being sued by Heating and Air Conditioning company in Oregon

[jeajack21]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon

My husband and I are being sued by a heating and air conditioning contractor whose contract states that they will be paid 50% at the first day of work and 50% at completion. They are suing us even though they have not completed the work. Because of no fault of either party the work has been postponed just over a year and they have not been able to complete the work.

We communicated with the heating and air conditioning company that the project has been stalled and we will let them know when it continues. They did not seem to have an issue with this.

They sent the debt to a collection company in which we sent a debt validation and cease and desist letter too. The collection company sent a response to the debt validation letter which did not validate the sum of money requested. The contract shows approximately $4700 due upon completion and the collection company was requested over $5200 plus interest and fees not agreed upon nor stated in the initial contract. The interest that was being assessed was 1.5% per month before it went to collections. The heating and air conditioning company then referred the account to a debt collection lawyer.

The lawyer contacted us after the cease and desist and debt validation. He by FDCPA law is a debt collector. He then proceeded to collect on the same account. I advised him that I was unwilling to pay outside of the contract and that the work has not been complete. In addition, I advised him that the principal balance was incorrect according the contract. This information was also advised to the collection company and the owner of the heating and air conditioning company.

The lawyer and the owner of the heating and air conditioning company are now trying to collect over $6200 on a contract that says we owe $4751.50 upon completion.

The lawyer has already filed in Oregon Circuit Court and we of course are required to file an answer in order to avoid a judgement.

I also might add that the signature on the contract only bears my signature not my husbands.


1. Does the fact that only my signature is listed on the contract mean anything? Like my husband's case can be dropped?

2. In Oregon is it legal to pay 50% before work is even started or completed?

3. I believe I read under the Oregon statues that unless you have progress payments, you cannot collect 1.5% per month in fees / interest. Is this correct?

4. I am thinking of my counterclaim being a breach of contract. Do you think I have evidence for this?

5. In my counterclaim, do I have to put an amount that we want?

[BL]

What would be your counterclaim and damages ?

No one can tell you the outcome .

No one knows what the " project " is all about , and what the Heating and Cooling Co. and your contract involved .

I'm only taking a guess here , but perhaps you are having a home built and other work was stalled .

This is NOT the H&C contractor's fault .

What would be is reasonable time frame to have completed the work by the information you gave them ?

I bet not over a year .

Have you even offered a settlement ?

Then have another contractor pick up where this one left off ,when ready ?

[jeajack21]

I have offered to negotiate with the heating company as well as the lawyer / debt collector. They are unwilling to accept anything less than 100% of the contract, plus around $500 that they can not show what it is for, plus late fee, 2 types of interest, filing fees and legal fees.

Through this process I have stuck to the original contract and not wanting to breach it or create an implied subordinate contract.

As for the counterclaim, it would be for them attempting to collect on a debt greater than stipulated in the contract. After them being informed on this on multiple occassions, there unwillingness to correct it.

[ecmst12]

You do not need to file a counter claim, you certainly have no damages here. If you are hiring a lawyer, I guess you could ask that they pay for your legal fees. But you can deny their claim without filing a counter claim - the contract has not been fulfilled so the payment is not due.