J
JCNME
Guest
(Maine)
- My driveway was paved on July 9. The contractor damaged my flagstone walkway in the process. I asked him to come back and fix it, and I told him I wanted to be there when he did the work. He refused to give me a date and time and kept insisting that "the only way" he would do it is if I left the materials outside, all the while insulting me, calling me names, hanging up on me and then not taking my phone calls. I asked him several times for a date and time. Since the walkway was dangerous and I knew I would be responsible if someone got hurt, I sent him a letter telling him if he refused to give me a date and time that he would repair the damage, I would be forced to hire someone else to do the work and I would reduce his fee by the amount of the charge for the repair. Still, he refused to come back and fix it. Instead, he left me a threatening and insulting message on my answering machine. Before I could even contract anyone to give me an estimate, the paver filed a lien against my property, 16 days after the work was done! The contract I signed said that interest would be "charged on balances over 30 days." 16 days after the work was done, the bill wasn't even overdue yet!!! And he filed a claim against my property and intends to charge me costs and interest!!! Can he do this? Can lawyers really file a claim against your property (and charge you for it) before the bill is even due? I may not know much about the law, but to me, this seems absurd. He damaged MY property and I'm being charged additional fees, as well as having to pay for the repair. Please help!
Thanks!
- My driveway was paved on July 9. The contractor damaged my flagstone walkway in the process. I asked him to come back and fix it, and I told him I wanted to be there when he did the work. He refused to give me a date and time and kept insisting that "the only way" he would do it is if I left the materials outside, all the while insulting me, calling me names, hanging up on me and then not taking my phone calls. I asked him several times for a date and time. Since the walkway was dangerous and I knew I would be responsible if someone got hurt, I sent him a letter telling him if he refused to give me a date and time that he would repair the damage, I would be forced to hire someone else to do the work and I would reduce his fee by the amount of the charge for the repair. Still, he refused to come back and fix it. Instead, he left me a threatening and insulting message on my answering machine. Before I could even contract anyone to give me an estimate, the paver filed a lien against my property, 16 days after the work was done! The contract I signed said that interest would be "charged on balances over 30 days." 16 days after the work was done, the bill wasn't even overdue yet!!! And he filed a claim against my property and intends to charge me costs and interest!!! Can he do this? Can lawyers really file a claim against your property (and charge you for it) before the bill is even due? I may not know much about the law, but to me, this seems absurd. He damaged MY property and I'm being charged additional fees, as well as having to pay for the repair. Please help!
Thanks!