I live in a homestead property in Texas and had pipes burst during the freeze in February 2021. My "friend", who is not a certified plumber, assessed and stopped leaking pipes in my attic. He "gave me an offer I couldn't refuse" if I called around to find materials, which were very hard to locate, and if I also picked up those materials. He later stated that his "discount" was $225. He showed up on February 22 to assess the problem and returned on February 24 to "repair" the pipes. Due to the lack of materials, he did not replace the pipes, but he stopped the leaks with Pipe Repair Clamps, and he cut and sealed another section of leaking pipe that was no longer in service inside the house. He left without mentioning the charge for his repairs. I wanted him to receive some sort of payment, not knowing what the charges were, and sent him a good faith payment of $100. I figured when factoring in the $225 discount, the amount of $325 would suffice in covering the work that was completed. Well, unfortunately, he was INSULTED by this and went on to state "his initial repair cost to replace the busted pipe with PEX was $600" - this was never disclosed nor was this what was performed. He has now sent me an invoice for the full amount of $600 plus tax. Is that even legal? I did not agree to that price. That price was never disclosed to me prior to performing the work. He has also threatened to file a lien against my property if I fail to pay the full amount.
Hello!
Is it legal? Sure. He can send you an invoice.
Is it valid and enforceable is a much better question. The answer is: Y'all would be better off getting together over beers and you hand him a couple hundred bucks and call it square. And then you stay away from using friends without contracts or licenses to perform repairs on your domicile in the future.
The reason? If he files a lien, which he can do, you have to go to him and potentially be extorted or you can come to my office and we file suit in District Court to remove the lien. The fee for this would exceed the value of the lien.
If you all end up in small claims court, this is going to cost you more in time than it's worth. Your time is worth money and you would be ill advised to entangle yourself in such annoying matters.
I know this is not the answer you wanted so here's the uncaring legal answer. Yes, he can file a lien. He will have a VERY difficult time enforcing the lien or proving that his contract amount is valid in District Court (required to enforce the lien) or JP court. The burden will be on you to remove the lien and to argue against his "contract" price in any court he files an action. You want to resolve this without lawyers and courts.
E. Aaron Cartwright
214.789.1354
Aaron@EACLawyer.com
Ms. Miller,
The problem is that two adults can agree to do any work however they want to do it. Generally, the state does not intrude into the contracting abilities of adults. Generally, people have quotes and contracts or at least a few text messages of what the final price is or should be prior to performing the work. Larger jobs are, obviously, far more detailed in price and scope.
I would agree with you that what you describe should have been done prior to any work being done, however, in this circumstance, those steps were not taken. The contractor was allowed onto the property to complete the work without the quote up front. This is, essentially, a blank check. Since we cannot rewind the clock, we're left with what we have at present. And, at present, it would cost far more than $600 to go to trial in any meaningful capacity.
-Aaron