My son rents a basement apartment from his Mom who owns the house. When his toilet stopped functioning, it became necessary for him to use a plunger to get an effective flush. Without going into detail this immediately became a safety and health issue. This was all explained to Mr. M, who was asked if he could make a confirmed commitment for a speedy solution. He was told that if was too busy I would go on to someone else. Mr M. confirmed.
He accepted full payment in cash (to help speed up the process as much as possible) for said repairs which were considered urgent.as the toilet was not functioning properly. What followed was a series of missed appointments and unreturned phone calls. He was shamed into starting work (what good is your word?) and put in one day which did not include the much needed toilet replacement. After 3 months of desperate waiting we've had to go to a bonded company who immediately gave us a fair estimate and a confirmed starting date three days from now., He has yet to return the unused portion of the money he was paid. Although he has indicated that he would do so, we don't hold much hope that he will. It is hoped that by seeing this published on this site that he might be shamed into doing the honest thing.He has been been given many opportunities to make this right but so far has chosen not to do so. It has been a nightmare trying to work with this individual and we hope to spare other householders the frustration and disappointment in return for hard earned money. If you see that I'm upset you would be right. This was not a renovation but a call for help to a "professional"in a difficult situation to say the least. That Mr could keep postponing the desperately needed work is beneath contempt. Though additional work became apparent replacing the toilet immediately was not an obstacle. He told me this when I offered to do it myself. He quite love the idea of me doing the work I paid him to do.
To give Mr. M his due, here is what he had to say:
"Jerry ,,
Received your threatening email, ultimatum email, very
Disgusted to the fact you will stoop so low, in concluding, I have try to stifle you,,
I have been in dialogue with Lenny , try to cordinate the project and had gone out is my way , and bought a shower has set as good will , it's a shame you don't understand Goodwill !
Lenny had openly mentioned to keep you out of the project and not to discuss with you , she found your concern wining and didn't want have any input from you , regretfully you are NOBODY as far her cocnern, I told her about your approach and she said it's my bathroom and my problem.
I bought the material , and delivered to site , removed all old flooring and found problems with the leaks,, project was halted as per Lenny till the leak issue got resolved , lenny wanted things done properly and replace shower also, pending money status ,
In mean time , I couldn't sit with warming my thumb as some of us do,
Project was not abandoned.
Now you dare to demand money, cause , you feel like it,
I will send you. Cheque for $200, as courtesy ,,
Yet you send me this
Email and phone message, I have forwarded to both to my Lawyer, for slander and loss of business, should you
Continue with your threats,
I hope you see this as a very serious matter and consult your lawyer.
I will drag this in court , for as long as it takes,
Have a great day ,"
To threaten someone is saying I may or may not do something especially to force somebody to do something that they don't want to do. I didn't say that I might expose you. I told I was going to expose you in a manner of giving you a heads up. That is called a courtesy. On the other hand to say you're going to sue me if I don't stop exposing you- well that is a threat. I hope you see the difference. My ex wife - Lannie refused to allow me to fix the toilet and quite rightly so because I don't know how. You say that you will send $200 as a "courtesy`` means you don't really think you should. So when you send this money (not holding my breath) could you please include the receipts which you say are around $400 and how you earned $600 for one day of work. One day to bring the toilet, vanity sink and flooring. and strip the floor of that small washroom. (less than 30 sq ft) You would charge $600?
Mr. M (will we ever get to know your real name?) the only reason you will experience loss income is because of yourself not other people who are entitled to complain. Your not the victim here. It's my son who had to do the ugly thing every time he had to go to the washroom and that's because you didn't have the professional integrity or the compassion to fix it immediately like any adult would. And if you were getting along so famously with Lannie, how come she went to another company? I'll tell you why. You once again failed to attend a promised appointment, this time promising to provide a replacement if you couldn't. Guess what? Like all the other times the day came and went and the day after and the day after and so on. Never once did you call her to explain and reassure. Why? That's what a professional does. And while you're talking with your lawyer ask what the penalty is when a professional is paid to do a job concerning health and safety and defaults as you have. It's a hard sell to portray yourself as the good guy and victim. It must take a lot of time to create this kind of fiction. You would be better served to own up and admit your error and spend more time helping the people who've paid you. Remember it takes no skill to fool people who trust you.