Can you sue a contractor who splits?

[WoN ereH]

x-no-archive: yes

I had a contractor ask me to pay him as he went along. Foolishly, I paid him as we went along, but 20g's later, nothing is finished. He was supposed to put in 2 retaining walls and a couple ponds, a treehouse, patio, that sort of thing.. I have 2 -- 1/2 retaining walls, 2 unfinished ponds, and the yard is a total mess. He even charged up some heavy equipment to my charge card and promised to work off the amount. Of course, that didn't happen. He keeps promising to show up, or send someone else to finish up, but it never happens. It's been a little over a year since he started. Can I pay someone else to finish and sue him in small claims court for what it costs me to complete the job? ( I know where he lives.) I don't want to sue him as he has had a lot of personal problems this year, but I don't know how to get him to finish. I'm in Georgia.

Thanks much, Debbie

[Jerry Smoltz]

The way lawyers twist things around. You probably will get sued for causing his personal problems.

What was he doing using your C/C's? Sounds like you hired a backyard handyman, now you're regretting it. Whoa is you.

[Doc]

We all have personal problems-- why do his make you not want to sue? Did he give you a discount because of them?

I'd send someone large over to talk to him first. Tell him he's got 36 hours to show up, seven days to show significant progress and 30 days to complete the job. If that doesn't get results, just sue the bastard!

doc

[Jim Thompson]

[snip]

And woe also ;-)

...Jim Thompson

[Jim Thompson]

If he's truly a registered contractor go to the state registrar of contractors. But if he's just a handyman you be SOL.

...Jim Thompson

[UnFriendly Fire]

HE WILL NOT FINISH Debbie, his personal problems should NOT be your personal problems. He has made them yours by stealing your money and taking advantage of your good nature. Sue him, file charges against him for fraud and theft by deception and get on with your life.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Sure you can sue. You may even get a judgment if you win. That will not force him to finish the job, nor will he pay if he has nothing to pay with. Ed

[Patscga]

You have to sue him or he will put a lien on your property that will have to be settled before you ever sell the house. Good luck collecting, however. I did this, won the case, and it turned out the guy was a "corporation", just changed the name of same, and that was the end of that. It's called the Corporate Veil. Maybe you will be luckier. Pat

[bambam]

You're in Georgia, I'm in Canada. Different rules, but the principles likely are the same.

If he is indeed a contractor, he has a license. Start with whoever licenses him. If he's a handyman, working out of his back pocket (which he sounds like), it's a different problem.

Can you have someone else complete the work? Yes. To cover yourself, send him a registered letter firing him, and informing him that you intend to have the work completed and to look to him for any expense over and above his original estimate.

Can you sue him? Yes, you can sue anyone for anything. Can you win? Likely. Can you collect? Much less likely from what you've told us.

In your situation, I'd check with a lawyer just to make sure you do the right things in the right order.

Ken

[HeatMan]

Then she's SOL. The great state of Georgia does not license general contractors. The major trades (Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical) and a few others.

[Stormin Mormonn]

You can file any suit you want.

The first challenge is to get a judgement. I did this some years ago when a customer asked me out to make keys to her car. I did, and she promised to mail me a check.

Many phonecalls and many excuses later, I filed in small court. She kept reading the list of all the things she was trying to pay off. And promised to send me buck a week or so.

Four dollars and a court date later, I had a judgement.

I never did bother to file at the county courthouse.

The gal did call back and ask why I filed the claim after she promised to pay. Well, simple. I didn't see a penny of her money. I promised not to file if she started to pay me. She didn't, and.....

Now days I don't hand people keys until I see money coming towards me.

[CBHvac]

Ok...ok..thats it..

WHAT the FUCK are you?

You claim to be a HVAC tech, and now its a locksmith....

Lemmie guess...after 5pm, you are a HVAC hack, just slap the magnetic signs on the Taurus wagon, and awwwwaaaay you go...

[WoN ereH]

Thanks for the replies. He didn't actually have my CC, the place he rented the bobcat/dozer from had my CC number. He told them to charge some other things for someone else to my card and they did! When I told him we would contact CC company, he insisted he would work off amount (over 2g's). Ha! Well, will tell him we're gonna sue if he doesn't finish in 30 days. Maybe I'll give him

1. Thanks again for your imput..

Debbie

[Daniel L. Belton]

Debbie...

I don't know about you, but I know that I can't afford to pay for someone else's personal problems. Being kind hearted is great and it shows that you are a caring person, but there are limits to what you can do to be kind to someone. In this case, it seems as though it has costed you quite a lot of money, and money is something not easy to get nowdays. You have tried on more than one occasion to get him to finish the job that you have paid him for, and it seems like he's not going to finish. I am a person that is againt all of these sue-happy people we have these days, but in your situation I believe you have no other recourse. File a suit in small claims court and see what response that gets out of him. If he comes and finishes the job, then you can drop the suit. If not, then you get to have your day in court and possibly recover the money it's costed you.

[TONY 70000]

yes debbie you can sue him or turn him In for stealing by deciet since he has never finished the work.i'am In business myself and I dont see how guys like that get away with It.It gives reputiable companys like myself a black eye.

[C G]

You let HIM use YOUR credit card?

It's unfortunate that he's had personal problems, but it's even more unfortunate that he's not meeting the business committments he made to you. Have an attorney send him a letter. I suspect you are being too nice.

[DaveG]

Go ahead and sue him. I'm sure you'll get a judgement against the "contractor". I'm more sure that you'll die before you collect a dime. I'm kinda thinking this guy isn't sitting on a big pile of money. There is a HUGE difference between winning a small claims case and collecting. Especially when it human vs human, and especially for contractor stuff. Some of these types don't have any assets to get. There is a limit on the maximum amount you can collect in small claims court. Probably around $5K. Would that be enough to recompensate you? You let this guy use YOUR credit card? Man, do you need to get wise. Do you even have a contract (legally executed, on paper) with this person? If you don't have a contract in writing, suing will be all the more tough. How will you be able to prove anything? Good luck, you're gonna need it. Dave

[Thund3rstruck]

CBHvac Spilled my beer when they jumped on the table and proclaimed in :

Naw. It's a rusted out brown El Camino. He overweight and smokes cigars...

"Today, weer doin winders!"

NOI

[CBHvac]

CRAP..I swear...you owe me a keyboard..there was a guy like that here in town...WAS is the key word.

[Jeff Wisnia]

FWIW, you'll probably have to pay as much to get someone else to finish the work as you originally expected to pay for the whole job. A contractor picking up a half finished job will have to assume liability for the quality and performance of the entire finished job, and will charge accordingly to cover himself for doing that.

Consider it "a learning experience" and what it cost you the "tuition".

I refuse to hire contractors who want to get paid before completing small to medium sized jobs. I'm willing to pay a bit more more to hire a firm with enough resources to finance the job to completion. So far, I've always been able to find someone reputable and financially stable enough to accept those terms.

Jeff