Victimized by a building contractor scam

[The Libertine]

Did you file a complaint through you state’s Attorney General office?

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by The Libertine

Did you file a complaint through you state’s Attorney General office?

I did last week and they are the only ones who have attempted to help. They said they had this guy on their radar already and managed to get him to return 2 peoples deposits after they sent him demand letters. They sent him another for me on Friday so we'll see if he responds. Either way I'm at least glad someone is looking into this and doing something about it.

[tcphoto]

Good to hear, I hope that it scares him enough to refund your deposit. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he told you a sad story and offered to do the job but would need money for the supplies...I much prefer my previous suggestion.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Once upon a time I had a contractor do a complete remodel on a house I had to flip, and boy it was a nightmare. Fly by night deal that always seemed cracked out or drunk. Left a check with a relative to pay the guy for that week's work after completion while I was out of town, but of course she gave the check early in the week. Guy jumped town with a pocket full of cash for work he didn't complete. Half built deck with the rear French doors missing a threshold and a time schedule to list the house in a week. Check was cashed before I knew it and POOF...dude was gone to never be heard from again.

While I can't be of any assistance to OP, I'd be interested to see what not to do in these situations. I am always ultra DIY (I enjoy it, and, well, I don't trust folks as can be seen here and above), but I just don't see building a privacy fence in the cards as a solo project. zx10guy mentions ensuring the contractor is licensed and bonded which is great advice. My only experience is Mr. Workforarock, and I just cannot go through that crap again. What other advice do the people have in selecting the right team? Google reviews? Bring your top three out to bid? What else?

Hell, a fence seems way easier to me than a bathroom remodel or something. You line it up, dig some holes, pour some concrete, and just have to keep it straight. I've built fences, gates, walls, etc as well as helped a friend do a bathroom remodel and the drywall / spackling / plumbing / electric was way more difficult and tedious.

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I did last week and they are the only ones who have attempted to help. They said they had this guy on their radar already and managed to get him to return 2 peoples deposits after they sent him demand letters. They sent him another for me on Friday so we'll see if he responds. Either way I'm at least glad someone is looking into this and doing something about it.

If you don't get the $ back, $1500 is well worth it for small claims court imo. Shouldn't take you more than an hour or so to file the paperwork. Dunno about you but my time is definitely worth $1,500 / hour.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

Hell, a fence seems way easier to me than a bathroom remodel or something. You line it up, dig some holes, pour some concrete, and just have to keep it straight. I've built fences, gates, walls, etc as well as helped a friend do a bathroom remodel and the drywall / spackling / plumbing / electric was way more difficult and tedious.



If you don't get the $ back, $1500 is well worth it for small claims court imo. Shouldn't take you more than an hour or so to file the paperwork. Dunno about you but my time is definitely worth $1,500 / hour.

It's not about the paperwork, it's like a $200 something fee to file it and honestly even if I won... which I don't see how I wouldn't. What then? I have a judgment on a bs company with no assets which I'm sure he will shut down once the heat gets too hot and start a new one. Rinse and repeat.

Anyways I'm guessing he got the letter from the AG office today so his "assistant" aka wife/girlfriend called me and left a message stating they got my letter (as if I sent it) and could draft some bs rescission form/agreement I don't know what to get a refund less a $750 administration fee. Yeah.... right. Told them to go pound sand.

[NorCalAthlete]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

It's not about the paperwork, it's like a $200 something fee to file it and honestly even if I won... which I don't see how I wouldn't. What then? I have a judgment on a bs company with no assets which I'm sure he will shut down once the heat gets too hot and start a new one. Rinse and repeat.

Anyways I'm guessing he got the letter from the AG office today so his "assistant" aka wife/girlfriend called me and left a message stating they got my letter (as if I sent it) and could draft some bs rescission form/agreement I don't know what to get a refund less a $750 administration fee. Yeah.... right. Told them to go pound sand.

If you can afford to blow off a $1500 pay day because you don't think you'll win, you can afford to file the $200 paperwork and forget about it till it comes in - maybe months or a year down the road, when you can use it as a surprise vacation / Christmas spend. That's how I'd look at it anyway. It's a matter of principle - "fuck me? Fuck YOU. Give me my money back."

You can also usually apply a multiplier, I think it's 3x-5x or somewhere around there (maximum, you can also do no multiplier or 1x), in small claims court for him fucking up the job and leaving it incomplete rather than just not doing it at all, because now whoever comes in to fix his shoddy work may have to spend extra time and money to undo what he did before they can even start. So think of it as a $4500-$7500 payday, not a $1500 payday.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by NorCalAthlete

If you can afford to blow off a $1500 pay day because you don't think you'll win, you can afford to file the $200 paperwork and forget about it till it comes in - maybe months or a year down the road, when you can use it as a surprise vacation / Christmas spend. That's how I'd look at it anyway. It's a matter of principle - "fuck me? Fuck YOU. Give me my money back."

You can also usually apply a multiplier, I think it's 3x-5x or somewhere around there (maximum, you can also do no multiplier or 1x), in small claims court for him fucking up the job and leaving it incomplete rather than just not doing it at all, because now whoever comes in to fix his shoddy work may have to spend extra time and money to undo what he did before they can even start. So think of it as a $4500-$7500 payday, not a $1500 payday.

Your missing the point. It's a sham company, he just started it in Dec of last year. It has no assets or anything to put a lien on. Plus from what I have read I cannot sue the dickhead personally since my dealing were with the "business". If I could sue the guy personally or if I thought it was a legit business with any kind of assets then yeah it would totally be worthwhile.

That being said I may still do it because I read there is some kind of state fund to payout for these types of issues. However to apply for it I believe one of the requirements is having a judgement against the company. I have to research it more. If that's the case then it would be worth doing it since I would be relying on the state to reimburse me and not this dickhead.