Q: Hello I hired a contractor to demolish a trailer and haul it to the landfill about 1 year and 8 months ago.
He charged me $3,000 and asked for cash I paid it. Then I hired him to install a water line he asked for $5,000 down out of the $8k bid to install. it took him 1yr 8mo to finish I assumed I only owe him $3k but he just sent me an invoice asking for $6k more for the water line and $3k more for the trash project that I have already paid do I have to pay these extra charges. There is no written contract just verbal.
A: You spent $8,000 with a contractor on a verbal agreement? It's worth the paper it is written upon. You should contact your state contractor licensing board, because they may have requirements that contracts over a certain amount are required to be in writing, if the contractor failed to do that not only is it possible that you do not have to pay any more, but you may be entitled to a refund of what you already paid. I would also check on the license on this operation which sounds very shady to me. There are also laws requiring contractors to be licensed if doing any projects over certain $, and if not licensed they are not entitled to be paid. This is a Contractor's license/Consumer contract issue. You need to consult an attorney in your local area that practices this kind of law. Thank you for using Justia Ask a Lawyer.
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