Should I sue my contractor?

[130munch]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois

My contractor was informal about my bathroom job - no written contract, just a verbal agreement that I would purchase all materials & pay him for his time only. He was referred to me through a local church that helps people out with home repairs.

On the last day we briefly discussed some of the things he needed to address - he was exhausted as it was 8pm, but he assured me he’d be back. I had no reason to doubt him so I paid him for his hours per our verbal agreement.

I immediately documented everything in an email, asking him to please call me to discuss in detail, but he never responded. I called him every other day & he kept saying he'd call me back, but never would. After 1 ½ weeks of this I finally called the church & spoke to the person who referred him for help.

Later that day I got an earful from my contractor who is so angry I called the church that he now refuses to come back & feels I have ruined his reputation.

The loose ends are this:

1. He clogged my bathtub with construction material - now I have to have a plumber come fix asap as the tub does not even drain & it‘s our main shower.

2. He broke 2 of the 3 glass shades of my new lighting fixture.

3. He put a big chip in my tub & the porcelien knob of my new sink faucet.

4. He replaced an outlet, but did a horrible job as it is sticking out about 1/2 inch from the wall & you can see inside the wall.

5. He was filing a bolt on the new toilet for some reason - sparks were flying everywhere. Now there is an permanent brown mark on my brand new toilet seat that looks like, well you know.....

I have pictures to prove there was no chip in the tub before and an email to confirm that he was aware of the loose ends the day he finished the job. My kids can attest to the things that went wrong with the job as well.

Is this enough considering I paid him with the understanding that he'd be back? He'll probably say that since I paid in full I was satisfied with the job.

Obviously, I'm going to incur additional expenses cleaning up his mess now.
Should I pursue it in small claims court for reimbursement or chalk it up as a lesson learned & let it go?

[justalayman]

well, it appears, on a state level, a general contractor is not required to be licensed so you have limited to no help on that level.


So, depending on your local municipality, he may have been required to be licensed for any of the several trades he performed including plumbing, electrical, or general contracting. That is something you will have to explore on your homefront.


Now, that raises the question of: was this work required to be permitted by the local building department? If so, you may have a bit of a problem but they may actually work to your benefit.

Also, you need to check to see if he is required to have a business license and if he has one. If he needs one and doesn't, you may be able to sue him for the complete work since he was not legally allowed to do what he did (act as a business) but that is something that will take more research to determine.

Bottom line, it sounds like you would need to end up suing this guy for whatever your actual damages are. I would have another contractor provide an estimate (may not be a freebie and many will be reluctant to supply an estimate). Then, you sue the guy for the damages.

all I can say is I hope a license is required in your area for the work he performed. Hacks like this need to be removed from service.

[mateo87]

How much did you pay him? Here is the Illinois laws for Home Repairs:

[url=http://www.ilga.gov/LEGISLATION/ILCS/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2359&ChapAct=815%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B513%2F&ChapterID=67&ChapterName=BUSINESS+TRA NSACTIONS&ActName=Home+Repair+and+Remodeling+Act]815*ILCS*513/**Home Repair and Remodeling Act[/url].

Most of it deals with transactions of $1000+, but if yours was that much, sounds like your contractor did everything wrong legally too. Lisa Maddigan's office helps with things like these, the Chicago area number is 800-386‑5438. Depending on how much he walked away with and how much it will cost to fix should be your big deciding factor in if you should go to court.