Eldery Parents Ripped Off By Scam Contractor

[Anonymous]

My elderly parents were taken for a ride by whom I believe to be a scam sub-contractor, or, at the minimum, an incompetent one. Parent A wants to make a complaint to the county's consumer protection office, and Parent B (the gullible one) wants to give the scammer a chance to "make good" on his work. (He made some big errors that will be costly to repair.) My advice to my parents is to first report this guy to the main contractor who subbed out this guy, and let THEM correct the problems (and take action against the sub if they choose).

Which route would you go?

P.S. I cannot report the name of the "scammer" here as a warning, particularly since nothing is proven yet - and particularly since we don't want to rule out a lawsuit. (The cost was in the mid five-figures.)

P.P.S. A secondary issue is how to take control of elderly parents' financial decisions (or at least be a required authorized signer on contracts) due to their increasing vulnerability due to age. Both are college-educated, are fairly high net worth (thus a target), and take pride in their independence. It's a difficult topic to approach and surely one bound to unleash resentment and/or resistance. Interesting topic for the relationship forum, perhaps.

[Anonymous]

Are you in MD? You need to have them try to make good first, then if not, you report it to MHIC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you in MD? You need to have them try to make good first, then if not, you report it to MHIC.

They are in MD. When you say let them "make good" first, you mean via the PRIMARY contractor, and not the sub, correct? I say this because they my parents have had the sub out to the house at least three times to correct his errors, and he has failed to do so - yet have not alerted the primary to these problems. (I want to step in and take over at this point, but my independent parents insist they can handle it.)

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

This happened to my parents in VA. Terrible work and the contractor blamed them. No way to resolve now without a suit, and for them that would be a waste.

I told my mom to at least post reviews. Just post the photos, not much else (to avoid slander). And at least complain to the chamber of commerce.

They haven't done anything.

Luckily this was cosmetic. Not structural. But it has worsened their home value and difficult to come up with money to fix it all over again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This happened to my parents in VA. Terrible work and the contractor blamed them. No way to resolve now without a suit, and for them that would be a waste.

I told my mom to at least post reviews. Just post the photos, not much else (to avoid slander). And at least complain to the chamber of commerce.

They haven't done anything.

Luckily this was cosmetic. Not structural. But it has worsened their home value and difficult to come up with money to fix it all over again.

OP here. If the problem were only cosmetic, then it could be perceived as a subjective matter (with no legal resource). But my parents are left with what I believe is a code violation and requires correction. I think the cost to correct would be relatively minor - maybe $5K, which would not present a problem - but there are two other things at play here. First, it's the principle - they should not have to pay to correct someone else's mistake. But second, someone should be aware of this guy to put a stop to his actions and possibly revoke his license.

The argument between my parents is whether to A) go straight to the county OR to B) give the screw-up subcontractor another chance. They are missing a third option - go to the prime contractor and alert him. To me, it seems obvious - the third option. But my parents are stuck between "A" and "B" - and keep calling me to referee. Ugh.

We are talking about close to $30,000 in work here. I knew nothing about this project until afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Contact both the sub and main contractor, refuse to pay the balance if there is one, and threaten with a lawsuit if repairs are not made. You have to hit hard from the get-go, OP, these people are used to complaints.

In the future, what you must teach your parents is to:

1. hire highly reputable and recommended people. In Montgomery County, there's a annual catalogue called "Best Picks Report" which lists the most touted contractors. I have consistently had great experiences with workers in that report.

2. write a contract where payments are made in increments after each deliverable, and where a significant part of the balance is paid upon completion and inspection of the work. The contractor will have less incentive to walk away from a bad job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Contact both the sub and main contractor, refuse to pay the balance if there is one, and threaten with a lawsuit if repairs are not made. You have to hit hard from the get-go, OP, these people are used to complaints.

In the future, what you must teach your parents is to:

1. hire highly reputable and recommended people. In Montgomery County, there's a annual catalogue called "Best Picks Report" which lists the most touted contractors. I have consistently had great experiences with workers in that report.

2. write a contract where payments are made in increments after each deliverable, and where a significant part of the balance is paid upon completion and inspection of the work. The contractor will have less incentive to walk away from a bad job.

Thank you. I will suggest to them they contact both parties - and especially fold in the main contractor.

And you're right, of course, on the two reminder "lessons" for my parents. Until now, my parents exercised the very thing you say - they hired people from Consumer Checkbook (as I have....excellent resource) and did not pay in full prior to satisfaction with the completed job. This time was different, and I suspect it is partially (or primarily) a result of increasing age (90 & 91). I've gone over this with them and they say they will not make the same mistake, but I'm not completely assured (especially with the gullible parent). Ah. The challenges of elderly parents (although I am very, VERY grateful to still have them both).