Tattooist Moved To Miami Before Finishing Inking, Now The Shop Wants Me To Pay $400

By consumerist.com June 6, 2007

    My brother went to a tattoo shop in Dallas and paid for a tattoo to be placed on his arm. He paid the shop $500. The artist designed and inked the tattoo. He told my brother that he would have to come back after it healed to have it filled in completely. So, when my brother went back to the shop, he was told that the artist who had worked on him was now living in Miami. My brother asked if anyone else could finish the shading and there was quite a few guys who volunteered, for an extra 400 dollars. You see, the shop said that they only rented the seat to the artist, and the contract was between my brother and the artist, not the shop. They felt no obligation at all to finish the job. What recourse does he have?

    -Enrique

Not much, we think. Your brother could see about getting in contact with the original artist. Maybe he would be willing to cash a favor with another tattooist in that shop or in your area to fulfill his obligation. You might also try talking with the shop manager more, and mention how it might be bad for business if their parlor got known for housing a fly-by-night operation. This is one you’ll have to flex a little negotiating muscle on to make the mermaid dance.

Any readers been in similar situations or have relevant tattoo parlor experience to share? — BEN POPKEN

(Photo: Megabn)

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Comments

  1. Jerim says:
    June 13, 2007 at 4:18 pm

    The question here is who did you give the money to? Did you give the money to the artist, who turned around and paid the shop their share? Or did you pay the shop who turned around and paid the artist his share? That is the fundamental question of who is in charge here. If you paid the artist directly, and he was going to turn around and pay the shop out of that, then your beef is with the artist.

    You can try suing the shop, but if the guy was a contractor as they allege, then all they are obligated to do is give you any contact info for the guy. I wouldn’t worry about pissing off the artist, as he seems to have moved out of the area. What are the chances you will use his services in the future anyway?

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