Arizona
I hired a contractor to do some basic yard cleanup and landscaping for me. He came and gave me an estimate, then on saturday (October 16th) he came for a final check and to fill out a work order. He asked for a deposit before any work was performed, and stupidly I just decided to pay him in full, for the amount, $865. The next day, which is on the contract as the day the work was suppose to be performed, he was suppose to arrive at 9am to start the job. When he didnt arrive at the scheduled time I waited 3 hours before trying to contact him to figure out why he hadnt show up yet. I called him 3 times between noon and 5pm that day. He never picked up his phone (which is a cell phone). I left him a voice mail asking him to call me back. After being unable to get ahold of him all day I did research and found a few unfavorable reviews stating that he had been paid for work and either never completed the job or had not done it at all. These were only a few reviews and many were actually favorable reviews. Some of the reviews said the individuals had filed a small claims case against him. I checked public record and noticed 4 small claims cases pending against him as of this date. While I am aware I can file a small claims case, is there any other course f action I can take, as he is apparrently very good at dodging court summons letters and with all the claims againt him it doesnt seem to have had any effect on him continung to scam people. Is it possible I sue him for fraud? I know the old saying you cant get water from squeezing a rock, and with all the other small claims cases pending against him, is it even realistically possible I will get any of my money back?
Thank you for you time.
Owen
I hired a contractor to do some basic yard cleanup and landscaping for me. He came and gave me an estimate, then on saturday (October 16th) he came for a final check and to fill out a work order. He asked for a deposit before any work was performed, and stupidly I just decided to pay him in full, for the amount, $865. The next day, which is on the contract as the day the work was suppose to be performed, he was suppose to arrive at 9am to start the job. When he didnt arrive at the scheduled time I waited 3 hours before trying to contact him to figure out why he hadnt show up yet. I called him 3 times between noon and 5pm that day. He never picked up his phone (which is a cell phone). I left him a voice mail asking him to call me back. After being unable to get ahold of him all day I did research and found a few unfavorable reviews stating that he had been paid for work and either never completed the job or had not done it at all. These were only a few reviews and many were actually favorable reviews. Some of the reviews said the individuals had filed a small claims case against him. I checked public record and noticed 4 small claims cases pending against him as of this date. While I am aware I can file a small claims case, is there any other course f action I can take, as he is apparrently very good at dodging court summons letters and with all the claims againt him it doesnt seem to have had any effect on him continung to scam people. Is it possible I sue him for fraud? I know the old saying you cant get water from squeezing a rock, and with all the other small claims cases pending against him, is it even realistically possible I will get any of my money back?
Thank you for you time.
Owen