So frustrated.

Aleeluh

Aleeluh

New member
Well, to I guess i can start from the beginning. We recently had out kitchen remodeled by a couple of guys. They did a great job on it, so we decided to let them add a new bathroom to our house. Well, they gave us a time frame it would take- all they had too do was set everything in and hook it up, the room was already there because it was half of the old kitchen- also they had to paint and add a door. Simple right? I guess not.


My mom paid them half there money , halfway through- and told him that she would give him the rest when he finished. Well, he went to her work Saturday, and asked for the rest of the money and money for materials. She had already paid him some money for some materials, so she asked to see receipts. He had said it was around $500- Well, she saw the receipts it added up to $300. :banghead: Oh, and thats not the worse of it, he said they were finished! So, she gave him the rest of the money- and preceded to come home from work. They were not even even finished. She tried to cancel the check, but he had already cashed it. She talked to him- he said he would be back Sunday, to finish it. Alright, there isn't much left to do. Well, they didn't show up. So mom called, and they didn't answer. Well, ok its Sunday- maybe they took the day off. Now today, they haven't shown up. Won't answer calls, and mom said she saw them ride by. Some of there materials are still here, so I am guessing they are going to try and get them when no one is home.

Is there anything we can do? I mean, there isn't a written contract. What they did was beyond assholish ( this isn't even a word I know). Mom wanted all the work finished by Monday so they could appraise her house, and lock in her mortgage. That isn't going to happen, because now we have to find someone new to do this. Not only that, we only have one bedroom until thats finished, because we can't move stuff in there.

Also, they left cords plugged in everywhere, materials all in the room. Everything. I am going to keep the crap I guess, because there is noway they are getting it back - what they did was very low.. I just wish there was something legal I could do about it. Since we do not have a contract I don't think that is possible...
 
there was nothing in writing? not even an estimate?

You could probably report them at
or see if others have had a problem with them
 
you could also check with the state's contractor license board and see what the proper procedure is for filing a complaint... Many states require contractors to be licensed so hopefully he's got one and you can act on it.
 
Thanks Mal, I will try those things. We didn't have a contract, but I am sure they had the plans and estimates written down and stuff- just nothing signed.
 
on any receipt your mother has - is there his contractor's license number - or do you ahve that somewhere? that would be your starting point
 
How will they pick up their materials when you're not home?? Lock the door and dont let them pick up anything til they finish the job. I would leave a threatening message that if they dont return to finish the job you'll be calling the cops about their theft of some of your items and/or you'll be reporting them for working without a license, or if they do have a license, you'll report them to the licensing agency. I'm not suggesting that you lie to the police, but that may frighten them just enough to come back and finish.
 
Blancita said:
How will they pick up their materials when you're not home?? Lock the door and dont let them pick up anything til they finish the job. I would leave a threatening message that if they dont return to finish the job you'll be calling the cops about their theft of some of your items and/or you'll be reporting them for working without a license, or if they do have a license, you'll report them to the licensing agency. I'm not suggesting that you lie to the police, but that may frighten them just enough to come back and finish.
Click to expand...


Yea, we are not letting them have there stuff. If they decide not to finish it I guess we can sell it lol.. they have an expensive air pressure machine or something still here. Mom has been calling and calling them, they are not coming back into the house until she talks to them.
 
I do not know what you guys paid them to do the work but good quality tools cost a good amount of money.
Obviously this is stealing though. If there is no contract then they were just people in your house working and is your word against theirs which most likely will not stand up in court. If you do anything to their tools you could get arrested since they are not yours.

I used to be a contractor- see about the better business bureau in your state. I honestly would get the wheels in motion now with attorneys, pictures and the like.

Sorry for the longish post.
Good luck
 
I went through something similar only I had a contract. The problem was,the contractor wasn't paying his suppliers for the materials for MY job. He was using the money I gave him to pay off stuff from previous jobs. Next thing you know, I have the window supplier at my door ready to take my new windows out of my house because he hadn't been paid!
Always, always, always get a signed contract with anyone who does work on your home, and if you're going with a professional contractor, make sure he's bonded and get a No Lein Contract through an attorney. That way, the suppliers can't come back on you if they aren't paid by the contractor.
As for your mom, I'd lock every bit of stuff up that they left, and I 'd lock it up in another location other than your mom's house. It would be awful if they broke into her home and stole not only their stuff, but your mom's stuff as well. Crooked contractors are miserable people to work with and they take advantage of older, single women.
I wish you all luck getting things settled.
 
I work for a GC, we do commercial stuff like schools, not residential. It's a shame you never got a contract or the multitude of papers and insurances (from them) you should have when doing a job, no matter how small. If they were in your house when no one was home to begin with how were they getting in? I hope they didn't make any extra keys or unlock any windows or doors to gain reentry. If you have any of their tools, clearly don't give them back and if they come back to finish the job... remove the tools they left from the property so they can't take them and run again. I would file a police report... there has to be something you can chrage them with... fraud, something. Just make sure to cover your behind before you get someone else to finish the job and have these guys show up with the police saying, "We finished the bathroom see!... and now they won't give our tools back!"

And when you find someone else to finish the bathroom if these guys dont... get a contract with a bonded contractor, get a lien waver, get a copy of their liability insurance, and before you give them the final payment have them sign a statutory affidavit that says they have completed the terms of the contract for the amount paid (and if you both sign this, and pay them, and it's not complete then that's actually your fault for not checking).

Best of luck... a lot of people go thru this unfortunately:(
 
Bigguy said:
If you do anything to their tools you could get arrested since they are not yours.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't sell the tools or anything like that until the matter is resolved but since they left them on your property it seems to me that they now belong to you if they were left there.


Also, I was in the middle of posting before I saw what YoYomama had to say... great advice!
 
Wow, this reads just like something that happened with my mother. She got the guy to do her bathrooms (two at the same time. not smart) and he got all kinds of money from her and never finished the job. She went after him through better business, and he got his license revoked, but the "company" was under his wife's name. So that was dissolved and he has no license, but my mother had no bathroom or money to get one for almost a year. She ended up borrowing money to get the bathroom done and sold the house that she had for thirty years. Very heartbreaking.

As far as stopping the check, it shouldn't matter if the guy cashed it or not. It usually takes a few days for it to clear for just this reason. She should go to the bank in person, if she can, and raise a stink. They'll put a stop to it.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice. My mother talked to a guy that helped him with the kitchen job, needless to say that guy was pretty puzzled to and is going to contact him. I will keep everyone updated.

Thanks again...
 
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