Do I owe this contractor?
Long story but, really need help.
Our house was hit by lightning on 6/12. The attic caught fire but, that was it. The roof had to be replaced along with most of the trusses, duct work and ceiling of the up stairs. That day the insurance company sent out a company to put an ozone machine in to clean the air. A couple days later the insurance company sent this same company out to remove all of our stuff from the house. They took everything and cleaned it. With much influence from the insurance adjuster we hired this company to repair our house as well. We did tell the adjuster that we would be doing the painting and the flooring and she paid on the estimate from the company. Two and a half months later they started working on the house. They removed the roof that was keeping the water out. Replacing my roof took approximately 2 and a half months. The roof was not acceptable so they have hired a professional to come fix it. This is happening today, 4 months since they had the reach fork delivered. I have not paid this company a penny. I have refused to so far because of the length of time that it has taken them and the fact that most of they stuff they did was not done correctly. The roof, the landscaping, the HVAC system and replacing a gate that they ran into is all that is left to do. But, now when receiving the bill for everything minus the painting, carpeting and cleaning(at which we had to do because they kept delaying)they are charging me for a general contractor fee for the paint and carpet which they did not touch. Should I have to pay them for stuff they didn't handle??? Any advice at this point would be greatly appreciated.
Update:Our adjuster was fired. So the new adjuster says it is between us and the contractor. I told the contractor I would not pay him a contractor fee for the stuff they didn't handle and he said "oh yes you will". Thanks for all the answers!!!
Comments
The most important issure here is that you receive a *lien waiver, from this contractor if and when you make any payments to them. If you make a partial payment to them, you demand a partial lien waiver for the amount of the payment you make to them.
Unprofessional contractors have a bad habit of not paying for any or all of the materials they use on a job (maybe your job). They also sometimes don't pay for equipment rental and other subcontractors they use on the job.
I am really concerned about the boom lift truck that sat at your home for all this time. They do not
rent cheap.
Documentation is your best weapon. Starting now, try to recall all important dates concerning your project. Date of fire, Date adjuster came out,Date of contract,Start date of contractor,Days when no workers were present, Names of any subcontractors, Physical address,legal name of contractors on the job. Now, send letter to general contractor stating all these dates (as close as possible), then state all the work that was done that was either defective or that had to be re-done by another contractor. Include any damages that were made by any contractors, and also state that your home was not finished in a timely manner. I hope everything was done to meet local codes, * I would state that in your letter - that you plan to have the local county or city building inspector check all the work to determine if it is up to code. State that if it is not - you will be contacting your lawyer to file a lawsuit against them. * You don't have to have a lawyer at this time- you are just indicating to the contractor that you will if needed.
Send this letter certified mail and pay the additional cost to get a return receipt showing that the contractor did sign and receive this letter. Include any photos you may have taken of defective installation methods or other items.
This takes some time, but it is worth every minute/dollar used to prepare yourself against this type of contractor.
Make sure you send it to the correct legal name of the company and address it to the the legal owner or President of this company.
I would also contact the rental company for the boom truck (check for name on machine), see if the rent has been paid to date.
As far as the General Contractor fee for paint and carpet, simply tell them you are not paying them for that - period. They cannot force you to pay for this. The biggest leverage you have is the money.
Homeowners have more power than they think, contractors cannot just say you have to pay this or that. If worse comes to worse, throw them off the job and tell them not to come back.
Tell them if they are stupid enough to take you to court - you have more than enough evidence of shoddy workmanship and extended completion time of contract to convince any jury to side with you the homeowner. It is YOUR house, and your money.
I would also visit your insurance company agent, and tell them you are not pleased with this contractor that your adjuster suggested. There may be (collusion involved). This is a secretive relationship between the adjuster and the contractor, and it's against the law. If you just mention that you think there might be collusion violation with the adjuster and the contractor - that might be enough to get their attention.
The most important thing here is the *Lien waiver or Partial lien waiver, then the certified letter, then the inspection by the building inspector,the talk with the insurance agent,equipment rental company.
Take my advice and do all these things Now !
Tell them what you are willing to pay them and cut them a check for that with "Final Payment" written on memo line. If you could also get it in writing that they would accept that as a final payment that would be better. But no matter what, give them a check with that written on it and once they cash it, it's set in stone if they ever do bring you to court.
Keep all records forever. Including a copy of the cashed check.
No you certainly don't pay them a contracting fee for work you did yourself. It sounds like they are incompetent and you should take this up with your insurance company since they recommended them.
I would not pay them a penny...if they take you to civil court you will win...counter suit for damage to the gate etc.