Hired a contractor to work on my home. Having a dispute over the price.

[IamStryker]

btw i'm sure we are all curious how this resolves so keep the thread updated if you can.

I will and I appreciate all of the advice.

It really bothers me that this happened. I'm not the kind of person that is ok with going through a dispute like this. I'm pretty upset. I feel that I have to stand my ground on principal here.

 

[Protectandserve]

This is why you always get a written contract for any work that a contractor will do.

 

[IamStryker]

This is why you always get a written contract for any work that a contractor will do.

I'm still young and dumb apparently. I have to learn the hard way unfortunately.

 

[sloppypie]

I will and I appreciate all of the advice.

It really bothers me that this happened. I'm not the kind of person that is ok with going through a dispute like this. I'm pretty upset. I feel that I have to stand my ground on principal here.

it sounds like it may be your first foray into this type of thing, and it's a pretty common thing to happen actually. i've had it happen, and i remember how angry i was the first time somebody tried to scam me.

but it just happens sometimes. it's what small claims courts are for. for some reason, good people always feel like they need to solve the problems or disputes as soon as possible. and it's just not the smart way to do things - just let it play itself out. make your position clear, and make the options to resolve it clearer still. my guess is, if you say pay the original or lets go to small claims court, he will buckle and take the $45 / hour.

for guys like him, time is money. he's hoping you will cater outright and not fight him on it. don't be a dick about it, be polite in your talks with him. good luck.

 

[GSP_37]

No contract increases the probability of being screwed.

Dispute suggests dishonorable contractor, so cancel and get someone honest and honorable before it's too late.

 

[SamSchmidt]

he is trying to scam you, so definitely don't pay that. your original verbal contract is $45 / hour to hire him and his business. who he hires is them on him. NOBODY conducts business this way by terming it "$45 an hour" and then meaning that applies to everyone.

if you had a crew of 12, you tell the person hiring you either what the overall estimate is (which is how it's supposed to be done) or an hourly that the BUSINESS will charge.

tell him you will pay him the agreed upon rate and hours. if he wanted double that, then it should've been a $90 an hour term. let him take you to small claims if he has to, you are not acting unreasonable. let a small claims judge make the decision.

if you want to avoid court, you could make him an offer over the agreed upon price, but do not agree to double. don't let it hassle you, small claims is not that big a deal. but be firm about it, tell the guy either (1) take our deal or take me to court, or (2) offer him a slightly better than the original deal but significantly less than what he wants. that's my advice.

This

 

[Phlog]

What the hell is this weird world where you do building work on an hourly rate. You give a quote for the job, that's the deal. If you don't know how it's gonna work out you quote higher to cover the uncertainty.

You spoke to him, he said 45 an hour, that is what you owe.

 

[My name is]

If he's licensed he can put a lien on ya if not then fuck him

 

[Cole train]

What the hell is this weird world where you do building work on an hourly rate. You give a quote for the job, that's the deal. If you don't know how it's gonna work out you quote higher to cover the uncertainty.

You spoke to him, he said 45 an hour, that is what you owe.

Sounds normal to me.

 

[TheWobbler]

His assistant is probably his son and they're trying to take advantage.

I would refuse to pay him for the additional charge, don't back down either. Thats a big sum of money just to add on after the work is done.

The good thing to come of this is now you will get all quotes in writing before you get work done.

 

[jefferz]

He had to replace a lot of rotting wood due to problems with the sidling and gutters. Water damage.

So he had to rehang siding and the gutters?

 

[minute bull]

I have wondered that myself. I do fully intend to pay him what I was told the job would cost initially. But I don't think he will agree to that and I'm not sure what he will do.

Ask him what he'll do, and how. For instance, how will he enforce the higher rate without any sort of signed contract? Based on whatever he says you can plan accordingly, but the trick is to not look at this in your usual adversarial fashion by pretending there is someone who is "more right" in this scenario. Standing on such principle and emotion will only limit your abilities to negotiate. Keep emotion out of it, and try to structure an amenable solution by putting the weight of problem-solving on him and making him relent in his position.

"How can I pay you double of what we agreed upon?" Keep asking solution-based questions that he has to answer. Be friendly, and moreover mindful of triggering his emotional responses. You want to avoid making problems harder for yourself. Preface your questions with flattering statements. "I really love the job you did, you did great work -- but how can I agree to changes you never communicated from the beginning?"

As a final-final contingency: Take pictures of your place just in case he opts for vigilante justice, and make sure you're able to lead the cops to his doorstep. It doesn't sound like this guy has one single legal recourse, but there could be more information I'm not taking into account.

Document everything from here on out. Every single conversation, everything.

 

[IamStryker]

So he had to rehang siding and the gutters?

He fixed the siding next to the gutters which had an unnecessary hole cut into it which the water was getting into. Most of the work was replacing all of the rotting wood.

 

[IamStryker]

If he's licensed he can put a lien on ya if not then fuck him

Can you give me more information on what you mean here? If he's licensed then what?

 

[King Koopa]

I'm going to try to give a brief overview of what happened. I hired a carpenter to do a repair on my home. When he came out to my house to take a look I knew he wouldn't be able to tell me exactly what it would cost so I asked him what his hourly rate was and about how long he expected it would take. He told me that he charged $45 an hour and expected the job to take around 2 days. He didn't give me any more information than that and he never had me sign any type of contract. I thought that was a little odd but I liked him overall and didn't think this would be an issue. He then showed up to do the work and had a young kid with him. Looked to be around 20 years old. Could have been slightly younger or slightly older I have no idea. I didn't think much of it other than that I didn't know he was bringing assistance. They completed the job over the course of 3 trips which ended up to be 20 hours of work in total. They did a good job and I had no complaint other than it felt like he wasn't communicating with me very much. I would have expected someone in his position to communicate more with me on how long the job was taking and maybe give updates on the cost. He didn't do much of that and I was just trying to stay out of he way as they were working outside in cold weather and I knew that it wasn't easy work. Anyways when they finished the job they just disappeared and didn't say anything to me although I was in the house and told them I was around. A few days later I get an email with the price and it was literally double the amount I was expecting it to be. Why was it double? Because he didn't just charge me $45 an hour. He charged me $45 an hour for him AND his young assistant each. I found this to be very unfair as this was not communicated to me at all, at any point. I was only ever told that it would cost me $45 an hour and it would take two days. I wasn't told when he came out that he would even be bringing someone else. Was I really supposed to assume that I was paying that amount for each person who came out to do the work? I feel that I wasn't treated fairly here and I'm trying to figure out how to handle it with him.

TLDR

-Was told the repair would cost 45 an hour over two days. I was not told that he would be bringing anyone else out to do the work.

-I was then charged $45 an hour for two separate people which was never communicated to me and no contract was signed.

I know I made the mistake of not getting a real quote on the job but should I have to pay twice as much as I was expecting to pay based on what he told me?

He did this purposely to make more money for himself and to use the excuse “I had another guy, this isn’t a one person job”?He likely gave the young worker $15 an hour and took the other $30 an hour for himself.

He ripped you off, clearly. I would give him the $45 an hour that he quoted, and nothing more

 

[My name is]

Can you give me more information on what you mean here? If he's licensed then what?

If you own the property he can put put a property lien on it and if you sale he can get paid that way plus it can keep you from refinancing and things like that

 

[IamStryker]

UPDATE!!

Apparently I am an idiot and didn't see these Yelp reviews until now. Check this out......

Had a few issues w service. I called ***** to have a few jobs completed (a very small hole in the living room wall, a bigger one in the bed room and a very few quick jobs including tightening a few bathroom towel racks, a wobbly faucet and stabilize the kitchen blinds. Honestly I was thinking the job would cost 150.00 or so. I didn't know I Would be paying 2 people at $55.00 an hour. His business says ****** home repair...not ***** and "the other guy." This was partly my fault. I should have asked more questions, I should have asked for a quote and quotes from others. The total was $350 and then said it would be an additional 160.00 the following day. A whopping $560.00 for mostly some minor dry wall repairs, quick odd jobs totaling 3 hours of work. ***** seemed knowledgable and a nice enough guy. Just seemed a little high in price. Also, after he fixed a wobbly bathroom sink it was leaking on the floor and inside the cabinet after he left. We never had this issue before. He fixed it without complaint but stated it had been leaking before. We check down there often and this is not the case. What was most frustrating was these jobs were a one man job. I ultimately feel ripped and I'm an easy guy to please and get along with. We will look elsewhere for a soon remodeled kitchen.

Apparently I am not the first person to have this problem with him!!

 

[method115]

This is why you always get a written contract for any work that a contractor will do.

That's what somebody is going to be telling the contractor not the TS. The contractor has absolutely no proof on the agreed upon price, he's fucked unless TS decides to be a kind soul\stupid person.

 

[IamStryker]

If you own the property he can put put a property lien on it and if you sale he can get paid that way plus it can keep you from refinancing and things like that

I have no idea what a "property lien" is

 

[method115]

UPDATE!!

Apparently I am an idiot and didn't see these Yelp reviews until now. Check this out......

Had a few issues w service. I called ***** to have a few jobs completed (a very small hole in the living room wall, a bigger one in the bed room and a very few quick jobs including tightening a few bathroom towel racks, a wobbly faucet and stabilize the kitchen blinds. Honestly I was thinking the job would cost 150.00 or so. I didn't know I Would be paying 2 people at $55.00 an hour. His business says ****** home repair...not ***** and "the other guy." This was partly my fault. I should have asked more questions, I should have asked for a quote and quotes from others. The total was $350 and then said it would be an additional 160.00 the following day. A whopping $560.00 for mostly some minor dry wall repairs, quick odd jobs totaling 3 hours of work. ***** seemed knowledgable and a nice enough guy. Just seemed a little high in price. Also, after he fixed a wobbly bathroom sink it was leaking on the floor and inside the cabinet after he left. We never had this issue before. He fixed it without complaint but stated it had been leaking before. We check down there often and this is not the case. What was most frustrating was these jobs were a one man job. I ultimately feel ripped and I'm an easy guy to please and get along with. We will look elsewhere for a soon remodeled kitchen.

Apparently I am not the first person to have this problem with him!!

Yea don't pay this guy and point out this yelp review to him. Save a copy on your PC in case he tries to have it removed and is successful. He's got no case if he tries to take you to court.