"Chris Birkett" wrote

Can you explain more what you mean by "he is a
contractor, right?"

Each locality has its own rules about contracting. Contracting is when I
say "I will paint your house for $1500." We have an agreement, and if we
have a dispute, it goes before a board to settle the dispute.

If you hire me for $15 an hour to paint your house, and at some time find
that I'm not doing a good job, or you run out of money, or I start not
showing up, the agreement is ended. Either party can end the agreement for
just about any reason.

But when there is offer and acceptance, there is a contract. If one or the
other doesn't perform, there are grounds for legal action.

Local laws set the rules for these situations so that homeowners don't get
taken, and so that there is less litigation in the courts. They also set
them so that there are some standards. For example, they test the
contractor applicants in different areas to make sure they know what they're
doing and that they know the laws governing the operation of a business.

In my location, Las Vegas, (where it hardly rains), it is a FELONY to
contract without a license, and that means to even make an offer to do work
for a fixed sum. Handy men can do all they want by the hour, but if it is a
permanent attachment to the house, they are supposed to have a contractor's
license. This is to standardize things and help get things done up to code.

You might want to investigate and see what the regs are in your area. Look
in your state's directory for contractor's board, or just ask around.

What you want is to get the job done and done right. But you don't want to
get taken advantage of. It was one BIG assumption on the part of the worker
to go ahead with a lot of extra work that wasn't authorized. That didn't
even give you the chance to have others bid on it, and perhaps get it done
for less. And now who's to say if the work was even needed or appropriate?

And why didn't he even ask you about it, in case you may have been able to
call your dad and get the okay?

I smell a fish here.

Steve