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Is this Civil or Criminal Case?

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redheadedtxgal

Guest
Is this a civil or criminal case?

We had a painting/maintenance contractor to start work on our house on November 20th 2000.

On Dec 1st they were not done but we had to move into our home. He and his worker were there when we got there. The contractor came to us and told us that he had been putting off jobs and borrowing from advanced money from his jobs and that our job was really putting a bind on his business. That he needed money from us. That if we would give him all but $300 or $400 of what we owed him it would sure help him out. That as long as we still owed him he would for sure finish the job. Anyway that day I wrote him a check for $2000.00 dollars. Then because we were in the process of moving, we went to our old house to finish getting things from there. We were gone about an hour and a half. When we got back to our home the contractor and his helper were gone. All his equipment was gone. I called my bank and sure enough he had already been there and cashed my check.

The house was a mess. The bathrooms weren't painted, the kitchen was a reck. The cabinets weren't primered so the paint is chipping off daily. There are runs all through out our living room where he painted our paneling and over spray on all the windows and built-in desk. It has taken us from Dec 1 till now to get the place livable.

We have called him and called him. He will not answer his phone.

The total amount taken from us was $3100.00. The new contractor said it would be a total of $2930.00 to fix what they messed up.

Some examples of his purposely conning us is telling us he was putting epoxy on our counter tops and saying it cost $100.00 a batch and it would take 2 batches and then you add labor to it and now the cost is $350.00. Now after the other contractor looked at the work we find out you can scratch it with your fingernail and the so called epoxy is nothing but enamel paint.

I have pictures, contracts, newspaper ads, check copies to prove all of this to be true.

We have now found out that he is on parole for numerous things. 2 of them are possession of cocaine and thief by check, which is what we feel he has done to us. I need to know if this is a criminal case or a civil case and what way we should approach this.

Sincerely,

Debra
Lancaster, TX

[Edited by redheadedtxgal on 12-26-2000 at 10:23 AM]
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
My response:

Please help us to help you. It appears that your post is quite lengthy. Since we want to help you, it would be appreciated, and in your interest, if you could re-write your post to shorten its length.

Some suggestions would be to remove any extra words that do not go to the heart of your question and issues. Also, if you have any emotional or editorial type words or phrases, please remove those also. In other words, be your own worst critic, and stick to the facts.

Additionally, if you haven't already done so, please use paragraphs rather than running each sentence into the next. This, alone would make your post easier to read and understand.

Thank you for your kind cooperation, and I'm sure, after you've re-posted, someone will be with you shortly to assist you.

Thanks,
IAAL

P.S. If you haven't mentioned your State name, or the State where your problem has occurred, please tell us in your first sentence.
 

HomeGuru

Senior Member
I AM ALWAYS LIABLE said:
My response:

Please help us to help you. It appears that your post is quite lengthy. Since we want to help you, it would be appreciated, and in your interest, if you could re-write your post to shorten its length.

Some suggestions would be to remove any extra words that do not go to the heart of your question and issues. Also, if you have any emotional or editorial type words or phrases, please remove those also. In other words, be your own worst critic, and stick to the facts.

Additionally, if you haven't already done so, please use paragraphs rather than running each sentence into the next. This, alone would make your post easier to read and understand.

Thank you for your kind cooperation, and I'm sure, after you've re-posted, someone will be with you shortly to assist you.

Thanks,
IAAL

P.S. If you haven't mentioned your State name, or the State where your problem has occurred, please tell us in your first sentence.

GRADE: A+
 

JETX

Senior Member
I assume that you live in Texas, as shown in your registration name. Further, having lived in Dallas, I know that Lancaster is near Dallas. In fact, you show that you live in Texas in your signature (Doh!!)

Your case is somewhat unusual. Normally, your only (best) recourse would be to pursue civil actions against the contractor for your damages. However, I noticed that your post includes that the 'contractor' is currently on parole. And since his action very probably violates his parole, you should contact his parole officer and let him know of your problem. (You should be able to get his parole officer information from the Dallas DA office).

My suggestion:
Send the contractor a letter (Certified, RRR) detailing your complaints and the payments that you made. His actions are a violation of the DTPA (Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act) which allows you to recover treble damages if you win your case.
 

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