Landscaping Contractor Stiffed Me; Any Suggestions On Recourse?

[Jason Bohling]

So, I hired a landscaping company here in the Boise area to install some curbing and a sprinkler system in the backyard of my property.  Per the terms, they required half up front, half when the job is completed.  I paid them via check, and long story short there where a lot of no-shows, delays and me having to track the contractor down to find out what was going on...before the job even started.   I fired them and told him to rip up the check as I had put a stop payment on it once I verified it hadn't been processed through my bank.  A few days later, I was contacted by MoneyTree and informed that he cashed the check the day I wrote it (before the stop payment was placed) and that MoneyTree paid him the $1,000 and they would be billing me for it as I am responsible for paying them 'back' essentially.  The contractor who has my my money is, no surprise, ducking and avoiding me.  

So, my question is, does anybody have any suggestions for me or options I may have to recover my money?  Thanks everyone!

[Nathan Gesner]

Send the contractor a letter demanding a refund within 14 days. If no response, file a complaint with the licensing board, BBB, or anyone else you can find that may put some leverage on them. Still no response, file a suit in Small Claims and that will probably motivate them to respond.