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I couldn't show up for one day and now the owner is refusing to pay. What are my options?

MissouriRecovery Options

I did some frame extension work for a man and he is refusing to pay me my money because I was not able to show up one day because my wife has surgery well the next day he said the deadline was one the job to be done and if it's not done by 1 then you won't be able to be paid for it until Monday that was at 11 in the morning and I was loading up ready to go cuz it's 45 minutes from my house I was going to go up there I had one weld left finish it up and I was okay with getting paid on Monday well at about 11:30 the guy calls and says you know what no we don't want you to come up here and you're not getting paid anyting this is after I've spent two days up there working and all my material my consumables my gas in my welder in my truck and nothing is paid for and they're saying that it's not going to be paid for what can be done I feel I should be paid for at least work that I done

1 reply

Jul 29, 2019
I'm sorry to hear about that, and I hope your wife's surgery went well. Unfortunately, I'm not totally sure I understand your situation described above. If the frame extension work was performed on some movable property - like a vehicle, mobile home, tractor, etc. - then certain recovery options might not be available. But, for permanent property improvements - like working on a building or a house - other tools may be available, like threatening or utilizing the Missouri mechanics lien process.

Regardless of what type of work was done, if the agreement was cut short and if payment wasn't made for work performed, a claimant may be able to leverage legal threats into getting paid. Threatening to take specific legal action such as filing a lawsuit or a small claims suit for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, etc. might be a helpful tool. Showing the other party that you know your rights and that you're unafraid to use them can often get the job done without having to take more official action.

Admittedly, though, without more details - it's hard to be sure what options may be available. Feel free to post another question with a little more detail about the project at hand and we might be able to provide more insight here. Note, though, that we specialize in construction law and construction payment - so, our expertise lies in work performed that permanently improves property. But, for things like work performed on vehicles or other movables, a resource like Avvo.com or JustAnswer.com might be more helpful.
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