserves! :mad:

:tms::box::metal:....my thoughts exactly!

I would be on his door step because at this point I only see this situation getting worse. I would also take the cops just to keep me from making the situation worse.

How do you owe a crook any money? You sent it to shop "A" for a paint job. Go back to that shop and ask for your truck, when they say it is not their call the local PD and have a report made for a stolen vehical. Then I am sure shop "A" will give the new info to shop "B" were your truck will be a "theft recovery"

Kevin
LFD Inc.

Need to chime in here. Carlos is not much different than any other restoration shop I have done ANY business with. To include moonlighters from these shops. I learned my lesson also.........

Need to chime in here. Carlos is not much different than any other restoration shop I have done ANY business with. To include moonlighters from these shops. I learned my lesson also.........

:agree:

Well I can say this...on my truck Curt is doing 100% of the restoration work. This includes engine, tranny, body, and interior work. Curt said figure on 4-6 months for completion and so far he is on target. There are a lot of good shops around but sadly to many bad shops who lack integrity. 68 short step...sorry to hear about all these problems that you are experiencing. I feel very blessed to have a a Guy like Curt doing restoration on my truck.

I really hope you can get this thing sorted mate and have your truck returned ASAP, this horror story has made me angry as hell just reading about it, and the crap he has put the other folks through in the link that LocDoc posted...this Carlos bloke needs a good hammering.

if the paint and body shops were like 68 short step, no one would have anything to worry about. He is truly a classy guy and for someone to treat him that way is truly classless. carlos should be ashamed of himself. I will never be able to say how good of a fella don is.

I hate to hear of your troubles. This type of crap happened with my 71' Lil' Red...I had to go in the shop and physically take my truck, I had fears it would end up in Mexico. I hope you get your truck back, good luck!!!!!

Don,

I am sorry to hear this has happened to you. What is sad, it that other members have there truck with him as well.

Don,

I am sorry to hear this has happened to you. What is sad, it that other members have there truck with him as well.

other then randomhero who else?

Man, I do feel for you guys. I do have to say that when Carlos ran the body shop for the Chevy dealer in Nederland Texas, he took real good care of me. My 2000 model Chevy truck had significant hurricane damage (big limb across the cab). He fought the insurance guys, did a good repair and had it back to me when promised. I don't know what happened to him since he moved back to the Houston area. I hope he gets his act together. I also wish y'all better luck with your trucks.

Shovel

Hey 68 short step
Sorry about your truck. The paint and body work are the worst things about project vehicles. I hear it more and more. I have been there. Done that. I agree with shovelhead about Carlos. It sounds like he took in more than he can get out. He bought the 72 blue and white swb cheyenne from me a couple years ago. Seemed to be ok to me. I know he was supposed to have your truck done for Goodguys last year. (I think it was you). Anyway, if he tells you to come and get it. I will go get it and store it for you. He is about a hour and half away. I have 2 carhaulers and can winch it up if it does not run. I do not think Carlos would give me a hard time, unless he has just done a 180. Let me know if i can help.

That goes for Randomhero also. I just remembered him......

SORRY to hear of your situation. I talked to him about doing some work
and decided to pass. I got lucky on this one.

I would recommend you go get the truck asap.

how do you guys expect him to pick it up if they won't give it to him...i personally took don to get it last year and they would not give it to him....yes i can take my shot gun and load up and go down there or whip everybody's ass in the shop, but unless i plan to spend sometime behind bars over is nonsense.... it's not gonna happen until the two mutually agree on a price or don sues carlos and is ordered to give it back to don....but for you guys to say to simply go get it...it's just not that easy unless your willing to pay the consequences!

killer is right. If it were that simple, we would have gone down there saturday. Hell, we were already half way there! The guy threw a curve ball, which was honestly a bit anticipated since all the dealings leading up to this have been screwy and shady. He needs to be taught a lesson thats for sure. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if someone were to shoot up the shop like killer had said the way he seems to be running his business.

Hey Killer
I understand what you are saying. This is all of Carlos bad dealings. All i am saying is if he says to come and get this truck out of my shop NOW. If you tell him you are turning it over to a lawyer, he might change his tune. If i was wrong and you told me that. I would tell you to come and get it. If for some reason something like this happens. I am offering to help go get it. That is all i am saying.

Hey Killer
I understand what you are saying. This is all of Carlos bad dealings. All i am saying is if he says to come and get this truck out of my shop NOW. If you tell him you are turning it over to a lawyer, he might change his tune. If i was wrong and you told me that. I would tell you to come and get it. If for some reason something like this happens. I am offering to help go get it. That is all i am saying.



yep i gotcha...but that ain't carlos's tune. He wants another approx. 8,000 g's before the truck can leave, so for right now don's hands are tied until he figures how out he's gonna handle it!

Was there a written estimate provided? If so, check your state's repair laws - generally if a written estimate was provided it can't be exceeded by more than a certain amount, and the work must be completed in a reasonable time. Sounds like you're already going down the attorney route (good call) and they'll know all that stuff :)

Was there a written estimate provided? If so, check your state's repair laws - generally if a written estimate was provided it can't be exceeded by more than a certain amount, and the work must be completed in a reasonable time. Sounds like you're already going down the attorney route (good call) and they'll know all that stuff :)

Yep show up if he has a signed work order with $ figures your going uphill .
If not or he is beyond the original est. I'd show up to remove it (w/ the Police) You may or may not leave with it but you'll have a leg to stand on if Police make a report. Note current condition ! so he can't trash it.
Find a Officer that wants to help ! You'll be way ahead .
If you just call Police they wont want to show up . Unless you sneak them in
call 911 give the address and hang up .
Good luck ! Oh just thought of this . Is there a work order at this new shop ?
If not maybe the stolen vehicle route might be a good bet.

Yep show up if he has a signed work order with $ figures your going uphill .
If not or he is beyond the original est. I'd show up to remove it (w/ the Police) You may or may not leave with it but you'll have a leg to stand on if Police make a report. Note current condition ! so he can't trash it.
Find a Officer that wants to help ! You'll be way ahead .
If you just call Police they wont want to show up . Unless you sneak them in
call 911 give the address and hang up .
Good luck ! Oh just thought of this . Is there a work order at this new shop ?
If not maybe the stolen vehicle route might be a good bet.

You guys are making it alot more difficult then it should be.

You call the cops, and report the vehicle stolen. Its at a shop and they wont release it. They will ask the shop owner (carlos) for a copy of the work order with the amount on it that you have signed, WHEN he cant come up with that, they will order him to release the vehicle. Then its up to carlos to sue YOU for the money he thinks he is owed.

I run a shop here in seattle, and its VERY easy for cust.s to get out of paying their bill.... Its on us as a shop to collect the funds.

Example. I called a cust. gave them an estimate for $2200 dollars of work, they ok'd it and it was about 11:00 am when they okd the work. Well, i forgot to put that in the computer, i later put that the cust. okd the work at 2pm. Cust. showed up, and said he didnt ok the work, i said you did and showed him the work order. He states he wasnt at that number at 2pm.... Long story short, we released the car and had to sue for the money. We lost.... Just because i didnt have the correct estimate in the computer...

I don't know if all this talk is a good idea on here. I would hate for this guy to be reading all this. Just incase this carlos is looking at this site and not being loged on.

It may not help the cause. But that's just my .02

Might want to just PM him this info.

can't pm he's banned...

can't pm he's banned...

not carlos. PM 68 short step the info.

carlos could have another name by now or just reading all of this with out logging on. I just don't want 68 short step's truck to get distroyed before he get it back.

here is the scoop, im forced to shell out $$ either way i turn..the lawyer i talked to, after fwding all carlos and i emails and our work contract, said its a very simple case to win since everything, dates with times, phone recorders, and my build up page (with 429 additional photos).. was more then enough to get my truck back or recoupe all my investments i have in the truck...i have 3 places to put a lawsuit against shop A (where i originally dropped the truck off at), Carlos with ALL-PRO, and the actual owner of the building in which all pro operates out of......My first step was to contact the owner and see what he knows about this situation and inform him about whats going on, and try to work something out..... well i made contact with the owner and he seams to be working with me...

Glad to hear something is going your way. Sounds like a nightmare. Depending on what you actually owe him it sounds to me like you could get your truck back with no money out of your pocket if you went to court. This guy took your truck and you had to hunt him down. You went 4 hours to meet him and he doesn't show up. With pain, suffering and your out of pocket expenses he should owe you some money. You may not want to take it that far, but I would. If I could get out of this nightmare by paying a lawyer what I was gonna pay that crook I would do it in a minute.

My .02

Glad to hear something is going your way. Sounds like a nightmare. Depending on what you actually owe him it sounds to me like you could get your truck back with no money out of your pocket if you went to court. This guy took your truck and you had to hunt him down. You went 4 hours to meet him and he doesn't show up. With pain, suffering and your out of pocket expenses he should owe you some money. You may not want to take it that far, but I would. If I could get out of this nightmare by paying a lawyer what I was gonna pay that crook I would do it in a minute.

My .02



My thoughts exactly...he should definitely owe something for all the drama, wasted gas/time he's caused!:metal:

From what I have read about Carlos in this thread, he's a real POS:mad: If he is reading this: shame on him for screwing a fellow board member!:censored:

I can relate to getting behind and not being able to finish on time, but this goes a quite a bit further than that. He's trying to jack up the price as well. Running behind on projects will start to get in your wallet with labor costs adding up, but a person who runs an honest business just bites that bullet and learns from his mistake. What we have here is a dishonest business owner that is trying to make the customer pay for his own misfortune/mistakes. That's flat out wrong.

What we have here is a dishonest business owner that is trying to make the customer pay for his own misfortune/mistakes. That's flat out wrong.

100% accurate..... hit the nail on the head!!!!

Prove its a criminal act on Carlos part then you have leverage. Otherwise it a civilmatter. Cops do not like to get in volved. Make a police or Sherris report stating your issues tell the law enforce ment your intentions then go get your stuff. Worked here 4 me.
Same sorts of jerks everywhere. Its your ride , he missed the target date , failure in performance. When the bidder is eagar to get the work and can doit right now as they say. Skip that guy.

I must be living under a rock.. havent been on the site for a couple weeks and seemed to have missed a ton of b.s. which unfortunatly don doesnt suprise me... I too have gotten the MEGA-SHAFT and have been waiting patiently to figure out a way to get my truck back w/o getting hit w/a huge bill when i walk through the door or it ending in violence... I really hate this because im the kind of person who trusts strangers unless proven otherwise, and carlos and i had a great relationship for the first few months, then abrubptly everything changed, and now my truck is also 8 hours away and go knows if its even there at this shop

I was contacted by him 3 days ago and was told i needed to come get the truck by may 3, so i'll make damn sure i'm down there before then

Sorry some are having this trouble!

Maybe if all of you (having problems) band together and show up w/ the police? Its only a token gesture, but maybe the sight of several people w/ police could help.

Then again, its a gray area and the police don't really want any part of it. :(

I had actually made plans to go get it here 3 weeks ago, but at litteraly last minute got an email saying he wouldnt be there to give me my parts, and never heard back until last thursday when he told me i needed to get it before may 3, what a nightmare!

I'm just reading this thread for the first time and now i'm burning up. What a load of $hit!

We got any members down near Dickinson who'd be willing to do some drive- by's? I'm thinking we need to know days and times this POS Carlos is at the shop so if 68 Short Step or Randomhero want to get the cops or a lawyer over there (or shoot the place up), they know when's the best time to do it.

randomhero, it sounds like you and don need to start talking, split lawyer costs to have the same papers filed and same suit tended to.

They (LLEA) will show up if you give a "keeping the peace call" they will not intervien unless it gets rough. It might be enough to get your stuff, and I agree get together with anyone else that has gotten the shaft from him so the LEA sees this isn't just sour grapes, 2-3-4 people all show up with the same story of getting ripped off could be cause for some type of intervention, probably still civil, but again split the lawyers fees 3 ways and hit him hard!!

They (LLEA) will show up if you give a "keeping the peace call" they will not intervien unless it gets rough. It might be enough to get your stuff, and I agree get together with anyone else that has gotten the shaft from him so the LEA sees this isn't just sour grapes, 2-3-4 people all show up with the same story of getting ripped off could be cause for some type of intervention, probably still civil, but again split the lawyers fees 3 ways and hit him hard!!

Once again, he can NOT keep your vehicle from you if he doesnt have proof of you signing something stating the amount he wants.

But the cops cannot force him to give it up, that is the civil part. I guess the only thing that could change that is if you file a stolen vehicle report (not like he rolled up and stole them, but that he is sitting on them and won't give them back). Man, this sucks, I feel for you guys.

But the cops cannot force him to give it up, that is the civil part. I guess the only thing that could change that is if you file a stolen vehicle report (not like he rolled up and stole them, but that he is sitting on them and won't give them back). Man, this sucks, I feel for you guys.

Ooohhh yes they can.. If he proves that its his vehicle with title and registration, and carlos doesnt have proof of a proper estimate, absolutely they will make him release the vehicle.

after some communication w/him today via email i'll be heading down to houston tomorrow afternoon to pick up my truck, i was told i have no bill, i owe him nothing and it'll be waiting for me... we'll see what happens, should have an update sunday sometime

Things like this are a shame. But it is one more reason to learn to do bodywork yourself. The knowledge you have gained by this experience should be turned into the drive to DIY. Good Luck w/getting it back.both of you.

I'm going to go ahead and chime in being the local resident expert on law enforcement (look at my avatar). Now keep in mind I am a deputy in Florida, so the laws in Texas may be different. Let me also qualify myself as the expert. I've been the pOlice since 2000 and was a street cop for six years before flying around in helicopters. Believe me now?

Okay. Here in Florida, were I to pull up on a scene simliar to this, we would not get involved. This is a civil issue wherein services were rendered and there is a dispute in payment. We could not force a person such as Carlos to give anything up.

We, the pOlice, specifically deal in criminal issues. The route necessary to solve such an issue is the one that Don is taking, through the civil court system.

I would have had to explain the same to Don, and tell him there is literally nothing I could do. Nor would I write a report indicating that his vehicle is stolen, because it isn't.

Most times people have requested a report, which I was always glad to do for them. But, they always expected that my report would render a "judgement" in their favor. I have recieved many a call from people upset that my report only tells the story that was told to me by both parties, and that it specifically stated that the Sheriff's Office would take no involvment in this dispute.

Yes, it's a raw deal, but these situations do not fall under the purview of law enforcement.

Those are good points showing that you guys aren't really in the judgement business, but more of an info gathering, reporting, catching bad people, and generally trying to keep the loonies (like me) at bay role.

On the other hand, people in your line of work make judgement calls all day, and your presence, along with a stern look may be enough to get the car released. Of course, in the world today, that could get you in trouble I guess.

Yes that would very much get me in trouble. That would be coercion and would literally be an abuse of the powers vested in me.

Most judgement calls that I would make would be determining if there is probable cause to believe that a person has, is, or is about to commit a crime.

And, of course, where to eat lunch.

Yes that would very much get me in trouble. That would be coercion and would literally be an abuse of the powers vested in me.

Most judgement calls that I would make would be determining if there is probable cause to believe that a person has, is, or is about to commit a crime.

And, of course, where to eat lunch.

and where to find the best donuts...........(golfclap)

Keep us updated.

and where to find the best donuts...........(golfclap)

Keep us updated.

I was thinking glazed or filled....... :lol:

Hope this all works out for everyone.

Cool Keep Us Posted Hope All Goes Well.

Hope it goes well..

UPDATE! Went down to houston and picked up the truck, with no problems from either carlos or the shop owner.. The truck is in sad shape however, a lot of rust from sitting outside for a year, some of the primer is flaked off and the windows were left down, but hey i got the truck back, thats all that really matters to me... This thing has some feelings attached to it for me, and i guess having this past year to look at the plans i've decided to go a littler further with the mods and such, so here in the next week or so i'll be starting a new build thread and will be doing 95% of the work myself, somthing i should have done in the first place...
DON, PM ME ASAP, i have some info on your truck, but dont want to post it here first, i tried calling sat morning

Glad to see you got ur truck back.. Hope dons is ok...

Good News!!!!

:agree:

I might as well be the first to do it,

:wop:

:sexy:

Glad to hear you got it back. Best of luck on the second go around, :).

The next person that talks to Carlos should remind him that he stole $50 from me through the US mail.

The sherrif here says it is a Texas problem. The Deer Park police are too busy eating donuts. The attorney general there said they filed my complaint but are too busy seperating women from their children to worry about criminals like Carlos.

I just wonder how Carlos sleeps at night.

Good News!!!!

:agree:

The next person that talks to Carlos should remind him that he stole $50 from me through the US mail.

Two words. Mail fraud.

Glad you got it. Glad your doing the work yourself now. It'll help you in the long run.

any word on 68 short step's truck?

wow.. I am less than a hour away from dickinson and was going to get Carlos to do some work for me.. He even came to look at my truck and a friends 69 Chevelle to do some work on. We couldnt ever get a time that was good for us both so I could drop my truck off. I need two bedsides welded up, hell I may do it myself.

got the truck back. it looks great, capple restoration did the bodywork/paint and it looks great. (pics in my build thread)
im just happy its back home with me

Glad you and hero got your rides back Don. Congrats!!:D

I normally like to stay out of these things but he has wasted no time after the Hurricane to advertise his business. I just could not resist.

http://houston.craigslist.org/aos/840632844.html

just files a complaint with them...id highly recommend that all who have been screwed by him file a complaint and request for a refund or whatever you want...here is his BBB prfile
http://houston.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=148&bbb=0915&firm=58002690