Several months ago I was contacted by [redacted] to come to their home to discuss a countertop install with them I went to their home and was immediately told that they would like a bid on replacement of the countertop but that they would be buying all the matierials At this point I immediately informed them that if they were buying the materials that the job would be charged out hourly labor plus any materials as that is how I always bid jobs when I do not have control over purchasing the materials This is standard for me as often times consumers purchase very cheap or the wrong components for a job and it generally causes more labor time to install I also indicated to them at that time that I charge from the time that my guys leave the shop until the return as I do not charge for a trip chargeThe ***s asked me to measure the countertop for them, which I did I measured the countertop and gave them the drawing which was on a x inch lined canary tablet page I drew my drawing with a black pen I left that drawing with them and they said they would order the countertop and give me a call to perform the installationSeveral months passed and I did not hear anything from the ***s About three weeks ago I received a call from [redacted] who indicated that she was at [redacted] and was going to buy the countertops, but wanted to buy stock countertops instead of the custom countertops we had discussed on my initial visit to her home I informed her that we could use the stock countertops and custom fabricate then on-site, but that this would take several additional hours to perform and I didn't think there would be much cost savings for her to buy the stock countertops She basically ignored my words and told me she could save over $by ordering the stock countertops because they were on saleAdditionally, she informed me that the stock end caps were on back order and would be in in a few days and she would call me when they arrived [redacted] contacted me stating the end caps had arrived and we set an install date for 12/ My guys arrived on-site and immediately started to have issues with the materials that the ***s had purchased The stock countertops were warped, she had purchased a new sink and faucet which had a different sink offset than the original sink and the adjoining wall was bowed so they had to scribe the wall to make an acceptable installation Not only did we have to purchase additional parts to make the installation, but we had several hours retrofitting the stock countertops, modifying the plumbing to accept the new sink and faucet and scribing the wall to accomodate the new countertop installationMy guys even worked overtime the first day thinking they could get the installation complete, but they realized that was not going to happen The packed up and headed back to our shop The next day (12/19) they went to the ***s and finished the install The ***s were very satisfied with the install and said the work looked greatI sent out the billing for the work on 12/ On 12/I received phone messages and emails in just a few hours from the ***s I called her to discuss the issue and she informed me that she had a written estimate from me for $to perform the install I told her that was not true and I asked her to scan and email the "written estimate" she had to me She then emailed me a copy of the countertop drawing that I had provided her My drawing was in black ink and someone had written $in blue ink on the sheet I informed [redacted] that that was not my writing and that is simply not how I give written estimates This is where things began to escalate, so I told her I would review the bill and see if I could do anythingI emailed [redacted] at 5:PM that evening and in the interest of good business and to mitigate this situation that I would reduce the original $1,bill by 25% to $ This fact the ***s conveniently leave out of their complaint [redacted] then offered me $and I informed him that I had more in actual costs than that and that I was not willing to take a financial lose on the job [redacted] was very rude and demanded my contractor's license number Since this was heading toward legal action, I told him that I would gladly give him my contractor's license number but I would request that he ask for it in writing and send it to my business address I also informed the ***s that if I was not paid promptly, I would be filing a small claims action to recover the full amount of the original invoice plus court costs and service feesThe ***s have also contacted my suppliers to slander my name If this continues I will have no choice but to pursue legal action against them to cease and desist from this and detrimental slanderous behavior I am confident that all of this is just an attempt to get a reduced cost for the work that was done for them I have never had a complaint levied against me and my license is in good standing I believe that I have tried to mitigate this complaint in good faith and that I have given a reasonable offer to the ***s They have paid me nothing, accused me of being dishonest and have slandered my name We did an excellent job on the install and at a reasonable cost considering the current charging rates in the area Even considering this I agreed to discount our billing to help satisfy these customers However, they still refuse to pay me anything, have not been honest about this situation and continue to try to bully me into taking a substantial lose on the work we did for themI can assure you that this will not happen Customers such as this are simply scammers who are trying to benefit through deceitful tactics and try to benefit at the expense of othersHopefully, you will look at all the facts presented here and determine that I have been more than reasonable here It is pretty obvious that no contractor would bid a multiple piece, custom fabrication countertop replacement including modified sink, faucet and garbage disposal replacement for $ That is simply unreasonable...just like the ***sThank you, [redacted] PM Maintenance
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]
I do not know why Mr. [redacted] has resorted to name calling and threats when we want to resolve this issue. We do not feel we are responsible for travel time and time they were not at the job site. We do believe that they worked 8 hours on THursday and 2 hours on Friday for a total of 10 hours. We are willing to pay for that 10 hours. He had quoted us 250.00 for 5 hours, which is $50.00 per hour. A fair assessment for 10 hours is $500.00. I am also willing to pay for his material, minus gas, which is $48.00, bringing to total we are willing to pay to resolve this matter is $548.00, but at no time did he say that we were responsible for travel time, time not at the job site, and I do not feel that we should have to pay for that as it was not agreed upon, nor was any contract signed specifying that. We are not unhappy with the job. We are unhappy with the extra charges and Mr. [redacted]'s unwillingness to try and work this issue out without resorting to his name calling and threats. We have never threatened not to pay him. We even told him that we would like to work it out and was willing to meet him in the middle. I have never spoken to Mr. [redacted] about this issue other than communicating with him via e-mail. He refuses to speak with me to resolve this issue.
Several months ago I was contacted by [redacted] to come to their home to discuss a countertop install with them. I went to their home and was immediately told that they would like a bid on replacement of the countertop but that they would be buying all the matierials. At this point I...
immediately informed them that if they were buying the materials that the job would be charged out hourly labor plus any materials as that is how I always bid jobs when I do not have control over purchasing the materials. This is standard for me as often times consumers purchase very cheap or the wrong components for a job and it generally causes more labor time to install. I also indicated to them at that time that I charge from the time that my guys leave the shop until the return as I do not charge for a trip charge.
The [redacted]s asked me to measure the countertop for them, which I did. I measured the countertop and gave them the drawing which was on a 8.5 x 11 inch lined canary tablet page. I drew my drawing with a black pen. I left that drawing with them and they said they would order the countertop and give me a call to perform the installation.
Several months passed and I did not hear anything from the [redacted]s. About three weeks ago I received a call from [redacted] who indicated that she was at [redacted] and was going to buy the countertops, but wanted to buy stock countertops instead of the custom countertops we had discussed on my initial visit to her home. I informed her that we could use the stock countertops and custom fabricate then on-site, but that this would take several additional hours to perform and I didn't think there would be much cost savings for her to buy the stock countertops. She basically ignored my words and told me she could save over $200 by ordering the stock countertops because they were on sale.
Additionally, she informed me that the stock end caps were on back order and would be in in a few days and she would call me when they arrived.
[redacted] contacted me stating the end caps had arrived and we set an install date for 12/18. My guys arrived on-site and immediately started to have issues with the materials that the [redacted]s had purchased. The stock countertops were warped, she had purchased a new sink and faucet which had a different sink offset than the original sink and the adjoining wall was bowed so they had to scribe the wall to make an acceptable installation. Not only did we have to purchase additional parts to make the installation, but we had several hours retrofitting the stock countertops, modifying the plumbing to accept the new sink and faucet and scribing the wall to accomodate the new countertop installation.
My guys even worked overtime the first day thinking they could get the installation complete, but they realized that was not going to happen. The packed up and headed back to our shop. The next day (12/19) they went to the [redacted]s and finished the install. The [redacted]s were very satisfied with the install and said the work looked great.
I sent out the billing for the work on 12/22. On 12/23 I received 5 phone messages and 8 emails in just a few hours from the [redacted]s. I called her to discuss the issue and she informed me that she had a written estimate from me for $250 to perform the install. I told her that was not true and I asked her to scan and email the "written estimate" she had to me. She then emailed me a copy of the countertop drawing that I had provided her. My drawing was in black ink and someone had written $250 in blue ink on the sheet. I informed [redacted] that that was not my writing and that is simply not how I give written estimates. This is where things began to escalate, so I told her I would review the bill and see if I could do anything.
I emailed [redacted] at 5:47 PM that evening and in the interest of good business and to mitigate this situation that I would reduce the original $1,128 bill by 25% to $846. This fact the [redacted]s conveniently leave out of their complaint. [redacted] then offered me $450 and I informed him that I had more in actual costs than that and that I was not willing to take a financial lose on the job. [redacted] was very rude and demanded my contractor's license number. Since this was heading toward legal action, I told him that I would gladly give him my contractor's license number but I would request that he ask for it in writing and send it to my business address. I also informed the [redacted]s that if I was not paid promptly, I would be filing a small claims action to recover the full amount of the original invoice plus court costs and service fees.
The [redacted]s have also contacted my suppliers to slander my name. If this continues I will have no choice but to pursue legal action against them to cease and desist from this false and detrimental slanderous behavior. I am confident that all of this is just an attempt to get a reduced cost for the work that was done for them. I have never had a complaint levied against me and my license is in good standing.
I believe that I have tried to mitigate this complaint in good faith and that I have given a reasonable offer to the [redacted]s. They have paid me nothing, accused me of being dishonest and have slandered my name. We did an excellent job on the install and at a reasonable cost considering the current charging rates in the area. Even considering this I agreed to discount our billing to help satisfy these customers. However, they still refuse to pay me anything, have not been honest about this situation and continue to try to bully me into taking a substantial lose on the work we did for them.
I can assure you that this will not happen. Customers such as this are simply scammers who are trying to benefit through deceitful tactics and try to benefit at the expense of others.
Hopefully, you will look at all the facts presented here and determine that I have been more than reasonable here. It is pretty obvious that no contractor would bid a multiple piece, custom fabrication countertop replacement including modified sink, faucet and garbage disposal replacement for $250. That is simply unreasonable...just like the [redacted]s.
Thank you,
[redacted]
PM Maintenance
There are so many untruths here that I don't even know how to respond, but I will try. This will also be by last response as I have tried to mitigate this issue in good faith by reducing my already fair invoice price by 25%! Unfortunately, I have to work for other customers who pay their bills as agreed so that I can pay my bills.
I never charged the [redacted]s for overtime hours, but I did have to pay my guys overtime. I even gave the [redacted]s a copy of the job sheet which outlined hours and materials on this job. So they can see exactly what was charged. Again, conveniently, Mr. [redacted] does not mention this in his rantings within the complaint. He also is incorrect that I did in fact tell [redacted] that it would cost more for her to purchase stock countertops over custom cut units. It is just common sense that if we have to cut the countertops to the appropriate size, apply laminate end caps and cut out the hole for the sink, that we have a lot of labor doing that. It is like these individuals selectively hear what they want to and make up the rest to fit their agenda.
The [redacted]s obviously have done this type of thing before or at the very least must have planned this out very carefully. For them to contact several agencies, file complaints, contact my suppliers and my personally about 10 times within a matter of hours of receiving my invoice...proves this fact. I believe they have had success in getting work or services completed for little or no money in the past. This is just shameful.
I will let my complaint free record stand as a testament to my work ethics and business practices. I simply wouldn't be in business for years by pulling shenanigans such as these customers allege. I take pride in my work and try very hard to please every customer, but I will not be taken advantage of.
I am very bothered by these allegations and have tried to settle this matter repeatedly with the [redacted]s in the interest of good business. However, to ask me to take a loss on quality work done at reasonable rates is not a fair offer. Mr. [redacted] even told me he had higher bids for the work performed. I asked him to forward copies to me, but I have not seen any. I imagine this will be another point he will dispute.
I will wait for 30-days from the date of the invoice, I will send registered mail requesting payment and then I will file a small claims suit for recovery of the money owed to me. We can let a judge decide this matter. Everyone will have to miss work to appear, we will spend hours in mitigation and court and then the defendants will have to pay court costs and service fees on top of what they owe for the work.
Not what I want, but I can see no other road to settlement when dealing with individuals who are unwilling to negotiate a fair settlement. These individuals are simply the 1/2 of a percent of people out there that try to work the system for all it is worth at the expense of others. Sad, but true. I have never encountered such deceit in all my years of business. We live in a small community of good people and I am completely shocked over this
This has become a matter of principle and I will spend whatever time and money is necessary to ensure that I am made whole and that other contractors will have a warning about doing work for these individuals in the future. I believe that anyone looking at the facts of this issue would agree that my offering a 25% discount is very, very reasonable. However, offering just a few hundred dollars, which is less than my actual costs in the job, is not a reasonable offer toward settlement.
For some reason, the [redacted]s are stuck on this $250 figure which was forged on a drawing of the countertop I gave them. It is easily identified as different handwriting and is even written in a different color ink. I do give written estimates, but it is on my company letterhead and it is detailed. I do not give verbal estimates and I never give a written estimate when customers are supplying the materials because I have learned over the years that customers do not always buy the right materials which equates into more time for us either getting and installing the correct materials or somehow incorporating what they have purchased. And I ask anyone reading this, "Do you feel $250 to remove existing countertops, sink, faucet and then installing stock countertops that have to be customized to fit the space as well as installing a new sink that has a different drain spacing and depth...plus dealing with a curved wall...is a reasonable estimate?" Maybe in 1970, but certainly not today. Other contractors could have easily charged $1,500 to $1,800 for this work. My original invoice was hundreds less than this and my settlement offer is basically half of this amount.
That is as fair as it gets.
Several months ago I was contacted by [redacted] to come to their home to discuss a countertop install with them I went to their home and was immediately told that they would like a bid on replacement of the countertop but that they would be buying all the matierials At this point I immediately informed them that if they were buying the materials that the job would be charged out hourly labor plus any materials as that is how I always bid jobs when I do not have control over purchasing the materials This is standard for me as often times consumers purchase very cheap or the wrong components for a job and it generally causes more labor time to install I also indicated to them at that time that I charge from the time that my guys leave the shop until the return as I do not charge for a trip chargeThe ***s asked me to measure the countertop for them, which I did I measured the countertop and gave them the drawing which was on a x inch lined canary tablet page I drew my drawing with a black pen I left that drawing with them and they said they would order the countertop and give me a call to perform the installationSeveral months passed and I did not hear anything from the ***s About three weeks ago I received a call from [redacted] who indicated that she was at [redacted] and was going to buy the countertops, but wanted to buy stock countertops instead of the custom countertops we had discussed on my initial visit to her home I informed her that we could use the stock countertops and custom fabricate then on-site, but that this would take several additional hours to perform and I didn't think there would be much cost savings for her to buy the stock countertops She basically ignored my words and told me she could save over $by ordering the stock countertops because they were on saleAdditionally, she informed me that the stock end caps were on back order and would be in in a few days and she would call me when they arrived [redacted] contacted me stating the end caps had arrived and we set an install date for 12/ My guys arrived on-site and immediately started to have issues with the materials that the ***s had purchased The stock countertops were warped, she had purchased a new sink and faucet which had a different sink offset than the original sink and the adjoining wall was bowed so they had to scribe the wall to make an acceptable installation Not only did we have to purchase additional parts to make the installation, but we had several hours retrofitting the stock countertops, modifying the plumbing to accept the new sink and faucet and scribing the wall to accomodate the new countertop installationMy guys even worked overtime the first day thinking they could get the installation complete, but they realized that was not going to happen The packed up and headed back to our shop The next day (12/19) they went to the ***s and finished the install The ***s were very satisfied with the install and said the work looked greatI sent out the billing for the work on 12/ On 12/I received phone messages and emails in just a few hours from the ***s I called her to discuss the issue and she informed me that she had a written estimate from me for $to perform the install I told her that was not true and I asked her to scan and email the "written estimate" she had to me She then emailed me a copy of the countertop drawing that I had provided her My drawing was in black ink and someone had written $in blue ink on the sheet I informed [redacted] that that was not my writing and that is simply not how I give written estimates This is where things began to escalate, so I told her I would review the bill and see if I could do anythingI emailed [redacted] at 5:PM that evening and in the interest of good business and to mitigate this situation that I would reduce the original $1,bill by 25% to $ This fact the ***s conveniently leave out of their complaint [redacted] then offered me $and I informed him that I had more in actual costs than that and that I was not willing to take a financial lose on the job [redacted] was very rude and demanded my contractor's license number Since this was heading toward legal action, I told him that I would gladly give him my contractor's license number but I would request that he ask for it in writing and send it to my business address I also informed the ***s that if I was not paid promptly, I would be filing a small claims action to recover the full amount of the original invoice plus court costs and service feesThe ***s have also contacted my suppliers to slander my name If this continues I will have no choice but to pursue legal action against them to cease and desist from this and detrimental slanderous behavior I am confident that all of this is just an attempt to get a reduced cost for the work that was done for them I have never had a complaint levied against me and my license is in good standing I believe that I have tried to mitigate this complaint in good faith and that I have given a reasonable offer to the ***s They have paid me nothing, accused me of being dishonest and have slandered my name We did an excellent job on the install and at a reasonable cost considering the current charging rates in the area Even considering this I agreed to discount our billing to help satisfy these customers However, they still refuse to pay me anything, have not been honest about this situation and continue to try to bully me into taking a substantial lose on the work we did for themI can assure you that this will not happen Customers such as this are simply scammers who are trying to benefit through deceitful tactics and try to benefit at the expense of othersHopefully, you will look at all the facts presented here and determine that I have been more than reasonable here It is pretty obvious that no contractor would bid a multiple piece, custom fabrication countertop replacement including modified sink, faucet and garbage disposal replacement for $ That is simply unreasonable...just like the ***sThank you, [redacted] PM Maintenance
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]
I do not know why Mr. [redacted] has resorted to name calling and threats when we want to resolve this issue. We do not feel we are responsible for travel time and time they were not at the job site. We do believe that they worked 8 hours on THursday and 2 hours on Friday for a total of 10 hours. We are willing to pay for that 10 hours. He had quoted us 250.00 for 5 hours, which is $50.00 per hour. A fair assessment for 10 hours is $500.00. I am also willing to pay for his material, minus gas, which is $48.00, bringing to total we are willing to pay to resolve this matter is $548.00, but at no time did he say that we were responsible for travel time, time not at the job site, and I do not feel that we should have to pay for that as it was not agreed upon, nor was any contract signed specifying that. We are not unhappy with the job. We are unhappy with the extra charges and Mr. [redacted]'s unwillingness to try and work this issue out without resorting to his name calling and threats. We have never threatened not to pay him. We even told him that we would like to work it out and was willing to meet him in the middle. I have never spoken to Mr. [redacted] about this issue other than communicating with him via e-mail. He refuses to speak with me to resolve this issue.
Several months ago I was contacted by [redacted] to come to their home to discuss a countertop install with them. I went to their home and was immediately told that they would like a bid on replacement of the countertop but that they would be buying all the matierials. At this point I...
immediately informed them that if they were buying the materials that the job would be charged out hourly labor plus any materials as that is how I always bid jobs when I do not have control over purchasing the materials. This is standard for me as often times consumers purchase very cheap or the wrong components for a job and it generally causes more labor time to install. I also indicated to them at that time that I charge from the time that my guys leave the shop until the return as I do not charge for a trip charge.
The [redacted]s asked me to measure the countertop for them, which I did. I measured the countertop and gave them the drawing which was on a 8.5 x 11 inch lined canary tablet page. I drew my drawing with a black pen. I left that drawing with them and they said they would order the countertop and give me a call to perform the installation.
Several months passed and I did not hear anything from the [redacted]s. About three weeks ago I received a call from [redacted] who indicated that she was at [redacted] and was going to buy the countertops, but wanted to buy stock countertops instead of the custom countertops we had discussed on my initial visit to her home. I informed her that we could use the stock countertops and custom fabricate then on-site, but that this would take several additional hours to perform and I didn't think there would be much cost savings for her to buy the stock countertops. She basically ignored my words and told me she could save over $200 by ordering the stock countertops because they were on sale.
Additionally, she informed me that the stock end caps were on back order and would be in in a few days and she would call me when they arrived.
[redacted] contacted me stating the end caps had arrived and we set an install date for 12/18. My guys arrived on-site and immediately started to have issues with the materials that the [redacted]s had purchased. The stock countertops were warped, she had purchased a new sink and faucet which had a different sink offset than the original sink and the adjoining wall was bowed so they had to scribe the wall to make an acceptable installation. Not only did we have to purchase additional parts to make the installation, but we had several hours retrofitting the stock countertops, modifying the plumbing to accept the new sink and faucet and scribing the wall to accomodate the new countertop installation.
My guys even worked overtime the first day thinking they could get the installation complete, but they realized that was not going to happen. The packed up and headed back to our shop. The next day (12/19) they went to the [redacted]s and finished the install. The [redacted]s were very satisfied with the install and said the work looked great.
I sent out the billing for the work on 12/22. On 12/23 I received 5 phone messages and 8 emails in just a few hours from the [redacted]s. I called her to discuss the issue and she informed me that she had a written estimate from me for $250 to perform the install. I told her that was not true and I asked her to scan and email the "written estimate" she had to me. She then emailed me a copy of the countertop drawing that I had provided her. My drawing was in black ink and someone had written $250 in blue ink on the sheet. I informed [redacted] that that was not my writing and that is simply not how I give written estimates. This is where things began to escalate, so I told her I would review the bill and see if I could do anything.
I emailed [redacted] at 5:47 PM that evening and in the interest of good business and to mitigate this situation that I would reduce the original $1,128 bill by 25% to $846. This fact the [redacted]s conveniently leave out of their complaint. [redacted] then offered me $450 and I informed him that I had more in actual costs than that and that I was not willing to take a financial lose on the job. [redacted] was very rude and demanded my contractor's license number. Since this was heading toward legal action, I told him that I would gladly give him my contractor's license number but I would request that he ask for it in writing and send it to my business address. I also informed the [redacted]s that if I was not paid promptly, I would be filing a small claims action to recover the full amount of the original invoice plus court costs and service fees.
The [redacted]s have also contacted my suppliers to slander my name. If this continues I will have no choice but to pursue legal action against them to cease and desist from this false and detrimental slanderous behavior. I am confident that all of this is just an attempt to get a reduced cost for the work that was done for them. I have never had a complaint levied against me and my license is in good standing.
I believe that I have tried to mitigate this complaint in good faith and that I have given a reasonable offer to the [redacted]s. They have paid me nothing, accused me of being dishonest and have slandered my name. We did an excellent job on the install and at a reasonable cost considering the current charging rates in the area. Even considering this I agreed to discount our billing to help satisfy these customers. However, they still refuse to pay me anything, have not been honest about this situation and continue to try to bully me into taking a substantial lose on the work we did for them.
I can assure you that this will not happen. Customers such as this are simply scammers who are trying to benefit through deceitful tactics and try to benefit at the expense of others.
Hopefully, you will look at all the facts presented here and determine that I have been more than reasonable here. It is pretty obvious that no contractor would bid a multiple piece, custom fabrication countertop replacement including modified sink, faucet and garbage disposal replacement for $250. That is simply unreasonable...just like the [redacted]s.
Thank you,
[redacted]
PM Maintenance
There are so many untruths here that I don't even know how to respond, but I will try. This will also be by last response as I have tried to mitigate this issue in good faith by reducing my already fair invoice price by 25%! Unfortunately, I have to work for other customers who pay their bills as agreed so that I can pay my bills.
I never charged the [redacted]s for overtime hours, but I did have to pay my guys overtime. I even gave the [redacted]s a copy of the job sheet which outlined hours and materials on this job. So they can see exactly what was charged. Again, conveniently, Mr. [redacted] does not mention this in his rantings within the complaint. He also is incorrect that I did in fact tell [redacted] that it would cost more for her to purchase stock countertops over custom cut units. It is just common sense that if we have to cut the countertops to the appropriate size, apply laminate end caps and cut out the hole for the sink, that we have a lot of labor doing that. It is like these individuals selectively hear what they want to and make up the rest to fit their agenda.
The [redacted]s obviously have done this type of thing before or at the very least must have planned this out very carefully. For them to contact several agencies, file complaints, contact my suppliers and my personally about 10 times within a matter of hours of receiving my invoice...proves this fact. I believe they have had success in getting work or services completed for little or no money in the past. This is just shameful.
I will let my complaint free record stand as a testament to my work ethics and business practices. I simply wouldn't be in business for years by pulling shenanigans such as these customers allege. I take pride in my work and try very hard to please every customer, but I will not be taken advantage of.
I am very bothered by these allegations and have tried to settle this matter repeatedly with the [redacted]s in the interest of good business. However, to ask me to take a loss on quality work done at reasonable rates is not a fair offer. Mr. [redacted] even told me he had higher bids for the work performed. I asked him to forward copies to me, but I have not seen any. I imagine this will be another point he will dispute.
I will wait for 30-days from the date of the invoice, I will send registered mail requesting payment and then I will file a small claims suit for recovery of the money owed to me. We can let a judge decide this matter. Everyone will have to miss work to appear, we will spend hours in mitigation and court and then the defendants will have to pay court costs and service fees on top of what they owe for the work.
Not what I want, but I can see no other road to settlement when dealing with individuals who are unwilling to negotiate a fair settlement. These individuals are simply the 1/2 of a percent of people out there that try to work the system for all it is worth at the expense of others. Sad, but true. I have never encountered such deceit in all my years of business. We live in a small community of good people and I am completely shocked over this
This has become a matter of principle and I will spend whatever time and money is necessary to ensure that I am made whole and that other contractors will have a warning about doing work for these individuals in the future. I believe that anyone looking at the facts of this issue would agree that my offering a 25% discount is very, very reasonable. However, offering just a few hundred dollars, which is less than my actual costs in the job, is not a reasonable offer toward settlement.
For some reason, the [redacted]s are stuck on this $250 figure which was forged on a drawing of the countertop I gave them. It is easily identified as different handwriting and is even written in a different color ink. I do give written estimates, but it is on my company letterhead and it is detailed. I do not give verbal estimates and I never give a written estimate when customers are supplying the materials because I have learned over the years that customers do not always buy the right materials which equates into more time for us either getting and installing the correct materials or somehow incorporating what they have purchased. And I ask anyone reading this, "Do you feel $250 to remove existing countertops, sink, faucet and then installing stock countertops that have to be customized to fit the space as well as installing a new sink that has a different drain spacing and depth...plus dealing with a curved wall...is a reasonable estimate?" Maybe in 1970, but certainly not today. Other contractors could have easily charged $1,500 to $1,800 for this work. My original invoice was hundreds less than this and my settlement offer is basically half of this amount.
That is as fair as it gets.