I picked the wrong contractor and I need your advice of what to do
10/9/2016 at 4:46:43 PM
I picked the wrong contractor that I found through this website Trustedpros, this contractor has no reviews and the Information on his account states that became a member on the website this year 2016, he contacted me after posing the job that I need to do and to get a quote for it, he gave his a quote and agreed to do the job for $9,000, he was pushing me too much to make the decision fast as he was saying his men are ready now and even I told him that I need to get three quotations before I make my decision, the quote he gave is lower than what others gave, and because of his promises that I will do this an that, I trusted him, I told him I decided to hire him for doing the job that need to be done at home and signed with him, which is: adding separate entrance from the back yard to the finished basement, installing 40 square feet drywall in the washroom, installing 3 new doors, installing 200 square feet laminate and painting the basement, all of the job is in the basement.
Right away after singing with him, he made a phone call then one guy came and started to remove the wall panels that I wanted to remove to install drywall, at this time he started to talk about the payments that he's not spoken about before and is not mentioned in the contract. I asked him how much he wants me to pay him, he said he need 50% of the total which is almost with the tax $10,800, I told him that I know as per my searches through this website, contractors would ask for 20% or 25%, then he asked to pay him $3,000, I told I will wright him a cheque, he refused saying that he does not take cheques because he has to wait 5 days before he can cash it, he asked to pay by e-mail transfer and that it will be a proof that I paid him and this is what I did, I paid $3,000 by e-mail transfer.
His men were supposed to show up twice and they did not, when my son and daughter called him in this regards, he showed very bad attitude.
After that, I started to lose my trust in him, found out that the document I signed it is not clear, suspicious and there are no details of the job descriptions, it is very short and simple, what is written is 5 short sentences, it states, install no mention of a word supply, the paper I signed tells " by sining this document the customer agrees to the services and conditions outlined in this document", it is on the contractor's company's letter head but his name is not written there only my name is typed on it.
He asked me to call him from work and did not tell why, I called he asked to give him the rest of his money, I told him I gave $3,000 and that he did nothing tell now, he said OK. after the two appointment for his men to come and not showing up, and asking me to pay him again, I called him and told him the I need him to come to talk about our agreement and what he signed me on.
He came, I told him that my son is going to deal with him from now on, I felt that he is taking advantage of me as single mother, I asked him of what he means on the document I singed by install and not mentioning the supply, he said no of course he is going to supply this and that, I told him that I need this to be written on a contract, he agreed and asked me to write down what I want and to e-mail it to him which I did.
The contractor called my son back one day after he received the e-mail, telling that there are things that we have not agreed on, said the laminate, the drywall and the exterior door for the payment are my responsibility and that I need to buy, I thought because I have paid him $3,000, that I have to agree, and I agreed, but he needs to tell me his charge for each of the 5 things I need to do separately.
Please advice me what I need to do, it there a way to cancel with him or I am now obligated with the contract that I signed and I have to stick with him.
10/9/2016 at 11:50:55 PM
Take it as a lesson learned let him go and move on. Find someone with a good reputation you will pay more but you won't have this problem.
10/10/2016 at 12:38:28 AM
That's unfortunate,
A good sign of a honest contractor is for them to provide you with references/website details if they have one.
You should ask for their business number in case of something like this happens.
Lastly, an honest contractor will request a check as you know they will pay GST.
Rule of thumb for me 1/3
1/3 after 2 days of work
2/3 when job is 50% completed
3/3 once job is totally completed
Hope this helps.
Rik
10/10/2016 at 8:40:20 AM
Most times the client that takes the lowest price has this problem, Trusted Pros has a rating program for contractors for a reason. It took sometime for them to rate our company, with references by our clients. I am sorry that you lost this deposit, but Trusted Pros also has a review process, write a review so this Contractor won`t do this to other customers. This guy is smart he has done a little work on your job, that means you can`t charge him with fraud.
I hope this does not give all contractors a bad name.
Wish you well.
10/10/2016 at 9:37:28 AM
Well it sounds like a predicament, first with this contractor harassing you could of just told him no and that you found somebody else. Now that you have signed the documents stating you want this company to do the work you have tied yourself into a binding contract. But it probably doesn't say to pay out the job before the work commences. So just tell them that you would like to see progress before paying anymore. if the job doesn't progress and this company keeps harassing then the only other direction would be small claims to get your 3000 back and place a negative review on Trusted Pro's and a letter to the Better Business Bureau. But if you feel sketchy about the whole thing and your stomach doesn't feel right then go to the RCMP and have them investigate.
Good luck,
James Beckwith
10/10/2016 at 9:53:23 AM
I would always recomend research. Figure out the service that fits you and who can provide it. These days people go with the cheapest price and in all honesty its disasterous and the contractor isn't always all at fault if he isnt going to make any money.
That being said, pressuring clients is never good. He seems like a fly by night contractor that paid to be on this service. I woukd have looked into the reviews or provided references.
Us-we have references, multiple sites, written and we'll even let you speak with previous clients that want to give us verbal references.
No detail or little detail in an estimate. Total. Joke. Some individuals just give a number with no detail-never makes sense. Finish materials vary in price and depend on customer selection-a budget should have been set for you for these items. (door, laminate etc).
You were tempted by the lowest price and looked at that as the only aspect of the job. Theres much more to any project than price-in my mind its a low priority.
Trust worthy workers, trusted worthy contract, comfortable, competent, clarity, how many subs, proof of payment for subs or 10% holdback agreement.
My advice, do plenty of research. Save more for the project so money isnt such an issue. Quality contractors and workers deserve quality pay. Reality is that these individuals have enough people trying to hire them.
10/10/2016 at 10:56:01 AM
Hello Suhair,
First let me say I am sorry you have gone through this nightmare.
If you were dealing with a reputable and honest contractor the job would have moved along nicely. I'm sure you would have been paying more but it would have been justified.
At this point, I would not even let this guy back into my home. the games will continue. You can always go after him for the three thousand you are out of pocket in small claims court. But first be sure he has a corporation or limited company you can sue. If you are going after him personally, at least find out if he owns a house etc, so you know you may get funds even if you do win.
Now back to your home. I wish I was still in Mississauga and I would quote it and properly complete the job for you. But we moved to the Niagara Region just over four years ago. Only speak to contractors with good reviews on the site. And as I do, ask them for a couple of phone numbers of past clients to see what people think of their work finish, performance and attitude on the site. Again, I'm sorry you have experienced this. And I hope that others that are considering work on their homes will have read these posts and will take care in choosing their contractor. There is usually a reason a contractor has a higher price in the quote. Normally they do better work!
10/10/2016 at 11:02:48 AM
I've been in business over 20 years. and as a "rule of thumb" 10% deposit is usually the norm. If doing cabinets and very high end products, higher deposits are sometime required. Unfortunately because
you are in a binding contract everything that is clear and that will be installed and or supplied by the contractor in writing you must pay for that service, but if you have paid for anything written down that has not been preformed or supplied you have a case.
Unfortunately this sounds like mostly word of mouth and empty promises. Court would be expensive and his word against yours.
"TrustPros" has a good rating system and it's in place for a reason. People can shop around for who they would like to give them a " DETAILED " estimate for the work. Cut all ties with this contractor and seek one
that may even be linked to the Better Business Bureau. This job completion will be more expensive now but unfortunately you will have to write this off as a problem that will never occur again. A poor review to TrustPros could cut his membership and if he is linked to BBB as well, this all looks very bad and should not be in the business, it reflects poorly on many many good contractors out there working hard honestly.
10/10/2016 at 11:31:33 PM
Thank you all for replying to my question.
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