Posted on: 11-08-14 09:31:22
Hello Friends,
We had our concrete driveway built by a Contractor last month.. The contract was signed on May1, 2014 but the driveway was only laid around July 17th . After the concrete was laid we inspected the quality of work and found it did not meet out standards of expectations. Though there was no compromise on quality of the concrete , but the finishing was not up to the mark as a result we had rough surface and trowel makings throughout the driveway.
We were holding 50% of the contractor's fees as per the agreement and refused to pay whole as we did not get what we had expected. After too much talks and negotiations he agreed to offer 10% discount but that wasn't enough to punish him for the bad job.
We wanted to build him another driveway for which he plainly refused and threatened us to take in court for holding back his money. According to him there is no structural fault in the driveway and there is no way he can rebuilt it.
Now he said he going to send a lien on the driveway and making us pay for the legal charges too. We showed several other contractors who agreed that it was indeed not a good job. I just wanted to know what are the changes of the judgement ruling in my favor in case we go ahead with this case. Is it worthwhile the time and money spend on this or we should just settle on outside agreed amount?
Any lawyers or someone been in this situation, please advise.
thank you.
Personally .... it is not worth (your time and money)
Try to settle without court and compromise. Think that it was a bad deal ... and you lost it. Do not extend it further. It will not give you any happiness.
Quote:
Originally posted by nishant3112
Hello Friends,
We had our concrete driveway built by a Contractor last month.. The contract was signed on May1, 2014 but the driveway was only laid around July 17th . After the concrete was laid we inspected the quality of work and found it did not meet out standards of expectations. Though there was no compromise on quality of the concrete , but the finishing was not up to the mark as a result we had rough surface and trowel makings throughout the driveway.
We were holding 50% of the contractor's fees as per the agreement and refused to pay whole as we did not get what we had expected. After too much talks and negotiations he agreed to offer 10% discount but that wasn't enough to punish him for the bad job.
We wanted to build him another driveway for which he plainly refused and threatened us to take in court for holding back his money. According to him there is no structural fault in the driveway and there is no way he can rebuilt it.
Now he said he going to send a lien on the driveway and making us pay for the legal charges too. We showed several other contractors who agreed that it was indeed not a good job. I just wanted to know what are the changes of the judgement ruling in my favor in case we go ahead with this case. Is it worthwhile the time and money spend on this or we should just settle on outside agreed amount?
Any lawyers or someone been in this situation, please advise.
thank you.
-------
Say that the driveway cost you about $7,000.00 and if he is providing a rebate of $700.00 which is 10%, see if anyone else would provide you with a finish of your choice for that sum. Then release him from your clutches.
Remember, you have stirred up an hornets' nest and you don't know where you will end up. If you can stomach it, then go for it. Some contractors can only do a lousy job. If you have a letter or two from others with their opinions, in your favour, then you will win that case. Otherwise you stand to lose.
Call home depot guys and get their opinion also. They are very fair. All of these things will cost you money and time and efforts plus the legal fees etc.,
So, trod on the middle of the road area.
FH.
Quote:
Originally posted by Gurram
Personally .... it is not worth (your time and money)
Try to settle without court and compromise. Think that it was a bad deal ... and you lost it. Do not extend it further. It will not give you any happiness.
Yes...we thought of this too...but thinking that we will have to live up to this for the rest of our lives, was something hard to digest...
Quote:
Originally posted by Full House
Quote:
Originally posted by nishant3112
Hello Friends,
We had our concrete driveway built by a Contractor last month.. The contract was signed on May1, 2014 but the driveway was only laid around July 17th . After the concrete was laid we inspected the quality of work and found it did not meet out standards of expectations. Though there was no compromise on quality of the concrete , but the finishing was not up to the mark as a result we had rough surface and trowel makings throughout the driveway.
We were holding 50% of the contractor's fees as per the agreement and refused to pay whole as we did not get what we had expected. After too much talks and negotiations he agreed to offer 10% discount but that wasn't enough to punish him for the bad job.
We wanted to build him another driveway for which he plainly refused and threatened us to take in court for holding back his money. According to him there is no structural fault in the driveway and there is no way he can rebuilt it.
Now he said he going to send a lien on the driveway and making us pay for the legal charges too. We showed several other contractors who agreed that it was indeed not a good job. I just wanted to know what are the changes of the judgement ruling in my favor in case we go ahead with this case. Is it worthwhile the time and money spend on this or we should just settle on outside agreed amount?
Any lawyers or someone been in this situation, please advise.
thank you.
-------
Say that the driveway cost you about $7,000.00 and if he is providing a rebate of $700.00 which is 10%, see if anyone else would provide you with a finish of your choice for that sum. Then release him from your clutches.
Remember, you have stirred up an hornets' nest and you don't know where you will end up. If you can stomach it, then go for it. Some contractors can only do a lousy job. If you have a letter or two from others with their opinions, in your favour, then you will win that case. Otherwise you stand to lose.
Call home depot guys and get their opinion also. They are very fair. All of these things will cost you money and time and efforts plus the legal fees etc.,
So, trod on the middle of the road area.
FH.
Well its not possible to provide a finish of my choice since once the concrete is laid, there is nothing that can be done other than breaking and redo or grinding and laying fresh concrete which would make it look more bad.
I do have other contractors look and it but not sure if they are going to give anything in writing since usually they protect the trade and know they could be in a similar situation too...well we also dont want the hassle but 10% is too less for us....why not get a bigger share now that the fish is already trapped and he did admit his mistake and we also found that a similar case is pending against him from another person...that what gave us more reason to stand strong...
I know couple of cases like yours and gone for second contractor for redoing the work .... and ended up saying the first one was at least better in some aspects. Most of the ordinary contractors belong to the same class when it comes to quality of the service and very difficult to find a good one if not impossible.
If you go with people like Home Depot ... at least you are much better protected ( including legally). For their reputation sake, they hear your grievance and resolve the matters .... but it will certainly cost you more.
Quote:
Originally posted by Gurram
I know couple of cases like yours and gone for second contractor for redoing the work .... and ended up saying the first one was at least better in some aspects. Most of the ordinary contractors belong to the same class when it comes to quality of the service and very difficult to find a good one if not impossible.
If you go with people like Home Depot ... at least you are much better protected ( including legally). For their reputation sake, they hear your grievance and resolve the matters .... but it will certainly cost you more.
rightly said...we all do go to save out hard earned money and ignore and over look the quality of contractor...I think its a very tough choice given the amount professionals ask and how much less other contractors are ready to do...its a Catch 22 situation...some people get lucky while majority of them realize later...but whose fault is it anyways..?
