[gladesteen]

Hello,


I recently had an attached 2 Car Garage with large loft built on property. I hired a Contractor to oversee and handle everything. All went well, except for the very end. The GC hired his "go to guy" Brian to wire up my garage to Code and do a few extra things such as garage Sconces, Lamp Posts and LED spotlights. I will leave out the company name. I live in Nashua NH.



It did not start well. The first 2 times the GC told me the Electricians were coming, nobody showed up. Then on a Saturday, Oct 19th, some guy shows up at my house from 55 miles away in Roxbury MA. He has a beat up Van, no company logos anywhere, no clothing logos, etc. He had NO ladders and basic tools. He said that he was from the Named Electrical Company to do work, so I cancelled my plans for Saturday and ended up actually being this guys "helper" since he was alone. After about 3 hours, he gets a call from his "boss" Brian telling him to leave my house and head somewhere else. He apologized and left saying he would be back to finish up Monday. That never happened. Never saw him again.


This story can go on for quite awhile, but this same thing continued for 3 weeks with people not showing up, showing up without Ladders, etc to perform work. Every time it was a new person and i had to re-explain the whole project over and over....it was annoying. I brought this up to the GC and he basically just blew me off.



Fast forward to Nov 21st and the ONE electrician who actually stayed at my house longer than 4 hours, came back and completed the work needed. He then dropped the bombshell on me saying he was quitting working for this Brian guy, and informed me that EVERY Electrician who worked at my house was only Licensed as an Apprentice Electrician in NH. From what he told me, this guy Brian uses MA Fully Licensed Electricians to do "day work" for him. Evidently Brian and my GC have been doing this for years and I'm not the only home owner to complain about it.



Through my research, i found out that Apprentice Electricians are not allowed to work by themselves so I let the GC know, who said it was just a disgruntled employee spouting off. So then i let the Town Code Inspector know and also contacted the State Licensing Board in Concord NH. They are actively investigating my complaint. I was able to give them EVERY person who worked at my house because they were eager in giving me their contact information for "side work".


My legal question is:


I owe the GC a "final payment" of $2500 on this $61,000 project. The Final Electric Inspection has not been completed and the Final Build Inspection is not completed. Should I hold off paying the GC until this issue is resolved and the Final Inspections are completed ?

The Electrical work is still not finished as far as i'm concerned. All the insulation they pulled back was not re-attached and nothing is labeled in the Circuit Breaker box either.



The Town Code Inspector called me right before Christmas and told me that he spoke with Brian, who informed he would provide him a listing of Master Electricians who worked at my home, and that HE (brian) actually did more than a full days work at my house. That is a COMPLETE LIE. I've never spoken nor met this Brian ever.


Thanks, and sorry this is so long.


Mark

 

[Oldmaster]

Absolutely don't release any more funds. If you do all your leverage is gone. I'd reguest a building and electrical inspection at this point to see where you are at this point. If he walks gather facts and go to small claims court. I would suspect he has a poor history as a builder. Hopefully it all works out.

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Absolutely don't release any more funds. If you do all your leverage is gone. I'd reguest a building and electrical inspection at this point to see where you are at this point. If he walks gather facts and go to small claims court. I would suspect he has a poor history as a builder. Hopefully it all works out.

Agree unequivically with OLDMASTER.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Also comment, that it seems you have correctly documented everything and have full permits pulled....and you should be in the driver's seat.....even unfortuneately if it's a runaway

Keep neat records...it goes along way in small claims court if it comes to that.)

 

[gladesteen]

Thanks guys. Appreciate it. The GC is actually coming tomorrow to repair the front stairs he built wrong, that i called him out on. They are not within Code as the step down from house to landing is 8.5 inches and the entire staircase is twisted bcuz he installed one post an inch out of line with the other. He's already pissed off to come fix this. It's been over 2 months since i brought that up to him. So tomorrow will be an interesting day. His "plan" to fix the stairs is to lift the entire staircase and extend the posts. Guess I will see how that works out.

As far as documentation, i have SEVERAL text messages back and forth with the GC stating all the shady stuff going on w/ Electrical and I also have text messages directly from the employee (daniel) stating everyone who worked here was only Apprentice level rated. Hopefully that is enough if I ever have to go to Court. Never done that, so Im hoping not.


Thanks again,
Mark

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Thanks guys. Appreciate it. The GC is actually coming tomorrow to repair the front stairs he built wrong, that i called him out on. They are not within Code as the step down from house to landing is 8.5 inches and the entire staircase is twisted bcuz he installed one post an inch out of line with the other. He's already pissed off to come fix this. It's been over 2 months since i brought that up to him. So tomorrow will be an interesting day. His "plan" to fix the stairs is to lift the entire staircase and extend the posts. Guess I will see how that works out.

As far as documentation, i have SEVERAL text messages back and forth with the GC stating all the shady stuff going on w/ Electrical and I also have text messages directly from the employee (daniel) stating everyone who worked here was only Apprentice level rated. Hopefully that is enough if I ever have to go to Court. Never done that, so Im hoping not.



Thanks again,
Mark

Good luck Mark....

I have no idea of NH consumer laws....but you might want to google around and find out. You may have more legal leverage than just the final payment of $2500 .

 

[Oso954]

You may also want to research NH mechanics lien law.

Construction liens filed by a contractor are often the contractors tactic/weapon in disputes over unpaid monies.

That’s another legal process that you might get dragged into.

 

[gladesteen]

You may also want to research NH mechanics lien law.

Construction liens filed by a contractor are often the contractors tactic/weapon in disputes over unpaid monies.

That’s another legal process that you might get dragged into.

Oso,


I've heard about that, and would not put it past him to do it. For the past 3 months, i've asked Six times for an Itemized Invoice of the "extras" bill he hit me with for $4,500....still nothing. In fact, last night i asked again and he said he would email it right over. Nothing.


There is an active Town and State investigation ongoing into the shady Electrician services done here, so i wonder if that might be in my favor.



I'm not sure how the "lien" process works, but all i owe this clown is $2,500 out of the $60,000 I've already paid to him. If the Court allows him to put a Lien hold on my $375,000+ Home for $2,500 non-payment, that would be just silly.


-Mark

 

[RAL238]

I'm not sure how the "lien" process works, but all i owe this clown is $2,500 out of the $60,000 I've already paid to him. If the Court allows him to put a Lien hold on my $375,000+ Home for $2,500 non-payment, that would be just silly.

Unfortunately, that's the way mechanic's liens work. They can slap one on your home for whatever amount they claim you owe them. It will sit there until you want to sell the property, and then you will be forced to settle the claim.

 

[Oso954]

If the Court allows him to put a Lien hold on my $375,000+ Home for $2,500 non-payment, that would be just silly.

You may think it’s silly, but depending on the facts and the exact process, that can happen.

That the reason I suggested you research it. you may want to ask an attorney or legal aid person about the ramifications of liens in your state, rather than just dismissing them as silly.

You may have an advantage in the small claims process. Unfortunately, you may find a contractors advantage in the lien law process.

Also, you might review any fine print in your contract to see if arbitration is mentioned.

 

[gladesteen]

Screw it, i'm not going through all that then.
I will just pay this guy his last $2500 and bend over and take it.
Guess thats how shady Contractors stay in business. Screw over the customer and still get paid no matter what. What BS !


I am getting some free attorney advice and maybe service, but still waiting for them to find me one. I'm a retired Veteran from 1988-2012.

 

[joed]

The work is not completed until all the permits are closed off. I would not give final payment until then.

 

[gladesteen]

The work is not completed until all the permits are closed off. I would not give final payment until then.

If that's true, then maybe I wont pay until then. I'm getting a call in the AM from a Nashua Attorney and will ask. I actually thought ALL the Permit Inspections were completed, but the Town Code Inspector who is looking into the Apprentice Electricians actually called me saying the Final Electrical and Building Inspections are still pending.....


I'm so confused on what to do...

 

[Missouri Bound]

Hello,

I owe the GC a "final payment" of $2500 on this $61,000 project.
Thanks, and sorry this is so long.

Mark

He really doesn't care about your $2500. It's throw away money for him.
He can walk away and be done with you.
I'm sure you don't want to hear this but you should have paid no more than 2/3 of the total until the job is completed.
You know you got screwed. I'm not trying to rub it in.
A payment / completion schedule would have helped you.
A third up front, a third after a pre-arranged amount of completion and the last third when it's done.

 

[Oldmaster]

In PA where I work a lien cannot be obtained without a hearing. I seriously doubt that someone can arbitrarily place a lien without due process.

 

[gladesteen]

He really doesn't care about your $2500. It's throw away money for him.
He can walk away and be done with you.
I'm sure you don't want to hear this but you should have paid no more than 2/3 of the total until the job is completed.
You know you got screwed. I'm not trying to rub it in.
A payment / completion schedule would have helped you.
A third up front, a third after a pre-arranged amount of completion and the last third when it's done.

You're exactly right. He did put a payment schedule together for foundation, roofing, framing, electrical, etc..I know i got screwed over during the electrical for sure. Took over 3 weeks to get just the garage wired up. It was awful. I just wrote an email to the Town asking if I should hold off final payment until the Final Permit Inspection for Structure/Electrical are complete. I dont even think the GC knows there are pending final inspections. He put a door in after the last inspection so i could access the loft from the house for storage. Something he said would not pass Code....so there's that too! LOL...

 

[Missouri Bound]

I hope things work out for you.
I learned the hard way when I hired a contractor friend.
He gave me a price and we agreed. He wanted 1/3 down and that was acceptable.
I handed him the check and he said "see you in 6 weeks".
He had other jobs to finish.
As the job progressed he suggested improvements along the way. Being a friend I was pretty lenient. I asked him constantly how much this or that was going to cost. His answer was always "don't worry bud, I got you covered". That went on for all "improvements"
I had to push him to finish. I actually had to help him to finish.
The final bill was about 50% higher than the agreed amount.
It was a small addition that took 4 months. My water heater and boiler were out in the open for the entire winter....covered with a tarp.
He wound up suing me for the balance. I negotiated that in half.
I haven't talked to him in over 15 years.

 

[NEMick]

As a contractor I can say that the old splitting the price into 3rds idea is antiquated. I use different payment schedules for every job. It really depends on the complexity. I try to keep my contracts fair, always a give and take between parties. Try to limit the liability that any party is holding throughout the process.

To the OP, withhold the final until all inspections are met and screw the lein. If he does lein you have an easy case to fight it. You should try for your final inspections and receive your c/o. If there are problems make the GC aware and make him deal with it. If magically everything passes I would still withhold final for your fee if doing the GCs job for him. Also thank you for your service. I am an 8 year USMC vet 2006-2014.

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[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Guys.... Generally, don't work with shoe=string subs/contractors.

Assuming you (the customer) have good credit standing and are not the credit risk, don't put forth any money that is not completed or, deliverd on-site materials..

If a contractor/sub needs an advance....(again assuming you are not the credit risk)... then you have a potential problem.

It's not rocket science...it'business 101

 

[Missouri Bound]

As a contractor I can say that the old splitting the price into 3rds idea is antiquated. I use different payment schedules for every job.
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You apparently are a reputable contractor.
Unfortunately the OP wasn't fortunate enough to get one.

And my 1/3 schedule was an example, not a rule. :wink2:

 

[NEMick]

You apparently are a reputable contractor.

Unfortunately the OP wasn't fortunate enough to get one.



And my 1/3 schedule was an example, not a rule. :wink2:

No worries. It's true, there are tons of scammers. Alot of people take the 1/3 as the only way to do it and many times it just doesn't work.

What kills me in this one is a GC that isn't doing even the most basic tasks that define the position.

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