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
I was hired on a public project to replace the metal roof under a contract from my company to the township of summit county ohio board members. It was a parts and service building next to a police station that we agreed on a certain amount. I also put about 2000 extra dollars into the project. Long story short they swindled me and ended up not paying anything on 7700 dollar invoice. this was completed in June of 2020 and shortly after during my attempts to get paid I came down with covid and it kind of mixed everything I had going up. Im not sure if I even have the right to still pursue and I was hoping I could get some insight on those rights
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What can a homeowner do when a contractor lies about being a certified installer of fiber cement board siding and did such a poor job the manufacturer states the poor installation voids the 30-year warranty? We also ask for a particular siding manufacturer, and without talking with us he decided to go with a different manufacturer, even though the manufacturer we requested was written into the contract.
The same contractor hired a painting company and their work was so poor the paint manufacturer also will not grant us the warranty.
In both cases, the contractor only warranties his work for a year. He also refuses to correct any problems because in his opinion he did the jobs correctly.
He also tried to write a new contract and gave us only 48 hours to make our decision. Now understand this was different from the contract we signed for the bank construction loan.
Please help us understand if we have any rights against the contractor. ...Read More
I contacted a gentleman who did repairs on my roof. He worked for a company called Storm Service Solutions in Cortland, Ohio when he did my roof. I texted him and asked him if he did bathroom repairs, he said yes. He came to my house and told me it would cost $1,250 (cash only) to repair what needed to be fixed. After a few more text messages asking how he could guarantee that he would come back to do the work once I gave him half down (the other half due upon completion of the work). He said he would give me a written contract and a receipt for the money I gave him. This all happened from 2 p.m to 6 p.m Friday, March 13, 2020. I agreed to have him do the work through a text message for him to do the work. I told him I would have half the money on Saturday morning. At 8 a.m. on saturday morning I texted him to postpone the repairs, because the county I live in closed all schools due to the coronavirus. I told him I wanted to wait and see if my job was secure. He said in text, I could not cancel because he already special ordered the materials. I asked him to cancel the order he said no. He showed up to my house and him and my husband got into a yelling match. My husband told him to leave the property. They guy called the police and said my husband verally assulted him. Then a few hours later I received another text telling me that if I did not pay the $403.26 for the materials he ordered he would file a lien against my home for $5,500 which includes interest, legal fees, breach of contract, and verbal assault. I told him there is no breach of contract because I never signed a contract and never gave him any money. He then texted that because I agreed to have him do the work through a text message, that was the contract. Furthermore, he said not to contact him again unless it was to make payment arrangements for the $403.26 to be paid in full for the materials. Can he do this????
Everything was done through text messages!...Read More
My tenant wants to upgrade and install its telecommunications systems, ie boring and installing lines and attaching to the building. Premises are located in Columbus, Ohio....Read More
I have worked along side of my brother providing quality construction and remodeling services. We have recently came across a project where we used our concrete guys and was able to pay $9,000.00 for their work and labor... Our company still owes $6,000.00 to our concrete guys, but the home owner refuses to pay me the remaining $14,000.00 How do I get paid which will resolve all this moving forward?...Read More
We did a small turn and was supposed to be paid 1000 that Friday for our work. My husband and I worked under mark, he worked directly for a company named Conrax. Mark is just a gc as well, so I guess we were sort of his crew, but we had separate houses we were working on. Anyways mark didn’t pay that Friday said computers went down at the office. This was two weeks before Christmas. The week before Christmas we put a bid in on a house for 1340 or so, I have exact numbers. And we were to be paid the Friday before Christmas. We met his wife, she handed us a envelope with four hundred dollars in it and drove away. We usually get a check from them. The amount we were to be paid was the two weeks worth of work. We asked him had he made a mistake, he got mad and “fired” us. I have many texts and messages discussing prior to that, what was to be paid, what was owed and so on. My proof is what I call it? I got ahold of conrax told them I was filing a lien explained the situation. This was right after Xmas I talked to them, they said they’d contact mark and the higher up and get back to me. That very night, mark calls cussing yelling and screaming. His wife messages me asking what we’re owed, saying marks job is at stake how can she fix this and make it all go away. We also received threatening messages from on of marks actyal crew members. Today I finally herd back from conrex, they said since he had been paid out for the houses they can’t do anything bc mark claimed we had been paid everything we’re owed. They wouldn’t even look at my proof, and he still has his job? They pretty much said all I can do is sue mark. Even so, he won’t pay what we’re owed. Because he has done this, we’ve lost a lot. We have three children and bills just as everyone else, as I said we have a LIST of what we lost it wasn’t just the money and our main source of income. I need to know my next step. At this point hiring a lawyer isn’t a option due to not having money, even so, we wouldn’t get our money plus lawyer fees and court costs. And even so at that point if all worked in our favor, mark would never pay. I am not sure what my options now, I have someone I know who’s been in this business for 40 years and says to file a lien reguardless. Any information you could give would be very great. We are young and yes we’ve been renoavting houses on a smaller scale for a while now. But just within the past year we scaled out and started a company. ...Read More
I am a house painter in Ohio and was contacted by a woman in Georgia. I agreed to work on her property for $35 a man hour. She then requested work that was out of my expertise and licensing (plumbing and electrical work). For the work out of my scope, I brought on licensed professionals to complete the work, paying their fees. The job was completed within the time frame discussed over the phone and over text message, however no written contract was signed. After sending photos of the transformation, she found a few minor details that I am willing to fix for her. I am weary that she may not pay me after I do fix these small issues (wrong color light fixture). What should my next step me if she chooses not to pay for the 603 hours I’ve devoted as well as the $2,500 in material....Read More
We just got a subcontract from a general contractor for plumbing work. In the contract it states that we waive the rights to file any type of lien against them. Is this illegal? ...Read More
I'm a small upstart Landscaping company i completed a job client made initial payment after job completion. Client is now refuing to pay the rest of owed money. ...Read More
Hello!
Our new client in Ohio is proposing NET90 days payment terms after the delivery, we checked that in Ohio due date to file Lien is 75 days after the last delivery. Could we file a legit Lien between Lien due dates, even though according to our contract terms payment will be not due yet?
Thank you...Read More
We did this paint job twice. Our deadline to file a mechanics lien for the first job/time is due tomorrow and client reassures me they will pay next week. Despite telling me they would pay a day before. I was wondering since we did the job twice and the second time was done a few weeks ago. Are we still able to file a mechanics lien in case this client doesn't end up paying with the date the second job was started? Please let me know any advice is appreciated! ...Read More
We are filing a lien on a property and and the property consists of two separate buildings with two different addresses. The building we did NOT work on is the actual address attached at the auditor site and parcel information. The building we performed the work on is a totally different address. When filing our lien, do we use the address for the building we worked on, or the address of the other building that's connected to the legal description of the property? ...Read More
hi my name is Kevin i started a job in Lakewood got the demo and installation done at house i have a contract with them to redo the first floor now that the demo and installation is done they said they want there deposit back and they wont give any of the tools back that is at there house. what should i do?...Read More