Homeowners left in the lurch

Ken C.

I'm a licensed plumber. I gave a potential customer an estimate today. The customer just bought an old, multifamily house in need of remodeling. She hired a handyman to replace her kitchen floor, cabinets, countertop, sink, garbage disposal and dishwasher.

The handyman may have gotten in over his head, as he left the job unfinished and she hasn't heard from him in weeks. She had already given him a significant amount of money, she told me.

Anyway, here's where I come in. She wanted me to hook up the drainage on her sink and dishwasher. I cringed at what I saw - the base cabinet was sitting partly on the new floor (floating hardwood), and partly on the old floor. The base cabinet was not attached to the wall, and sat about four inches away from the wall. The stainless steel sink was mounted into the laminate countertop, but the countertop was not attached to the base cabinets. Of course, the floor and walls were way out of level and plumb.

I told her I could not hook up the drainage until the cabinets and counter were installed and secured.

It appears cases like this -- where an unscrupulous handyman or perhaps unlicensed tradesman (or wannabe tradesman) gets a bunch of money upfront from the homeowner, then can't or won't finish a job and leaves them in the lurch -- are becoming more and more common.

The company I work for just finished another job (roughing in a new house) that someone else had started, but didn't complete, after the homeowner gave them a few thousand dollars.

The vast majority of us are honest, licensed professionals, but the unscrupulous non-professionals who think they are plumbers and pipefitters and "take the money and run" give all tradespeople a black eye. No wonder some members of the public have a distrust of tradespeople.

Your thoughts?

(My theory is that homeowners are hiring these handyman types either to save money or because they have a hard time finding a real plumber.)

Unknown

Was this story

on NBC news tonight ? Same deal - an unlicenced handyman took alot of money , started the job and never came back . The walls and floor were ripped out . No power in all the rooms he was redoing . He even took the boiler and left them without heat . The homeowners musta felt real good seeing him in handcuffs on channel 4

Jeff Lawrence_24

'Upfront' money

I worked long and hard to get my state license, I admit that. In my state, the unrestricted license isn't easy, even if you have the references and the experience.

In all the years I have had my license (and even before!), I never asked for money up front. I have had clients offer me money to get the job started, but I would refuse under almost all circumstances.

There are people (and I know a few) that will take money in advence and never show up to finish the job, but I am not one of them.

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Paul Mitchell_2

People and contractors

I am with you it is ashame. But I can tell you several times and I am sure you can about bidding on a job...never getting it and then being called back for repairs. Most people see only the dollars. Most people would not know a good job if they saw it. I must admit that some people do want the job done and done right and they still get burnt because they pick the shanty guy...by mistake. I do and always will get a deposit for work. No deposit..no schedule. This enables me to order equipment knowing the customer is serious. Here in NJ "Home improvement contractors" are now required to register with the state and show proof of insurance etc. Now we can weed out some of these fly by night guys.