Having a Nightmare with a Contractor

[Tim Anderson]

OK. I hired a guy off of craigslist to do my HVAC work, since the other estimates from actual HVAC companies were absolutely ridiculous, lowest quote was $8,500. I had him sign a contract stating that he was licensed, insured and would acquire all proper building permits and that he would not receive the 2nd half of his payment until it passed inspection.

After a day on the job, he sends me an e-mail saying he needs me to file a permit, due to a building inspector stopping by. I asked him what the building inspector said, to which he replied " not much of anything, just wanted to see what was going on", I don't believe it. Anyway, I refer to the contract, in which it states you (he) "will acquire any necessary building permits and the job will not be seen as complete if for any reason an inspection of the work done does not pass code;". To which he responded with that he does not have a license for our county. He says he'll take $200 off the job if I get the permit. That small amount of money isn't my concern right now. My concern is that... how the heck can I get a permit myself to do HVAC work if neither he, nor I, is licensed to do it? Is there any way that I can? He's telling me that there's a 'loop hole', where I can get the permit and say I'm having a 'friend' help with the work. This is my first time dealing with something like this and I'm getting paranoid they're (inspectors) going to rip out all of the work, and I'll still be out half of my money. Does anyone have extensive experience with building permits? What can I do in this situation?

[J Scott]

First, you learned some good lessons for the future:

- Whenever you hire a contractor, get a COPY of his license, and have his insurance company fax you a copy of his liability and workmans comp insurance (make sure you get it straight from the insurance company)

- Always have a contract for work to be done

- Never pay ahead of the work that you're getting done unless you are extremely trustful of the contractor. And certainly never pay 50% upfront

In this case, what I would first do is ask the contractor for your money back. It's unlikely you'll get it, unless he is really is licensed in another part of the state, in which case he may be bonded and be risking his license if he tries to screw you over.

Assuming he says the money has already been spent on materials (what he will likely say), tell him you want to see what he's actually bought with the money. The key here is that you want whatever you can get your hands on, because you are going to fire him before he does any more work.

You don't need someone who lies about being licensed and about being able to pull permits to work on your job; trust me, things will only get worse, not better. And you lying to pull your own permits isn't going to make things better (plus, for HVAC work, you'd rather not have permits than have to lie to get them, in my opinion).

Once you get your money and/or materials, fire the guy. If he hasn't made you whole with what he's given you, file a small claims suit against him in whatever county he lives in.

Then go hire someone who really is licensed, and verify it...