Protected way to pay contractor

[Lakshmi Kotagiri]

Hi All, what is the best way to pay contractor who work on home repairs. I am having a situation with a contractor that I paid thru zelle. He neither finished job; nor responding to my calls/message. I filed a claim with bank but bank mentioned they will try to recover the money if there is money in the amount. but its not guaranteed. first time got into some thing like this.