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Contractor has taken 2/3,s payment for a job to be completed by Jan 31, 2020 and never finished.

VirginiaConstruction ContractNotice of Termination
Anonymous Contractor

I hired a contractor to revamp an existing deck into a 3 season room with a new walk way as well. He began work on Nov. 1 2019 and said he would be finished by Thanksgiving even though the contract agreed to 90 days, which he said would be in case of extensive inclement weather. Additionally, I gave $9,000 up front and paid $8,200 after it was under roof as stated in the contract. Since then very little work was done. When I called about the end of the contract date ...he said "I'll take your word for it"? There as plenty of great weather before the 1/31/20 deadline and he could have easily finished on time. He does not return phone calls but has answered a few text....one stating "we have a perfectly good place to sit which is under roof, he add to complete other projects that were more needed"?? We checked his website and he completed a similar project on another house in February? What legal grounds do I have to get this job completed? In the state of VA can I get another contractor to complete the job? Again, the contract we signed had and end date of Jan 31,20 and he signed it.

4 replies

Levelset Admin at Levelset
| 992 reviews
Apr 21, 2020
Before terminating your contractor and hiring someone else to take over the project, it's a good idea to lay the groundwork first. If the contract has termination provisions or calls for any specific notice before termination, then the contract provisions should be followed. Even if the contract is silent about termination, providing specific steps that can be taken to avoid termination can simultaneously encourage the contractor to come back to the site and also lay the foundation for a clean termination (if that becomes necessary). So, providing written notice that cites to specific breached contract provisions, dates, and actions could be really useful. That way - it would be hard to the contractor to argue with a straight face that the termination was improper and that they've held up their end of the bargain. Finally, keep in mind that you may be able to recover payments made to your contractor if you've paid them more than what they're owed for the work they've done. It would likely be an ugly legal dispute to recover what's already been paid - so you'd have to decide whether that's a worthwhile endeavor. Still - the threat of pursuing legal claims can be useful for demanding a settlement from the contractor or to at least keep them from pursuing payment claims. Bringing in another contractor will almost always be more expensive - so you'll likely want to recover some funds or at least make sure legal claims or lien claims aren't on the horizon.
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I agree with most of what Matthew has said. I will add that depending on the specifics of your case, you may be able to file a claim for violating the VA Consumer Protection Act, which would allow you to recover attorney's fees (and treble damages in some cases), but you're still out of pocket for legal costs for the litigation. If you decide to hire an attorney, I'm sure anyone who responds would be happy to help. Good luck!
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Anonymous Contractor
Question Author
May 15, 2020
thank you, I have filed a written complaint with both the States Attorney's Office and the Consumer Protection Dept. I feel at least if I receive no satisfaction from these agencies, at least it shows I have covered all my bases and this individual never responded.
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That's true, but you still may want to file a lawsuit. It may depend on the amount of money in dispute. 
Disclaimer: This response or communication does not constitute legal advice, is not an engagement for the provision of legal services, is not a consultation,
and does not form an attorney-client relationship with Steven Krieger Law, PLLC. Further, should not disclose confidential information related to yoSee More...
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