Time to sue?

[dalegg 143]

Okay Vjers- I'm gonna ask your advice on something. If anybody has any personal knowledge or experience on the matter I would appreciate it.

On September 10, I hired my neighbor to repaint and remodel the exterior of my house. He gave me a contract that said the job would take 3 - 4 weeks, so like a dumbass I gave him a check covering the first $8000 of a $12,500 job.

So the next week he gets started. He subcontracted the painting to another company so they get to prepping and painting most of the parts of the house that will be painted. After about 2 weeks they are not quite finished, but they've sandblasted my brand new front door and cracked the window in it. I just had the door put in a week before they started too, and I won't go into that fiasco, but I'm none too happy they've ruined it.

Okay, a few days go by after I've pointed out the damage to the door and nobody shows up to continue the job. A week goes by and I call my neighbor. He doesn't answer the phone and he doesn't return my call. This continues for another couple days, but on the third day, not only did he not answer the phone, but he actually hangs up on me. I go through this one more day, then my wife leaves a message and she's like really pissed off.

It gets worse, after about 8 days of not hearing for him, guess who shows up at the door? The painter. I'm kind of relieved when I see him through the glass, but not for long. He tells me my neighbor hasn't paid him or his workers. I show him where he lives. When my wife gets home, that's it. We walk down to his house at 9:00 pm at night, pound on his door and get him to come out. I ask him,... what the hell?? It gets better.... He tells me.."I've ran out of money. I was going to call you tomorrow to ask you for another $2000." I almost hit the ground. Ladies and gentlemen, there is not even close to $8000 put into my house. It's not even painted all the way. He hasn't even purchased any of the materials to do the new siding. Obviously I told him that was not going to happen.

So, he tells me he is going to have to finish the job by himself because he cannot trust the painters since they've caused damage. Fine. Except that that was a month ago, and he has been over to my house all of 4 days since then-- and those days have only come after I have left repeated messages getting angrier and angrier on his cell phone. There is about 8 hours worth of work he's done and he's made no effort to fix or replace my door.

I'm fed up with this guy. On top of it, he's not even licensed. I feel so stupid because I'm reading where I'm not supposed to pay more than 10% and I've paid him two thirds already. I'm almost wondering if he even has any money to sue for. Time for a lawyer? Stupid question I guess, but does anyone know if it is too early to go to court?

[natty bumppo 297]

Is this Pedrohs amigo?

Sorry to hear about this ... hope you get it resolved.

[trailmix 77]

Funny, or really not so funny, my Sister and her Husband are going through a similar thing right now - except the guy is licensed and showed them samples of his work. ffwd about 8 weeks later and they still haven't returned with the spindles/rail they broke on the front deck, haven't fixed the siding which they put on backwards all down one side of the house (seams face the street) etc etc.

The kind of good thing I guess is that although they paid them for the materials, they haven't paid any labor yet, so they haven't officially been ripped off. There is a lot more to the story - as they were contracted to do other work (drywall in the house, long story short after a week on the job that should have taken 3 days she threw them out).

Not too early to sue at all, I would be filing the papers right away.

[U.S. Wendy 0]

THe very same thing happened to me, only I lost a mere $395.00, but I was just as angry. This seems to be a growing epidemic in many states and I would bet you are not his only victim. MY contractor was a person I had known for 20 years and graduated from high school with!!!! I trusted him!!

What you have to do (at least it worked in Maryland), is go to the Deparment of Labor's Occupational Licensing section and file a compliant. I don't know if you NEED a license to paint, but I do know you need a license to do any kind of home improvement. My contractor was not licensed either...............so, the Department of Labor will file CRIMINAL charges against him for: Practicing without a license & breach of contract (even verbal, like mine).

I still don't have my money, but this guy has called me begging for a 'mediation' between just he and I, well sorry, now DOL is involved and I would not feel sorry to see this guy hit with a hefty fine, or better, some jail time. YOu see, the longer they get away with this thing, the more victims they have.

For me, it was the principle of the matter, for you....... $8000.00 dollars!!!!

Keep track of all phone calls, dates, etc. and find the painter as a witness to this contractor's dealings.

I would bet a months pay that this Contractor has some kind of Substance Abuse problem and probably has unpaid debts with angry creditors everywhere.

Good luck!!

[rouguewave 7]

Okay Vjers- I'm gonna ask your advice on something. If anybody has any personal knowledge or experience on the matter I would appreciate it.

On September 10, I hired my neighbor to repaint and remodel the exterior of my house. He gave me a contract that said the job would take 3 - 4 weeks, so like a dumbass I gave him a check covering the first $8000 of a $12,500 job.

So the next week he gets started. He subcontracted the painting to another company so they get to prepping and painting most of the parts of the house that will be painted. After about 2 weeks they are not quite finished, but they've sandblasted my brand new front door and cracked the window in it. I just had the door put in a week before they started too, and I won't go into that fiasco, but I'm none too happy they've ruined it.

Okay, a few days go by after I've pointed out the damage to the door and nobody shows up to continue the job. A week goes by and I call my neighbor. He doesn't answer the phone and he doesn't return my call. This continues for another couple days, but on the third day, not only did he not answer the phone, but he actually hangs up on me. I go through this one more day, then my wife leaves a message and she's like really pissed off.

It gets worse, after about 8 days of not hearing for him, guess who shows up at the door? The painter. I'm kind of relieved when I see him through the glass, but not for long. He tells me my neighbor hasn't paid him or his workers. I show him where he lives. When my wife gets home, that's it. We walk down to his house at 9:00 pm at night, pound on his door and get him to come out. I ask him,... what the hell?? It gets better.... He tells me.."I've ran out of money. I was going to call you tomorrow to ask you for another $2000." I almost hit the ground. Ladies and gentlemen, there is not even close to $8000 put into my house. It's not even painted all the way. He hasn't even purchased any of the materials to do the new siding. Obviously I told him that was not going to happen.

So, he tells me he is going to have to finish the job by himself because he cannot trust the painters since they've caused damage. Fine. Except that that was a month ago, and he has been over to my house all of 4 days since then-- and those days have only come after I have left repeated messages getting angrier and angrier on his cell phone. There is about 8 hours worth of work he's done and he's made no effort to fix or replace my door.

I'm fed up with this guy. On top of it, he's not even licensed. I feel so stupid because I'm reading where I'm not supposed to pay more than 10% and I've paid him two thirds already. I'm almost wondering if he even has any money to sue for. Time for a lawyer? Stupid question I guess, but does anyone know if it is too early to go to court?

If it were me, I'd have a discussion with a lawyer pronto. And make sure that you seriously consider doing EVERYTHING he tells you to do. And until that happens, stay on the good side of the painter. I believe its possible for him to put a Mechanics lien on your property for the work that he's done. Even though he's not finished and the other guy got him involved.

[natty bumppo 297]

documents ... documents ...

please say you have ....

[Bruce and Han 0]

I would take lots of photos of the incomplete work for evidence purpose. I would also get your homeowners insurance involved. With a deductable they may replace the damaged door. You may also be able to turn the heat up on this guy if you contact your local action news fraud unit. Just a thought.

Bruce

[PlatyPius 5]

Mags and I act as our own contractors. Our own workers sometimes, too. lol

The guy who is painting our house right now gets small payments every day he shows up and works on the house.

You're in kind of a spot because your contractor is your neighbour. That's obviously gonna cause problems down the line whatever you end up doing about this cluster-f**k.

But yeah, I'd sue his azz.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Oh man, Dale! That really sucks. Perhaps get him to commit to a deadline with specific details of how much of the job he will have done by then and see if he can achieve that goal by himself? If not, I'd contact one of those tv court shows - you might get a speedier trial.

[rebeccajo 14]

If this dude took 8K of your money, ran through it already, and has not even bought the materials yet, you are in for a rough road ahead.

Did he pay the painters? If he hasn't (and your money is already gone) the painters can put a lien against YOUR property for HIS non-payment.

You need an attorney to unravel this for you.

[Ladylethal 12]

I'd get a lawyer asap and go ahead with suing him. From the looks of it it's obvious he won't finish the job, won't have the money to finish the job, and won't pay the painter.

[Fandango 1,440]

If this dude took 8K of your money, ran through it already, and has not even bought the materials yet, you are in for a rough road ahead.

Did he pay the painters? If he hasn't (and your money is already gone) the painters can put a lien against YOUR property for HIS non-payment.

You need an attorney to unravel this for you.

Not necessarily...it varies by state....if Dalegg didn't sign anything with the painters allowing the lien, then they have no claim to put a lien on his house without prior consent...and of course, as I already said...those laws vary by state.

________

Dalegg: YES it's time to lawyer up. I'd also report him for unlicensed work, and report him if he didn't pull the appropriate permits (if they are needed)...

If you have the hard evidence to back you up!

I'd actually go to the guy and give him one last chance to refund your money....cos he's in for a world of hurt if you can prove your case....it would behoove him to give you a refund.

Edited October 28, 2007 by LisaD

[archie07 0]

Report him to the Department of Professional Regulations. You have a contract as proof he is illegally acting as a contractor. That contract must have his state license number on it. If the painters are licensed they can sue you, if not they won't see any money either. The Department Of Professional Regulation will further instruct you when they start thier investigation. There will be no ifs' about it. Charges will be filed and you'll have your day in court.

[rebeccajo 14]

While mechanics lien filings do vary from state to state, if the sub perfects his lien by notifying the property owner of the problem, that's usually all it takes. Materialmen and subs aren't left out to dry just because somebody didn't sign a contract.

[dalegg 143]

If this dude took 8K of your money, ran through it already, and has not even bought the materials yet, you are in for a rough road ahead.

Did he pay the painters? If he hasn't (and your money is already gone) the painters can put a lien against YOUR property for HIS non-payment.

You need an attorney to unravel this for you.

Not necessarily...it varies by state....if Dalegg didn't sign anything with the painters allowing the lien, then they have no claim to put a lien on his house without prior consent...and of course, as I already said...those laws vary by state.

________

Dalegg: YES it's time to lawyer up. I'd also report him for unlicensed work, and report him if he didn't pull the appropriate permits (if they are needed)...

If you have the hard evidence to back you up!

I'd actually go to the guy and give him one last chance to refund your money....cos he's in for a world of hurt if you can prove your case....it would behoove him to give you a refund.

Wow, everybody is coming up with the same conslusion. I didn't sign any contract with the painters- only with mister neighbor there. I didn't even know he was subbing it out to be honest.

I want a refund too, but this ying yang has already told me he's out of money, so I'm skeptical about that. At least if I sue him they can repossess his car or put a lien on his house or start garnishing his checks. Yeah, it turns out he actually has a 9-5 job too. I asked him straight out if he had any other jobs going on when he took it and he said no.

I would bet a months pay that this Contractor has some kind of Substance Abuse problem and probably has unpaid debts with angry creditors everywhere.

This is kind of what I thought too. When I came to his door that night, his dog kind of slipped out of the front door and started smelling my leg. He didn't notice his dog was just at his feet for about 5 minutes, then he freaked out and said "oh, don't let the dog out" (of course he did, not me- and frankly I didn't give a #######), then when he said that the dog started running off and he started crying. It was wierd.

Oh man, Dale! That really sucks. Perhaps get him to commit to a deadline with specific details of how much of the job he will have done by then and see if he can achieve that goal by himself? If not, I'd contact one of those tv court shows - you might get a speedier trial.

If he by some chance comes by today, then that's my plan. But, yes, I could see me on the People's court or Judge Judy. That would be cool to see this guy get yelled at. I'm thinking he wouldn't show up though.

You're in kind of a spot because your contractor is your neighbour. That's obviously gonna cause problems down the line whatever you end up doing about this cluster-f**k.

You know, I used to care about that. Frankly this is why I didn't think this would happen. How's he gonna scam me when he lives just down the street? I'm mostly sad for my dog. See, he's a male husky and his dog is a female husky that is practically a twin with him and they love eachother. I had plans for puppies. But anymore I don't care. He never takes his dog out anymore anyway.

Thanks everyone. Tomorrow is lawyer day.