Should I take them to court?

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adtman

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My question involves business law in the state of: Oklahoma

I have worked with a company in Oklahoma that sells playground systems. They have used me on a few jobs. This last job has been a nightmare for all of the parties involved.

February 09 "Company" contacted me to install a commercial carport shade at a residence. This is out of their realm of business. They deal in government and commercial contracts. Homeowner is difficult to deal with and makes life harder for all parties involved. I bid the job per the specs provided to my by the, "company". Specs from the, "Company" were wrong and a, "change order" was submitted by me and then approved by the, "company". Here we are in October and I just received a check from them for 2 thousand less than the approved bid and change order. Towards the end of this fiasco the salesman for this job was out doing things for the homeowner just so he would cut them a check. I realize that I may have made some mistakes, but I always tried to make them right. I was successful for the most part too. Any reasonable person would have been WAY ok with all of this. If I am completely wrong here then I deserve to take it in the shorts, I don't feel that I am though.

Homeowner issues:

* Contractor, me, took way too long to install and never got there before 9 am.
* Canopy not the correct color - not my problem I did not order it. "Company", had to have the shade manufacturer send a crew up here to make a custom canopy for this home owner. He is still not happy with it.
* Stained concrete has bobcat tire tracks and oil spots - True, I pressure washed his driveway 5 times and used a degreaser 3 times. "Company" instructed me that the driveway looked just fine. Home owner still not happy, claims that his whole driveway needs to be tore out and redone to the tune of $20,000.
* Scratched the metal on the paint - True, I have proof that I hired a professional painting crew to fix this. "Company", is pleased with the results. Home owner cannot tell a difference.

Company issues:

* Due to the homeowners issues he deducted 2 thousand dollars from the original price. Hence why you got dinged 2 thousand dollars.

I think this is BS. I have not cashed the check and I am considering taking them to small claims court. Any opinions will be greatly appreciated.

John
 
I think this is BS. I have not cashed the check and I am considering taking them to small claims court. Any opinions will be greatly appreciated.

I think it is BS too. You don't have an obligation to the homeowner, but to the company. If they did not pay what you were contracted for then you can certainly make a claim.

If homeowner is unhappy with the final results then the homeowner can try to make a claim against the company.

You are owed your money until a judge says that you are not.
 
If the check does not say "paid in full" and this was just a payment that they believe they should pay less the $2,000, I'd cash it and sue for the rest. Homeowner sounds like many who are never satisfied and always seem to think that it's reasonable to beat down people in price who they will never see again (and claim that everything is a disaster and you should be paying them for the job... some are worth not taking!) Note - you may have also a right to place a mechanic's lien. Good luck.
 
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