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Updated over 3 years ago, 07/06/2021
Contractor uncommunicative, work not completed - ideas?
Could anyone make a referral to lawyer specializing in home contractor disputes in the New York City area? Or have any ideas on how do deal with a contractor who has become unresponsive to my requests for receipts, itemized charges, and a walk-through to show me the work done?
Long story short, I bought a foreclosure rental house at the end of 2014 and had it renovated and ready to rent out in January 2015, except that the utility company kept refusing to turn on gas service. The house requires gas for heat and hot water, so I have been unable to rent it out. In late September 2015, I gave up on getting gas service after a long fight with the utility company, and I hired a contractor to set up electric heat and hot water. I also had the contractor install solar panels, and then the trouble began. The contractor said the solar panel installer found a hole in the roof and found that half of the roof was rotted out and said I'd need to get roof repairs, which I agreed to. While he was doing electrical work, he said one of his workers found that the some floors were rotted and had a mold issue due to a leak. He said he would complete all the work over Thanksgiving weekend. Then he went out of town due to a family emergency, he said, so work was suspended. Supposedly he had someone do some stuff in December, but when I asked him starting in mid-December for an itemized list of work done and charges for each, he kept saying he was out of town for family issues, things were crazy, his phone was dying, but would send me the information. I am still waiting to hear back from him. I also think he has made a number of unauthorized charges on my credit card after I had him charge a specific amount to start the work.
The contractor is now almost completely unreachable. His phone has been out of service, and he rarely replies to my emails. When he does, he only says things have been crazy and he would get back to me but still has not given me any of the information I have been asking for regarding status of work and receipts for expenses. I checked on the house the best I could this past weekend and did not see most of what should have been done (baseboard heaters, upgraded electrical system, electric water heater, solar panel system, etc.). I have filed disputes with my credit card companies for charges he made due to not receiving services promised, as well as fraud claims for unauthorized charges. Being a year behind schedule, I can't keep waiting and waiting for him. I need him either to refund my money or show me ASAP that everything he had promised is working, including how to work the solar panels. And I need to hire another contractor to finish the work. But I am unable to get any response from him. I am thinking I need to consult a lawyer. Does anyone have referrals or ideas? I am very frustrated and would appreciate any referrals or ideas!