[Plumber_Pete]

I am in progress on 4 new homes for a builder. He is slow paying on me a final check for a house completed 6 months ago. He has more new houses coming up and it's hard to turn away all that work for 2,600 bucks. He is putting pressure on me for not wanting to start new work until I get paid.

I already have my lawyer on this not really asking for advise just steaming...:furious::furious:

 

[super plumber]

Be careful, I burnt a bridge many years ago over the same kind of deal...still waiting to be paid

 

[Plumber]

I was told in my 3rd year to "never let anyone decide your future".

At that point, I thought about being a GC, but they're _ing..._ing...screwed up, knew I could never work for one, so I got into repair and never looked back.

 

[smellslike$tome]

Be careful, I burnt a bridge many years ago over the same kind of deal...still waiting to be paid

If the bridge won't take you anywhere then you might as well roast some hot dogs while it burns .

 

[Cal]

Get straight with him if you can . If you are slow right now you might have to take a little **IT ! If your work load is good ,,,,, Then the hell with him !

Cal

 

[smellslike$tome]

Be careful, I burnt a bridge many years ago over the same kind of deal...still waiting to be paid

One of the last home builder/gc I ever worked for tried to decide he was going to pay 1/2 of what he had agreed to for the worst sewer install I have ever personally done. It was about 125' on what had to be about a 35* grade. The lateral was about 8' - 10' deep. It was summer with passing afternoon showers. It would rain for like 5 minutes at a time and when it did everything would run off the hill into the hole. I would have to pump it out and about the time I did it would rain again for a few minutes. I went through this 3 or 4 times. Finally, I was so desperate to get this done that I did one of the stupidest things I have ever done in my life. This hole was soft on the sides from the rain and just full of muck (sorry muck) in the bottom. I had no shoring as I should have but I told the backhoe operator to put the hoe in the hole in case it caved in on me and I went in after it. Very, very dumb! I tore my shoulder all up trying to get this done quickly before it rained again. It took months for it to get back to normal.

When it was all done I showed up to collect the next day this guy starts whining, cussing, moaning, etc., very beligerant. Seemed as if at first I wasn't going to be paid at all but all of his bluster worked on me (I was younger and just starting out in business really) and so I wound up leaving with a check for about 1/2 of what had been originally agreed upon. I have never done this in any other instance in my plumbing career but I raced to the bank because I knew the whole thing was just bad news. Sure enough before I could even get there he had already called and stopped payment on the check. This actually worked to my good in the end though. I had no recourse at that point but to lien the house. At this point I really figured I would never be paid so I just tried to move on and forget it. Almost a year later I get a call from an attorney representing one of his sons (who had not been in business with him) stating that Mr. X had passed away and wanted to know what it would take to settle the lien. I told him I would get back to him. At this point I'm thinking to myself what would be a fair amount to "settle" for not realizing that at this point what was fair was payment in full plus all my costs for chasing the money plus interest. After I talked to some friends I contacted them and gave them the number. The guy kept my money for about a year but in the end it cost the family he left behind an extra grand over the original agreed upon amount.

This was the worst builder I ever worked for by far but the truth is that I do not know a single one that I would even consider working for. It's service only for me baby and I'm leaving with a check.

 

[nhmaster3015]

The GC isn't going to pay you what he owes you and he won't pay your for the two jobs waiting to be done. Been there, done that. The guy is a scumbag and unfortunatly all too common in the business. Ask the SOB if he got paid yet? Bet ya he did. F him

It's not a question of you burning bridges. This POS burned the bridge by not honering the origional contract. Take the bastard to court. Screw him.

Get the feeling I hate GC's :thumbsup:

 

[Wiser]

We were having a slow spell and almost agreed to plumb a new house for a new builder in town. When it came time for the contract, he suggested we write something up and he would sign it.

Time went by and one day we get a call that they wanted to pour concrete in two days and we needed to do the rough a.s.a.p. My husband said he didn't like the sound of it and told the builder no thanks.

The other day my husband goes to the permit office, the so called builder paid another builder $8,000.00 to use his license, poured the concrete with no plumbing done, left town w/ $40,000.00 of the HO's money, and no one has been paid. The guys who cleared the lot, sitework, and concrete are all high and dry.

We dodged a bullet. However, it was tempting to ignore red flags because we were slow.

 

[nhmaster3015]

Good for you. Better to be slow than bankrupt.

After a while you develop a smell for these things.

 

[Wiser]

Good for you. Better to be slow than bankrupt.

After a while you develop a smell for these things.

My husband's radar was up, left up to me - we would have been burned.

Last time he 'had a feeling,' I assured him we would be paid and the damn builder closed up shop. Looking back, it was a punchlist item the other plumber wouldn't come back and take care of (prolly cause he wasn't paid his final payment). Luckily it was only $180.00 and involved little time and materials. Still burns me up though.

 

[U&I Plumber]

When I was in business the first time I did work for this guy that totally went around my exclusions in the bid, that was my first clue. In the end he held out my final $6000 thru the holidays, it was a shi%%& Christmas for my kids, the day after I got my check he was driving a brand new truck.

I learned my lesson, I do service and repair only.

 

[Liam05]

My husband's radar was up, left up to me - we would have been burned.

Last time he 'had a feeling,' I assured him we would be paid and the damn builder closed up shop. Looking back, it was a punchlist item the other plumber wouldn't come back and take care of (prolly cause he wasn't paid his final payment). Luckily it was only $180.00 and involved little time and materials. Still burns me up though.

That's bad. Something like that happened to my friend as well, it does make your ears heat up doesnt it. :furious:

 

[Plumber_Pete]

Ok well supposedly I am getting paid for one of the jobs, the bigger one, next Wednesday. He refuses to pay my incurred legal fees though. Is it worth the 300 to fight even more?

 

[Wiser]

Since you asked - let it go and move on! Consider it a lesson and don't let the deadbeat bring you down. Put your energy into landing more work that does pay.

Just my 2 cents. I take Paypal.

 

[DUNBAR PLUMBING]

Ok well supposedly I am getting paid for one of the jobs, the bigger one, next Wednesday. He refuses to pay my incurred legal fees though. Is it worth the 300 to fight even more?

Start going after his family. Always hurt the ones they care about.


Nothing worse than an upaid contractor showing up at a school, church, grocery store with the look of death in your eyes saying out loud, "I see you buddy, I'll get paid."