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Unlicensed Contractor gone wild!

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Jak

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NY
A friend of mine hired 2 (unlicensed) handyman to perform various remodel jobs throughout her home. The contract completion time was estimated for 1 month. 3 mos. later the job wasn't even 50% complete and what was completed was completed poorly. One of the handyman got mad 1 day and said they weren't coming back. About 3-4 weeks later they show up. She advises them that she does not want them to finish the job because the they did not complete the job as agreed, damaged property, and disappeared. THe handyman demanded the final payment which was due upon completion. Now they are suing her for breach of contract. She filed a counter. She has pictures and estimates to have job completed.


Question: Did the handyman breach by failure to complete as agreed? Do they [handyman] have a case?
 


Buk1000

Member
According to this site NY remodeling contractors do not have to be licensed: http://www.alcosystems.com/StateLicensing.htm#NEW YORK You might consider filing a complaint with the NY State Attorney Genereral's office because in many states, this is the agency that will go after contractors who fail to complete jobs.

It's good you documented things to show the work was incomplete and faulty. Do you have documentation that he quit? If he walked off the job and you can prove it, he is the one who breached the contract.

Assuming 'you are right and he is wrong' a lot will depend on your contract wording, state laws, and to some extent, luck. Does your contract have an arbitration clause? if so, you cannot sue him, but unless it's written to say only YOU are bound by the arbitration clause, he cannot sue you either. You would have to resolve it in private arbitration, which IMO is often slanted in favor of businesses, so I do not like it for business-to-consumer contracts. By filing suit, (if he does or has), he may be waiving his right to demand you arbitrate...so ask about that when you have your contract reviewed by an attorney. Also ask what the state laws are regarding % of completion, following plans, his walking off the job, compliance w/building codes, etc.

If this guy is not really locally "connected" he may back off just by the fact YOU don't back down...look into filing with the state AG for example. Some bad contractors use intimidation tactics and threats of suing to get paid for work they either didn't do right, or didn't do at all. Many people will back down. You also need to ask yourself what the damages are ($) and what is worth it. If all you want is to get him off your back and pay for what he has done, that is different from wanting to have your day in court. Good luck
 

Jak

Junior Member
Thanks for your input BUK1000

The thing is he filed the lawsuit for breach of contract. She wasn't going to pursue anything . I don't really know what she can show as proof that he walked off the job besides his [contractor's] child's testimony. He is really a neighborhood handyman with only a small amount of mouth to mouth jobs. No biz cards or anything. It's not his true job. He was referred by his child. And now his child is testifying against him.

There isn't any clause in the contractor. It plainly states that they agree to do the work as described and she agrees to pay as described. The payments were to be disbursed as follows: 1st week dwn pymnt, 2nd week 33% of balance, 3rd week 60% of balance and final due upon completion and client inspection over a course of 4 weeks. The only payment they didn't receive was the final payment. Which IMO they should have to pay back money due to less than 1/2 of the work completed and damages.
 

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