Advice for Electrician/Contractor Horror Story - HELP NEEDED

[Trevor Dominique]

Hello BP,

I am seeking some advice on a current situation I am in:

I recently relocated to South Carolina where I purchased a fixer home with the intention of doing a live-in flip or a BRRRR type investment. Several weeks ago, after having my kitchen fully gutted, I was ready for the electrical to be done (new fixtures added, outlets for appliances, etc.)

Being new to SC (I have 6 rental units in Ohio currently), I did not have any relationship with contractors as I do most of the cosmetic work myself. After calling the local electrical companies and struggling to reach anyone, I went to Facebook marketplace and posted that I was in search of a certified electrician to do some minor kitchen electrical work. 

After a handful of people reached out to me, I talked to a man (let's call him Joe) on the phone who told me he was a certified electrician and that he would love to come give me an estimate. He came out to my house and quoted me $1200 for everything I needed done in the kitchen. He seemed knowledgeable and said that I could pull the permit or he could do it for me. Easy peasy.

However, several days later as he got into things, he explained to me how I should consider rewiring the home. Everything he said made sense to me (old wire insulation peeling off among some other things) and that if I wanted  him to do this he would charge me $4800, or $6000 for the entire project (my house is 1000 square feet 2 bed 1 bath). He also told me he thought it would take him 3 full days roughly to complete. 

After thinking about this, I agreed to do the rewire. I agreed to pay 50% up front and 50% after completion of the project and inspection, meaning I paid $3000 up front. He sent me an invoice, but no contract was signed specifying the scope of the work.

The next week when the project was supposed to be complete, I came home from work to find another man working on the electrical. He seemed knowledgeable and kind, but he was NOT certified. He told me he had only known Joe for a couple weeks. This made me uncomfortable. I called Joe to make sure the permit application was filled out, and he said, "My wife is super busy right now, can you submit it yourself?"

I agreed I could fill out the application, but said I would need his info and contractors license number. After asking him through text message for this info maybe 5 times, he told me that he had the application filled out and would drop it off at the city offices. 

Several days later, I called the city to confirm that this was properly done. The city said that no permit application under my address had been submitted. 

I called Joe frustrated, and he said "Oh the guy working for me said you were not worried about it, so I cancelled it." What????

The next day, the guy working for Joe called me, saying that he was not going to continue working because Joe had not paid him anything. I also called Joe on this, and he said the man working for him was just too slow and that he would get him paid the next week.  

That brings me to the present time: The work is nearly done according to Joe (he came out and worked some yesterday while I was visiting family), and I still have no permit application submitted because he won't give me his info. This makes me almost certain that he is not a certified contractor, but just a handyman who is a good lier.

If he is indeed not certified, what is my best course of action? Should I take this to small claims court?

At the end of the day I am 23 and off to a good start in the RE investment world with 6 units in Ohio BUT I may have to learn my lesson about doing my due diligence with contractors the hard way.