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?
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?