For a few years, I've had the problem of my water pump not shutting off. I have a shallow well. The pump is located under my stairwell in my basement. The house is 12 years old.
Last year, I had a plumber come in to fix it and they made an adjustment and it worked. Now I have a tenant there and the pump is not shutting off again. I need to get this fixed so that it's no longer an issue. If the adjustment(s) aren't working, I need to figure this out.

If I go down and tap lightly on the electrical box on the side of the pump with a rubber hammer, it will shut off.

Last year, the plumber mentioned it could be a faulty foot valve. But if it was, why would the tapping with a rubber hammer fix it, at least momentarily?

I am unemployed right now so don't have money to spend on this so is there any solution that won't cost me too much? Thanks for any help you can provide.

If I go down and tap lightly on the electrical box on the side of the pump with a rubber hammer, it will shut off. This tells me that your check/foot valve's OK but that the contacts in 56the control box are sticking in the closed position. My advice would be to replace the box but if you shut the power off at the breaker box and the points aren't burnt too bad you may be able to file the contacts clean.
Good luck, Tom