The Pool Fill- In People

We had hired *** from The Pool Fill in People to remove an in-ground pool in October 2016. The contract stated that they would dig out the pool, fill the hole with backfill and lay sod. Total cost was around $16,000. We paid *** in a series of installments throughout October 2016. The final bill to be paid was $1200 after project completion. This was to cover the cost of the sod. After the contract was signed and the work was nearing complete, we had agreed with *** that we would let the ground settle over the winter and he would come back in the Spring of 2017 to top up any sunken top soil and then lay the sod. At this time, we had paid another $900 of the remaining $1200.

In the spring of 2017, *** repeatedly ignored my calls and requests for him to complete the job. This went on all summer. Between "broken down equipment", blaming a wet summer causing delays in all his projects and finally claiming he needed a fence panel removed to access the yard (which we never agreed to in October 2016), he never ended up completing the job. Stuck with a sunken hole in the backyard and no hopes in *** returning, we ended up hiring a different grassing company to fill in the sunken areas and re-sod the whole yard.

*** agreed via phone that he would issue a $900 refund cheque for the sodding we had pre-paid in October 2016 that he wouldn't be performing. He also agreed to deliver 16 yards of top soil to fill in the holes as part of the warranty on the work. Unfortunately, the $900 refund cheque has never been sent. I've been following up on a monthly basis over text and phone. He repeatedly has said "He's good for it", but there's always an excuse. We are owed $900 for work not completed.