Long story short, I took my car to a shop December 2023 for an engine rebuild. I paid $3000 up front, as well as $1500 a few weeks later for some other work that I figured I might as well get it knocked out since it was there (this was just for the parts, I'd pay the rest when I picked up the car).

Well it's been 10 months and pretty much the only thing I got out of the shop was 1 excuse after the other and "it'll be done next week!" Only to arrive and find the car untouched. For 10 months it just sat, rotting outside with no work ever being done to it. But every time I stopped by (like once a month) I was given some excuse about labor shortage or something, yet he always had new projects on the rack.

Well I pulled my car from the shop (which took days because the guy kept pushing back when I could come get it) and now he's pretty much refusing to refund me any money back. Any time I tried to talk to him in the last month, he freaks out calling me entitled and wanting instant gratification (like wanting an engine rebuild done in a year is crazy??).

So not only did he steal $4500 from me, my car is also in worse shape from sitting outside through hurricanes. There is more rust, mold/mildew inside the car, doesn't run at all (I drove it into the shop) and the brakes are completely shot.

With all this, I'm feeling vengeful. So how can I ruin this shops reputation without opening myself to legal trouble? I don't want anyone else to fall for this thief.