Joined Jan 2007
L5: Journeyman
Forum Thread
Problem with landscaper
October 3, 2012 at
02:06 PM
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 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.
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Nobody will miss him, I swear...
just make sure you get a shovel ready...
Sometimes you just have to take the law into your own hand.
is the guy hispanic? that just may help you chances that he is illegal and probably no one will ever notice him missing..
P.S. not to be taken as legal or proper advice
Regarding the lady, she is a long time fried of mine. She had no idea as she was duped pretty much the same time. She felt really bad and has been searching for him herself. I told her that is it not her fault. There is no way she could have known. We live in an area where works are being done and paid all the time without any contracts, just verbal agreement. I don't lock my car and many times don't lock the house door. Well, this is all new to us that these types of people are real.
Regarding the lady, she is a long time fried of mine. She had no idea as she was duped pretty much the same time. She felt really bad and has been searching for him herself. I told her that is it not her fault. There is no way she could have known. We live in an area where works are being done and paid all the time without any contracts, just verbal agreement. I don't lock my car and many times don't lock the house door. Well, this is all new to us that these types of people are real.
You should hired people who work by the hour, you pay them to start and then you pay them in full at the end.
And you should never pay someone to go buy you stuff if they are strangers, you make them buy it and show you the receipt for reimbursement. If that is not to their liking, you can put up a amount you are comfortable in losing and pay the rest when they come back with the stuff.
if society do not promote getting rid of people, they should also not promote people who like to scam either.. If they turn a blind eye to scammers, they should also turn a blind eye when said scammer disappear mysteriously....
Regarding the lady, she is a long time fried of mine. She had no idea as she was duped pretty much the same time. She felt really bad and has been searching for him herself. I told her that is it not her fault. There is no way she could have known. We live in an area where works are being done and paid all the time without any contracts, just verbal agreement. I don't lock my car and many times don't lock the house door. Well, this is all new to us that these types of people are real.
Edit: What is "ICE" by the way?
I think my plan has a much better chance of success.
Edit: What is "ICE" by the way?
Edit: What is "ICE" by the way?
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THANK YOU ALL, again
Might not help you get your money back, but it'll sure keep him busy for a while, and perhaps some others that really did get ripped off by him will figure out how to stop him.
Might not help you get your money back, but it'll sure keep him busy for a while, and perhaps some others that really did get ripped off by him will figure out how to stop him.
....
Here's the problem.
Legitimate contractors will never work "by the hour" because when they give their hourly rate, the customer will freak out.. The customer doesn't understand that the contractor will spend $100 on gas getting stuff there, etc.. Basically, the customer will freak out unless the contractor quotes something close to minimum wage (and obviously the contractor deserves more than that).
If you do get someone willing to work "By the hour", expect it to take 3-4 times longer than it should.
I assume they are still going to want some kind of payment before ordering materials as well.
If you really don't trust the contractor, work out a schedule of payments.
Like "$800 paid when the gravel arrives", etc.. Remember that contractors get ripped off too.. Contractors probably get ripped off more often than customers do.
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