I have contractor who owes me alot of money part of it was an agreed upon amount before the job started and the other was extras done by the hourly rate agreed on on prior jobs(i’ve worked for hom over 10 yrs) now he says it’s too much and he could’ve gotten it done cheaper. sent me a check for 2/3’s the amount owed and wrote Paid in Full in the Memo. What bearing does that have?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
The FHB Podcast team weighs in on Building Science career questions.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
take your sarpie & cross it out. write next to it paymen of x with y remaining, cash the check
"this dog may be old but he ain't cold. And he still knows how to bury a bone."
Lattimore
http://www.rehmodeling.com
man where you been?
hanging on by a thread and working at whatever. Been around but mostly flash lurking. How are things down yer way?"this dog may be old but he ain't cold. And he still knows how to bury a bone."
Lattimore
http://www.rehmodeling.com
same here work is slim makes it even worse when guys like this one start with there games. but I guess we'll survive ,always have
The rules vary a bit; I suggest you chat with a lawyer before cashing the check.
The meaning (or enforceability) of his memo aside, that he would try something like this suggests he's trying to play hardball. I think it's time for you to have your lawyer guide you in collecting this debt; if nothing else, a letter from the attorney to him will suggest that you are serious about really being paid the agreed amount.
did that today and we are filing a lien tomorrow he said it was a gray area and that he would investigate more tomorrow but since it didn't have any thing written on the back pertaining to a paid in full agreement.
I will get my money!
Explain to him that because of the economic crisis, a lot of really top-drawer lawyers are out of work. Further explain that the one who has agreed to take this case on contingent retainer is so hungry he is only asking for 15% instead of 45%, so you can easily afford to take his scuzzy carcass to court and it won't interfere with your work schedule one bit.
Also explain that he, OTOH, will have to spend most of the next two or three years opening his books in response to court-ordered discovery demands, making appearances on motions and depositions, testifying in examinations before trial, and just generally spending a lot of money on Preparation H.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
we've discussed this and will speak in the morning one last time before i sign the papers to send to the court house just in case he has a change of mind. you bring up some good points i may try out.
Mike, in all seriousness, the point is to make the goniff understand that if he forces you to take him to court, he loses even if you don't get the rest of your dough. He will be forced to waste so much time defending the lawsuit, that even if he recovers 'costs by statute' in the unlikely event he wins, he will still lose money because of all the work he won't be able to get done while your lawyer is running him around in circles before it ever gets to trial.
A nasty lawyer can run him ragged with paperwork, and can probably force him to open his books on discovery. He can also file for what is called 'e-discovery' which means he can get the right to see everything on the contractor's computer and his e-mail servers.
Everything.
I don't know many contractors who would welcome that....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
talked with him today before going to sign the lien at my lawyers office he has informed the homeowner of the lien and the homeowner is not happy and would like to try and resolve the issue before a lien but is out of town so I informed him to be prepared to pay the total due by monday or the lien will be filed monday. he expressed his concern to me about the lien and going to court and said it would cost us both alot of money so lets resolve this. I said it's easy PAY ME.
Sounds good so far. Just remember that it's you who's calling his bluff; not vice versa. Your position is you've got a hungry lawyer working cheap, and you're not stressed, you can afford to wait. Make him believe that and he oughta cave. He already knows he doesn't wanna get sued.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
In general - and I'm not in any way criticizing the way you are handling things - I get good results by providing the guilty party with a face-saving way out. It may be BS, and you both know it, but it helps prevent the unpredictable panic-inspired reactionn feeling trapped can provoke.
So, I try to frame things in terms of 'a mistake' or a 'misunderstanding.' Then there's the appeal to 'work together,' or 'I don't want things to go sour,' etc. When the time comes for you to act, it's 'look, I don't have any choice.' You want it to be claer that the easiest, most reasonable course of action is the one you want.
Sometimes that means turning down a job. Even in this economy, I turned away a job because we couldn't agree on financing. I simply am not able to be both contractor and banker - so he found someone else.
yea i agree . and that is kinda whats it's come down to. last year we had a similar problem and I put the hourly rate for extras in writing he agreed to it and has paid it up until now. now he has hired someone else for the next job because i'm too expensive. now he's claiming a misunderstanding and he never agreed to that amount. but he does remember the 4 page handwritten letter from a year ago. and i find it amusing that in the printout he included with the check there was labor for another job that had the same hourly rate and he paid it. :) said after i brought it up that he thought it was a reasonable amount for that job. go figure that one out.
Just read the part where he forgot then remembered. Little ways back I quoted a kitchen install, got the job and did the install. Customers where thrilled.I got a call to have a meeting at the kitchen showroom to discuss my invoices. I was paid in full. They simply wanted clarification.When I first looked at the prints, I said a 6 week job at $1,500/per for labor total of $9,000. Their PM thought the job was a 4 to 5 week job. I said 6 to 7, and we agreed I'd settle for $9,000 tops.They actually said, they did remember me saying it'll take 6 weeks and cost $9,000, but they still wanted to know why it didn't cost less and happen sooner. I had a contract typed up at the original meeting but there were scheduling issues and they didn't want to sign and complicate things. Handshake was good enough. And they had the notebook that she'd written "6 weeks / $9K".I left that meeting very confused. They were disappointed it took the exact amount of time I'd bid it at. Set bid. Not hourly. I reminded them, if it did take me 4 weeks, I would have invoiced them $1,500 a week for the first 3 weeks, then the remaining balance of the $9,ooo upon completion. So they would have either cut 6 checks for $1,500. Or 3 for $1,500 and one for $4,500. They said they fully understood I'd contracted the job for $9,000. But were disappointed.I drove home very, very confused. They later told a buddy of mine who did some work for them that I was a great installer, ran one of their smoothest installs ever and the clients brought in their neighbor and her sister, both of whom I'd met. But that I was a little unfair in my pricing.Weird.
peoples money can really make them weird sometimes!
Mike as I understand it from my contract class years ago it means nothing unless it is on the back and you sign under it.
Bob, might be able to answer this.
who's bob? i'd like his take. can you alert him for me?
Bump
bob is one of the rjws
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
your podium
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
If it was me, I'd do what post no. 2 suggested, but what the legal impact is depends on what the law in your jurisdiction is, which in turn may depend on whether there is a legitimate dispute. For example, if you send in your monthly mortgage check and write "paid in full" on it, you are not likely to succeed on a claim that you don't owe the rest.
If the issue is a thousand bucks, go ahead and cross out the memo and cash the check. If it's a hundred thousand, talk to your lawyer first.
Of course, I am not your lawyer:-)
Edited 10/21/2009 9:29 am ET by smslaw
I had a similar thing happen(Calif) about 20 years ago. The stamp was on the back of the check. I was instructed to sign the check , but include "signed under duress"
does that hold up?
Probably not. For duress to excuse conduct in the context of a contract, it must be extreme, such as a physical threat. Do you remember the famous National Lampoon cover? It showed a concerned looking dog with someone holding a gun to its head, with the headline, saying something like: "Buy this magazine or we'll kill this puppy."
Usually, just economic duress isn't enough, although these issues are fact specific and a consumer is more likely to successfully argue that duress should excuse conduct than a business would be.
I got my money!!!
Woot!
Details needed! Who paid, the owner or the GC? Lien filed or not? Ruinous legal fees and massive timesucking involved?
who paid? the check came from the contractor after an all day meeting the lien was to be filed on a wednesday and the contractor called and begged me to wait as the homeowner was out of town the rest of the week. so i still had about 10 days left before my time was up to file the lien so i told him he had one week he text me after the meeting on mon and said the check would be in the mail the next day. :)