Ouch!

[NS'Creter]

So, I got the contract signed. I got $5,000.00 down and did some small aspects of the job. I had a truck and excavator on the job yesterday morning and was excavating the driveway (90'). The homeowner was leaving in the afternoon for a 2 week vacation in France. We spoke some, mostly small talk and he informed me that one of his errands before leaving was going to the bank. This was relevant because he was to give me another $7,900.00 prior to leaving. By 3PM I was nervous enough to go across the street to his In Laws' house to ask when they were coming back. 2 weeks was the answer. I stopped the job. Today we contacted him in France and he explained that they ran out of time and would have missed their flight if they had returned to the house with my money. I explained that I needed the money to continue and that an electronic money transfer on Monday would work. So I wait. I have nothing else ready to jump to to stay busy...so I wait. I hope this gets fixed. The contract also pays me another decent amount upon completion.
We have some of Hurricane Hannah arriving on Sunday they say and there's a muddy 90' trench where the gravel driveway used to be. That should make a wonderful mess. Assuming the money arrives in my account Monday and we proceed with the job...should there be a penalty to pay? If I have to deal with a big mucky mess I intend to charge extra...is this appropriate? It's amazing how everything goes so smoothly for me.

[Lindy]

Did the terms of the contract/proposal clearly state the payment terms (as to the amounts to be paid, scope of the work to have been completed at the time, and specific time/date for them)? If so, you definitely are in the catbird seat in relation to charging your customer some sort of penality for failure to pay within agreed to terms of contract/proposal. If there is a gray area (verbal as to when the 2nd draw was to be paid), that has now been compounded by Mother Nature to create problems in proceeding on schedule (rain, mud, etc), you can always come up with a figure that is appropriate (higher than you really want/need) then negotiate with them, arriving at an agreed to amount.

Lindy

[NS'Creter]

Our written and signed contract is very specific. We arrange for our draws, when applicable, to come upon completion of milestones within the project. This is the best way for the client and us I think. He is 100% in breach of contract, no question. I finally received an email from him today. He had some comments/questions that lead me to believe that this may have been a negotiating ploy. He really should have tried negotiating before signing. Now he's got one heckuva mess where his driveway used to be. Lots of water came down over the weekend. I responded already to his email and very clearly answered his questions and refreshed his memory in regards to our arrangement. It's 5 hours later in France so it will be tomorrow (oops, later today) before I could expect another email. He also claimed that he couldn't transfer funds from there. That is bull!! The only reason he couldn't would be if he didn't have any....and I know that he does.

[Lindy]

Sounds like he is doing nothing but hitting foul balls... it won't take referree to sort this out since you have professionally covered all bases and it is definitely "your game." You are standing on firm ground (legally speaking) and he is doomed to wallow in a quagmire of his creation if he doesn't step up to the home plate and pay you as per contractural terms.

What makes me the maddest at times like these is when people think I stupid enough to fall for their line's of b.s. ... I have customers wire me money from all over the world to pay for materials to be shipped to them (from small amounts to full containers) and it never takes more than 24 hours for them to do so. Your customer either has no intention of paying until he gets back, and then will be demanding that you get rid of the mud pit immediately (even if you don't have any other jobs going, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that, I would make him march through the mud to his house for a week or so, then proceed) ... or, he spent his money on his vacation and whatever his income source is it won't be available funds for another week or two.

Lindy

Lindy

[NS'Creter]

Well...still no word from my "customer". I know that I'm fully covered legally and so far I've behaved reasonably...but what a huge disappointment. There have been some over my few years in this biz that made me nervous, but not this one. I am totally shocked.
I'm tired of swimming upstream. I built the market here, had a house fire and pushed on, had my injury and pushed on, had a rotten summer last year and pushed on...and now this. I love this biz...it suits me with the construction and art combination. Maybe I'm beating my head on the wall?

[NS'Creter]

I got an email from France today. I can't believe how this guy has gone total 180 on me. Geez! I'm shocked and disappointed. He had "issues" that he needed answered again. There are no real issues...it's all a ploy for negotiation. His tone has changed to nasty as well...for example I gave him a heads up that his driveway is now a 90' mud hole and that he may want me to continue at least to gravel....to avoid further damage by the weather. In my email to make my point I stated that we took 10 loads of clay material out...he said in his today that the number of loads was irrelevant to him because I should have calculated that into my fee. Well dammit I did. My hand wasn't out I was just letting him know the condition of his property. This is gonna be sooooo much fun.

[Lindy]

Wow, your customer has gone backward as to evoluiton, becoming a "mucosa nemotode" (latin for slimy worm). Worms love loose/damp soil, so he should feel right at home upon his return from France as is squiggles an wiggles up his non-existant muddy driveway. If when he gets back he has not regained his mental factilties, you should say the hell with him, get your pole and go fishing (you can use him, being a slimy worm, for bait, maybe catching a real keeper).

Lindy

[NS'Creter]

Mucosa Nemotode indeed. I more I think on this the more I just want out. I know that I could place the best driveway on the planet and he'd have some "issue". There were a couple of other aspects/portions of the project that I gave very good deals on. I did that with the condition that we do the big driveway. If he cancells the job I should be entitled to the regular rate for those discounted portions. If I cancel it would likely be hard to demand the regular rate wouldn't it? I've got everything ready for his return and my ducks are in a laser straight row. I sincerely want him to call the job. I want out. Maybe he has multiple personality disorder? Not one of his issues or concerns is legit. They are complete bunk. I have no intention to respond to his last email. I will not argue or defend my work online, especially since his concerns are bull. Any more thoughts or suggestions would be great. It's all I can do to stop myself from completely losin' it and joining him in the spaceship parking area.

[alexwright]

The good thing about communicating online (if it can be called that) since the knucklehead isn't getting it, is that you have this communication in writing that can be printed and taken to court as opposed to him trying to deny he said this or that and trying to put words in your mouth and so on. So if you do talk further online make sure you use words that will further help your case and so on. Sorry t0o hear about the little ones that got killed. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 month old and I can't imagine anything happening to them. I love my little guys, they are just the cutest and most handsome little cuties. Anyhow best of luck with this individual your having to deal with. This just continues to confirm my way of doing business and getting lots of my money as I go and leaving about ten percent or so for the end when done but I get sufficient to cover all my expenses and labor. For example if I were to have a $7,000 job I would set my progress payment like This: $700 Upon signing contract (California law states 10% or $1,000 whichever is less, after that its whatever you want it to be). Anyhow $700 Upon signing, $2,000 Upon 1st Day of work, $2,000 Upon 3rd day of work, $1,600 Upon 5th day of work, and $700 Upon completion of application of sealer and clean up. This would be for a 7 day job or so. If the job will be done faster then the numbers on payment go higher and so on. That way you always have money and most of it. It protects both you and homeowner. They see the work and progress and youre getting your money. If you don't advance like you think then put off payment a day or two till you feel your back on schedule and your customer can see your progress.

[Lindy]

Do you remember when you were in school, taking a written test, and you finished with time remaining on the clock? If you went back and reconsidered your answers, changing a few of them, chances are that your first thought/answer was correct; but, the answer you changed it to was wrong. This goes to prove your first thoughts and/or impressions are usually correct.

On another note ... never write emails when you are VERY angry since you might be brining yourself down to the level of the moron you are attempting to deal/reason with; doing so can and will be used against you in court of law (or mediation/arbitration venue) ... some judges and juries feel as if you should have conducted yourself as a professional, no matter how many times your customer back stabbed you with their sharp conniving knife

By far, the STUPIDEST adage on earth is: the customer is always right ... in Texas I would have to put my boots on to wade through all the bull shit of his ignorant old saying.

I'm a big believer in listening with your gut intuition. If it is telling you that no matter what you do you will not please this moron, and furthermore, that he could make it worse after you have sunk your time/materials/skill/effort into the job by bringing some sort of non-performance/imagined lawsuit against you down the road, I recommend you RUN (not walk) AWAY from this job, taking the money he has paid you thus far, and NEVER look back.

Lindy A.

[NS'Creter]

"Customer is always right"....who is responsible for that one? Obviously a frickin' customer.
I haven't responded since I received that snotty email from him. That's a no win situation for sure. I have no intentions to do any more work for that man...absolutely not. I've been thinking and preparing for his return...I've spoken with the other people who were there. I was wondering if I somehow missed a red flag. Apparantly not because we were all conversing and they recall him (customer) telling me that he was going to the bank before he left town. He may well have, but he neglected to come back with my money. The fast one he pulled was definately deliberate.

When I received the deposit and signed the contract he asked if he could give me $5,000.00 instead of the agreed $8,600.00. He had to help out one of their sons...hey, life happens to us all and we made a new agreement that the $3,600.00 shortage would be paid with the next draw before they left. Maybe I'm a stubborn moron, but I want that $3,600.00. Some of that has been spent on the job and I'll be damned if I pay for anything for him. It's gonna be a battle I'm sure.

[Lindy]

Stock up on your ammunition (facts)... get ready ... aim ... fire

My money is on you to win the war your customer has waged.

Lindy

[NS'Creter]

On the 19th my "customer" (I use the quotation marks because normally a customer pays for things) returns rom France. Now take a peek a your calender...what day is the 19th? That's right...Friday! Then on Monday he leaves for Angola to go back to work for 28 days. What are the odds for me getting anything from him over the weekend? Slim to none is my guess.
So do I stake out the house and await their return? Do I wait for a call? In my eyes this was such a deliberate "fast one" that they pulled on me it will be difficult for me to maintain my composure. How do you start into the conversation that needs to be had? I need to be firm and factual without blowin' my stack. As I said he was rude in his last email, he even invented issues with my work and said that he had to consider if the project would continue. I would say that he obviously thinks that he's got me over a barrel. He does not.
To make this situation even "better" I reinjured my back on Saturday and have been a horizontal mess ever since.

[Lindy]

Yes ... stake out his house. My bother in law (Buddy) is a contractor that builds custom home staircases for numerous custom home builders within about a 100 mile radius (even turns his own wood, he's really a master craftsman). He recently had a builder that didn't pay him =...strange enough (or very LUCKY), in 25+ years he has been building staircases he has never been stiffed by a builder before. He's a handshake guy, using only generic proposals, and operates on 20% when starts the job/80% completion.

After numerous phone calls (2 weeks after he completed the job), he went to the builders home (the one the builder and his family live in), He parked out front in his company truck with signs on it, and kept going up to ring the doorbell every 5 minutes (the guy was home he just wasn't answering the door). Of course, this doesn't look good to the neighbors, seeing this going on. After ringing the doorbell ever 5 minutes for about an hour, the builder finally answered the door and told him that he would have a check for him the following day (just come by his office). Buddy told him, "I trusted that you would pay me was agree to upon completion, you have not returned my phone calls or even answered your cell phone for two weeks, have obviously been hiding from me, which leads me to not trust you anymore, so unless you have CASH in hand for me tomorrow morning by no later than 10:00, I will be making a trip to the courthouse to file a material & labor lien on the house I built the staircase in." Furthermore, I will "no longer build any staircases in your custom homes, so loose my number!"

You could tell your moron (customer) that he owes you ______ dollars for the work you have completed, as per the terms of the contract, and that if he fails to pay you will have no alternative but to file a "material and labor" lien against his house." Furthermore, "you no longer have any reason to trust him;" therefore, "you will only accept cash at this time."

I assume that Canada law is probably about like the States, in that all you have to do is first send a certified letter that states "Intention to Lien" (it doesn't make any difference whether or not he ever signs for it, all you have to prove is you sent it), advising him that he has 10 days to make restitution in the amount of _______. If at the end of 10 days you have not been paid, go to the courthouse in the jurisdiction the property is located (you don't need an attorney), bring a copy of your contract and certified letter (along with proof it was sent) with you, get the paperwork from the clerk to file a material and labor lien, fill it out while there, and "presto" he has a lien placed on his house, that will remain a part of "permanent property abstract records for the next 100+ years." Furthermore, if he ever wants to sell the house, he will have to pay off the lien you placed before he can sell it. NO ONE wants a lien placed on their property.

I have never sent an "Intent to Lien" letter, not receiving payment in full from a deadbeat within 10 days, with the exception of one time (in which I placed a lien, on my own in this manner against a locally owned/franchise Hilton motel; learned later that it was being remodeled in order to sell it; when they got a buyer, the owner had paid off all the liens (this was very easy to do myself, without an attorney). As I said, no one (residential or commercial property owner) wants a lien placed on their property that will remain a "part of their properties permanent abstract record" forever (when they pay lien off, it will still show that a lien was placed, and then paid, along with the reason for the lien). If you want a copy of my "Intent to Lien" letter that I wrote up I will be glad to share it with you.

[NS'Creter]

A lien is my "Plan B" ...which I'm sure I'll have to go to because I expect a complete run-around from this guy now. Here we have 45 days to file what is called an "Originating Action". Then we have an additional 60 days to execute a lien. That is not to say that we must wait for those time periods. It means that we have that time to get our poop in a group or we're outta luck. It is required that a lawyer is used unfortunately, but it only costs $200.00-250.00. That fee can be added to the lien amount. This guy came across as a nice guy up until the day he left, but also quite arrogant and proud. He kind of strutted around like cock of the walk. For this reason I think that the lien will drive him crazy. Not that he'll likely ever sell the house because I think they'll be in it forever...they have since '88 and her family is across the street. I have a gut feeling that he will refuse to pay any more money and thinks that we're at an even balance right now. We are not. I need a minimum of $3,600.00.
There is no way in Hell that I will finish the job even if he says that's what he wants. From this performance I believe that I could place the best driveway on the globe and he would find "issues" with it. Besides, after all of this rain I would need to excavate the sopping mud out which means more gravel in and I think we all know that he wouldn't pay for that. Did I mention that one of his "issues" was that the job has been dragging on since mid July? That's impossible since the contract was signed on the 23rd and the deposit was received on the 25th and there was about a 2 week wait from then for us to even start because we were finishing other projects. He's fabricating shit to rattle me and whittle down my price. Hah!!