Response from Hour Glass Remodeling
In late 2009 Hourglass Remodeling entered into a contract with the client to remodel their basement. The homeowner was to supply most of the materials. The homeowner acquired the framing materials from the company that he worked at without paying for it. On 01-13-2010 I received a deposit check for framing of the basement. On 02-04-2010 I received a check for completing the framing, deposit on plumbing work and for material for larger cultured Onyx panels and a larger base. On 02-12-2010 I also picked up a check for materials for the mentioned work, labor for framing soffits, building down around the pipes, and final payment on the completed plumbing. On 03-18-2010 I received a check for extra completed framing in the weight room and hanging drywall there that was not on the original contract as well as installing low voltage boxes for speakers, cable and phone, and also additional materials needed. On 04-28-2010 the customer paid for materials to replace the tile in the upstairs bathroom. On 05-05-2010 I received a check for completed work of laying tile in the lower bathroom, removing fixtures in the first floor bathroom, tiling and resetting fixtures. This also included scrubbing the basement floor for drywall mud from a separate drywall contractor before customer installed flooring. On 07-30-2010 I presented the customer with invoice number 676 for final payment for doors and trim, final payment on fixtures set, hours on cat 5, cable and speaker wiring, materials for speakers, refund on patio door, credit on baseboard not installed, credit for advance payment on labor. This was presented to the customer right before they were to go on vacation the next day and I was told that I would be paid when they returned from their vacation. As you can see by the timeline and the payments that were made by the client, they never spoke of being unsatisfied. Common sense would indicate if they were displeased with my workmanship they would not have asked me to perform other tasks beyond the original contract such as the; wiring, additional framing, drywall hanging, tiling the lower bath, and the upstairs bathroom. When I attempted many times to collect on invoice number 676 after the client returned home from vacation, I received no response from the client. The only part of the basement that was not completed was the installation of the Onyx panels in the lower bathroom and connecting the fixtures there. Labor for this was to be paid at completion. I retained the Onyx panels as I still had not received payment for invoice number 676. This was also disclosed to the client. The materials sat in my garage until 11-13-2010 when I sold the panels to make up for lost wages on invoice number 676. The job was never completed because of the lack of payment. The customer complained by falsifying the report to Angie's list. If the workmanship would not have been to standards they could have not retained me as their contractor instead of continuing to use me for a multitude of other projects that were not part of the original contract. The client also went to the Better Business Bureau who responded to the client that I (the contractor) had acted in good faith and that the claim was resolved as far as the Better Business Bureau was concerned.