Electrical contractor did not follow through.
Greetings,
I live in a small town and hired an electrical contractor to put up a yard light. The contractor did not put up the light correctly and never checked it before he left the property. Night came, light did not work.
When I called the owner of the company he said, he was not paid to make sure the light worked, just to put up the fixture. I received the bill 2 days later and the bill was two times higher than quoted. The bill indicated work not actually done and besides the job was a set rate, not time and materials.
I talked to the owner again about the bill, he agreed to send the correct bill for the original amount quoted. I explained I would pay the bill, once I hired someone else to come fix the light. I explained I would deduct it from his original quote. The owner wasn't happy about that, but he said he would speak to the electrician who did the work and come up with a plan.
A couple days later he did send the correct bill and never called me back for a month. Today, I called to speak to him and left a message about my intentions after a month of waiting. He did not call me back, but had his secretary call to say they were coming out. I explained I had already hired someone else to fix the yard light. Once the new electrician left, I called the owner to explain why the light did not work.
I explained it was due to his worker's negligence and I would not pay his entire bill. I did agree to deduct the electrician who corrected the problem and send him the balance. He said he would not pay for someone else's work when he was willing to come fix it. I explained he didn't call me back for a month after several phone calls.
I said I would call BBB and he said go ahead. Turns out, he has other complaints with the same practice.
What can I do to prevent a lien and to make him accountable? I was thinking small claims, but what a pain.
