K
ktrout
Guest
About a year ago I hired an architect to do a remodel (I live in WA state). We signed a contract and I paid him a $2500 retainer. Within a couple of weeks it became clear that it wasn’t going to work out – he was simply too busy to devote the time necessary to the project. We spoke on the phone and agreed on the following: he would keep half the retainer to compensate him for the 20 hours he says he worked on the project. He would then return the other half of the retainer to me.
Six weeks went by and I received about a third of the amount (with a very clear note showing the total amount due to me, the amount being paid and the balance due). It has now been 11 months and I have yet to receive the rest.
His attitude now is that the retainer was non-refundable, that any payment he made to me was as a “courtesy,” and that if he chooses to pay me anything else in the distant future it will also be as a courtesy, not because he actually owes me anything.
I looked at our original contract and it says nothing about the retainer being non-refundable. In fact, it specifically says that “in the event of termination, the Architect shall be compensated for all services performed to the termination date.” In my mind, that’s the $1250 that we agreed on last July.
My specific questions are: Is there anything specific about a retainer that makes it non-refundable? Or is it simply an advance payment for work to be done (which he didn’t do)? And secondly, do I have any other recourse short of small claims court? I really don't want this to go to court, but feel like I'm running out of options.
Thanks in advance!
Six weeks went by and I received about a third of the amount (with a very clear note showing the total amount due to me, the amount being paid and the balance due). It has now been 11 months and I have yet to receive the rest.
His attitude now is that the retainer was non-refundable, that any payment he made to me was as a “courtesy,” and that if he chooses to pay me anything else in the distant future it will also be as a courtesy, not because he actually owes me anything.
I looked at our original contract and it says nothing about the retainer being non-refundable. In fact, it specifically says that “in the event of termination, the Architect shall be compensated for all services performed to the termination date.” In my mind, that’s the $1250 that we agreed on last July.
My specific questions are: Is there anything specific about a retainer that makes it non-refundable? Or is it simply an advance payment for work to be done (which he didn’t do)? And secondly, do I have any other recourse short of small claims court? I really don't want this to go to court, but feel like I'm running out of options.
Thanks in advance!