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one more question Matt.

CaliforniaConstruction ContractPayment Disputes

Hi Matt, one more question. I believe this company is some sort of predator business, the reason I say that is because we called out our original water well pump company to come out on a warranty for a broken pump and he came out and brought others with him, we thought they belonged to the same company and while pulling up our pump to replace it they broke the well pipe off in the well they said "don't worry about it" we'll fix it, so we waited for 3 months and finally the guy that came with our pump guy showed up at our gate and said "I have the well rig right up the road and I'll bring it over and fix the problem" We asked ahead of time if there was going to be a charge for it and his exact words were "don't worry about it" as the work continued my husband kept telling him "I hope there is going to be no cost because I have no money" the guy kept saying don't worry about it" after he pulled out the broken pipe he asked for half the money and my husband said what money and the guy said "you owe me $7000 and I want half now" of course we had no money. and he left us with no water still, before they broke off the pipe we had 50 feet of water in the well and the guy did not pull out the dirt and now we have 10 feet of un-pumpable water. we do not have a contract or a verbal contract at all. We did not know till later that they were a completely different company. are we still liable to pay that huge bill. we told him that we could have gotten someone else to do the same work for $3000 the guys work is worth something so we were going to pay him competitive price and then stop the payments. can he sue us? thanks again Chris

1 reply

Mar 29, 2018
First, it sounds like questionable business practices might be being used by the pump and repair companies. Potentially, a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, a poor rating online, or a consumer complaint (which you can make by following this link) could help coax the other party into playing fairly or providing relief. Anyway, if payments will be made in an effort to fend off a lawsuit, it's typically advisable to include an agreement that the amount paid will release the paying party from any potential or future liability as a result of the alleged debt. Without such an agreement, there's always a possibility that a party receiving payment might go back on their word and later sue on an alleged debt. Whether another party may file a lawsuit is a pretty open question since, unfortunately, invalid lawsuits are filed all the time. Regardless of whether a potential claim would have any merit, the time, stress, and legal costs that could result would be more than enough to cause headaches.
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