To sue or not to sue, that is the ?

[khardy57]

I recently had my yard landscaped. I had it sodded and love the sod, but the young man I hired will not come back and finish. I have flower beds that are supposed to have the black weed control fabric covered by white pea gravel in the front and back yards and a goldfish pond that is supposed to be surrounded by the same weed control fabric and pea gravel. He still has to connect the water line to the goldfish pond and cap off an electrical supply that he ran to my shop building.The sod is completed, but the guy has not been back in nearly a month to finish. I've called and left messages and when he calls me back, he tells me he'll be out to finish up the following week. What's happened is that I finished paying him before he did the flower beds and he's spent the money!

I called again last night and he hasn't called me back yet. I've known this boy since he was a child. I can't stand his parents, but he's always seemed like a nice kid and I wanted to help him out in starting his business.

Would you take him to court over this? (It was a LOT of money!!!)

[Janet]

Yes, but first I would send him a cerified letter stating what was suppose to have been done (was there a contract?). Nicely, but to the point tell him he has promised to come and finish, but it's been over a month. Tell him you were trying to help him in his business, but that was a lot of money for a job not completed. Tell him if he does not come back and complete the job within 30 days, you will have no recourse but to take him to court to get some of your money back.

If that doesn't put a burr in his butt, then take him to court!!

[khardy57]

Originally Posted by Janet

Yes, but first I would send him a cerified letter stating what was suppose to have been done (was there a contract?). Nicely, but to the point tell him he has promised to come and finish, but it's been over a month. Tell him you were trying to help him in his business, but that was a lot of money for a job not completed. Tell him if he does not come back and complete the job within 30 days, you will have no recourse but to take him to court to get some of your money back.

If that doesn't put a burr in his butt, then take him to court!!

Thanks, Janet. I have a contract that spells out everything that was supposed to be done and actually paid extra to have the electrical line run to my shop building. I'll send the letter this week ( I hate to do it at Thanksgiving )I'd hate to have to take him to court, but I believe that when you're supposed to do something, that means you finish it!

[Janet]

Originally Posted by khardy57

Thanks, Janet. I have a contract that spells out everything that was supposed to be done and actually paid extra to have the electrical line run to my shop building. I'll send the letter this week ( I hate to do it at Thanksgiving )I'd hate to have to take him to court, but I believe that when you're supposed to do something, that means you finish it!

Exactly! It's not that you're being mean...he was the one who promised to do something then skipped. You're just out to either have the job finished (the correct way) or to have the money returned for the work not done. If he's going to have a business, he'd better start changing his ways. He probably thought you wouldn't do anything because you knew him. Not a good way to start a business.

Also, if you can remember the dates you called and that he called you, keep a log of date and time and what was said to the best of your knowledge. If he doesn't come and finish it, it will help having more documentation along with the contract.

Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.

[khardy57]

He just called me! He said he had not gotten my messages (yeah right) but said he would be out tomorrow to finish the flower beds and water line and would put the pea gravel out Tuesday morning.

I'm giving him one more chance to keep his word and then I'm off...............

[Kimberley]

He may have been really busy. Small contactors that do all of the work themselves usually have to stop work to go to other places to do bids, etc. I've contracted 2 different things out and though it took a little longer to get them finished (because they had to go someplace else), they always finished the work.

Talk to him and let him know that you're giving him till such-and-such date to finish the job and do NOT finish paying him until he finishes the job.

[RLC12345678]

I would send him a letter with a copy of the contract in it and highlight in the contract all the things that he has not completed. Was there anything in the contract that told him he had to have everything completed by a certain date? I would state in the letter that if he didn't have everything completed by XYZ date then you are taking him to court. And also tell him that he will be responsible for your legal fees if you have to take him to court. Also tell him that you will file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau on him and his business. That should get his attention.

[Janet]

Originally Posted by khardy57

He just called me! He said he had not gotten my messages (yeah right) but said he would be out tomorrow to finish the flower beds and water line and would put the pea gravel out Tuesday morning.

I'm giving him one more chance to keep his word and then I'm off...............

Since he called, yes I would give him the "one more chance", but if he doesn't show then I would start legal proceedings. I know that they have other bids and things to do, but they should at least keep in contact and let the homeowner know what is going on. There is no excuse for inconsiderate behavior.

[Marilyn]

We've had a similiar situation happen lately, and we consulted two attorneys about the issue, because we are out a lot of money. In our case, the lawyers said we could sue and win a judgment against the contractor, but he has no money, no bank account (cashes his checks at one of those check cashing places). We can't take his equipment because it would prevent him from making a living. We are stuck. The best thing to do is try to get the contractor to follow through on his promises, even if it takes time. In our case we did not have the time, he was a subcontractor for a home under construction. We had to cut our losses and hire someone else to complete the job. We may go ahead and get the judgment and try to collect in the future, but for now we just got burned, and this was a guy we had been doing business with for 5 years. He just got overextended and spent the money we gave him to get the job going. We couldn't pay him any more until he completed some of the work, so he went on to do jobs for people who would give him an advance to start another job. We think he walked off about 4 jobs for the same reason in the last couple of months.