What would you do?

[radhak]

Just wondering what I should do about an AWOL electrician ...

Last year I had recessed lights installed in my living room and bedroom by a local contractor Victor found on TheFlyer.com. He was cheap, and good : punctual, exact with estimates, and when he went over budget by a little, gave me precise reasons why. He brought two different guys with him each time (the work was done a month apart for the two rooms) who did the actual work while Victor stood around or gave instructions. One of them - Alphonso - had given me his phone number - 'just in case'.

Well, 2 weeks ago I decided to tick off a long pending task : two outdoor wall-hanging lamps in my backporch; I could not reach Victor, so after a few days of attempts, called Alphonso, who was available and came over immediately to give me an estimate of the work and costs : $150 of labor + $60 of material + <whatever lamps I chose to buy>. This was a friday and he offered to complete the task in a couple of hours on Saturday. And he asked for money for the material. I gave him $60 in cash.

Saturday, he called me to say he's running late, but he'd be here around lunch time. After that, I could not reach him that whole day. On Sunday he calls to apologize, says he's got car trouble, and could I pick him up please? He's 10 miles away, but I told him it'd have to be Monday as I was working from home.

On Monday (week ago) I reach his place and he's outside waiting for me; points out his car full of his tools and a ladder, and says he's actually out of gas; if I could pay him for gas money, he'd simply follow me once he fills gas and picks up his drill guns from another place, and I'd not have to drop him back. I gave him $20.

I reach home, and he texts me 2 hours later with " I'll be there soon". Well, that's the last contact I had from him. He has not responded to calls or texts since then.

I know, I can find a bunch of 'moral of the story' : don't mess with independent mechanics; don't trust others with money; don't dole out cash; actually, don't keep cash in pocket, don't throw good money after bad... <any others are welcome>

But the thing is, a week after all that - what do I do now? I could go over and hammer on his door, but I'm not sure I'd see him, or if it was his place really; and it's a rather lonely place, with potential for bad. I don't want to go to the law with this - not sure I've anything to stand on, or if it's worth it.

I guess I could chalk it up to 'experience' and get my lamps installed other ways. Or I could try one time to go over to see him, and then chalk it up to experience. Whaddyall say?

[cabinetman]

Does he live in Overtown? I would continue to get in touch with him. Check with Dade and Broward detensions...he may be in jail. He may have had a "scam" in mind, maybe not. Personally I don't like being duped...makes me mad to think I was "taken".

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[LCHIEN]

sounds like you're $80 cash in the hole and wasted a lot of hours chasing this guy around. Even if you somehow get back in touch with him, there will be all kinds of obstacles and surprises, to getting the job completed, given the history so far.
I hate to lose $80 but you may be better off just writing it off and finding someone else.

[BobSch]

You might want to contact Victor. Since Alphonso was working with him it might affect his reputation if it happens to someone else. I doubt it will get you cash back, but if I was in Victor's place I'd want to know.

[woodturner]

I don't want to go to the law with this - not sure I've anything to stand on, or if it's worth it.

I assume by "law" you mean the police. Another option would be to talk with the licensing board - they may be able to help you resolve this without involving the police. Usually electricians are protective of their licenses and become rather cooperative when contacted by the licensing board.

[cabinetman]

There's also the possibility that they aren't licensed.

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[LCHIEN]

I don't think you have much to go on.
Do you even have Alphonsos last name?
Do you have a contract?
Do you have a receipt for either the $60 or the $20? What no cancelled check?
Is he licensed? Going to the license board...
Did Victor recommend or subcontract him? No, in fact Alphonso is trying to steal his business. For all you know Victor fired him right after that job. Going to Victor not a good idea.

I think you're on your own here.
Alphonso knows he owes you and if he hasn't come forward to make good... MY guess is your money went on a long shot in the 1st race at Hialeah Park last weekend.

[cabinetman]

I would definitely get in touch with Victor. You may get some answers that way. Explain you couldn't reach him so you contacted Alphonso. Victor may feel somewhat obligated to get you some satisfaction.

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[jseklund]

So, years ago I had a shared driveway with a neighbor, and the neighbor was a criminal in every sense of the word. He had no money, nothing to lose, etc. He and I had a disagreement that wound up costing me thousands of dollars and even after going through the court system and "winning" (which mean proving I didn't do anything wrong and that his assertions were ridiculous), I couldn't get him out of my life as he would drive by at night and throw broken glass, nails, etc at the end of my driveway. The police were not always helpful.

Any person who will lie to you for $20 in gas is....(fill in the blank)

I wouldn't trust them to install wiring which could burn down my house (although unlikely). I would not trust them to not cause other issues.

If you go after them, you will only be investing more time and risking increased liability. This guy doesn't sound like he has much to lose - and there's no way he can afford to get your $80 back to you. Chasing him may risk turning things sour. Taking it to small claims will cost at least $50 (at least in my state) and you will never see the $80 even if you win. The police don't want to be bothered over $80 and they won't be your friend because of it (possibly).

If you deliver a message, it needs to be so severe that he fears not abiding by your rules and crossing you again, or you'd better not deliver the message at all. Since the court won't deliver that message, and I can't think of any legal, moral or ethical way to deliver that message - I'd suggest moving on.

In summary - you asked what I would do...I would fume like crazy, get worked up about it, get angry, think of about a dozen different ways to get my money back and "get back" at him, and then I would let it go. I would view this as giving $80 to someone who really needed it more than you do, probably doesn't have a good chance at "life", and is constantly screwing up. He didn't go about it the right way and he is 100% wrong - but you are 100% right and you've helped him out for nothing in return. You should have some comfort in that at least.

Of course, from time to time, I may still get worked up about it....but I'd just repeat my pattern until I was OK again...

[cabinetman]

Of course, from time to time, I may still get worked up about it....but I'd just repeat my pattern until I was OK again...

My father thought that. He was a dentist and during depression times, there was such a thing as filings for 50 cents. He did one of those for a guy, and was promised payment. Well time went by, and after a while, he would see the guy around and the guy would rib him about the 50 cents. This happened I would guess enough times, that my dad wasn't OK again, and he laid the guy out. I'm thinking it was a pretty good shot requiring the guy to need a whole lot more than another 50 cent filing.

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[radhak]

Thanks guys - for allowing me to vent. I guess that was more important than the actual solution, because I'm much calmer after sharing this and reading your responses than before. And telling the wife did not help, because she dismissed it with a roll of eyes which did not do good for my self esteem !

I know there's not much I can do, and at the same time, I have not lost much, if at all. I have gained good experience in dealing with people so much less than me that they'd rather cheat for a small amount than put in a little bit of effort to gain a bigger prize. He stood to earn $150 or more (in tips, 'gas money', etc), and he screwed it up. Really, I feel sorry he did not have better judgement.

But as rightly pointed out, not the end of the world for me. Jseklund has very neatly exactly laid out the path I've already accepted : thinking up all the stuff I could do to get even, and then taking the higher road .

Final point - I think the work is simple enough that I could do it myself with some help here. I'll start a new thread with some pictures so y'all could tell me if I'm on the right path.

Thanks again!

[jseklund]

My father thought that. He was a dentist and during depression times, there was such a thing as filings for 50 cents. He did one of those for a guy, and was promised payment. Well time went by, and after a while, he would see the guy around and the guy would rib him about the 50 cents. This happened I would guess enough times, that my dad wasn't OK again, and he laid the guy out. I'm thinking it was a pretty good shot requiring the guy to need a whole lot more than another 50 cent filing.

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haha - actually, it sounds like he didn't "repeat the pattern", he actually came up with a new pattern, which resulted in him laying the guy out!

Also, I'm not suggesting you let someone walk on you - if they screw you and then continue to insult you, then that's a different story and you have to become "creative".

In this day and age, things don't get "solved" anymore, unfortunately.

[cabinetman]

Last year I had recessed lights installed in my living room and bedroom by a local contractor Victor found on TheFlyer.com.

When we decided to get someone to install our paver patio, I found an individual that ran an ad in The Flyer. His price sounded good for just the labor, as we already had the pavers. He showed up around 5:30PM, in a small old Nissan sedan with his whole family. He and his son (about 6 yrs old) were the only ones in their group that spoke English.

We already had a few estimates, and his was definitely cheaper. We asked for a copy of an occupational license and insurance certificate. He said he didn't have it with him, but would bring it when he showed up for work.

Then he asked for half down to buy sand and cement. We started to write a check, but he wanted it to be made out to his name, or cash. Well, the bells went off, and we thanked him for showing up. He claimed he came from Homestead, and I wasn't liking the idea of chasing down there trying to find him. We wound up using a contractor that did have the paperwork, and asked for nothing until completed.

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[LCHIEN]

so Radhak, what did you do? And how did it come out?

[Dal300]

A long time ago I was told, "Never lend what you can't afford to lose."

When you give an advance on a job, you are giving a loan.