My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: GA
We own a mobile home park with some older homes in need of repair. We're unsure if they're worth fixing, so we decided to get 3 quotes on renovating one. The first contractor looked at it and said he'd get us a price. He then said he needed to take measurements. My partner (Don) had to go out of state, so after several no-show appointments, he hid the key and told the guy where it was. That was ~ 2 weeks ago. Don is still out of the area, but the guy called him a few days ago and said he was working on the house. Don told him to stop.
He sent me an invoice today for $4932 (~ $3500 labor). Much of it was "busy work" (cleaned roof, washed floors, bagged garbage). The renovation work included: put up drywall; repair a spot in the floor; replace 3 window headers; install base molding and window trim, caulk around windows, paint, "fix doors" and build steps.
He admitted in writing that he made some mistakes and should not have replaced so much drywall. We wanted a price on replacing only what we had removed due to damage, but he took it upon himself to remove/replace a lot more.
He put base molding down on bare plywood floors, so we're going to have to remove it when we install the new laminate floors, so paying him to install it was a waste of money. Also, we never would have agreed to 6" base molding or expensive window trim. (This home will rent for $475/month.)
He said he "redid" the exterior doors so they functioned properly. They opened, closed, and locked securely before he arrived.
He said he "fixed" the interior doors that had a gap above them. The gap was there for air circulation and we didn't want it "fixed."
He "bleached and prepped" the roof for coating. It was coated 2 years ago and doesn't need to be coated again for another 3 years.
He also took it upon himself to remove the bath and kitchen cabinets and countertops that we wanted to keep. I don't know why he did this because he didn't put anything back in their place. (He doesn't do plumbing.)
He was asked to give us a price on the job. He was specifically told we wanted the price to include repairing two a/c holes in the wall. And Don told him we didn't want him to do anything with the roof or skirting. He left the holes in the wall, but cleaned the roof and "removed dents" from the skirting.
When I received his invoice, I told him we only asked for a price and never agreed for him to do the work. He texted me and said he didn't understand why there was a misunderstanding because he told Don that he couldn't give a price without first doing the work. Don also told him that if we chose him to do the work, he (Don) wanted to be there when he did it. Instead, he waited until the day after Don went out of town.
If it was a misunderstanding, it seems he would have communicated with us at some point in the process - to ask what kind of molding we wanted (not 6"!) or ask if we wanted to keep the cabinets/fixtures - some kind of communication.
Additionally, he sent receipts for materials that are more than 70% higher than I pay for the same items (lumber, drywall) at Lowes. And we already had an inventory of some items from other jobs. We intended to use those. But we were never consulted. He just bought what he wanted and did what he wanted.
I feel like we're being "strong-armed" into paying for a job we didn't want him to do. My thought was for Don to look at the work we otherwise would have hired someone to do, put a reasonable value on that work and offer him what we would have been satisfied paying. To do that, Don has to travel 900 miles and this is not a good time for the trip. He wants to be paid $4932 now.
I'm wondering the best way to handle this. We have nothing in writing, other than his texts: one saying he'd "never do this intentionally" and another text telling me that he had to do the job before he could give me a price, but these were sent after the work was done.
I can't imagine that he'd have a legal leg to stand on in court. We had no agreement (other than he was to get us a price on the work). He did put work and money into the home, so I somewhat feel he should be compensated for that. But we're still not sure it's even worth fixing (we have to get a price from someone who can do the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work). It now needs kitchen and bath cabinets, the two holes in the wall still need repair, and it needs floorcoverings. I'm not sure it's worth it for a 1988 home. The whole purpose of getting prices was to determine if it was worthwhile. If it's not, I don't want to pay him for work that will end up being scrapped.
Do we inspect it at our convenience and try to work something out? Tell him he has to pay if Don has to make a special trip to resolve this? Or just tell him to take a hike?
Thanks for your time.
We own a mobile home park with some older homes in need of repair. We're unsure if they're worth fixing, so we decided to get 3 quotes on renovating one. The first contractor looked at it and said he'd get us a price. He then said he needed to take measurements. My partner (Don) had to go out of state, so after several no-show appointments, he hid the key and told the guy where it was. That was ~ 2 weeks ago. Don is still out of the area, but the guy called him a few days ago and said he was working on the house. Don told him to stop.
He sent me an invoice today for $4932 (~ $3500 labor). Much of it was "busy work" (cleaned roof, washed floors, bagged garbage). The renovation work included: put up drywall; repair a spot in the floor; replace 3 window headers; install base molding and window trim, caulk around windows, paint, "fix doors" and build steps.
He admitted in writing that he made some mistakes and should not have replaced so much drywall. We wanted a price on replacing only what we had removed due to damage, but he took it upon himself to remove/replace a lot more.
He put base molding down on bare plywood floors, so we're going to have to remove it when we install the new laminate floors, so paying him to install it was a waste of money. Also, we never would have agreed to 6" base molding or expensive window trim. (This home will rent for $475/month.)
He said he "redid" the exterior doors so they functioned properly. They opened, closed, and locked securely before he arrived.
He said he "fixed" the interior doors that had a gap above them. The gap was there for air circulation and we didn't want it "fixed."
He "bleached and prepped" the roof for coating. It was coated 2 years ago and doesn't need to be coated again for another 3 years.
He also took it upon himself to remove the bath and kitchen cabinets and countertops that we wanted to keep. I don't know why he did this because he didn't put anything back in their place. (He doesn't do plumbing.)
He was asked to give us a price on the job. He was specifically told we wanted the price to include repairing two a/c holes in the wall. And Don told him we didn't want him to do anything with the roof or skirting. He left the holes in the wall, but cleaned the roof and "removed dents" from the skirting.
When I received his invoice, I told him we only asked for a price and never agreed for him to do the work. He texted me and said he didn't understand why there was a misunderstanding because he told Don that he couldn't give a price without first doing the work. Don also told him that if we chose him to do the work, he (Don) wanted to be there when he did it. Instead, he waited until the day after Don went out of town.
If it was a misunderstanding, it seems he would have communicated with us at some point in the process - to ask what kind of molding we wanted (not 6"!) or ask if we wanted to keep the cabinets/fixtures - some kind of communication.
Additionally, he sent receipts for materials that are more than 70% higher than I pay for the same items (lumber, drywall) at Lowes. And we already had an inventory of some items from other jobs. We intended to use those. But we were never consulted. He just bought what he wanted and did what he wanted.
I feel like we're being "strong-armed" into paying for a job we didn't want him to do. My thought was for Don to look at the work we otherwise would have hired someone to do, put a reasonable value on that work and offer him what we would have been satisfied paying. To do that, Don has to travel 900 miles and this is not a good time for the trip. He wants to be paid $4932 now.
I'm wondering the best way to handle this. We have nothing in writing, other than his texts: one saying he'd "never do this intentionally" and another text telling me that he had to do the job before he could give me a price, but these were sent after the work was done.
I can't imagine that he'd have a legal leg to stand on in court. We had no agreement (other than he was to get us a price on the work). He did put work and money into the home, so I somewhat feel he should be compensated for that. But we're still not sure it's even worth fixing (we have to get a price from someone who can do the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work). It now needs kitchen and bath cabinets, the two holes in the wall still need repair, and it needs floorcoverings. I'm not sure it's worth it for a 1988 home. The whole purpose of getting prices was to determine if it was worthwhile. If it's not, I don't want to pay him for work that will end up being scrapped.
Do we inspect it at our convenience and try to work something out? Tell him he has to pay if Don has to make a special trip to resolve this? Or just tell him to take a hike?
Thanks for your time.
Construction Contracts: Can a Contractor Bill for Unauthorized Work
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