small claims

I hired a handy man to lay ceramic tile. We had a verbal agreement for 700.00 plus materials. Halfway through the job he changed his price to 1050.00 plus materials. Can he legally do this? Am I liable for the first agreement or the second price he has asked for? Is this somethign I should take to small claims court? I live in Texas.

Check with your Contractors License Board. The contract should have been in writing.

Couple of questions:
1) How much have you paid to date??
2) Do you have the materials purchased??
3) What percentage of the tile has been laid (if any)?
4) What reason (if any) does the 'handyman' give for the new price??

As to your specific question, you are only obligated to pay the originally agreed price. That is the verbal contractual agreement. Based on your version of the issue, you will not be liable for the 'new' price since it was not accepted by both parties and a contract cannot be modified or altered unilaterally (by one party only without the other's acceptance).

As for the issue of small claims court.... it depends on how much you have paid, and what you have received in return. For example, if the handyman has completed all the labor and you have paid for all the materials, plus $700 labor, then you have not been damaged and have no basis for a lawsuit. But, if you have paid the full $700 labor and the agreed work has not been performed, then you could certainly sue to recover the additional cost that it may take to complete the agreed labor. Finally, you could also sue for any paid materials that you do not receive.

My response to Steve:

Nice response, but you lied. You said you had "a couple of questions", and you have distinctly listed four questions !

Now, unless you meant a "couple of couples" which would be four, then you might have an argument in your favor.

Good to see you back after such a long haitus.

IAAL

IAAL, sorry but I must respectfully disagree.....

When I said I had a couple of quetions, then asked four of them, I was thinking that I was in Florida.... actually only two of the questions were valid, one was a hanging chad, and the other was pregnant!!!!

So, I submit that, I was in fact correct when the full count was made. I request a recount!!!! Ok, do it again... and again... I know that the Florida Supreme Court will support me on this one!!!

(Man, that was a good answer.... wasn't it??)

Halket said:

IAAL, sorry but I must respectfully disagree.....

When I said I had a couple of quetions, then asked four of them, I was thinking that I was in Florida.... actually only two of the questions were valid, one was a hanging chad, and the other was pregnant!!!!

So, I submit that, I was in fact correct when the full count was made. I request a recount!!!! Ok, do it again... and again... I know that the Florida Supreme Court will support me on this one!!!

(Man, that was a good answer.... wasn't it??)

Click to expand...

That was great answer.. the problem was, the final number of questions was known regardless of how many were official counted. So you have taken a step beyond the Florida issue.

With all due respect.. if you will look at my post, my 'first count' was that a few questions would be asked. Only on the latter recount, was the final determination that there were four questions asked. And this doesn't include the many questions that I might, or could, have asked but were not indicated in my post.

Personally, I believe I INTENDED to ask five or six questions, but some were lost by that dastardly fiend... the World Wide Web.

Oh, what a web of deceipt Al Gore conceived when he assisted in the creation of the Internet. Guess it wasnt a Love Story!!