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Contractor took deposit, didnt do work

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TravelingMan

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NJ

I hired a contractor to install railings in my house. I gave him a deposit of $700 and we have a written contract. He said he would have the job completed with in 30 days of receiving the deposit, which is in the contract. It has been 3 months. He is unreachable by phone, fax, email. He calls every few weeks to give some excuse why he cant do the work (wife's friend died, material not in yet, on vacation, broke elbow) and refuses to issue a date to start the work. I am confident he has no intention of doing the work.
Now many people tell me to take him to small claims court, frankly he seems the sort of guy just not to respond or would avoid being served. Can I along with a civil suit file criminal charges against him? What is my best course of action? Any help would be appreciated.
 


M

Mister Darcy

Member
Is he a licensed contractor? Do you have his license number on your contract?
I would contact the NJ Attorney General's office and see what they could do before resorting to small claims court.
 
D

divgradcurl

Senior Member
TravelingMan said:
What is the name of your state? NJ

I hired a contractor to install railings in my house. I gave him a deposit of $700 and we have a written contract. He said he would have the job completed with in 30 days of receiving the deposit, which is in the contract. It has been 3 months. He is unreachable by phone, fax, email. He calls every few weeks to give some excuse why he cant do the work (wife's friend died, material not in yet, on vacation, broke elbow) and refuses to issue a date to start the work. I am confident he has no intention of doing the work.
Now many people tell me to take him to small claims court, frankly he seems the sort of guy just not to respond or would avoid being served. Can I along with a civil suit file criminal charges against him? What is my best course of action? Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
This is a civil breach of contract issue, not a criminal issue, so it's very unlikely that the DA would be interested. Go ahead and file a suit in small claims court; if you have problems with service of the summons, check with the court to see if there are alternative service methods, such as service by mail or service by publication.

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/
 
T

TravelingMan

Junior Member
Thank you both for your replies. I have filed a complaint with the AG, I am also going down to the police station and filing for: theft by deception and theft by movable property. I think only a criminal complaint will get this guys attention.
 
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