Advice

[truckerfan]

Please forgive if not allowed.

What do I do besides small claims court if someone I hired to do work on my house did more damage than good? Anyone been in this situation??

[bigballofyarn]

Check the contract you have with them. What did you sign? Did they offer a warranty? Maybe the contractor would be willing to work with you directly.

[:~:Sarapha:~:]

This is definitely something you'd want to consult a lawyer about. They will not only be able to comb through the contract with you to see if there is any way to work directly with the business for a resolution, but they will also be able to tell you what your local laws say on the matter.

[harryk]

If this is a verbal contract only truckerfan it's more tricky, written contracts are better. Both can be taken to small claims court without a lawyer. CAB or equivalent are very good.

Best thing to do for now is write notes & dates, take photos then dis recommend the "craftsman" wherever you can. Local word of mouth is better than the WWW.

Luck mate.

[Inkjet]

When I first bought my house a few years back, I had this exact same issue.

We took up a claim with the contractors board here in California. We did not have any sort of written contract, but were able to provide the board with photographic evidence of the damage and uncompleted work.

Long story short, the board threatened the contractor with his license if he didn’t pay us back what he owed in damages. He eventually coughed up the few thousand and he got to keep his license.

Had we needed to, the board did suggest small claims court. The whole thing is a headache, but it is possible to get your money if you can provide a solid enough case to a board or the courts.

[sharon]

With any major projects I only do business with those that either let me pay after the work is done or half upfront and the other half after the project has been completed.

If the contractor has their own company or work under a company I take it to social media (business owner should be concerned about their online presence).

Sorry this has happened to you.

[Derek‽]

I think you would first have to define "damage" before a fitting answer could be provided.

What did you hire them for? What was the outcome? Was it physical damage beyond the project scope or did they make the initial problem worse? Or were you simply dissatisfied with their work?