Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Florida
I was referred to a general contractor to redo my kitchen. Turned out he was not a general contractor so much as a handyman with a business called "Davis Services". He did not draft up a formal contract for the job and being he was referred by a close friend I allowed him to start this way. I gave him $3300 cash in which I was issued a receipt which stated all the work to be done and specified what I paid up front and what was owed. It was supposed to be a 3 days job which was started in August. On August 13th, he came and did the rip out. On August 14th, he told me the granite guy was missing in action. As days passed, he tells me he thinks maybe the granite guy is dead because it is a close friend of his who would never do this but then he admits he paid him in full upfront and he disapperared with all my materials (cabinets, granite and appliances). I asked him during the weeks passing on multiple occasions if he put out a police report on the gus who stole thousands of dollars in merchandise. He said no because it was his friend but he would reorder all my materials at no cost to me and start the job when everything came in. I just received my cabinets two weeks ago, they were installed wrong and the excuses began again. He offered me my money back less the actual cost of the cabinets. I got him to sign a contract stating he would not be conducting any more work on the house, which stated the amount of the refund due and the amount which he paid me right there. The contract also stated he would pay me the remainder of the refund by end of day today. Although the contract was not notarized I had two witnesses present when he signed it. Is there anything I can do considering he signed a contract stating he would refund the rest of the money by today? I have attempted to call him multiple times today with no luck. Please help.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your next step is probably small claims court. You may also want to report him to the police for contracting without a license.
First, the "receipt which stated all the work to be done and specified what [you] paid up front and what was owed" is the first contract. You did the right thing by getting a second contract stating that he would refund your money, less the actual cost of the cabinets. It is good that the contract was notarized, but just FYI, notarization is not required, and it only validates the identity of the person signing (so they cannot later claim they did not sign or their signature was forged).
So, what can you do... You can keep trying to contact him. You can send him a letter, demanding the money he promised to refund. You can hire an attorney to write a demand letter, which may take care of the situation without further action. You can sue in small claims court for the money he owes you.
Hope that helps.
P.S. This question should be in the catagory of General Civil Litigation.
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