Legal Question in Consumer Law in South Carolina
verbal contract for tree work
My husband and I entered into a verbal agreement with a tree service to have ten tres removed, stumps grinded, and the logs hauled off by Wednesday 7/18/01. My husband agreed to strip the logs of branches and dispose of that in order to obtain a lower price. The treeman and his crew arrived as scheduled and cut the trees @ 8:20 a.m. on 7/14/01. My husband has the trees stripped of branches ready to be hauled off as agreed and the branches burned by 10 pm that evening.
Upon the trees being felled I paid the treeman 2/3 of the money (I felt I should hold on to rest to insure logs hauled.) It is now 7/20/01 and I still have logs in my yard, blocking my drving and a private access road on the neighbor's property. I had called the treeman and his wife says they don't know what to do. His yellow page ad notes that he does removal. I have called all area logging companies and no one will pick up my small load of ten logs.
What recourse do I have? Can he be made to get rid of these logs?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: verbal contract for tree work
I would suggest you send the treeman a certified letter detailing your agreement with him, and giving him a date certain to comply with your verbal agreement. I would also send the letter regular mail too because some people won't pick up certified mail. Keep a copy of the letter. If he fails to comply, you can hire someone else to finish the job, and file suit against him for breach of contract if you have to pay out more than what was originally contracted for. If the amount in controversy is less than $7,500, you can file a suit in small claims court for breach of contract. I he has a habit of doing this and you can prove it, you can file suit under the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act also, which provides for triple damages and attorney fees. Is he bonded? If you sue him and get a judgment against him, you can contact the bonding company and request that they pay the judgment. You can also report it to your local Better Business Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.
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