Sprinkler repair issue

[sprinklerrepair]

TX/USA
I had seen an advertisement regarding sprinkler repair and called the person over. He mentioned a rate of $50 an hour. When he came home, he mentioned that he would have to replace a pipe to fix a leak and it would cost me 2 hours plus materials. He also mentioned that he had done this several times. I paid for the materials. He started working and enlisted my help to dig through under the concrete to get the pipe out. After the pipe was cut and removed, he mentioned that this would not be easy and that we needed to cut the concrete and the cost would now be $500. He had never done this job (cutting concrete and filling it up before. I was upset with this and did not pay him anything and he left the mess as is (pipe cut out and the yard messy). He had also threatened to sue me. All of these events were verbal and there was no written contract.

Can he actually win against me in small claims court?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It would seem that he would have a difficult time without a contract and even more so if a license was required to do the excavation work. I'm just wonderign how you got from sprinkler repair to a job best performed by a plumber.

 

[cchick]

When you set an appointment for sprinkler repair, you only have to pay for what he does. And for the legal expert that responded, that is part of sprinkler repair work. A plumber could also do it.
Alot of times, these things get out of control at the time, but never anything gets done about it legally. You said you already paid for materials, I would never pay before the job was done. He should have written out a bill and left it with you. He can take you to small claims if you do not pay the balance. That will probably be the bottom line. So figure out what you paid, what you owe, and see if that amount is worth it. If it's not, pay it, after all he opened up your pipe to be taken care of by someone who does know how to do it, and that will save you money on labor from that repair bill.Good Luck.V