HERE IS THE COMPLAINT FILED TO THE BBB. CAN I FILE A LAWSUIT FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT AND LIABILITY? He was told yesterday it aint in his best interest (putting it kindly here) not to ever show up at my job again but that I prayed he did so I can take it out on his sorry tail. He has been paid for the work he has done so far except for the $2265 remaining to install lights, plugs and final wiring. I have the original quote we agreed upon and all receipts. In the least he wont get much work around here when Im finished with the POS.

Letter to the BBB:
********* was hired to run the electrical components on our new home construction. Since the job started wires and Plugs were not placed where they were specifically told by the homeowner to be placed. Home run wires were hazardously ran across the floor joists of the storage space of the attic costing the home owner much time and money to fix in order to sheet this floor. The work was beyond sub-par. No boxes were installed for the surround sound speakers. These were marked on the wall and specific instructions were given for installing these. They were eventually installed. Plugs for the TV were not placed in the right location and one was moved by the Homeowner. Plugs on the back porch were specifically marked but placed about 4" too high causing the house siding to be removed once again at the expense of the homeowner. Concrete forms were damaged, destroyed, and removed and the final grade work for concrete was never fixed to its original state. The homeowner had to fix this problem as well. Plugs in the mud room were not located in the correct position. One was located in the shower and one directly above the sink. All work done has been late. We agreed the power would be cut on the 1st week of May however it was May 13th before they started work. Notice for this timeline was given on the week of April 10th, which is 3 weeks notice. Lights were to be hung inside the Home by the week of May 15th and this work has not started as of My 26. After 3 days of trying to Contact ******** we spoke on May 25. ******** Cussed and Swore at me for complaining about his work and said it would be at least another week before he would return to the job. We have been wrongfully treated by this business and plan to pursue a breach of contract and liability lawsuit.

The only breach of contract I see is you not paying him the rest of his money. But I haven't read the contract either.

i assume "mud room" is bathroom.

Doesnt everybody have a plug in the shower?lol

Was It a verbal agreement or is it a written contract?

I guess you would say verbal agreement, the only paper work I have is the quote and the invoices that have been paid for the work that has already been done. No formal contract was ever signed. My biggest concern is his liability for the job with me having to hang the lights and plugs now.

Welcome to the world of subs. Doesn't matter what kind of contract you have, tell him to kiss your ass and take a hike. Then if he pursues it legally, make him a settlement offer to avoid legal fees. Nobody wins, pursing a small sum through court.

It's aggravating but there is not much you can do but fire him. I have done it a few dozen times. A few weeks here and there is pretty normal on a new house. Do what makes you feel better but the bbb means nothing to anyone I know and if he is a licensed master electrician the complaints of a homeowner contracting out his own house won't cost him much if any work. It's not right but it's how it is.

Let me guess he was the low bidder

You've already screwed the pooch when you didn't put everything in writing. Don't make a bad situation worse. Pay him what you owe him and move on.
Find someone else to finish up and consider it lesson learned and tuition paid

Thanks for the advice. He wont be back on my job or he will leave in an ambulance. My house wont make or break any sub but all have been great except him. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement for these guys. Word is getting out pretty quick as people are finding out the full story around here. He had a good reputation until recently. It wont be long he will be out of work with this kind of service. He's about to hang himself and doesnt even know it. He pissed off the wrong one this time. Im a death by a million cuts kind of guy.

You got to have somewhere to plug in your shower radio, right?

A contract for more than $500 has to be in writing to be legally enforceable.

Did he not have a set of electrical plans to go by? Is there no inspector in your county? If there is no set of plans showing where the outlets, lights and all other electrical are to be placed, then you have no leg to stand on suing him for negligence. All he has to do is dispute what you say.

I would say it is piss poor planning to not have a contract or written plans for a sub to go by when building.

I wired hundreds of houses and never had any issues but everybody wanted cheap. Kinda aggravating but found out you could make good money going in and fixing stuff like you're talking about in brand new houses. I've seen a lot of sloppy chit in Limestone and surrounding counties. No inspectors, no code, no standards,and for the most part people wiring houses that don't know what the hell they're doing. The biggest difference is unlike you most of the people weren't smart to know or care there was a problem. If you have a builder and he's the one who hired him the don't pay till you're satisfied.

Most of the time there are no electrical drawings. I've even wired houses with nothing but a picture out of Southern Living magazine. If the guy was really an electrician he would know how it was supposed to be done and would have met with the owner to get his input.

A man that use to work with me had a famous line " what do I owe so far?". In other words I paid you for what you did so far, now get off m property

I'm no attorney so I can't give any legal advice however may I make a suggestion? I'd consider finding someone to help you with the write up. It was hard for me to follow the timeline, the expectations, and the missed deliverables. Pictures would also help tell the story. Quantify the cost in a clear, concise way.

JD,

Pm me tomorrow. I'll help you work through it.