Véronique’s mother wanted to have her husband’s watch – a time-consuming Swiss watch – repaired by a jewelry store. More than six months later, she still hasn’t gotten it back. In question? The store still has not produced the parts necessary for its reconstruction. Faced with this delay which is lengthening from month to month, she wishes to recover her property… but the jewelry store refuses. She is outraged via the orange Alert Us button.
“I have the feeling that she was played with“, says Véronique via the orange Alert Us button. Her mother, Graziella, 80 years old, dropped off a valuable object for repair last June: a time-consuming Swiss watch, gilded on both sides, having belonged to her husband. “She wanted to repair it to give it to my brother, for his sixty birthday“, she adds.
While Graziella drops off the precious watch in the jewelry store, the saleswoman tells her that “there will be five hundred euros in costs“… Without giving her a quote. The pensioner doesn’t pay attention to it and leaves confidently.
Summer, autumn… Months pass without any news from the jewelry store. In September, Véronique, tormented, calls out to her mother: “It’s strange that you didn’t receive the watch“, she told him. “It’s starting to worry me. We have no news, no phone calls“. The more time passes, the more the concern grows. Faced with the lack of clear explanations from the store, Véronique takes the problem head on and tries to get in touch with the sellers.
The response obtained, through perseverance and emails, does not sufficiently address his fears: “This is what the saleswoman replied to me: “We are not thieves. I can’t do anything for you, the watch is dismantled and we have to wait to repair it. When we have news, we will contact you again”.
“It bothers me”
“It’s true that the parts (of the watch, editor’s note) are no longer current and that they must be manufactured, but what I didn’t like is that on the receipt, it is noted that “if the repair has not been removed within one year, it automatically becomes the property of the jewelry store”“, Véronique is alarmed. “This sentence worries me, it bothers me“.
In addition to having suffered a refusal after asking to recover her watch (even unrepaired), Véronique is afraid of seeing the jewel belonging to the boutique in a few months.
For its part, the jewelry store, located in Aywaille, reassures: this rule only applies when the repair is completed and a date has been set. Concerning the deadline, the boss sees no problem. “It takes time, time for the quote“…Yes, but problem: no estimate seems to have been provided.
“He was told that the pieces had to be made to measure“, she insists. “We provide a service to people and we only have problems“, the boss annoys. As for the refusal to return the watch to its owner, the jewelry store is categorical: “The part is still under repair, it is currently impossible to return it“.
We have the right to demand our good in return
Yet, “from the moment you have announced a price or have a receipt, you have the right to demand your property in return“, refutes the law firm Alpha Legal. “If she has proof, the jeweler can be put on notice“. And if the formal notice does not work: “No choice, you have to go to the justice of the peace or to the company court, for the jeweler“, adds the firm.
What is a formal notice?
Behind this term hides a simple principle: a written request to the opposing party. This is a “reminder that asks a person to fulfill his obligation. If she does not do this, we can start counting the late payment interest, and ask for damages.“, indicates Droit Quotidien Legal Info. It is advisable to issue this formal notice before taking legal action against the person who does not respect the obligation.
The written record is essential in this case: “In writing, by email, by registered mail… Always have a written record, describe what happened as well as our request. It is the basis of everything“, recommends Alpha Legal.
I don’t want to get into a conflict
Currently, Graziella still hasn’t gotten her husband’s watch back. Her daughter, Véronique, gave the jewelry store an ultimatum: “I proposed an attempt at an arrangement: within six months, either it is repaired or it is returned“.
The latter is crossing her fingers that the jewel will finally be ready for next summer: “I don’t want to get into a conflict… We’ll see“.
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