I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Call him and give him a time limit, if he wants the balance

On Sep 21, 8:10*pm, "
wrote:
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. *He said he would
finish and fix everything. *I paid him all but $350. *I didn't hear
back for two weeks. *I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. *I still didn't hear back. *The contract does not
have a time limit. *I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

whats 350 worth to you?

He's hoping you will go away, and not talk,
is your time fixing it going to be shorter than chasing this loser
down and getting him to do a half as$ job?

In a level voice and with compete honesty and sincerity, tell him what
you honestly think of his character, tell him you'll finish it
yourself, and that, anyone you ever talks to will know not to use his
services. then forget about it.

Dave

Take photographs and put all correspondence in writing, so he doesn't
say that it's done and you agreed that it's done.

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Finish the work yourself. If he calls, tell him you had to hire someone
else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a question
with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the Contractor's board and
discuss the issue (and the money due to you from his surety bond) with them.
I guarantee if you don't call him, you'll never hear from him again, and if
you do, and tell him you will do whatever the Contractor's Board tells you
to do, you will never hear from him again.

He IS licensed, isn't he? In some states, contracting without a license is
a FELONY, and even offering to do work and no work being done or no money
changing hands constitutes contracting. (Nevada for one.)

Good luck. You've waited a "reasonable" amount of time, and made
"reasonable" efforts to contact him.

Steve

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Finish the work yourself. If he calls, tell him you had to hire someone
else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a question
with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the Contractor's board and
discuss the issue (and the money due to you from his surety bond) with
them. I guarantee if you don't call him, you'll never hear from him again,
and if you do, and tell him you will do whatever the Contractor's Board
tells you to do, you will never hear from him again.

He IS licensed, isn't he? In some states, contracting without a license
is a FELONY, and even offering to do work and no work being done or no
money changing hands constitutes contracting. (Nevada for one.)

Good luck. You've waited a "reasonable" amount of time, and made
"reasonable" efforts to contact him.

Steve


" I can finish the work and fix the broken thing myself for a tenth of
$350."

So I guess we are talking about a 35 dollar fix....What exactly are you
talking about ??? Touching up paint ?? What got broke ??? I doubt he would
walk away from 350 bucks for such an easy fix without a reason...Perhaps you
could enlighten us with just a few more details....

"benick" wrote in message
. ..

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Finish the work yourself. If he calls, tell him you had to hire someone
else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a question
with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the Contractor's board
and discuss the issue (and the money due to you from his surety bond)
with them. I guarantee if you don't call him, you'll never hear from him
again, and if you do, and tell him you will do whatever the Contractor's
Board tells you to do, you will never hear from him again.

He IS licensed, isn't he? In some states, contracting without a license
is a FELONY, and even offering to do work and no work being done or no
money changing hands constitutes contracting. (Nevada for one.)

Good luck. You've waited a "reasonable" amount of time, and made
"reasonable" efforts to contact him.

Steve


" I can finish the work and fix the broken thing myself for a tenth of
$350."

So I guess we are talking about a 35 dollar fix....What exactly are you
talking about ??? Touching up paint ?? What got broke ??? I doubt he
would walk away from 350 bucks for such an easy fix without a
reason...Perhaps you could enlighten us with just a few more details....

If the OP is satisfied with saving the $350 and doing the work himself,
what's the difference? Lots of contractors walk away from as much as 10%
retention held as final payment because there is just too much work left to
be done, they're busy, they're idiots, lots of reasons. At that time, the
person has several options. Finish the work themself. Pay someone to
finish the work. Or pay someone to finish the work, and file a claim on the
contractor's surety bond. Or, in the case the person is unlicensed and
unbonded, sue them in small claims court, which sets low limits on the
amount that can be sued for. Or send over a couple of friends to tune the
guy up.

BTW, one tenth of $350 is $35, and if the OP is happy with that, why do you
require a detailed explanation?

Sheesh.

Steve

.. *Or send over a couple of friends to tune the
guy up.


I like it.

On Sep 22, 8:03*am, Van Chocstraw
wrote:
wrote:
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. *He said he would
finish and fix everything. *I paid him all but $350. *I didn't hear
back for two weeks. *I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. *I still didn't hear back. *The contract does not
have a time limit. *I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Call a lawyer or he will take you to court for the $350 AFTER YOU finish
the work.

Calling a lawyer isn't going to do anything to prevent him from taking
you to court if he decides to do so, which is unlikely.

I think after waiting 5 weeks and trying to contact him numerous
times, he has breeched and you are justified in finishing the work
yourself. The amount you are legally entitled to keep however, may
not be the $350. It would be what it actually costs to complete the
work. Make sure to take pics and keep all bills. Then, I would not
worry that he is going to sue you. If he does, it will be in small
claims and the most you could lose is the $350 plus maybe another $50
in court costs. The chance he will sue is small and the chance you
would lose is even smaller.

If you want an additional measure of protection, send him a letter two
ways, one with a return receipt proving delivery and one regular
mail. The regular mail one is to cover the possibility that he will
not sign for a letter. In the letter tell him he has one week to
finish or your are keeping the $350. Also keep any phone records that
you have showing the number of times you called his number.

Shaun Eli wrote:

Take photographs and put all correspondence in writing, so he doesn't
say that it's done and you agreed that it's done.

Good advice, document everything. That way even if the OP agrees to let it
go and finish the work himself the contractor can't come back looking for
money he'll claim he's owed. He with the most pieces of paper tends to win
that sort of argument.

On Sep 21, 10:13*pm, "SteveB" wrote:

snip

Finish the work yourself. *If he calls, tell him you had to hire someone
else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a question
with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the Contractor's board and
discuss the issue (and the money due to you from his surety bond) with them.

snip

Why lie about it when there are numerous honest alternatives?

Joe

On Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:13:57 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:

BTW, one tenth of $350 is $35, and if the OP is happy with that, why do you
require a detailed explanation?


The concern (as expressed by others here) is that the contractor comes
back later, says "look, see, it's all done!" and asks/sues for the
full $350, or says "okay, you have receipts for for $35, so I'm
entitled to $350-$35=$315".

I agree with others that say send a letter giving a deadline, after
which the OP is willing to consider the job closed for the amounts
already paid, with the $350 considered "liquidated damages". Giving
the contractor one last chance to come back or at least object to this
arrangement will be useful if he tries to collect laer.

Josh

wrote:
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

What work did he do? What did he break? You have a written contract?
I would write a letter, certified mail, polite and business-like. State
the work agreed to, the work not done, nature and value of the damage.
State that you have agreed orally that the job was not finished and that
you have tried to contact him again x number of times. Ask whether and
when he intends to complete the work. A certified letter should get his
attention and indicate that it is a serious matter.

There is a good deal of stuff that might explain his failure to complete
the job - could be sick, family problems, got stiffed by other client(s)
and can't afford to buy materials, and on and on. If he still fails to
respond, you can always file a complaint against his license (assuming
he has one, all required permits and code compliant, etc.)

Everything was satisfactory before he stopped work?

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"benick" wrote in message
. ..

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Finish the work yourself. If he calls, tell him you had to hire someone
else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a question
with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the Contractor's board
and discuss the issue (and the money due to you from his surety bond)
with them. I guarantee if you don't call him, you'll never hear from him
again, and if you do, and tell him you will do whatever the Contractor's
Board tells you to do, you will never hear from him again.

He IS licensed, isn't he? In some states, contracting without a license
is a FELONY, and even offering to do work and no work being done or no
money changing hands constitutes contracting. (Nevada for one.)

Good luck. You've waited a "reasonable" amount of time, and made
"reasonable" efforts to contact him.

Steve


" I can finish the work and fix the broken thing myself for a tenth of
$350."

So I guess we are talking about a 35 dollar fix....What exactly are you
talking about ??? Touching up paint ?? What got broke ??? I doubt he
would walk away from 350 bucks for such an easy fix without a
reason...Perhaps you could enlighten us with just a few more details....

If the OP is satisfied with saving the $350 and doing the work himself,
what's the difference? Lots of contractors walk away from as much as 10%
retention held as final payment because there is just too much work left
to be done, they're busy, they're idiots, lots of reasons. At that time,
the person has several options. Finish the work themself. Pay someone to
finish the work. Or pay someone to finish the work, and file a claim on
the contractor's surety bond. Or, in the case the person is unlicensed
and unbonded, sue them in small claims court, which sets low limits on the
amount that can be sued for. Or send over a couple of friends to tune the
guy up.

BTW, one tenth of $350 is $35, and if the OP is happy with that, why do
you require a detailed explanation?

Sheesh.

Steve


BTW I already said it was 35 bucks but we will still try to act amazed at
your math skills....The reason I asked for a FEW more details is because he
seemed intentially vague , for whatever reason... But since he hasn't
bothered to post back it doesn't really matter anyway.......

"Joe" wrote in message
...
On Sep 21, 10:13 pm, "SteveB" wrote:

snip

Finish the work yourself. If he calls, tell him you had to hire someone
else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a question
with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the Contractor's board and
discuss the issue (and the money due to you from his surety bond) with
them.

snip

Why lie about it when there are numerous honest alternatives?

Joe

To get the flake not to bother you again?

Steve

"benick" wrote in message
news

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"benick" wrote in message
. ..

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit. I can finish the work and fix the broken thing
myself for a tenth of $350.
What do you think I should do?

Finish the work yourself. If he calls, tell him you had to hire
someone else to finish his work, paid the man the $350, and if he has a
question with it, you would be happy to accompany him to the
Contractor's board and discuss the issue (and the money due to you from
his surety bond) with them. I guarantee if you don't call him, you'll
never hear from him again, and if you do, and tell him you will do
whatever the Contractor's Board tells you to do, you will never hear
from him again.

He IS licensed, isn't he? In some states, contracting without a
license is a FELONY, and even offering to do work and no work being
done or no money changing hands constitutes contracting. (Nevada for
one.)

Good luck. You've waited a "reasonable" amount of time, and made
"reasonable" efforts to contact him.

Steve


" I can finish the work and fix the broken thing myself for a tenth of
$350."

So I guess we are talking about a 35 dollar fix....What exactly are you
talking about ??? Touching up paint ?? What got broke ??? I doubt he
would walk away from 350 bucks for such an easy fix without a
reason...Perhaps you could enlighten us with just a few more details....

If the OP is satisfied with saving the $350 and doing the work himself,
what's the difference? Lots of contractors walk away from as much as 10%
retention held as final payment because there is just too much work left
to be done, they're busy, they're idiots, lots of reasons. At that time,
the person has several options. Finish the work themself. Pay someone
to finish the work. Or pay someone to finish the work, and file a claim
on the contractor's surety bond. Or, in the case the person is
unlicensed and unbonded, sue them in small claims court, which sets low
limits on the amount that can be sued for. Or send over a couple of
friends to tune the guy up.

BTW, one tenth of $350 is $35, and if the OP is happy with that, why do
you require a detailed explanation?

Sheesh.

Steve


BTW I already said it was 35 bucks but we will still try to act amazed at
your math skills....The reason I asked for a FEW more details is because
he seemed intentially vague , for whatever reason... But since he hasn't
bothered to post back it doesn't really matter anyway.......

Not to me. I know this will keep me from falling asleep tonight for about
five seconds.

Steve

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"¦ Reality Check© ¦" wrote:

wrote in message
...
I had a one-man company do repair work on my house. We have a contract
saying what he will do and for how much. When his workers said they
finished, he and I looked and agreed orally that they didn't finish.
We also agreed orally that they broke something. He said he would
finish and fix everything. I paid him all but $350. I didn't hear
back for two weeks. I called once a week for the next three weeks and
left voice mails. I still didn't hear back. The contract does not
have a time limit.


What idiot would sign a construction contract without a completion
deadline?



At least you made it that far in the reasoning process. I never got as
far as figuring out how it is that a one-man company has workers.

And the workers claim the boss is an asshole, and the boss says the workers
are lazy *******s.