Posted: 3/12/2012 6:28:21 PM EDT
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My wife and I are new to remodeling our house, and we have pretty much broke every rule that there is when it comes to hiring a reputable contractor.
Having tried to do most of the renovations ourselves and failing miserably we came home to a business card on our door stating that if we needed any help with plumbing, drywall, painting, or any handyman associated work to give him a call. So we did, and he came by the very same day to give us a quote. He is local to our area, and gave us a very reasonable quote to work on our plumbing, drywall, tile, and hardwood flooring. He quoted us at $2700 for the entire job. We accepted, and he asked for a down payment of $700 for materials and then he stated he wouldn't need any more until the job was completed. We paid him the $700 in cash, and he told us he was going to come the next day and begin the work. The next day he showed up and started preparing our kitchen floor. He told us that our $700 had been spent in materials and asked us if we could give him another $700 towards the cost. We agreed thinking that the normal procedures would be half up front and the remainder upon completion. His requests did not seem unreasonable. He then left and told us he was going to buy supplies and he would return on monday. True to his word, he returned monday morning, however that day all he brought with him was a sob story stating that he had come upon hard times and that he would get evicted from his apartment. He wanted to add on to the contract that we had signed and said that we would give us a really good deal if we agreed to more work and gave him more money. At this point we didn't have a lot of money, and we are still struggling at this point. So we had to deny his offer but we told him that we understood that if his home wasn't in order that he couldn't focus on the job at hand. So we told him to take a couple of days off and get his problems sorted out. This saga continued for over a week and finally he told us that he was struggling and would either refund our money or continue the work on the next monday. At this point, we were very skeptical of his true intentions so we stated we wanted our money back. We asked for his drivers license, and also wrote down his number plate just in case he disappeared over the weekend. At this point we needed to hire another contractor before the next rent was due in our apartment so we could move into our mortgage free house. The next contractor was one recommended to us, and things are going very smoothly with him. We should be able to move in next week. Another week on of promises, and excuses, we still haven't received our money. He gave us a written "statement" that he would pay us back the money he took from us. Tomorrow is the day that was agreed on his written statement. He called me today to confirm meeting him at my house so he could give me my money back. My wife and I are skeptical that we will ever see the money that he owes us, because of how many times he has come to our house with an excuse instead of the money he owes us. At this point, we are curious as to what kind of legal action we can take, if for whatever reason he doesn't have the money tomorrow. Can we call the cops? Do we even have a leg to stand on? Just to clarify I live in Ohio, so i'm not sure if it differs from state to state. Any info anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. |