Hello, I own a home improvement company here in Pennsylvania. We completed a roofing project and the following punch list in April. I live, (and the project was in), Westmoreland County, PA. I have never gotten close to having to start this process so I am unaware of my options. Considering that the project was completed over 6 months ago, (preventing me from filing a lien), what options do I have now? The customer did not respond to repeated and documented invoices through Paypal, (however they did read them). Once I emailed that we would be enforcing our late payment policy we got a response. The customer said she has items she wants corrected before she will pay. I respectfully explained how we did that already when I came to complete the punch list. I basically requested to be paid in full before anything would be done as we should treat this as a service call rather as a punch list item now. They have said not until everything is done. I am not confident that they will pay once I complete their punch list 2.0. The customer owes us just over $2,000.00. Thank you kindly, Chuck
If you fully performed the contract and the homeowner is refusing to pay you, you have a viable claim to sue her for breach of contract. With regard to her purported dissatisfaction, you know better than anyone whether those concerns are valid and whether her withholding is justified. While threatening to sue her may not be the best way to start a conversation, you can tell her that you are apprehensive to do additional corrective work because she has withheld payment for so long. Ask her to deposit the contract balance to be held in escrow with her lawyer or another local attorney with the agreement that the funds are released to you when the work is complete. Every practicing attorney in PA has ethical obligations for fair dealing. If she wants to use her attorney, she should pay any fee that thatlawyer may charge. Alternatively, if you are operating as a sole proprietorship you could always sue her for breach of contract yourself in small claims court.