contractor sends a bill 7 months later

[ria]

Last summer, a local roofing company, did a job for my extended family. They proceeded on the job, after submitting a signed contract and had appropriate city permits filed.

Half of the contract amount was paid before the start of the job and the agreement was to pay the balance upon completion and passing inspection.

End of July, 2009 the final payment was made and contractor sent an invoice dated 7/31/2009 showing zero (0) balance and a large stamped text PAID (stamped sideways) over the body of the invoice.

Now fast forward to January 27, 2010 as contractor sends a new Certified US Mail with another invoice claiming "Serious Past Due Account" and they show a balance of few hundred on this invoice which is also dated 7/31/2009. This new invoice shows a new item being added to the original invoice with the resulting new balance.

This latest invoice was never presented to the family and has never surfaced until now, 7 months later.

(1) What makes the contractors new bill legitimate over the previous Zero Balance invoice? (2) Why did it take 7 months to present this new invoice?

[dpb]

ria wrote: ...

You're asking the wrong folks...

--

[hrhofmann]

Post your question on:

Someone there is bound to have something to say pertinent to your question.

[ransley]

What is his"new " item billed 200$ for. You know if its legit and he did extra work, if he did pay him he is doing book keeping now since he cant do roofing its to cold out. If its bs dont pay, if it isnt pay.

[benick]

To timid to pick up the phone and call to find out ???Sheesh....

[Caesar Romano]

On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:14:10 +0200, "ria" wrote Re contractor sends a bill 7 months later:

Try news:misc.legal.moderated

[John Grabowski]

*Over here in this part of the country we have some of those new contraptions called telephones. If you send me the information I could call the company and ask them.

[dadiOH]

You had a contract for a specfied sum. You paid it and have an statement from the contractor acknowledging so. Did you sign a change order during the course of the job? If so, pay it; if not, send the bill back to the contractor along with a copy of the "PAID" statement and a note saying you have already paid.

[ransley]

They just want to see if they can get out of paying because its 7 months late. They know what the legitimate bill is for

[Jason Bourne]

The contractor apparently doesn't know the difference between an invoice and a statement;-)

In any event, tell the responsible party to pick up the phone and call they guy. You sound like you're cranking up for a big time legal fight when the problem most likely can be easily resolved with the contractor updating his records...

[Caesar Romano]

On Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:18:45 -0500, "dadiOH" wrote Re Re: contractor sends a bill 7 months later:

Good advice.

[mkirsch1]

A legitimate charge for product or services received that was not paid for previously.

It's time to report to the IRS. They came up short. They discovered that they forgot to bill you for something.

Obviously, the charge is legitimate or your post would have been worded much differently. I would have expected something like:

"I paid the roofers back in June and now I'm getting this bill with a bogus charge for $700 worth of masking tape and animal crackers!"

Instead, you make no mention of what the charge is for.

Admit it; it's something the roofers provided, but wasn't on the original bill. You caught the mistake, but kept your mouth closed figuring you'd get something for nothing.

The stand-up honest American thing to do here is PAY THE BILL.

However, I would call them and express my concern and displeasure over the heavy-handed use of the PAST DUE stamp on the bill... how this is the first time I've heard from them in 7 months, and how an oversight on their part should not result in a black mark on my credit rating.

[DerbyDad03]

re: "The stand-up honest American thing to do here is PAY THE BILL."

I agree with everything you've said, except for the wording. How is the use of the word "American" relevant to that statement?

[JIMMIE]

I always write paid in full on the check when I pay for a job like this. That overrides the agreement on the contracted price. Once I had a dispute about cost sent the guy a check and he marked out the paid in full and cashed the check. He then took me to small claims court for what he saw as the rest of his money. He made his claim. I showed the judge the canceled check where he altered it and the judge found in my favor.

Jimmie

[salty]

Doesn't sound like it from the information given.

If a contractor signs a contract to do a job for a total cost of $3000, with 50% to be paid now and 50% to be paid on completion, then once you have paid $3000 total, you are DONE paying. He contracted to do the job for a flat rate of $3000 and that is what you paid. You picked him over other bidders, at least partially based on that price that he committed to in writing.

If the contractor made a mistake in calculating his bid, that really isn't your concern. What if his bid was $3000, and someone else lost the job because they bid $3500, and now the contractor wants an additional $2000 7 months after being paid in full for the contracted price? You could have gone with the guy who wanted to do the same job for $3500.

That's why there are contracts, and bidding.

[Steve B]

Do you have a telephone? Call them and ask THEM. You'll get the real answer faster.

Steve

[Steve B]

It's not advice. It is the legal answer to the question.

Steve

[Steve B]

A legitimate charge for product or services received that was not paid for previously.

It's time to report to the IRS. They came up short. They discovered that they forgot to bill you for something.

Obviously, the charge is legitimate or your post would have been worded much differently. I would have expected something like:

"I paid the roofers back in June and now I'm getting this bill with a bogus charge for $700 worth of masking tape and animal crackers!"

Instead, you make no mention of what the charge is for.

Admit it; it's something the roofers provided, but wasn't on the original bill. You caught the mistake, but kept your mouth closed figuring you'd get something for nothing.

The stand-up honest American thing to do here is PAY THE BILL.

However, I would call them and express my concern and displeasure over the heavy-handed use of the PAST DUE stamp on the bill... how this is the first time I've heard from them in 7 months, and how an oversight on their part should not result in a black mark on my credit rating.

reply: How do you know all this stuff without any information? Do you have ESP? Are you a psychic, or just psychotic?

Steve

[Doug Miller]

No, it doesn't.

More likely because he altered the check... duh.

[jtees4]

Even if it was for a real charge that he forgot....you had a contract for a certain price. You can't be charged more if you didn't agree to it. If it were me, bas3ed on everything you stated (assuming it's true)...I wouldn't pay.

****