home improvement contractor nightmare

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I’m not sure this violates TBD off the wall policy. Mods please nuke it if it does.

 

So I’m not entirely looking for free legal advice. I have a meeting with an attorney tomorrow but there’s a lot of smart folks and life experiences here. So I’m curious who might have lived something like this.  

 

we did a kitchen Reno with the contractor.  There is a final payment due.  We agreed to pay the amount owed even thought he won’t addrress a bunch of damage, some clear overcharges and some items in the contract that were not done. After we agreed The contractor then revised the final offer to include us having to sign a waiver releasing him from any and all responsibility. He is threatening if we don’t sign he will sue us for all kinds of extra charges we have not heard of until now. 

 

Has as anyone ever dealt with this kind of thing? Reno was large enough to include electrical plumbing and a 8” beam. Amount owed is about 7% and total work does not qualify for any sort of lein as far as we can tell even though that was threatened, until we educated ourselves. 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[KRC]

14 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

I’m not sure this violates TBD off the wall policy. Mods please nuke it if it does.

 

So I’m not entirely looking for free legal advice. I have a meeting with an attorney tomorrow but there’s a lot of smart folks and life experiences here. So I’m curious who might have lived something like this.  

 

we did a kitchen Reno with the contractor.  There is a final payment due.  We agreed to pay the amount owed even thought he won’t addrress a bunch of damage, some clear overcharges and some items in the contract that were not done. After we agreed The contractor then revised the final offer to include us having to sign a waiver releasing him from any and all responsibility. He is threatening if we don’t sign he will sue us for all kinds of extra charges we have not heard of until now. 

 

Has as anyone ever dealt with this kind of thing? Reno was large enough to include electrical plumbing and a 8” beam. Amount owed is about 7% and total work does not qualify for any sort of lein as far as we can tell even though that was threatened, until we educated ourselves. 

 

Been there. Done that. Take him to court.

[snafu]

25 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

I’m not sure this violates TBD off the wall policy. Mods please nuke it if it does.

 

So I’m not entirely looking for free legal advice. I have a meeting with an attorney tomorrow but there’s a lot of smart folks and life experiences here. So I’m curious who might have lived something like this.  

 

we did a kitchen Reno with the contractor.  There is a final payment due.  We agreed to pay the amount owed even thought he won’t addrress a bunch of damage, some clear overcharges and some items in the contract that were not done. After we agreed The contractor then revised the final offer to include us having to sign a waiver releasing him from any and all responsibility. He is threatening if we don’t sign he will sue us for all kinds of extra charges we have not heard of until now. 

 

Has as anyone ever dealt with this kind of thing? Reno was large enough to include electrical plumbing and a 8” beam. Amount owed is about 7% and total work does not qualify for any sort of lein as far as we can tell even though that was threatened, until we educated ourselves. 

 

Do you have a written, itemized, signed contract?  If so, let him sue you.

 

He can put a lien on your property for any amount he claims is owed, but he's got to be accurate about the amount owed.  In order to enforce the lien, he's got a strict time limit to file an action against you.  He could still sue you without having filed a lien. But in any event, you've obviously got no voice with this person now.  As lame, time consuming, and expensive as going to court is, there's some benefit to having someone who will hear both sides of the matter.

 

The only other thing you should concern yourself with it whether he's got any responsibility to sign off the work with the building department.  If so, you might not want to get that aspect tied up in your contractor dispute.

 

 

Edit:  you're in Maryland?  Rules might be different from what I know.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by snafu

[KD in CA]

He’s trying to intimidate you, don’t fall for it.

 

Tell him to ***** off and that you’re hiring another contractor to clean up his mess and you’ll be suing him for that cost.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

13 minutes ago, KRC said:

 

Been there. Done that. Take him to court.

 

I think that’s where we end up. Feels like everything we are getting hit with is just intended to intimidate us because we are ignorant to our rights, and theirs. 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

13 minutes ago, snafu said:

 

Do you have a written, itemized, signed contract?  If so, let him sue you.

 

He can put a lien on your property for any amount he claims is owed, but he's got to be accurate about the amount owed.  In order to enforce the lien, he's got a strict time limit to file an action against you.  He could still sue you without having filed a lien. But in any event, you've obviously got no voice with this person now.  As lame, time consuming, and expensive as going to court is, there's some benefit to having someone who will hear both sides of the matter.

 

The only other thing you should concern yourself with it whether he's got any responsibility to sign off the work with the building department.  If so, you might not want to get that aspect tied up in your contractor dispute.

 

 

Edit:  you're in Maryland?  Rules might be different from what I know.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes written signed itemized contract. All these additional charges aren’t mentioned on the contract, weren’t presented to us during the project and either not approved or he claimed he would absorb. 

 

Yep Maryland 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

7 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

 

I think that’s where we end up. Feels like everything we are getting hit with is just intended to intimidate us because we are ignorant to our rights, and theirs. 

Hold out for Judge Judy.  See what the BBB has on the contractor.  Even web based ratings, but those can be subjective.

[Happy]

Not sure if Montgomery County has a Consumer Affairs department where you can go to arbitration before going to court; might be a better (and cheaper) route to explore before having to lawyer up.  I've hired my share of contractors, and sounds like you got a dishonest one.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

11 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

Not sure if Montgomery County has a Consumer Affairs department where you can go to arbitration before going to court; might be a better (and cheaper) route to explore before having to lawyer up.  I've hired my share of contractors, and sounds like you got a dishonest one.

 

Weve worked with loads of contractors. This is the first time we’ve had anything close to this type of experience. There is an arbitration clause in the contract. I think we are just getting bullied because the guy knows he made a mess. 

 

Im not into all this lawsuit stuff but it seems like we might need to. 

[teef]

38 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

He’s trying to intimidate you, don’t fall for it.

 

Tell him to ***** off and that you’re hiring another contractor to clean up his mess and you’ll be suing him for that cost.

this is exactly what's going on.   i'd do exactly this, and threaten to light up his online reviews.  those things have become shockingly important.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

This is why i do stuff myself. But Teef has it right. Tell him you know a LOT of people who'd be willing to give him a 1 star.

 

See how long his tone remains hostile.

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

55 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

This is why i do stuff myself. But Teef has it right. Tell him you know a LOT of people who'd be willing to give him a 1 star.

 

See how long his tone remains hostile.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, teef said:

this is exactly what's going on.   i'd do exactly this, and threaten to light up his online reviews.  those things have become shockingly important.

 

In the liability waiver there is actually an item where I’d need to agree no online ‘disparaging’.

 

ive agreed to pay the amount so this waiver thing seems like a strong arm tactic because he knows he’s screwed a bunch of things up. 

 

I like this idea.

 

And I love doing home improvement stuff myself too. Just takes so darn long. But it seems to come out best because you actually care about doing it right.  

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

2 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

And I love doing home improvement stuff myself too. Just takes so darn long. But it seems to come out best because you actually care about doing it right.  

 

The only times I call a contractor is for electrical or tile work. I HATE laying tile.

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

19 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

The only times I call a contractor is for electrical or tile work. I HATE laying tile.

 

For me it’s spackling and sanding. Hate it passionately 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

2 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

For me it’s spackling and sanding. Hate it passionately 

 

We all have our things.

 

[KD in CA]

26 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

 

 

 

In the liability waiver there is actually an item where I’d need to agree no online ‘disparaging’.

 

ive agreed to pay the amount so this waiver thing seems like a strong arm tactic because he knows he’s screwed a bunch of things up. 

 

I like this idea.

 

And I love doing home improvement stuff myself too. Just takes so darn long. But it seems to come out best because you actually care about doing it right.  

 

And obviously, don’t sign any kind of waiver at any point, even if you reach an accommodation.

[Foxx]

being a contractor, i can honestly say we hate guys like this.

 

best of luck in getting it straightened out in your favor. i just hope that your kitchen remodel is structurally sound and done according to generally accepted construction norms.

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Foxx

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

1 hour ago, Foxx said:

being a contractor, i can honestly say we hate guys like this.

 

best of luck in getting it straightened out in your favor. i just hope that your kitchen remodel is structurally sound and done according to generally accepted construction norms.

 

 

Thanks man. Most contractors we’ve dealt with have ranged from good to outright awesome. 

 

Most stuff seems ok, but when start seeing patterns, it makes you question everything. 

 

My my wife and I are still reflecting hard to see how we missed on this one. 

[Boca BIlls]

If you blow his car up I bet he stops wanting your money. 

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

https://www.peoples-law.org/home-improvement-resolving-disputes-contractors