Who hasn’t heard of a contractor horror story? Though we all know that there certainly are excellent contractors out there the shady ones have given contractors a bad name. Because of this even if you take care when hiring a contractor to do a job for you it is still a good idea to know how to deal with bad contractors…just in case. In the end at least you’ll be able to move decisively and speedily to minimize the damage a bad contractor can bring.
In case you encounter a bad contractor here are some tips on what you can immediately do:
- Freeze payment – If you have already paid for the job then this is something you can not do. If you still have a partial payment to make contact your bank to make sure the contractor can not cash out your check and run away with your money. DO NOT PAY until the contractor delivers the promised service.
- Communicate with the contractor – A contractor might be doing a poor job but not necessarily with the intention of cheating you. Communicate the problem with the contractor and ask for an explanation. As the contractor what he intends to do to correct the problem. Do this IMMEDIATELY.
- Write it down – Even if you already have a contract write up a new one for the additional work needed in order to implement the changes to correct the mistakes. Remember to indicate the fact your decision on how much to pay or not pay the contractor for the additional work. Make sure you also list down the exact materials and products to be used for the job.
to be continued…
Originally posted on May 9, 2008 @ 1:41 pm