Problem with landscaper

Hi everyone,
I have been a long-time user of this forum and am very impressed with the cumulative knowledge presented here. I am presenting my situation here in hope that the fellow SDers may have a solution or advise for me. I am not sure if this is the right forum so please move it to the appropriate one if you see fit

I bought a house and wanted to do some small landscaping improvement. I asked around and somebody gave me a name and phone number of a guy who contracts landscaping in the area. I called the guy up and he came and gave me an estimate of $3,500 for the landscaping. It includes redoing the existing 3 planters and put shields between the planters and the house, plant 3 full-size King palms in 2 different areas with flower beds under the trees, plant 7 Queen palms and flower beds, run irrigation system with automatic controller throughout the yards, create a 5' wide walk-way of stamped concrete for bringing the trash in and out of the yard, and finally fill the yard with mulch. He also indicated that he would take care of all the little extra things to make sure that it look great to my satisfaction. He will provide everything including trees, flowers, mulch, concrete, hauling dirt in and out, all inclusive. He told me he will complete in 3 days. He said that he is just glad he has a job in this economy. He sounds nice and the deal appears to be good so I accepted it. He said that it is a small job and I really don't need to create a formal contract. He asked for $1,000 deposit and I gave it to him.
The next day, he already had the yard dug up multiple holes "in preparation for tree planting" and laid down irrigation pipes. At this point, he asked for $500 more to buy the trees. I gave it to him. He stated that the yard is so large that I needed to fill-in with fruit trees to make it nicer but it was not in the agreement so I had to pay for them. I went ahead and bought 14 small fruit trees and gave it to him and he planted the same day. At this point, he stated that he needed $700 more to buy the mulch and pay for the concrete and he would finish the job the next day. Impressed with everything so far, I gave him $700 as he asked.

Over the next few days, he no showed. I called him on several occasions and he states that he will get it done the next day but again, no showed. This continues over the next several weeks of no-show. I have contacted him many times over the phone and messages. He started not answering the phone and occasionally when I do get him, he always apologized and states that it will be done that same weekend. Well, it has been 6 weeks and by now I realize that he will never come.

To summarize: I paid a guy who I only know his first name and phone number so far $2,200 and he only laid down water pipes and planted some trees that I bought, then now stopped coming. I know, I should have known better and got a written contract but I really thought that it was a small job and the guy was so happy just to have a job in this economy. Anyhow, I am at this point so furious at the guy lying so blatantly knowing that he is not coming, leaving me dragged on forever while my yard is all dug up and ugly. I have decided to hire another contractor this coming weekend to finish the job. I, however, wanted to know from my fellow SDers if there are anything I could do to get the guy to pay back. Or at least track him down and warns others about this guy. Your help is well appreciated. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to present all the details.

I'll sum up Lounger's resposes to save you some time.

- someone will do a QPLR
- someone will say "shouldn't have hired mexicans"
- several will start off by saying "I am not a lawyer, but..." followed by a personal anecdote and ending by suggesting small claims court
- someone will suggest arson
- may or may not have a cat picture on the first page
- you will get some legitimate helpful advice after about 10-15 posts by others.
- a spoof "problem with manscaper" or similar will show up.

This is pretty much 95% of the threads here in The Lounge.

Quote from Jabbit : I'll sum up Lounger's resposes to save you some time. - someone will do a QPLR - someone will say "shouldn't have hired mexicans" - several will start off by saying "I am not a lawyer, but..." followed by a personal anecdote and ending by suggesting small claims court - someone will suggest arson - may or may not have a cat picture on the first page - you will get some legitimate helpful advice after about 10-15 posts by others. - a spoof "problem with manscaper" or similar will show up. This is pretty much 95% of the threads here in The Lounge.

you forgot tldr

Por Favor re-posto en Espanol.

Grassyass

Jabbit, you forgot about:

Quote from Jabbit : I'll sum up Lounger's resposes to save you some time. - someone will do a QPLR - someone will say "shouldn't have hired mexicans" - several will start off by saying "I am not a lawyer, but..." followed by a personal anecdote and ending by suggesting small claims court - someone will suggest arson - may or may not have a cat picture on the first page - you will get some legitimate helpful advice after about 10-15 posts by others. - a spoof "problem with manscaper" or similar will show up. This is pretty much 95% of the threads here in The Lounge.

qplr.

Quote from obman : Hi everyone, I have been a long-time user of this forum and am very impressed with the cumulative knowledge presented here. I am presenting my situation here in hope that the fellow SDers may have a solution or advise for me. I am not sure if this is the right forum so please move it to the appropriate one if you see fit I bought a house and wanted to do some small landscaping improvement. I asked around and somebody gave me a name and phone number of a guy who contracts landscaping in the area. I called the guy up and he came and gave me an estimate of $3,500 for the landscaping. It includes redoing the existing 3 planters and put shields between the planters and the house, plant 3 full-size King palms in 2 different areas with flower beds under the trees, plant 7 Queen palms and flower beds, run irrigation system with automatic controller throughout the yards, create a 5' wide walk-way of stamped concrete for bringing the trash in and out of the yard, and finally fill the yard with mulch. He also indicated that he would take care of all the little extra things to make sure that it look great to my satisfaction. He will provide everything including trees, flowers, mulch, concrete, hauling dirt in and out, all inclusive. He told me he will complete in 3 days. He said that he is just glad he has a job in this economy. He sounds nice and the deal appears to be good so I accepted it. He said that it is a small job and I really don't need to create a formal contract. He asked for $1,000 deposit and I gave it to him. The next day, he already had the yard dug up multiple holes "in preparation for tree planting" and laid down irrigation pipes. At this point, he asked for $500 more to buy the trees. I gave it to him. He stated that the yard is so large that I needed to fill-in with fruit trees to make it nicer but it was not in the agreement so I had to pay for them. I went ahead and bought 14 small fruit trees and gave it to him and he planted the same day. At this point, he stated that he needed $700 more to buy the mulch and pay for the concrete and he would finish the job the next day. Impressed with everything so far, I gave him $700 as he asked. Over the next few days, he no showed. I called him on several occasions and he states that he will get it done the next day but again, no showed. This continues over the next several weeks of no-show. I have contacted him many times over the phone and messages. He started not answering the phone and occasionally when I do get him, he always apologized and states that it will be done that same weekend. Well, it has been 6 weeks and by now I realize that he will never come. To summarize: I paid a guy who I only know his first name and phone number so far $2,200 and he only laid down water pipes and planted some trees that I bought, then now stopped coming. I know, I should have known better and got a written contract but I really thought that it was a small job and the guy was so happy just to have a job in this economy. Anyhow, I am at this point so furious at the guy lying so blatantly knowing that he is not coming, leaving me dragged on forever while my yard is all dug up and ugly. I have decided to hire another contractor this coming weekend to finish the job. I, however, wanted to know from my fellow SDers if there are anything I could do to get the guy to pay back. Or at least track him down and warns others about this guy. Your help is well appreciated. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to present all the details.

You can pay me $1000 for the same job. I need 100% of the money in advance, and no contract.

I highly suggest you do not buy or sell anything on craigslist.

Quote from ashcampbell : I highly suggest you do not buy or sell anything on craigslist.

Always use eBay (pay with PayPal) instead.

Quote from emelvee : Always use eBay (pay with PayPal) instead.

Sign and confirmed delivery is overrated.

Wow, that was really stoopid.

Someone had to say it.

Quote from obman : He said that it is a small job and I really don't need to create a formal contract. He asked for $1,000 deposit and I gave it to him.

And then you keep giving him more money in advance?

BAAAHHHAAAAHHAAAAHHAAAAAA

Quote from Iaaaiws : And then you keep giving him more money in advance? BAAAHHHAAAAHHAAAAHHAAAAAA

I live in a different city so couldn't verify the job that was done. When he called, he stated that he needed the money to buy the supply and he already finished the necessary work. I directed him to someone I know in that city to pickup the money.
Anyhow, hindsight is always 20/20. I am simply looking for any usable advise moving forward.

Quote from obman : I live in a different city so couldn't verify the job that was done. When he called, he stated that he needed the money to buy the supply and he already finished the necessary work. I directed him to someone I know in that city to pickup the money. Anyhow, hindsight is always 20/20. I am simply looking for any usable advise moving forward.

OK. Advice is spelled with a "c" not an "s". Also don't give someone thousands in cash if you don't know them and don't have a contract.