R.W.L. Contracting Services Richard William Lett Abandoned on paid contract Internet
I found this contractor on Craigslist.com and had him come out to give me an estimate on a remodel. I met with a few different contractors, and he offered the best price, so I hired him on November 18, 2009. His contract states an estimated completion date of Thanksgiving 2009. He & his father are the owners of their business, so they both came and started working, and the stalls started within the first week! He told me an uncle of his had passed away so they would be out a few days, I had no problem with that. Then Thanksgiving came & went and they had still not finished the work. He explained to me that they could not return until the weather was warm enough because the material that's used on the drywall has to stick, and if it's too cold, it would just crack and fall off.
The majority, not all, of the insulation and drywall have been put up, but that's about it! I even received a call from the electrician he had to come install a couple outlets, and he asked me if I had heard from Rich cause he did not pay him for the work that was done that day. I have repeatedly called and emailed without success. He keeps saying he'll call, but to date, I have not received the courtesy of a call back. He has now disconnected his phone, and has also become unresponsive to emails.
I have not seen this contractor since before Christmas, December 18th to be exact. He came to get another few hundred from me for "the rest of the materials'', and told me if I was able to give him $150 that day for the breaker box, he would write the contract as "paid in full" to save me some extra cash since he knew he was taking longer than expected. I immediately took him up on that offer and he did in fact write "Paid in full- work incomplete" on the contract and signed off on that, but as I said, I have not seen him back since, and it's now February 24, 2010! I think my next step is to pursue him for abandonment and defaulting on his contract.
He still posts ads on Craigslist.com for 'handyman work' with his phone number listed, but no name. I highly recommend not hiring this guy as I lost out on over $4k on this project!