Essette Construction added comments:

As there are stories of deadbeat contractors, unfortunately there are deadbeat clients and this is one such case. I should have realized that these people were problem clients after finding out that I was at least the third contractor to work on this job. I took the job expecting that all of the preparation work would be done be the homeowners when I started the job. Unfortunately that was not the case. There was still strapping, insulation and vapour barrier to complete and were told to go ahead and do the prep work and that we would be paid. We did the prep work as requested and started the finishing. Our contract stipulated that we were to be paid at the end of each week. After we submitted our first bill and requested a progress payment at the end of the first week we were met with a reluctance to pay and did not receive the full amount requested. Obviously alarm bells started to go off but we continued working for another week as we had committed to doing the work. The client mentioned the they were concerned about gaps in the paneling and we explained that it was because the boards were warped due to improper storage (wood supplied by the clients) and that we would have to either nail through the face of the boards or screws would have to be driven in certain areas and later concealed to bring the boards into alignment. This can be confirmed by the other contractor who they hired to do the exterior as they were using the same material. They insisted that this was absolutely not an option and to proceed anyway. By the end after the second week and more charges for work that was not part of the contract we were again met by a reluctance to pay and were not paid the full amount. The homeowner seemed to expect any additional work to be free or almost free as we were bargained down for every last item. We were then told that they would be going on vacation out of the country for 2 weeks but could continue to work while they were gone. Since it was nearly impossible to collect progress payments while they were in town, it only seemed logical that there was absolutely no way we would get paid if we completed the job while they were away. To clarify there was absolutely no advance payment made to me. All payments were progress payments based on work completed and there are still outstanding amounts. As for the subcontractor, he left with tools belonging to us, which he has yet to return which is why there is an amount outstanding. This client is a deadbeat who does not pay his bills! He will look for any excuse to whittle down your price and has no intention of paying the full amount for anything. There is a reason I was the third contractor on the same job. There should be a list on this site for deadbeat customers as this one would belong at the top of it. Regards, Shawn Lafleur ------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrey, If you find that my work is not up to par why would be insisting for us to come back to finish it? You seem to be forgetting that there was more than $2000 of additional work added to the original contract. I WILL REPEAT, I WAS NOT PAID FOR ANY WORK THAT WAS NOT DONE. I can handle picky, but you were being unrealistic. Your unwillingness to understand that you need to actually pay to have things done correctly is why the work was stopped. I will also be sending you an additional invoice for moving materials, that were to be cleared out of the way by you before starting the work, which was also not part of our job or our contract. I will gladly see you in court. Perhaps you would like to post the names of the other contractors who also supposedly left with your money before completing the work so we can get their side of the story.

 

 

Essette Construction added comments:

This letter is in response to the feedback written below. We began work for the client as indicated in August 2010. There was an insurance claim due to a flood - unrelated to the work that we had done - at which time we provided estimates to repair the damage. The check from the insurance was issued to us as well as our client jointly. Upon reception of the insurance check we issued a certified check to the client for the same amount as we were unable to commence the new phase of work immediately due to prior bookings. Upon our returning, the client decided to change the scope of work as they deemed some of the repairs non-critical and decided to allocate their funds to other renovation projects. Our client was made aware that due to previous engagements with other clients that the work would be broken down into stages based on our availability. We always respected our engagements only to find the door locked and no one home and to find rooms in which we were to install flooring still full of furniture after being told that they would be cleared out the night before. We have at no time collected money for work that was not done. In fact there are many repairs that were done which remain un-invoiced. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Regards, Shawn Lafleur Essette Construction 514-886-2422