This is going to be an Accord and Satisfaction question but let me give some background. I am a small residential concrete finishing business in Ohio. The customer requested a quote to put a concrete skirting/patio around their new in-ground pool after the customer had backfilled the existing excavated trench around the pool with gravel. The quote for the patio was $5,600. The customer then verbally asked for a price for the gravel backfill which we verbally agreed to a combined price of $6,500 for the concrete work and for 20 tons of gravel backfill with additional reasonable cost if it needed more than 20 tons. It required 28 tons of gravel so the final invoice was $7,300. It does not appear that there is a big issue with the final gross amount of $7,300. The customer was very hands-on with comments and demands throughout the project work. The critical item was that he filled the pool with water before we arrived and wanted us to put plastic (i.e. visqueen) over the entire pool and down between the future concrete edge and the side of the pool in order to prevent splatter from getting in the pool water. I told him that the plastic would prevent a good concrete finished edge up against the pool side and that he would need to cut the plastic away after the concrete dried which may leave some plastic showing. He said "do the best that you can" but insisted on his process. I told him that the normal practice is to do the work without water in the pool and have a solid edge between the poolside and the concrete in order to get a good finished edge. His dispute is with the quality of the finished edge but I am not asking for advice on resolving that issue. My question is with Accord and Satisfaction. My final invoice (invoice #1722 dated 10/4/22 for work that was completed on 9/23/22) for $7,300 is itemized as $5,600 for the concrete work and $1,700 for the backfill but it is all on one invoice (i.e. not separate invoices for the backfill and concrete work). I have had several discussions with the customer regarding the quality dispute and he refuses to let me on the property to assess and remediate. There is no dispute on the quality of the gravel backfill portion of the job. I finally offered a $500 goodwill credit to resolve the issue if he pays $6,800 which is did not accept. He verbally offered $5,900 as payment in full which I declined. He then sent me a letter in the general format of an invoice and labelled it "corrected invoice #1722". His corrected invoice is organized in two parts ($2,108 for the gravel and backfill and a $5,000 gross amount for the concrete). I have no idea how he came up with $5,000 as the gross amount for the concrete work when my invoice (and initial written estimate) shows $5,600. I also do not know how he comes up with $2,108 for the backfill when my invoice shows $1,700. In short, his gross amount of $5,000 + $2,108 = $7,108 as compared to my invoice of $7,300. I would have been fine with this difference but he then deducts $839.15 from the $5,000 to arrive at an amount of $4,160.85 for the concrete work. He issued two checks (one for $2,108 for the backfill and one for $4,160.85 for the concrete). The check memos say "concrete" on the $4,160.85 check and "backfill" on the $2,108 check. The checks do not say "paid in full" but his letter/corrected invoice, as well our discussion, leads me to reasonably assume that he intends the payments to be considered "payment in full". My understanding of Ohio Revised Code 1303.40 is that if I cash the checks, it will be considered payment in full under Accord and Satisfaction doctrine. My questions are 1) I assume that I should not cash the concrete check as it will likely be interpreted as payment in full. 2) Can I cash the backfill check which exceeds the backfill portion of the invoice and preserve my rights to collect the full amount on the concrete work? 3) If so, should I refund the overpayment of $408 on the backfill or just treat it as a deposit or partial payment on his account? 4) If I treat the $408 as a deposit, should notify him and, in that notification, should I state that I reject his concrete adjustments and request that he acknowledge that I am cashing the $4,160.85 check as partial payment of the concrete portion of the invoice. 5) If I proceed as stated in #3, and the customer accepts, can I cash the $4,160.85 check. 6) Do you have any other advice. Hopefully this has been entertaining to read and potentially be an example for your future blogs or customers. Please send response to denniswiser86@yahoo.com...Read More
We completed a job for a company and now the PM for that company is saying they were bought out and they are not financially responsible for paying us....Read More
The contract was signed, but are there other courses of action, such as filing a lawsuit against the property owner(such as unjust enrichment)?
Also is there a responsibility on the part of the GC who is claiming not to have been paid. Do they have the responsibility to verify they have not been paid, and also to diligently attempt to pursue the payment through legal means? I checked in the jurisdiction and no court case or liens have been filed by the GC....Read More
We are filing a Small Claims lawsuit against a non paying customer here in CT. I wanted to get clarification on where the filing needs to occur. CT guidelines are: "If the plaintiff is a person and not a business and the case does not involve a landlord-tenant matter, the place where the hearing (trial) will take place (venue), if a hearing is necessary, will be a court in one of the following places: (1) where you live; (2) where the party you are suing (the defendant) lives or does business; or (3) where the thing or injury you are suing about took place. If the claim is a landlord-tenant matter, the trial will be in the court location where the house or apartment (premises) is located." Can we file in the jurisdiction where we live, or must we file where the defendant lives which is also where the project was completed?
Thank you....Read More
If a person is working on a prevailing wage job and is contracted through a temp agency are they supposed to still get paid prevailing wage amount?...Read More
I hired a contractor to reface kitchen cabinets. When he showed me the sample cabinet it was wrong color. He is refusing to fix it. I don't want the color he painted. I told him to change the color to what I wanted. He is refusing and said he is going to file contractors lien. My kitchen is all torn apart, drawers are gone, no water, no stove, half of the counter tops are gone. Can he file a lien? What are my options?...Read More
I am a maintenance technician for a tax credit apartment building. Part-time position was what I was hired for and a couple of months into the job a maintenance technician from 2 other properties managed by the company we worked for decided to quit. The property manager I work for asked me to do some work on the other properties. So I thought I would be a team player and help. So the first project was carpet in an entire townhouse roughly 700 sq ft. I provided the carpet,seam tape and fuel back and forth which is a 90 mile round trip. I've provided 19 lbs of r22 freon several tstats and plenty of plumbing supplies etc... I provided the property manager with proper invoices for the materials and labor. Each item description of the unit used on and specifically detailed information on why I was charging them. So my property manager then tells me that they will not pay me back for the materials used to make the repairs. These properties are tax credit or 55+ low income housing and the residents have been asked to go without ac during 100° weather. What are my options for being repaid for my materials and labor? I've already spoken with the property manager about this and that's a dead end....Read More
Can undocumented laborers file a lien if they aren't paid? I just watched Immigration Nation on Netflix where the laborers came in to South Carolina to work after Hurricane Michael and did a bunch of work for Winterfell Construction, but didn't get paid. I was wondering why none of the immigrants have tried filing a mechanics lien against Winterfell or the owner, Tommy Hamm. I haven't seen anything in the laws that would prevent it.
Of course, the company they filed a lien against could just report them to ICE, since they have to provide their contact information on the claim. Is there any way for a laborer to file a lien and protect their identity at the same time? Can someone else file a lien on their behalf?...Read More
I am the sub who is behind paying for his material because of disputes on another project. A rep from the supplier came to the job and threatened to lien the property. I tried to get an installment agreement to pay off the debt. The monthly I could afford was not enough so they demanded payment in full or else they would lien the property and go after my license. The general contractor freaked and paid them 5,000 and I was supposed to match that to keep the supplier from releasing the hounds. Well I somehow scraped that up but missed my mortgage payment which disqualified me from getting an equity loan which would have paid them off. I had already put time and money into making repairs on my house to qualify. Now the general wants to pay them again and deduct that from money that he owes me. I do not believe that the material supplier filed a preliminary notice, hence my question. Thank you....Read More
Hello,
I am in the business of home staging.
I staged a confo, owned by a realtor/owner and she is not communicating with me in removing the staging furniture. And i have a good contract that she signed.
She has left several voice messages saying she will only pay $1500 of the $2000. Due to she didn’t like the furniture that was used for staging.
I’m known for quality staging not cheap staging.
The condo is in escrow now and I have concerns, if I’m going to get my furniture back as this has happened before.
The furnishings are worth $25,000 and take this serious as this is my business.
I have already filed a small claims.
I feel the best way to assure i get paid and get my furniture back is to place a lien on the property before it transfers to the buyer, which could be within two weeks.
Please advise,
Suzanne...Read More
I have a judgment against a subcontractor regarding an overpayment sent to them that was never returned in the amount of $3,200.00. Would Levelset be able to pursue the subcontractor per the judgment to collect payment?...Read More
Our customer is acting as their own general contractor on the job to try and save money. On our final invoice for our scope, she shorted us 70% of the final invoice value ($39k). She wrote on the check that "By cashing check, contractor accepts this as payment in full". She provided her list of reasons for shorting the amount, but they are completely unwarranted/previously addressed, and the only legitimate item called out was incredibly vague detail on the plans (insulation for slab on grade above and beyond normal building code) and she failed to provide any answers when consulted at the time, leaving it up to interpretation by us. She also failed to mention she was going to withhold payment for it at that time, and allowed the complete interior of the building to be completed preventing us from even fixing the item even if we were willing to.
If we cash the check are we agreeing to it being payment in full even though we do not agree and wish to process it as a partial payment of the balance due?...Read More