Good old Bob, huh? I was wondering how he was doing with your building now, but glad you're rid of him now. How does your friend and her husband feel after his failings?

I'm so sorry...
I hear a lot of sorties like this.
My dad always paid for his girlfriends "friends" to
do work on her house, at always twice the price.
I don't know why. Well, I do, who wanted to listen
to her when you went against her wishes? lol
he did this, and he always warned us against using
friends and friends of friends.
In the long run, you and your new home are
WAY better off. And I would suggest to your friend
that she not advertise for HER "friend" anymore! LOL

amen, Kat
Never use friends or friends of the friends!
Always ends up badly...

So much for Bob the Builder, what a thing to do to you.

Isnt' it funny how referrals work for some and not others? And do they still sell levels? I've had a set of French doors and a gate put in and they were both crooked. I couldn't imagine doing serious renovations and have things like that holding up progress.

Good luck, and be thankful that you have a capable husband to make things right.

Why would you wait to bring charges against him?
He is a thief and a liar. Maybe, as the old saying
goes, "you can't get blood out of a turnip", but you
can stop him for doing this to someone else. If you
do nothing - he had a good thing going, didn't he?

That being said, I am sorry this happened to you. But,
glad your husband could fix things.

Sorry this happened to you, it's so stressful. I also had a guy take $900 and never do the work; same thing - he needed money for materials, then his helper got sick, then he needed more money, he never came back. Turns out he'd been doing this to people all over the county for years and no one would do anything about it. Like them I guess, I was so embarrassed for being trusting and giving him money up front.

Hope you get things worked out. Good luck

My husband isn't that capable...which is one of the reasons I wanted to hire everything done.

I've talked to Bob the Builder a few times and he is supposedly getting the money together. My friend and her husband are upset about it. Her brother does remodeling and he has excellent, excellent references, but I thought he just did inside work, but found out he does Hardie siding too, and he has guys who do the carpentry. I would have used him, and I don't know why she reccommended Bob over him, except I know that her husband wanted to help Bob get established working for himself. She has offered to give the money to me(she is very well to do) that Bob spent...that is how badly she feels. They still think he will get the money together.

I know he worked for a construction company for 13 years, and wanted to go out on his own. I can't understand why he
would do such shoddy work...much less steal the money...and,
like I said, his tools are still here. Table saw, chop saw,
drills, air compressor, etc. I know he can do good work when he wants to.

I've heard some horror stories about things he had done on other jobs. People added on a room. My friend's brother did the drywall...Bob was to do a roof. He messed around so long, and didn't tarp it, and it leaked and ruined the new drywall. He had to pay for that...which is probably where our money went. Also, he was in jail for a week for back child support...so it could have gone there. I guess he thought he would get another job and double up and catch up.

This job shouldn't have taken longer than about 6 weeks. We are into the 6th month.

I am so sorry to hear this. I'm a long-time lurker and have been wondering how the house renovation has been going and also how your healing is, I believe it was your arm but not sure. Hope everything gets resolved to your satisfaction.

Wasn't he going to get the money from his wife's 401K? I bet she wouldn't let him. So sorry for the $8000 loss. I would be crying for sure. Even if you take him to court, it's not a sure thing that you will get the $8000. Won't they tell him to pay and if he doesn't put a judgment on him?
You're house is going to be so nice when you finally finish it. I love all the collected items that you are installing. Your house will really be unique.

Marilyn, I am so sorry to hear this happened to you! I wish I could send you Mike Holmes - this sounds like a job for him (fixing shoddy work done by contractors). I hope you get your money back plus some other compensation for what you have been through.

I have been fortunate that I had a good friend that knew what he was doing for my renovations and if he couldn't do it, he hired someone who could - (my handsome Ken). The work wasn't really structural though and my friend knows his limits.

I am wary about hiring friends to do such work though. I had a friend who I grew up with that started a siding and window business. I wanted to help him out. The siding went up for the most part okay but the windows didn't get done until a year later. He spent the money too for the windows and kept telling us he ordered them but they were not in yet. Finally after I threatened a law suit he put windows in but less than a year later all the seals were gone from most of them and I can barely see out my front windows and cannot open others. When I called him on it he told me the window company where he bought the windows went out of business. Yeah right! We are on speaking terms now but even years later when I overhear someone talk about hiring him to do windows and siding I put my 2 cents in and tell them what I went through. I should have sued him.

Too bad you lost your plants too.

Anne

Awww Marilyn..I'm so sorry you are having disasters. I can't be of any help, so I am sending you a big (but useless) (((hug)))!

What a nightmare...Glad you are finally rid of him. I'd almost be tempted to accept your friend's offer to pay the money back telling her that you could really use it and that maybe he would be more apt to pay her back.

Sheesh...Good luck going forward. I was hoping you would have some new pics of the advancements that had been made recently.

Sue

That just makes me furious!!! It's bad enough that you've waited so long to get to do this and now this "handyman" gets so highly recommended by friends and it turns out to be a scam!

((Marilyn)) You wanta get a truck load of us to come down there and whoop up on his ass!?

Have you been taking pictures all along? If you are even thinking of suing this guy, the more pictures and paperwork you can produce, the better your chances will be of getting something back.

Are you just remodeling or restoring?We bought a 1700 farmhouse .We hired 2 guys that specialize in restoring.My hubbys a builder so he worked with them.WE restored our home.Alot of money to get it where we wanted it.But not everybody can do restoration.Do reserch on builder,go to like your builders association to see if they belong,Do reserch.

I'm so sorry about this. Definitely pursue him about the money. It's too much to just forget. Sue, or criminal charges, whatever can be done. And make sure he knows you are going ahead with this, so maybe he can come up witht he money somehow.

Your friend must be so embarrassed.

Bulldinkie, it isn't exactly restoring...the house was just an
old hulk. Some restoration, some remodeling. This guy worked for a contractor for 13 years, in Galveston, that did restoration of old houses almost exclusively. He didn't mind working with old windows and houses that aren't square. That is the main reason I went with him....that, and the high reccommendations of my friend. They completely remodeled their house, following a fire...took it down to the stud walls. But, he is her husband's best friend and he was there every day and did good work for them.

I knew all along that he had spent the money, and I kept telling them...and they said, no...no way. Then my friend started to agree that something was wrong, and finally, he just called and said, "Miss Marilyn, I spent your money."
I told him, "Don't "Miss Marilyn" me!!!"

My friend's husband still sees him every day and they are on his butt about it. He said he was going to get it from his wife's 401 K but from what I've heard, it isn't easy to get money out of a 401 K and maybe he is trying to borrow against it. My friend says his wife's parents are wealthy...and he can get it from them. I don't know. It is coming down to crunch time.

What a sad state of affairs ... you have my sympathy.

1. Confiscate his tools and either put them into your locked garage or in a storage facility if money allows. He gets them back when you are reimbursed for all losses.
2. Tell Bob you want your stolen money returned in 30 days and you do not care how HE gets it to pay your back. It is not THAT difficult to get money out of a 401K. Demand he put in writing he used your $8,000. for purposes other than which he was given it. He has already said it verbally and apologized; remind him of that when he refuses to write it down.
3. Has he gotten all required permits for the work he has done? If not, you have another problem altogether with your county... that's more bad news for you.
4. Is he a licensed contractor? If so, file a formal complaint against him and his business with your state's licensing contractor board.
5. File a complaint against him and his business with the local Better Business Bureau. They are usually fairly useless but it's better than nothing.
6. Take photos as someone else suggested. If need be, borrow a videocam to document everything you can. A picture IS worth a 1,000 words.
7. Lastly, I *would* accept your friend's offer of the $8,000 only because she did offer it, and it seems it won't be a drain on her financially. Then, let him pay HIS friends back and let HER deal with him as a friend.
8. Do every in a writing. Please do not rely on verbal agreements. They are very difficult to prove even in Small Claims Court. It all comes down to a he said/she said situation.
9. Failing all else, file a claim against him in Small Claims Court. Your County Clerk is likely the place to get the papers. However, most states have a maximum amount of $5,000. You will likely win but you will still be out $3,000. Good luck on collecting that!

Again, I'm sorry to have read what you have gone through.

I say small claims court also. $5,000 is better than nothing!

Dottie

Anne-I was just thinking the same thing! LOL Was watching Holmes on Homes a little while ago and thought how nice it would be if he could fix Marilyn's house! She certainly deserves it.
marilyn-I agree with molly109-Take him to court so that he can't do the same thing to anyone else. Sounds like he doesn't have a very good track record and anyone that would do that is nothing but a thief! I don't care whose "friend" he is.

I am sorry this has happened to you. Sounds like he is related to Damian...our last contractor. Who didn't get his final payment from us, because of so much work not being finished. We told him we'd pay ourselves the final payment to finish it up. Get your tools and get out. I can feel your pain. (((Marilyn)))

Sorry this is happening to you. Hope it all works out for you. Sending good thoughts!!

Sorry this happened to you... it's terrible.

I think you should accept your friend's offer to give you the money and let her get it from him. She had to have known he was not credible.

Sorry about all you are going thru. Best to deal with strangers with excellent credit reference I guess. (if you can find them)
I'm glad you at least have DH there to lean on
HUGS

That is just so sad, all around, any way you look at it.

You have been shafted, your friend is hurt and embarrassed, Bob the Builder has ruined any credibility he had, and you are left to sort it all out.

One thing I learned when I was having some work done was never to give anyone cash. If they are legitimate builders, they will have an account wherever they buy materials; he brings you the bills, and you can pay them.

But now, I would surely take him to court. He needs to be jolted into reality. I would also accept the offer from the friend to take the $8,000. It would probably make her feel better and keep the friendship solid. When, if, you get any of it from Bob, you can return it to her.

Life can surely be difficult at times.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do,

Sue

The same thing happened around here, and the guy was arrested and is in jail. That' s fraud and it's a crime. Remodeling is stressful enough w/o all that. I did three or four restorations and three were great because it was the same guy. He worked on my DD's house and I liked his work. He made it almost painless.

Holy Carp, Marilyn! I hate this for you so bad. :(

I tend to agree with Thunderboltlee..and do accept that offer of payback from the person who offered.

You deserve the best and that's what I wish for you.

Granlan Hugs

We have already fixed everything that he left undone, except for a couple of pieces of trim on the hardie plank. The house will be roofed within a week or ten days.

I am going to see him today. Had an emergency with the old guy I take care of, so I have been busy and will be busy with that...plus, my husband is away working and may be gone as long as two months. But, I am going to forge ahead with this. I know at small claims court, I can just get a judgement against him. In Texas, home steads are exempt, but will do what I can. Drawing up papers that states that he spent my money for his purposes...my friend assures me he will sign them.

I'll let you know.

even if you manage to get the money back, all that lost time and aggrivation of a cold lr can't be covered with the 8 grand...i'd keep the tools until he did pay...

what a bad situation with the friends as well...with them offering to cover your losses makes me believe there is more to the story they wanted to help him get started...

bob the builder ought to go back to being bob the carpenter...lay you odds he's a slacker with grand ideas but not work ethic....

Oh, Marilyn, I'm so sorry to hear/read this!

By any chance is Bob's last name Mooney? If it is, next time you see him, tell him he still owes me for the $6,000 worth of Clear All Heart redwood that he stole from me. He was supposed to build the deck foundation for a gazebo with it, but he and the wood disappeared...

We call him "Bob the deck guy" and although he does fantastic work (he did build an incredible redwood deck for us), he pi$$es me off to no end....

Be careful before you try to "confiscate" (aka steal) his tools. You could end up with criminal charges, lawsuits and more headaches. Without a court order you have no right to take it. That stinks, but that's the way it is. Who knows, they might not even be his tools! I'd go with criminal charges immediately and go with restitution rather than mess around with suing and not being able to collect. He doesn't pay child support, I imagine he's behind on taxes, probably owns nothing so collecting a partial judgment isn't going to be easy and you'll rack up more expenses. The court will be an incentive to him to make the restitution to you or be held in contempt.

If the money's important to you, take the offer from the other person. They likely will never get it. Otherwise, it's a lesson learned. When I read the first part that he wanted the money to buy it the red flags were a flappin! I'd buy the stuff myself and have it delivered. Even if he bought it, you never know if he actually paid for it and could wind up with liens on your place and pay for it again.

It's sad that people do this stuff. Morals, ethics and the like are so difficult to find.

Good luck.