ericwlewis Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 We finished this guys basement and for various armhole reasons, he stiffed us on the final payment, A couple of weeks later during the evening he calls because his basement was FLOODING. After a little phone discussion "we" decide it is a drain and the repair can wait til tomorrow. I arrive at 8am the next day, greet him courteously and we head to the "flooded" basement which was a wet 4' x 5' piece of drywall and a quart of water in a bucket. While he is standing there I cut out a piece of drywall to see a fresh drip NOT under any plumbing. I feel around to locate a source only to feel a lot of wetness under a chase to the the attic over the second story. Hmmmmmmm. We go into the kitchen and the outlet in that chase has water stains under it on the drywall. We go upstairs and there is drooping 5 year old paint in the utility room on the wall. The casing on the scuttle to the attic is swollen open from water damage. I climb into the attic where the second story furnace is located. VOILA! The pan is filled with 3/4" of water and it doesn't have a drain. The attic decking is soaked and the lineset to the condensing unit runs through a hole in the center of the wet spot. He says "sh!t" many times as to say, I guess it's not your fault, now what am I gonna do. I tell him to call a HVAC tech to get the thing cleaned out and a drain put in the pan, let it all dry out and we will go from there. He says " I can't catch a break" and I say " I guess it's all on you now". What goes around comes around, armhole. Karma's a beotch dude. See you in 6 months to fix that drywall.[:-monkeyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 So did you sneak up there and plug up the drain pan before or after he stiffed you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericwlewis Posted May 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 LOL. After Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Meiland Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 If he stiffed you, why did you go check out the "leak"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 If he stiffed you, why did you go check out the "leak"? Exactly - if he didn't pay then there is no warranty. You're not going to stiff me twice. Here's my attorney's number, he wants to know how you intend to pay for the original job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted May 27, 2011 Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 If he stiffed you, why did you go check out the "leak"? Exactly - if he didn't pay then there is no warranty. You're not going to stiff me twice. Here's my attorney's number, he wants to know how you intend to pay for the original job. It's not just about the money, it's about finding out how badly screwed he is and laughing about it here, right, Eric? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericwlewis Posted May 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2011 our remodeling buisness is 100% referral and we want to be the bigger man if it ever comes into question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica Stewart Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Way to be the bigger man Eric. SOBs like this arm a dime a dozen these days. I also have to agree with John. You go back and check the leak in an attempt to uncover how screwed the guy is, and have a laugh at his expense. Similar story happened to my neighbor, except he skimped payment on his pool, now it has a crack in the foundation (HA!). He would have a warranty from the pool company, but now he is up sh*t creek without a paddle. Ahh Karma, gotta love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 High road or not, If he'd stiffed me, I'd expect full payment on the previous job before I ever went back there to repair that damage; and then I'd want the full cost of the new job, based on my estimate (plus 20% to cover unanticipateds) put in escrow to be released to me at the conclusion of the job, before I'd start. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 How do you put something in escrow? With an attorney? Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Hi Marc, The type of escrow I'm talking about is sometimes called a Business Opportunity Escrow; and, yes, it's usually handled by an attorney. Those firms can work with you to arrange payment in a case like this. They set up an account and the client transfers the funds to the the BOE account set up for your transaction and only releases the funds when the work/product is delivered. If you contact a local real estate escrow company, they'll know which attorneys in your area handle BOE. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericwlewis Posted April 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 by the way, we never went back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 by the way, we never went back. Did you ever get your final payment from him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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