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Payment with no written contract

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R

retired in CA

Junior Member
I had a licensed contractor do work in my home last year. I told him in November his services would no longer be needed and he said he would work up a bill and get back with me. Now it is the last day of June, and he finally got a bill to me, which I am having trouble with. I do agree he is due some pay, and quite frankly, had forgotten all about it until now. The problem I am having is there was no written contract, and he is billing me on an hourly basis for time he spent here, even if he was on the phone with other clients, or talking with other contractors here working, and also for work he decided to do that I did not ask him to do. I am also being charged for a saw, blades and various materials that he is stating were used on this job, but I have no knowledge whether they were or not. Also, since he left, we have had to either fix or finish a lot of what he did. Yes, I know I should not have gotten involved with a contractor with no written contract, but he actually showed up when others were too busy and I needed to move in! Lesson learned, and I won't do it again, but what about this one?
Located in California
 


A

acmb05

Senior Member
retired in CA said:
I had a licensed contractor do work in my home last year. I told him in November his services would no longer be needed and he said he would work up a bill and get back with me. Now it is the last day of June, and he finally got a bill to me, which I am having trouble with. I do agree he is due some pay, and quite frankly, had forgotten all about it until now. The problem I am having is there was no written contract, and he is billing me on an hourly basis for time he spent here, even if he was on the phone with other clients, or talking with other contractors here working, and also for work he decided to do that I did not ask him to do. I am also being charged for a saw, blades and various materials that he is stating were used on this job, but I have no knowledge whether they were or not. Also, since he left, we have had to either fix or finish a lot of what he did. Yes, I know I should not have gotten involved with a contractor with no written contract, but he actually showed up when others were too busy and I needed to move in! Lesson learned, and I won't do it again, but what about this one?
Located in California
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You did not have a contract with him so you don't owe him squat that you donot want to pay. You don't have to pay for saws, blades, or any other tools he used on your house, he is a contractor he should have all the tools he needs.
 
R

retired in CA

Junior Member
That's what I thought, but when I asked another contractor here, he was very indignant and said I could have a mechanic's lien put on my house if I didn't pay, but if I disputed part of the bill, I should send him a letter clearly stating which parts I was disputing and get him to change his bill. Then I read that if it has been over 90 days since the job was completed the time limit was up for filing a mechanic's lien. Just how long does a contractor have to give you a bill? It's been since mid November since I've seen or heard from him!
 
A

acmb05

Senior Member
retired in CA said:
That's what I thought, but when I asked another contractor here, he was very indignant and said I could have a mechanic's lien put on my house if I didn't pay, but if I disputed part of the bill, I should send him a letter clearly stating which parts I was disputing and get him to change his bill. Then I read that if it has been over 90 days since the job was completed the time limit was up for filing a mechanic's lien. Just how long does a contractor have to give you a bill? It's been since mid November since I've seen or heard from him!
Click to expand...
I was not a contractor in California so I am not exactly sure how the lien process works there. I would definately dispute the bill and also have all of the bills from the work that had to be completed or fixed by a new contractor to back up your claims.
 
D

divgradcurl

Senior Member
retired in CA said:
That's what I thought, but when I asked another contractor here, he was very indignant and said I could have a mechanic's lien put on my house if I didn't pay, but if I disputed part of the bill, I should send him a letter clearly stating which parts I was disputing and get him to change his bill. Then I read that if it has been over 90 days since the job was completed the time limit was up for filing a mechanic's lien. Just how long does a contractor have to give you a bill? It's been since mid November since I've seen or heard from him!
Click to expand...
Statute of limitations for oral contracts is 2 years in California.
 
P

panzertanker

Senior Member
divgradcurl said:
Statute of limitations for oral contracts is 2 years in California.
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Why does it say (all over this site) that oral contracts "are worth the paper they are written on"?:confused:

I have a hard time figuring out if the OP has a valid contract (oral) or not based on conflicting reports. How do you prove, or disprove in this OP's defense, that there was NO oral contract so that he is not responsible for the bill?
 
D

divgradcurl

Senior Member
Why does it say (all over this site) that oral contracts "are worth the paper they are written on"?
Click to expand...
Because they are hard to prove. Not impossible to prove, just hard to prove unless there is some corroborating evidence.

I have a hard time figuring out if the OP has a valid contract (oral) or not based on conflicting reports. How do you prove, or disprove in this OP's defense, that there was NO oral contract so that he is not responsible for the bill?
Click to expand...
How is the OP not responsible for the bill? He himself says that he owes SOMETHING. The contractor may be able to show receipts for materials purchased, may be able to show progress payments, may have notes or timesheets or who knows what -- all of which may, repeat may, be able to prove the existance of a contract, if not the exact boundaries of the contract. The burden of proof is on the contractor to prove both the existance of the contract, and the contents of the contract.

If the OP has receipts from work by other contractors that was done to complete or repair the work done by the first contractor, that can be used to mitigate the amount of damages, if the contractor can prove any up in the first place.

All of which could have been avoided, of course, had a WRITTEN contract been put into place...
 
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