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Originally Posted by dlzdhz
Has anyone heard of this???
You know the old saying.... BUYER BEWARE.....
We just had pavers installed by a VERY reputable company, and 2 weeks after the job was done, one of the workers from the job knocked on our door and handed my husband a letter..... stating he was contacting his attorney due to non-payment for his services from the contractor. The Lien Law, in effect, states that the end user (my husband and I) can be liable for payment to the worker if the contractor does not pay him for services performed....
Excuse me, but we already paid over $7,000 for the job, which included all materials and labor, and why should I be responsible to pay the man's salary for the day again???
I contacted the owner of the company, and he told me not to worry, he had everything under control...the worker was fired, and we would not be responsible for any money. I asked for a letter stating I was not liable for any further costs due to him or anyone else. I am putting my faith in him that this is resolved to our satisfaction...
I contacted Joe Gorman, president of the Villages Homeowners Association, and I was told I needed to get a "Waiver of Lien" from the contractor, and it is a good idea to get this for ANY job a homeowner contracts, especially if the company uses sub-contractors!!!
I also contacted Marlene O'Toole, our Florida Legislator, and she did indeed say we had to be aware of the Lien Law, and to protect yourself, always get a waiver of lien from the contractor. She also suggested that I contact a lawyer and show them paperwork I received from the company owner, including my (belated) waiver of lien. She also said I should monitor that the disgrunteled worker does not put a lien on our home in the future, and this could be done, even if he may have been paid....
The pavers came out beyond gorgeous, but I hope they are worth the aggrevation that came along with them.... Just wanted everyone to be aware of this and not to get burned in the future!!!
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Dlzdh,
It was very kind of you to post this to help others avoid a similar problem.
I am a little confused about what happened in this instance. The contractor said the "worker was fired". Was the person who knocked on your door a subcontractor or an employee of the contractor? I thought lien laws applied to subs and suppliers, not employees. It also was unclear from your post whether the contractor claimed to have paid the worker.
Also, it sounds a bit fishy to me that, rather than filing a lien, the worker (ex-employee?) knocked on your door and handed you a letter threatening to file one. You couldn't possibly know when he knocked whether he even had been paid. What did he expect you to do-- take out your wallet. Do you still have the letter? If so, and it turns out he was paid through the end of his employment, I would turn the letter over to police and have him arrested for attempted theft before he has a chance to scare another senior into giving him money.