# Contractor Woes



## Northern Wind (Nov 21, 2006)

This is not related to camping (well I guess it is as we have been living in the Outback since June 28th) we just found out our contractor took off with our money!
I'll start at the beginning. Febuary of this year, I had 2 heart attachs, 1 even on my birthday (happy birthday to me) I then went on medical leave and during which time the company I worked for was desolved and I lost my job and all my benefits. Bad start to the year! We deceided (Ruth and I) it was time to make changes, we sold our house in Peterborough, bought some land and started to build that place in the country that we always wanted. Everything was going fairly well untill about 5 weeks ago when both my parents (Dad 92, Mom 84 and longtime Parkinson sufferer) took turns for the worse, this required me making several trips a week to Ottawa to attend to both parents with my brothers and make sure all was looked after. I still travel to Ottawa once or twice a week to spell my oldest brother (also Parkinson sufferer) in visits and help with driving Dad from his care facility to Mom's care facility to visit his wife of 62 years.
During all this I discussed with the contractor/builder that maybe it was best if instead of me looking after picking up materials and making sure they had what they needed on time I would just let him do it until things got back to normal. Big mestake he took off with our last 15 grand, instead of paying the concrete bill and insulation and drywall! We now have a building that we can't move into, until insulated and drywalled, a 8000 concrete bill and have to be out of the Outback by December, the township only gave us 6 months permission to live in the trailer!
The good news is my health is much better! If there ever was a year that I wanted as a do over, this would be it!
So the moral of the story is no matter how busy you get, don't give up control of what you are doing!!
Oh and if things aren't bad enough, we only get dial-up for the internet!


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

I am sorry to hear about that. I don't know if it is the same deal in Ontario, but we have to be licensed and insured to even be in business here in NY. Yes there are contractors out there that aren't licensed or insured, and they are undercutting me all the time. But I end up getting called in to fix all the stuff that they screwed up in the first place. So not only do these people take the low bidder, but then end up paying quite a bit more in the long run because they have to pay me to come in and fix major things. I would have never taken a lump of money like that, but I do ask for a deposit to start the job, and then I bill out accordingly as the job goes along. More often than not I have had homeowners decide that they weren't going to pay or didn't have the money. I have a few active liens on some peoples homes, and have had one home turned over to me because of the lien. I have had a few customers who wanted to pick up the materials or have what I needed delivered, but I refuse to do that. I am very picky about the materials I use, and my local building supplier knows how I am and they will only deliver what I like because I have refused a whole delivery before.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

OH NO!!!







NOT what you guys needed this year (or ANY year, for that matter!!!) I don't expect there is - but let us know if there is ANYTHING we can do!! You've been in my thoughts quite a bit recently - guess I now know why


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

Steve- I dont know if I can help at all, but shoot me a PM with some of the particulars. I have many contacts with RCMP Detectives, and other resources. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am in NH now, but will be back at my desk on Tuesday.


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## my3chis (Sep 2, 2010)

This is SOOO wrong! I am sorry this happened to you. Good luck in getting this resolved.


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