My friend's house had some serious issues with his crawl space flooding and some plumbing problems. After asking around, an acquaintance of mine told me that her husband does construction and plumbing. I referred the guy to my friend (who is a new home owner and new to these sorts of issues.) The guy came by to the house and inspected everything, sat down with him and came up with how much the cost of parts/labor would be. They reached a mutual agreement. The guy randomly pops in at the house on Thursday of last week and asked my friend for the $700 so he could go out and get all of the parts. Unsure of what to do and never having done this before, my friend went to the ATM and got him the money.
The contractor said he'd have the work done by Sunday. He was a no call/no show all weekend. I contacted his wife and asked why he hadn't came by. She said she had just talked to him and he had said he was out getting parts and was "on his way over" to do the toilets. He called my friend (AFTER I talked to her) and said he was coming over. My friend however, wasn't home and since it was 7 o'clock at night, already had other engagements. So the guy agreed to come back on Monday night. He again, no called, no showed.
My friend tried calling again, only to not receive a response. Finally on Tuesday, the guy said he would be by on Wednesday night. AGAIN, no call - no show. Then he said he'd be over on Thursday night to get it all done. He sent a text at 5 saying he'd call when he got out of work, no phone call came. He has given every excuse from an unexpected work meeting and an overheating car to being sick from medicine.
Luckily my friend's brother in law came by to save the house. With all of the rain that has been pouring down the past few days, the crawlspace and bottom floor were flooded again. Most of the work as already been done and now all he wants is his money back. This guy is constantly dodging his calls and yet keeps saying he'll be by.
Is there ANYTHING he can do to get this money back? This guy is obviously not going to come by and it's been over a week now. The money was given in cash and there were no contacts. I have conversations saved that I had with his wife, and texts and phone calls have been saved on my friend's phone that he had with his wife and with the contractor.
Any and all suggestions are helpful. And yes, he now knows to never just give cash like that again in this situation.
The contractor said he'd have the work done by Sunday. He was a no call/no show all weekend. I contacted his wife and asked why he hadn't came by. She said she had just talked to him and he had said he was out getting parts and was "on his way over" to do the toilets. He called my friend (AFTER I talked to her) and said he was coming over. My friend however, wasn't home and since it was 7 o'clock at night, already had other engagements. So the guy agreed to come back on Monday night. He again, no called, no showed.
My friend tried calling again, only to not receive a response. Finally on Tuesday, the guy said he would be by on Wednesday night. AGAIN, no call - no show. Then he said he'd be over on Thursday night to get it all done. He sent a text at 5 saying he'd call when he got out of work, no phone call came. He has given every excuse from an unexpected work meeting and an overheating car to being sick from medicine.
Luckily my friend's brother in law came by to save the house. With all of the rain that has been pouring down the past few days, the crawlspace and bottom floor were flooded again. Most of the work as already been done and now all he wants is his money back. This guy is constantly dodging his calls and yet keeps saying he'll be by.
Is there ANYTHING he can do to get this money back? This guy is obviously not going to come by and it's been over a week now. The money was given in cash and there were no contacts. I have conversations saved that I had with his wife, and texts and phone calls have been saved on my friend's phone that he had with his wife and with the contractor.
Any and all suggestions are helpful. And yes, he now knows to never just give cash like that again in this situation.
