Need advice on verbal contract

[awesomemom2]

My plumber completed my new house in a timely manner with no contract. I built a cabin and asked him to add the heat and water. 9 mths have gone by with me texting him 15x asking him when he was coming. He did show up 2x during this time to do something little and texted 2x saying they would show up, but did not.

Last week, they showed up and put the heat in.
1. Put the heater in the wrong place as discussed 9 mths ago. He ended up moving it, but charged me for the 2 days.
2. I now caught on that he marks up each hr his apprentices work by 30%. Not only does he do that, he raised their hrly rate during this 9mths by $10/hr (from $70-$80/hr).
2. Also, within those 15+ texts I asked over n over to meet to devise an estimate as well as a materials. No response.
3. I have not paid anything yet.

I don't think I should have to pay:
1. 2 days of incorrect placement
2. Increase in hrly wage since he took 9 mths to do the job and he did not communicate this raise in rates.
3. Any other recourse?

Yea, I'm stupid for waiting, but I trusted him as he strung me along. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm a single female who strives on being fair and resonable.

 

[quincy]

My plumber completed my new house in a timely manner with no contract. I built a cabin and asked him to add the heat and water. 9 mths have gone by with me texting him 15x asking him when he was coming. He did show up 2x during this time to do something little and texted 2x saying they would show up, but did not.

Last week, they showed up and put the heat in.
1. Put the heater in the wrong place as discussed 9 mths ago. He ended up moving it, but charged me for the 2 days.
2. I now caught on that he marks up each hr his apprentices work by 30%. Not only does he do that, he raised their hrly rate during this 9mths by $10/hr (from $70-$80/hr).
2. Also, within those 15+ texts I asked over n over to meet to devise an estimate as well as a materials. No response.
3. I have not paid anything yet.

I don't think I should have to pay:
1. 2 days of incorrect placement
2. Increase in hrly wage since he took 9 mths to do the job and he did not communicate this raise in rates.
3. Any other recourse?

Yea, I'm stupid for waiting, but I trusted him as he strung me along. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm a single female who strives on being fair and resonable.

What is the name of your state?

Laws vary from state to state, sometimes in significant ways, which is why we ask all posters for the name of their state.

 

[awesomemom2]

Btw, it's a rental and I've been losing at least $1500/mth. Since the water isn't done, it's still not rentalable.

 

[awesomemom2]

Alaska

 

[Zigner]

Everybody marks up labor.

 

[quincy]

My plumber completed my new house in a timely manner with no contract. I built a cabin and asked him to add the heat and water. 9 mths have gone by with me texting him 15x asking him when he was coming. He did show up 2x during this time to do something little and texted 2x saying they would show up, but did not.

Last week, they showed up and put the heat in.
1. Put the heater in the wrong place as discussed 9 mths ago. He ended up moving it, but charged me for the 2 days.
2. I now caught on that he marks up each hr his apprentices work by 30%. Not only does he do that, he raised their hrly rate during this 9mths by $10/hr (from $70-$80/hr).
2. Also, within those 15+ texts I asked over n over to meet to devise an estimate as well as a materials. No response.
3. I have not paid anything yet.

I don't think I should have to pay:
1. 2 days of incorrect placement
2. Increase in hrly wage since he took 9 mths to do the job and he did not communicate this raise in rates.
3. Any other recourse?

Yea, I'm stupid for waiting, but I trusted him as he strung me along. Any advice would be appreciated as I'm a single female who strives on being fair and resonable.

Thank you for providing your state name.

What does your written and/or oral contract say about a completion date for the project and the estimated costs for labor and materials? Oh. That’s right. You don’t have a written or oral contract that addresses those.

You probably will find you have to pay for the already-completed work at the hourly rate presented to you in the invoice you receive. You could negotiate the amount to finish the job, getting all agreed upon terms in writing, dated and signed. Or you can hire another crew to add the water and finish the work on the house.

Trust is great but, in business, getting everything in writing is better.

 

[awesomemom2]

Thank you for providing your state name.

What does your written and/or oral contract say about a completion date for the project and the estimated costs for labor and materials? Oh. That’s right. You don’t have a written or oral contract that addresses those.

You probably will find you have to pay for the already-completed work at the hourly rate presented to you in the invoice you receive. You could negotiate the amount to finish the job, getting all agreed upon terms in writing, dated and signed. Or you can hire another crew to add the water and finish the work on the house.

Trust is great but, in business, getting everything in writing is better.

Thank you. Don't his few texts saying he will show up n doesn't count as verbal agreements? Yea, I tried so many times, but he never responded to meeting w me. I'm getting someone else and I'll write a letter about 2 of 3 pts n offer a meeting.

 

[quincy]

Don't his few texts saying he will show up n doesn't count as verbal agreements? Yea, I tried so many times, but he never responded to meeting w me. I'm getting someone else and I'll write a letter about 2 of 3 pts n offer a meeting.

The texts show that his word can’t be trusted, but he might be able to conjure up some reasonable-sounding excuses for his failures to show up as promised.

I think you are smart to get someone else to finish the project. Make sure that everything you want and expect from your new hire is agreed to in advance, committed to in writing, and dated and signed. You should get in return a written estimate detailing labor and material costs, with an expected completion date.

Good luck.

 

[zddoodah]

My plumber completed my new house in a timely manner with no contract. I built a cabin and asked him to add the heat and water.

What exactly does "add heat and water" mean? Also, is this a plumber or a plumbing contractor?

9 mths have gone by with me texting him 15x asking him when he was coming. He did show up 2x during this time to do something little and texted 2x saying they would show up, but did not.

Huh? In the first sentence your post, you said he completed the work, so what was the reason for the 15 texts?

Any other recourse?

I don't understand what the issue is. You told us that you hired this person/company to do something which hasn't been clearly described, and you told us nothing about the payment obligations under the contract (which apparently wasn't reduced to writing).

Don't his few texts saying he will show up n doesn't count as verbal agreements?

Maybe, but characterizing something as a "verbal agreement" doesn't mean anything. A text might be evidence of a contract, but there's no way to know that without knowing what it says. Also, an agreement to "show up" doesn't mean much of anything.

If you think the work wasn't done correctly, then ask that it be fixed. You might need to hire someone else to do the work. If there's no written contract that spells out particular standards for performance of the work, then you may have a hard time proving that things weren't done as agreed.

 

[LdiJ]

What exactly does "add heat and water" mean? Also, is this a plumber or a plumbing contractor?

In contractor jargon that means adding a heating system and plumbing to a building that currently has neither. A plumber is usually needed to add the pipes etc for the heating system., if the system is natural gas, oil or propane. Why do you think that there is a difference between a plumber and a plumbing contractor?

Huh? In the first sentence your post, you said he completed the work, so what was the reason for the 15 texts?

Gotta read more carefully zdd. The plumber did such a good job on the OP's new house, that the OP ALSO hired the plumber to add heat and water to their cabin, a separate dwelling. The problems are with the work at the cabin.

I don't understand what the issue is. You told us that you hired this person/company to do something which hasn't been clearly described, and you told us nothing about the payment obligations under the contract (which apparently wasn't reduced to writing).

Although the OP could have been more specific, it is fairly clear that the OP has been billed, and the bill is in at least partial dispute.

Maybe, but characterizing something as a "verbal agreement" doesn't mean anything. A text might be evidence of a contract, but there's no way to know that without knowing what it says. Also, an agreement to "show up" doesn't mean much of anything.

The OP could use more precise language.

If you think the work wasn't done correctly, then ask that it be fixed. You might need to hire someone else to do the work. If there's no written contract that spells out particular standards for performance of the work, then you may have a hard time proving that things weren't done as agreed.

The work has been fixed. The dispute seems to be that the plumber is charging for the original incorrect work, as well as the work to fix the original incorrect work.

 

[quincy]

... The dispute seems to be that the plumber is charging for the original incorrect work, as well as the work to fix the original incorrect work ...

... and the cabin is still without water, which prevents the cabin from being rented out.