I talked to a contractor about putting replacement gutters on my house. We discussed types and I asked him to give me an estimate regarding seamless gutters attached by brackets. I hadn't heard back from him but came home from work (3 weeks later) and discovered that new gutters had been put on the house with nails. I called the contractor and asked what was going on since I had never received an estimate and had not agreed to this work....and the work done was not what I had talked to him about. He was belligerent and refused to discuss this. I told him that if he would give me an estimate of the cost to correct this and put brackets on, then we could proceed and he would get paid. This was done in August 2009. As of this date, I have received a bill in the mail stating that this is my final notice before a lien is put on the house. Do I owe for work I didn't agree to? What are my options?
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Consumer Law, Warranties Contract or no contract?
- Thread Starter marygina
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Good question. How did you not know the contractor was coming over to do the work? How did he do work on your home? Did he show up one day when nobody was home and do it all in a few hours?
Why would a contractor do the work if yo never agreed to price? Was there anything in writing at any point?
If you had no idea and no agreement as to price, you should owe him nothing but he would need to put your home back into at least the same condition as it was in. However, my gut feeling tells me there is much more to this story that I'm not hearing that is probably pivotal to a decision in this case.
Why would a contractor do the work if yo never agreed to price? Was there anything in writing at any point?
If you had no idea and no agreement as to price, you should owe him nothing but he would need to put your home back into at least the same condition as it was in. However, my gut feeling tells me there is much more to this story that I'm not hearing that is probably pivotal to a decision in this case.
jharris352
New Member
Your contractor is either a fool, a crook, or you are leaving some big information out. If you are telling the whole story I totally agree with LawProf. Quantum meruit would normally apply (where you owe for the value of services you knew where being performed but did not stop) but in this case it would not.
You don't have the elements of a contract, either written or oral. There was not an agreement to terms, there was not mutual consideration, and his execution will not make a contract where one did not exist. I would reject his bill.
Putting a mechanic's lien on your house is not a big deal unless you are going to sell it soon. He has to sue within a statutory period of time to perfect the lien. If he puts the lien and shouldn't have there are stiff penalties in the law. Send him a certified letter with your side of it and tell him to come get the gutters off your house and repair the damage he did. Be clear about what your position is and do it in writing.
You don't have the elements of a contract, either written or oral. There was not an agreement to terms, there was not mutual consideration, and his execution will not make a contract where one did not exist. I would reject his bill.
Putting a mechanic's lien on your house is not a big deal unless you are going to sell it soon. He has to sue within a statutory period of time to perfect the lien. If he puts the lien and shouldn't have there are stiff penalties in the law. Send him a certified letter with your side of it and tell him to come get the gutters off your house and repair the damage he did. Be clear about what your position is and do it in writing.
Good points - my guess is we'll need a few more critical facts from the OP. Just a hunch. 
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