True you should pay first, but if he doesnt have insurance or they deny your claim because the tree cutter denies damage, them holding payment till the dispute is resolved is best for the least problems to the homeowner. Keep your insurance co out of it, they can use any excuse to raise your rates or worse, drop you.
INSURANCE: A homeowner can't usually talk to a contractor's broker
Well, you can talk to them but you cannot make a claim against hi insurance. Only he can do that.
What you can do is to call your homeowner's insurance and tell the about the damage to your property. They in turn will pay you and the pursue his insurance company for reimbursement.
The problem with this approach is, depending on your deductable, yo may end up paying more out of pocket by alerting your insurerer tha what the damages are worth.
WITHHOLDING PAYMENT: In many states it is illegal to withhold paymen from a contractor without first
a)Making full payment on the portions of work completed and with whic there is no dispute b)Notifying the contractor within 7 days of the receipt of his bill fo services that there is a dispute and just what the dispute is. c)Failing to follow this proceedure can cause you be be fully liabl for all financial claims by the contractor, have to pay interest on an money withheld, and having to pay for court costs and attorney's fees b the contractor to collect his debt. d)It can be a criminal offense to stop payment on a check in som places.
SMALL CLAIMS: You could proceed via small claims court but it will cos you to do so and there is no guarantee you will win. Even if you ar
100% correct people lie and judges don't know when they are lyin especially when the lies are corroborated by witnesses. If this fello has his employees show up and they say the rake was already broken an that your shed roof was already damaged, you could be fully out o luck. Magistrates and small claims judges don't even want to wast their time with cases like these in most situations and may be irke with you simply because yu brought the case to trial.CONTRACT: What does his contract say about damage from falling trees o branches? Some tree men will fully disclaim any and all responsibilit for damages from falling trees or branches and also not warrant an damages to your property from their heavy equipment in mud. If you contract agreement has a no damage clause, then you have no case.
Personally,and for the amount of damage that is involved, you may jus wish to swallow this loss and chalk it up to experience...
It could cost you more to pursue any action and you coudl come awa empty handed
-- manhattan4
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Do NOT contact your insurance company. Why would you be giving them a reason to raise your rates when it should be the other person or their insurance company who has to pay?
Take them to court. Judy Judy should rip them a new one.
Agreed. After considerable thought I have decided to pay the balance due. The reality is that the work he did is worth more than the full payment to him. His estimate was a good thousand or 12 hunderd dollars lower than my next lowest bid. I will then clain it against his insurance company. I have already contacted them. I'm not going to involve my insurance co. Not for this. By doing this, I know that I will be in the right and clear. If they don't fix it then I can fix it for only a hundred or two dollars and some elbow grease. It feels better this way.
I appreciate all the input from everyone.
Good.
I disagree. I have never had that problem. Over they years I have had a claim or two and I have never had any indication of an increase based on any claim. I would imagine it is different from authority to authority but I don't believe where I am they are allowed to raise rates based on claims.
I applaud your forthrightness in admiting that part avbout the "lowest bidder" and realizing that in hiring folks to do jobs like that you are lucky if you get what you pay for, more often you have to settle for less than you expected to get.
Another wise decision...
You've just confirmed again what Confucius said, "If rape is inevitable, just lie back and try and enjoy it."
Jeff
clipped
Did he give a written bid prior to doing any work? If so, is there a statement about damages? Removing waste?
First, I would file a complaint against his license, if he has one. Then file claim for damage and cleanup with his insurance co. Then I would check with an attorney about withholding payment and recording the call. Write out what transpired and take photographs of damage and the mess he left. Folks here who do lawn/landscape work are required to remove waste and take it to the dump - homeowners who do their own work can leave it at the curb (in manageable bundles) for the city to pick up.
I guess a person can risk going to small claims court without attorney advice, especially with photos of damage and the mess he left, but I would not advise anyone one way or the other on that point.
Again,
You normally cannot make a claim against someone else's insurer. The do not represent you, they represent the one's who pay their premiums In this case, the contractor.
You do not have a contract with that contractor's insurer and they ar under no obligation to pay you.
In this case, only the contractor can file a claim with his liabilit insurer.
It will then be the contractor's liability insurance company' responsibility to defend him from any legal claims you bring.
This is why if you approach any insurance company for satisfaction, i has to be your own. They can pay for your claim (less your deductible then file suit against the contractor and his insured to b reimbursed.
If you do not wish to involve your own insurance company, your onl option is to take the contractor to small claims court, represen yourself or hire your own attorney at your own expense, and battl against the contractor and his insurance company provided attorneys wh will do their best to make sure you lose.
Again, the simplest solution here is to chalk it up to experience an move on.
Regards
-- manhattan4
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"Jeff Wisnia" wrote
Can you provide a reference for that "quote"?
Or would you like to take this chance to apologize?
That is simply disgusting, and you should know better.
-- females repair homes too.
Yes
No
Said waste would be removed
Outstanding! Somebody who actually does what many of us realize we should have done.
longshot wrote this is good advice, let your insurance company fight his insurance company. that way the lawyers are free.
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Good advise only if the homeowner doesn't object to having a claim on his insurance record. Insurance companies "ding" you whenever you cost them money. Is the money they spend on lawyers and other administrative costs associated with such a claim any different from the money they spend on actual repairs?
Maybe his rates won't go up based upon this one incident, but it still counts as a "claim." If his company only allows one claim per year, and he makes this "claim", and then a spring hailstorm hits him next month - what does he do? Not file his $6,000 hail damage claim because he already wasted this year's claim on a chump-change little $200 dispute and he doesn't want to be dropped or go into a higher risk category?
I considered initiating the suit. I may still do so. My time to repair will be 20.00 /hour plus materials. I don't think he knows he is in the wrong. I think he feels that he is in the right. I really do.
Well then, I am sorry that 1) you needed to "quote" Confucius as saying such a thing, and 2) you think rape is acceptable as a humorous analogy.
Look, I don't mind the usual mindless "women are home wreckers" joking that goes on here, but rape just isn't something you joke about, nor attribute to a deep mind. It goes "plonk" on both fronts.
Good idea on paying the bill. As far as I see it, it really is two different situations, first you hired him to remove the trees, he did it, so pay him. Second its the damage, either sue him, or collect from his insurance. If you don't pay him you are a dead beat! If you pay him, now he is the dead beat!
As far as the damage to your lawn, and shed, I would get quotes from contractors to repair the damage. Call a roofer, get references! Call a landscape contractor, also get references. Get them to give you quotes on the repairs. It will mean more in small claims court to have quotes from contractors than your guesstimates. After you win you case you probably will be able to hire the repairs or do it yourself, and pocket the extra cash. Greg
-> Long story short, I hired a contractor to remove three trees from
-> my property and in the process he caused damage beyond the usual yard
-> dings from falling limbs and trunks. He dropped a limb on my shed,
-> breaking the shingles and wood sheeting. Dropped a limb on my yard
-> rake, shattering it. Tried to hide both damages until I confronted him.
-> He said, 'well the roof was old anyway'. It was but it was completely
-> intact. He purchased in inferior POS rake to replace my broken one
-> telling me that's all Home Depot had.
-> That was a lie because I stopped at the same HD the same day and bought
-> my replacement that was identical to my old one.
You might want to ask about this in misc.legal.moderated. Let them know where you live. You'll get some solid advice there.
Especially for the small amount involved.
Possibly because it's true. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, "violent" spousal abuse (serious bodily injury or death) is inflicted on the male partner 59% of the time vs. 41% for the female.
The gals only hold a small lead for "all" physical abuse, 51-49% ("all" includes the "violent" plus shoving, slapping, tickling, spanking, etc.).
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