Hello AT,
We hired our plumber to remodel our bathrooms. After he finished 70% of one of them and 50% of the other one, he left without coming back. Before he left, he asked for the second downpayment and more money for the materials. We paid him about $4,000.00. In total, we paid him about $18,000.00 and now he doesn't answer the phone or anything.
What can we do now?
We always paid him with checks, and he has cashed every check we paid him. We just found out he didn't have a contractor license but his father has one. He even took our front door key and never gave it back to us. Please help!!
Thanks, Nina
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call his father
if he's trading on his father's license (which would be totally normal) try and get some family pressure going.
at least you might be able to find out what's going on, and give a face-saving way to have them make things right
2nd step would be to go to the licensing authority
(are you in NYC?)
good luck - what a drag!
Report him to the police. He essentially stole your money. A lot of times a legal threat, no matter how remote, is enough to scare someone into action.
Most states have statutes prohibiting non-licensed building tradesmen. It may be true that he was considered an agent of the father; if he was, then the father can probably be prosecuted as well under an agency theory. That may encourage the father to finish the job, or make you whole in some way. Criminal liability is ever so much more persuasive than civil liability.
Get "7 on you side". Channel 7 news always seems to get that kind of stuff resolved because they have cameras in the crook's face.
www.7online.com
Without knowing more details, it's hard to say what the first step should be. But I do think one thing you should do is write a demand letter. before you do, decide what you want to accomplish. do you want him to finish the job? do you want him to refund your money? make it clear what you want him to do and give him a time limit to do it. that should come early in the letter - first paragraph. Then set forth the history of the transaction - clearly and succinctly with out emotion. what you hired him to do, what you agreed to pay and the schedule of payments, what he did and what you paid him, what is left to be done. Give dates if possible. document conversations and promises made. be very clear because this may end up going to a judge or other third party if it gets to that point and you want to be the clear, business like, reasonable person in this dispute.
Finish by stating what you will do next if he does not comply with your demand - you will report him to the licensing board, or you will sue him or whatever. Make the threat dispassionate but very clear. Let him know he has a limited time to get this project finished or you will hire someone else and sue him for the cost over and above the contract price. If you know an attorney and they will agree, cc: the attorney's name with the word "Esq." afterwards, as in ("cc: John Smith, Esq.") -this will send him the message that you have consuted an atty and are willing to take it to the next level.
This may not produce the result you want right away, but it is a important step towards taking any further legal action. Also, many times a deadbeat will respond to a written demand, while they will ignore any phone calls or will string you along in conversations. You may want to copy his father on the letter as well.
good luck
Also, file a complaint online at the better business bureau. It's pretty easy, although it takes them a little while to follow up . However, they will call the father and that may wake him up. At least you have a contact number for someone.
You've gotten lots of good advice here. I would add that you should immediately change your front door lock. If he comes back to do the work make sure someone is home and do not give him another key. He can't be trusted.
He may not know how to finish the job. I have seen people hire various "handymen" who ended up abandoning the job because they took on something they were not up to. It is terrible but it happens.
If you need to get someone else to finish the job do not horribly badmouth the original plumber. Be tactful or you will scare away other plumbers who will be afraid that the original plumber left the job because you were impossible to work for.
There's a NYC governmental unit that deals specifically with contracts of this kind. Their complaint form is at this website:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/forms.shtml
It will probably be difficult to get your money back, though.
If you're in NYS, the attorney general's office is very good at helping with these kinds of situations. Look on the website for contact information.
Alas, what you should have done before all this even got underway is read this paperback book: "Hiring Contractors Without Going Through Hell: How to Find, Hire, Supervise, and Pay Professional Help," by Ellis Levinson. I had a nightmare of a kitchen renovation nine years ago, and want to make my next one easier, so I picked it up at Borders several months ago... very helpful. (It's probably not too late to look through it now and get some suggestions in addition to those above.) And good luck!
Greg Dawson runs a column in the Orlando Sentinel with all kinds of questions just like yours. And although his column is local, his questions aren't. It's worth a try.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/lifestyle/columnists/orl-dawson,0,1103226.columnist?coll=orl-lifestyle-col
Okay, I can't help asking: What exactly was he doing for $18,000? Because I've had to replace a lot of crappy plumbing and I'm finding it hard to imagine what could cost that much. Or is that just how much things cost in the big city?
Sorry for the double post--I got a message telling me to wait a short time and then try posting again--or maybe I misread it? Anway, apologies.
i cant read anymore. I only read your comments and not comments from other readers. but please, you can easily fix this. write letters to him to document and call the attorney general. come on. this is isn't physics. someone tried to squeeze me and my husband for money and we wrote brutal letters and then dealt with our bank and american express and got everything that was due to us.
I'm with Catty. And, to you guys, I hope there is a special kind of hell to this kind of contractor. Leaving bathrooms unfinished seems to be one of the worst things one person could do to another.
Nina In order to help you further please tell us what state you live in.
California has some of the strongest and toughest consumer protection agencies and laws, but you must act quickly!
Create a paper trail this should include the dates when the job started & stopped, notes, cancelled checks, verbal & written instructions, bills, invoices, contracts, phone numbers, phone calls - answered & not answered, estimates, list ANYTHING and ANYONE you've been in contact with related to this job. Keep this information in one location, binder or folder. The clearer you are on the time-line of events, the quicker an agency can help you.
Don't forget to take photos or videos of the uncompleted work.
CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING WEB-SITES:
California's Contractors State License Board: www.cslb.ca.gov
Better Business Bureau: www.bbb.org
Contractors From Hell: www.contractorsfromhell.com
Complaints.com: www.complaints.com
CONTACT:
Attorney General's office in your county.
Local TV station's Consumer Action Group.
Superior Court in the county which you live - check to see if any lawsuits were filed against this person before.
File a complaint with any association(s) this person is a member.
Google the person's name and/or business.
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