Legal Question in Consumer Law in Virginia

Re: Problems with a Contractor

One of the most difficult situations is when

a contractor DID do work, but did not do it well.

Some judges will say that if the contractor

did the work, even if you don't like it, they

are entitled to get paid for the work they did,

Conceptually, IF you have an actual contract

(not just conversations) in which the contractor

agreed to do X, Y, and Z, then they are obligated

to do X, Y, and Z. Therefore, if they did not

do what they contractually agreed to do, they

are responsible for all damages. That includes

your right to go out and find someone else to

do it right and suing them for the cost.

Practically, however, the problem is that they

will DENY that they agreed to build the fireplace

to those particular specifications and will say

that they did what they agreed to do.

So the problem is not conceptual or legal, but

practical. You have to prove that they promised

to build the fireplace to exactly what you

now say. They will say they did not.

Re: Problems with a Contractor

Take a lot of good pictures of the unworkmanlike

job and line up a couple of fireplace builders who can testify in support of your defense that the job that was done is not even worth partial compensation(quantum meruit)which you will need to be able to prove in the event that you are sued(quite likely).

You should also be able to countersue for the costs you incurred in cleaning up the mess.