Q: I just got a bill from a plumbing company. Work was done by the guy he bought out and he billed me right before he sold.
The original plumber sent me an unitemized bill one year after the work. The verbal quote was less than 1/3 of the bill. I asked for more information. He sold the company. I called the new owner and he said I did not have an outstanding bill and all was good. One year later he bills me for the work from the old plumber. Can he do this?
A:
"Can he"?
Sure. Anybody with a couple hundred dollars for the court costs can sue anybody else for any reason.
But can the plaintiff win on what gets filed?
There's the rub, lol. From what you say, it sounds like this plumber's claim would fail. BUT, the problem is that it seems to be all oral, so that's a proof problem, and a fight boils down to your word against his about what was agreed to.
Probably your best course is to respond to your recent billing with a letter explaining why you don't think you should have to pay anything.
The plumber can, in theory, sue you for the unpaid amount, or report the unpaid bill to credit reporting agencies (if the plumber is a member), and then your credit rating suffers.
This may come down to a business decision about what's the least expensive way to resolve this, and that's your job, not any lawyer's.
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