Okay, long story short: My husband and I built this awening for this guy, the best it could look without paying a contractor; then the guys decides he does not like it and says he is not paying us the $400 labor fee he agreed to! Should I go rip the crap down with a chain saw or should I let this go?? I am really crying tears about this because this money was for some more mods so I feel like I got **** on real bad. I just cannot stand people that always want something for free. Just thought maybe some of you had an opinion!!

 

That sux, Did he sign a contract with you on the work? Has he seen some of your work through pics to see what he was buying? There is allways small claims court.

 

Did you have an agreement in writing? Signed invoice?

I don't think the verbal agreement in court will work, if you decide to go take it down, and he presses charges on you for trespassing.

Just my opinion.

 

You should take it down at the very least. Why should he get to use it if he didn't pay for it.

 

He is probably saying he does not like it so he does not have to pay for it..I would go tear it down..

 

Personally, I would go and politely remove it. If you indeed had a contract which you probably did not, I would take him to small claims court for the amount. When dealing with items or projects that must be fabricated you must always have something in writing and a security deposit. There is no way to rely on trust alone because even friends will sometimes screw you in the end. Good luck

 

I would go knock it right back out if I were you. Make sure you clean up though cause that can cause a "case". Just knock it right out.

 

Verbal agreements are Binding in Texas if I am not mistaken. You could sue in small claims court for the money.

 

you should gather up a group of guys from here and roll up and ask for your money again but seriously that is messed up, well tell him you atleast want it back even if it is in pieces,

 

verbal contracts are binding...take him to small claims

worst case the court finds you had no contract then you can sue under reliance or restitution (money out of your pocket)

 

I have studdied cases similar to this, and a verbal agreement is binding in texas law, but it is not as strong as a written agreement. The best thing to do is to settle for a split of the labor. If you have to take it to court it is your work vs his which does not mean much to the court.

The case is legit though since it was a contractually binding agreement

Labor plus material = money

There was consideration given on both sides of the contract, you are working for money, and he is paying you for your work. You can get your money back, but it would be way easier to just settle with him and split the loss.

 

at least threaten him with court and have a lawyer contact him, maybe he will get scared and pay.

 

If you do have a signed agreement... threaten him with putting a builders lein on his home.

 

if you can't work it out....then hell ya knock it down. Don't just go back there and destroy though, be calm about it. Tell him what you are doing and why. Make sure to clean any mess and leave and be done with him for ever.

 

tear it down

 

Be careful if you tear it down.... it would be possible for them to go after you for damaging their property... (not entirely sure, but if you think there might be a chance then there probably is)

I would recommed taking him to court if threatening to do so doesn't get him to pay. And if I remember from my business law course I took about 6 months ago, verbal agreements are fairly strong in TX, but they could be hard to prove...

 

Since he is this way, write him a letter and advise

1) he owes you $400 and needs to pay it within 15 days
2) failure to pay the amount within 15 days will accumulate interest charged at 5% per day
3) failure to pay after 30 days requires he remove and return item(s) to you or dispose of them (sorry I am not sure exactly what this item is you built for him)

If he does not perform any action after 45 days of receipt (send letter via registered mail), send another letter advising that if you do not receive a certified cheque in the amount of $xx (ask for something inflated here, like $650 for your time pursuing matter and late charges) within 5 days of receipt of the letter, that you will take legal action.

In doing this you will have taken the necessary steps to document your pursual of the matter and his neglect to cooperate.

If you don't receive anything in 5 days, file court papers at the small clains court or local court house. Serve him the papers either in person or preferably, via registered mail. In most cases, once you serve papers he must formulate his defence. If at this point he decides to ignore the matter and fails to act on the court documents, an automatic ruling may occur against him and you will be awarded your money via collection order from a judge.


The point here is to inconvinience him and teach him a lesson.

Don't let this SOB run away with your $400. That's alot of money, and you can't let that go. Pursue it in a *business like* manner. Be patient, but be diligent. In the end, trust me you will get your $400 + extra for damages. People win cases like this all the time, there is no reason you should not be able to get your money back, regardless of verbal or written contracts.

 

sucks but this would be the legal way takes lots of time ^^^^

 

Use Certified mail or he will just say he never recieved the letters it is the only way to insure someone recived your letters and it is how leagal documents are supposed to be sent. Good luck!

 

This answer rocks! He would probably just laugh in my face if 10-15 loud cars drove up to his house and I demanded the money, but that would be sweet! The legal way sounds good, but really I do not have the time or the money to follow through the whole process. This guy also sells guns and bullets over EBay. He might be a little crazy. If he does not think he owes us $400, the least he can do is pay up $200. That will equal one of my Hoosiers. I want to burn that sucker down, but I need to control myself.