The reno, which should have been completed in less than one month, dragged on for over six months. Near the end, there were so many delays, mistakes, hazardous installations and unfinished work which I complained about but were not addressed that the owner Jussi abandoned the job. He never did the work himself, but had about a dozen different people doing the work (I doubt any were licensed), as they didn't even know how to install a toilet, and when it was installed by another company, we found out it was connected to a HOT water supply. The original bill of $9700.00 required over $12000 in repairs from a new contractor. And when I didn't pay Jussi the outstanding $2700, he took me to Small Claims Court, which dragged on for three days and I thus counter-sued him.
The Small Claims Court ruled that I owed Jussi $5300. He had demanded over $10 000. The Judge stated he would not get any court costs as we both would be responsible for our own legal fees. I had offered him nearly $4000. So Jussi hired a lawyer, spent 3 days in court and received an additional $1300. I don't know of any decent contractor that would waste that kind of time. And even with the money I spent on a paralegal. I still saved thousands off his ridiculous invoice. Plus the photos speak for themselves.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $9,700.00
- Company Response
In 11 years of contracting I have had the misfortune of only having two clients that I was unable to satisfy. I will not use this forum for a heated debate on what is now a legal matter, however I assure all potential clients that we are a professional construction firm that uses qualified, licensed trades and that we gladly guarantee ALL work for our paying customers. We have a growing list of repeat and referral clients, and are more than happy to provide an extensive list of references for any interested potential clients. In fact, I am writing this from Nanaimo, BC where we just scored a 99% on our client review from one of our large retail clients!! If you have any questions regarding this post or in general, do not hesitate to contact me directly. ADDENDUM - The courts finally came to a decision and ruled in my favour, as expected. The reviewer has yet to pay what the courts awarded, more than A YEAR after the decision was passed down.