I commissioned someone for a project, a 6 week project that’s now 4 months and counting. Help.

M

MBison

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
In August 2020 I commissioned someone to build an arcade cabinet: I checked his references and was thorough I believed and it felt like it was a decent decision. I paid a deposit in September and have an invoice of the agreed components and cost. He said it would be 4-6 weeks.

Weeks turned into months as he had excuses of holidays and parts not coming in. I remained patient but as the end of January approached I pressed him on the timing and started getting bad vibes where he talked about switching out options for cheaper options with no discussion of price change or refund. His communication has been poor unless I reached out.

I discovered a review left by another customer just a few days ago that stated he never delivered a project and didn't refund the money. I approached him about this and he got extremely agitated and pressed me to either take the in progress built now for my current deposit or let him finish. I didn't appreciate the agitation considering my long 4 month patience and my concern that he may be "scamming" me as well. I told him I wanted to talk to legal representation on how to proceed. He knows my address (he lives about 5 hours away) and states he will deliver the pieces of the project to my house which concerns me given the escalated situation.

What are my options at this point? Reconciliation seems unlikely. This other customer sent me his story and texts that don't paint a great light. I started more thorough research on this person I commissioned this project from and discovered he may have been arrested for stealing money from a business (grand larceny).

What should I tell him? He's very abrasive. Should I just file a small claim? Should I speak with legal representation? I don't know how to respond to his assertions he's just going to deliver the pieces of what he's done so far and keep my substantial deposit. I'm in Florida.

Please help!
 
What's the total price of the project and how much of a deposit did you give? Do you have a written contract addressing who does what when?
 
MBison said:
What are my options at this point?
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Depends a lot on what your written agreement with this person says. Also, are you both in Florida? If not, does your written agreement contain a provision as to which state's laws govern and where any lawsuits must be filed? Please also answer "adjusterjack's" questions.
 
MBison said:
What are my options at this point?
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Aggrieved parties can file a small claims case, but there MIGHT be an easier solutions.

Are you a member of what is called "the senior citizen population"?

If you are, you could call these agencies, explain your issue, and help MIGHT be forthcoming:

Auto and Home Repair Fraud | Area Agency On Aging

https://www.myeldersource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/home_repair_fraud.pdf

Your state government also offers seniors assistance, guidance, and advice:

http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/doea/CRG/2011/CRG_7th_Edition_section_VII.pdf

http://www.elderaffairs.org/doea/CRG/2017/CRG_8th_Edition_section_VII.pdf

You could also reach out to a detective serving in one of your local law enforcement agencies to determine if any criminal laws have been (or are being) violated.

Let us know what happens, as you try to get satisfaction and resolution.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The project is $6000 total with a deposit of $4000. Yes expensive but these are high end electronic machines, with 4k TVs, high end computers, etc.

Both parties are in Florida.

I'm not a senior.

As for an agreement, all I have is an invoice. The invoice doesn't discuss time frame that was just discussed when we initially talked about the project. How long it has taken doesn't concern me as much as where we are in terms of will it ever get done and how should I proceed at this moment - should I take what he's done so far and lose my $4000, tell him to just continue, etc.

appreciate the continued help.
 
MBison said:
Thanks for the replies.

The project is $6000 total with a deposit of $4000. Yes expensive but these are high end electronic machines, with 4k TVs, high end computers, etc.

Both parties are in Florida.

I'm not a senior.

As for an agreement, all I have is an invoice. The invoice doesn't discuss time frame that was just discussed when we initially talked about the project. How long it has taken doesn't concern me as much as where we are in terms of will it ever get done and how should I proceed at this moment - should I take what he's done so far and lose my $4000, tell him to just continue, etc.
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Contacting law enforcement can't hurt you or delay satisfaction.

If I were you, I'd take all my documentation to the prosecutor's office, the state AG's office on consumer protection, or your local law enforcement agency and see what I could learn.

Who knows, crimes may have bene committed and your government just might be able to assist you.

Nothing ventured, nothing lost, also nothing gained.
 
Would you recommend filing a complaint on this form? Or calling their offices to discuss with a person?

The site would be myfloridalegal.com the offices of Angela Moody. I found it searching my city Consumer protection and it linked me there.
 
MBison said:
Would you recommend filing a complaint on this form? Or calling their offices to discuss with a person?

The site would be myfloridalegal.com the offices of Angela Moody. I found it searching my city Consumer protection and it linked me there.
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We don't make recommendations on this forum - sorry.
As was mentioned previously, this can be handled by small-claims. You won't recover any money spent on an attorney...
 
MBison said:
Would you recommend filing a complaint on this form? Or calling their offices to discuss with a person?
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It might be wiser to speak to someone to see if there are any obligations.

Your local law enforcement (or state authorities) might be already be aware of the one that is vexing you.

He/she/it might also not be the personna you've interacted with, either.

Heck, the scammer might be sitting in China, Viet Nam, Russia, or one of almost 200 sovereign nations other than the USA.
 
MBison said:
All communication has been done through Facebook messenger
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Have you ever actually met this person?

MBison said:
Would you recommend filing a complaint on this form?
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Huh? What form?

MBison said:
Or calling their offices to discuss with a person?
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If you're talking about consulting with an attorney, sure. If you're asking for opinions about the particular attorney you mentioned, I don't have one, and I doubt anyone else here will either.

MBison said:
As for an agreement, all I have is an invoice. The invoice doesn't discuss time frame that was just discussed when we initially talked about the project.
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It sounds tome like you have a verbal agreement with some documentary evidence of some of the terms of the agreement. I'm also guessing that, when you made the agreement, you never agreed on a particular time for delivery. It is unfortunate that you entered into a $6k deal without proper writing and that you (apparently) didn't agree to all relevant terms. Those failures limit your options now.

You asked whether you "should . . . take what he's done so far and lose [you] $4000," and the answer to that, as phrased, is no. Do you know what has been done thus far and, if so, do you have an idea of what it's worth? How about how much it would cost for someone else to take what's been done so far and complete the work? Ideally, you should take possession of what's been done so far and then find someone to complete the work (and do a better job contracting with that new person than you did with the first guy). If it ends up costing you more than $2k to get the work done, then you'd sue the first guy for the overage. The basis of the suit is that his failure to deliver what was promised within anything approaching a reasonable time is a breach of the contract. In a situation where the contract doesn't say when delivery will be made, the law would imply a "reasonable time." Of course, there are thing that could make this situation less than ideal, but it is what it is.
 
Perhaps you've had this discussion but I don't see any final attempt to get a definitive esimated delivery date. He mentioned specifically 4-6 weeks and you can show him the message. Gently ask what is the hold up and try to get him to give you a conservative date. It shouldn't take longer than a few weeks - at best. Perhaps you give him the ultimatum and see what he says. If he doesn't deliver, then it's time to send him a written notice and move forward.

Bottom line is I'm sure you'd prefer the deliverable than trying to pursue the cash. One has to wonder whether this carpenter has been using the cash from one project to pay for other items without having the next cash infusion in place.
 

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