Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I'm in Texas I have customer who signed a contract with me got her money and never called me to do the work she had 3 days to tell me she didn't want me to the work any more she got the money and ran but I got her the money from the insurance company and told the insurance company I was her contractor but she committed fraud what actions can I take
I'm in Texas I have customer who signed a contract with me got her money and never called me to do the work she had 3 days to tell me she didn't want me to the work any more she got the money and ran but I got her the money from the insurance company and told the insurance company I was her contractor but she committed fraud what actions can I take
Need to know what steps to take for the services that were rendered to this customer that committed fraud
1 reply
Feb 16, 2018
I'm sorry to hear about that. Ultimately, though, the owner will likely be entitled to their insurance since it's their insurance policy. Anyway, the ability to recover and the method of recovery will be based on exactly what services were performed and unpaid. In Texas, mechanics liens are generally available to those parties who furnish labor and/or material, parties who specially fabricate material, and design professionals. In a situation where no work was actually performed on a property, utilizing a mechanics lien might not be appropriate for recovery (unless a claim is made as a design professional or specially fabricated material supplier, perhaps). An action in small claims court might be more appropriate, but even then, the ability to recover seems shaky. Ultimately, this situation may be best suited for sending demands for payment to the owner and/or the insurance company - but taking further legal action could be more trouble than it's worth. However, consulting a local construction attorney may be helpful with weighing your options - often, law offices will provide free or discounted initial consultations.