WWMMD? re paying a bad contractor (long, sorry)

[lurknomore]

We came home from vacation last week to discover a leak in one of the bathroom pipes that was dripping down our kitchen wall.  Got a plumber recommendation from a friend.  Plumber came out Monday night and gave me an estimate.  Note this was the "friend" pricing.  $150 for parts and $650-$700 for the whole job (incl parts.)  Gave him a check for $200 which he cashed that night.  Job was to be started and completed Thursday. DH was to do all the prep work to get the ceiling down and pipes ready to be removed as well as take care of drywalling when the work was done.  Plumber was basically to remove and reinstall all of the bathroom piping as well as the waste stack from floor 2 to the basement.

Thursday he showed up 3.5 hours after he said he'd be there.  He did text DH and tell him he was coming late (not that late tho).  I had to take the day off work to stay home with the kids (no daycare this week) so DH could deal with the plumber, making sure the pipe he was replacing was accessible, etc.  Plumber was here for less than an hour, broke a part that he wasn't supposed to touch, and then left to get parts.  Called two hours later and said his biggest client called and needed him, he'd be back Friday.  We're without a bathroom.  Calls back later and asks DH to go ahead and remove some of the pipes (that was part of the job he quoted).  DH did.

Friday he texted at 7:45 that he'd be here in 30.  Showed up at 9:30.  Was here for 45 minutes then left to get parts.  Again.  Came back and hour later and was here for another 45 before leaving to get lunch.  Gone 30 min or so.  Was here for another 1.5 hours maybe.  Came up and told me that his supplier gave him the wrong part (the piece he broke) and he couldn't get to supplier to exchange part, back to our place and installed before he had to be somewhere that evening. This was at 2:00.  And we still couldn't use the bathroom/tub.  He left, saying he'd be back at 7 this am.  He didn't show.  No phone call, etc.

So, at this point, we're not letting him finish the work.  He did do the stack replacement and it is OK.  He did only half the pipe and what he did, the majority of it is wrong.  As the bathtub will drain currently it will backup into the sink because there is a junction backwards.  He forgot a vent so bathtub will glug glug as it drains.  DH will have to cut out the majority of the new pipe to correct it.  And they used a piece of PVC DH had in the basement instead of what he bought.  The piece he broke we now have to replace at our expense. 

Finally the question.  He left his ladder so he has to come get that.  What, if anything, would you pay for the portion of the job that was done correctly.  I've already paid $200, mostly for parts (although I doubt he's got $100 into the parts he did supply).  But we have to replace the relatively $$ drain valve he broke, he used materials we had here, and we're buying new PVC to redo the work that was wrong.  Would your answer be different if I threw out there that Google suggests his grandfather and father (same name as him, gfather is Sr, father is Jr) were/are heavily involved in the mafia in this city and gfather died in prison for it?  They were also in the plumbing/contracting business.  This is DH's concern.

Thanks for reading this novel!!!!

[Deleted]

I would not pay anymore! You already gave him $200 but sounds like you're going to be out quite a bit with having to finish the job yourself, replace the PVC he used and fix the part he broke. I'd be pissed that I even gave him $200.. Do you know exactly how much the parts were?

I would contact him and say you'll leave the ladder outside today and tomorrow during certain hours and he can come get it.

[soozy87]

I would be done paying him as well. And yeah, put the ladder outside and let him know when he can come pick it up.

[kaylie]

I wouldn't pay him another dime. I probably wouldn't give his ladder back either because I'd be pissed he wasted my time and money.

[lurknomore]

Aug 24, 2013 10:20:33 GMT -5 ladybug said:

I would not pay anymore! You already gave him $200 but sounds like you're going to be out quite a bit with having to finish the job yourself, replace the PVC he used and fix the part he broke. I'd be pissed that I even gave him $200.. Do you know exactly how much the parts were?

I would contact him and say you'll leave the ladder outside today and tomorrow during certain hours and he can come get it.

This is where I'm at.  DH is at Home Depot now to get what we need to fix it and he's going to see how much he does have into parts.  And to make things worse, we just found out he cut a huge hole in one joist and removed a 12" section of another completely.  So we have to deal with that too.  DH is worried about the safety of the house/family since this guy does have to come back and get his ladder given what I added at the very end and thus, is willing to pay him a little bit more.

[explorer2001]

I wouldn't pay any more. I'd leave the ladder for him to pick up. I also wouldn't worry too much about the mafia connection theory. Honestly, I'm sure if I looked into it some of my extended family was/is mafia connected. I've heard stories for years, but just because the family might be involved doesn't mean I have an contact with it. This isn't the kind of thing that would raise an issue (no disrespect to the family, no one was shot, not a major business deal that went south, no rival affiliation/connect that would cause an issue, etc). It was a side job that he screwed up.

[lurknomore]

Aug 24, 2013 11:07:48 GMT -5 explorer2001 said:

This isn't the kind of thing that would raise an issue (no disrespect to the family, no one was shot, not a major business deal that went south, no rival affiliation/connect that would cause an issue, etc). It was a side job that he screwed up.

This seems like a reasonable way to put it to DH.  I think he has been watching too many Godfather movies!!!!  Thanks!

[thejen626]

I wouldn't pay him any more. I would call him, leave a message if needing, saying "hi, we have hired a new plumber and won't be needing you to to any more work for us, effective immediately. Also please pick up your ladder today, I will leave it on the front porch."

Then if he gives you any grief when he shows up, call the non emergency police line. Do NOT let him bully you into paying more!!!

[treedimensional]

Nothing. What does your contract say?

[thedutchgirl]

He cut into joists?! What on earth??

Not a penny more. And if he's licensed I would be tempted to report him.

[bostonmichelle]

Don't pay him a penny more and I would tell him you will only give him back the ladder if he shows up with $200 cash for everything since you have to redo it and do more work now as well. If he intimidates you I would call the non emergency police line and report it to them.

[treedimensional]

Aug 24, 2013 12:56:55 GMT -5 bostonmichelle said:

I would tell him you will only give him back the ladder if he shows up with $200 cash for everything since you have to redo it and do more work now as well.

Tell him he's mistaken, you don't have his ladder; he didn't leave anything behind but shoddy work and costly repairs.

[imojoebunny]

Take pictures before you do any work, so you can show the problems. I would call him and tell him, you have to have the bathroom back, and are going to find someone who can do it now and see what he says. If he says he will be right over, you can get into the other problems, but I would not pay him anymore, unless he can justify it. Plumbing work can be expensive, I get that, but the lack of results after 4 days, Is a problem, and the fact that he is not doing things to code. When I have fired contractors for not doing the level of work that I expected, and I generally try to be very upfront about that, they have generally been fine with working out the time spent that actually produced good work. I would not pay for time spent fixing something he broke, and I would only pay for the parts he bought that are actually needed and in my possession. He sounds like he has no idea what he is doing. If he is irrational, I would take that into consideration, and might pay him something just to get him the hell away from me.

[jennistarr1]

I'm such a pushover AND scared of the mafia so I would let him finish the job and pay him...I'm no help to you...back to drinking I go!