Legal Question in Construction Law in California
Does any law specify how many days a consumer can have before they pay a bill?
We got a invoice from the construction company who completes our job, the invoice was sent to us via email last week, we have been contacting them since then to clarify some items on the invoice, as it appears to be overcharge. They refused to make any chances. We then reported to contractor license board.
today they called and said as per contract, after we got bill within 7 days and we haven't paid yet, they will send it to collection company, is this right?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The key phrase here seems to be "per contract." Does the contract say 7 days? This would be a bit unusual, and since collection companies take a huge bite out of what they collect, it would seem very counterproductive for a contractor to refer a bill for collection in less than, say, 60 to 90 days or so. I don't know of any law requiring a bill to be tendered X days before payment is due, or conversely, requiring payment within X days of tender of the bill, but such a law might exist covering certain kinds of contracts. Ordinarily, parties are free to set their own payment terms in a contract, with a few exceptions including the down payment limits in home improvement contracts. I suggest some friendly, reasonable negotiations to try to soothe tempers and get the contract back on track.
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