Need help settling a disagreement

[Smoking Duck]

OK....the missus and I are in a disagreement over how I handled an issue.  I told her I'd check with some good friends and get their take on it.  If you guys tell me I'm wrong, I'll try to go back and fix it.  Here's the story:

When we had the house fire, our restoration company subcontracted out the disposal of garbage.  The company was responsible for setting a big dumpster that would get filled as they were tearing out our house, etc.  They were also responsible for picking it up when full and leaving another empty one.  In the course of doing this, one of the drivers decided that my front yard must be the driveway (even though my driveway is blacktop and my yard is grass).  Anyways, it was right after about 24" of snow had thawed in a one day's period.  Needless to say, the yard was extremely wet.  Anyhow, the driver with dumpster gets stuck in my yard and has to be towed out.  It leaves huge ruts (about 3 feet deep) all throughout my front yard.  Now, I take pride in keeping my lawn looking nice.  Anyways, they said they would fix it (This was after I presented them with a quote from a lawn maintenance company for $1900).  So, I decided to let them fix it.  At first, they just wanted to fill it in and plant seed.  I calmly told them that I had grass there when they drove on it and I want grass put in.  They then agreed to do sod work.  I was told that it would be done by the middle of April.  That never happened.  Then I was told they couldn't get sod until May 1st, however, they would get the sod on May 1 and I would be first on the list to have it installed.  The 1st of May came and went; they never showed or called.  So, I checked with my restoration company and was told they would be here by Tuesday (yesterday) at the latest.  Yesterday, came and went and they didn't show or call.  So, I promptly called them after 5 pm (I figured that would be the end of their workday) and left a message on their answering machine that said they had missed 3 deadlines (that they imposed) and that as far as I was concerned, I would go and get the work done myself and then submit the bill to them.  I also told them that if they should try to show up and fix the yard, I would remove them from my property.

My wife says I was a little hard on them and that I should have just waited for them to do the work.

The question is:  Was I wrong in the way that I handled it?  Was the missus correct?  She's afraid that when I submit the bill, they will refuse to pay for the work and that I'd have to go to small claims to collect the money and that it would be a tossup on whether I would win or not.  So, I decided to put it to a jury of my peers and have you give some thoughts. 

Any Judge Judy's/Wapner's out there?

SD

[Tiny Tim]

Well, I'm not a lawyer and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I would have handled it about the same as you have already done.  Sometimes ya gotta grab the bull by the  :o to get it's attention.

[pensrock]

She may be right as far as them refusing to pay for work you had done and may have to try to collect in court. But as far as the way you handled it after them promising to be there three times and not showing up, I most likely would have done the same thing. I mean I can only take so much being lied to then I snap and start biting back. I may have even gone so far as to contact a lawyer to write them a little nasty letter to see if that would get some results.

Good luck with the dispute with the contractor and just tell the missus.... 'yes dear.... I think you may have been right.' Ladies do not read past this point.


(even though the man is ALWAYS right).... now onto the makeup $ex!'  ;D  ;D  :D :D

[Mr Walleye]

Marc

First off I don't know all the facts so my opinion is just that but here are my thoughts.

I'm assuming your insurance company is paying the restoration company who in turn, subcontracted the garbage company. Ultimately, the garbage company should be held accountable for this, however the restoration company was/is being paid by the insurance company to do the work. My first thought is to contact your adjuster with your insurance company and have them withhold funds until such time as this is resolved. Here where I'm located, the insured (you in this case) has to sign off on a proof of loss prior to the contractor getting paid. This protects the insured, in addition to making sure the insured confirms the work was actually completed and completed satisfactorily.

I would first talk to your adjuster and see if they can withhold payment. I would also talk to the restoration company to explain your problem with the garbage company, which they hired. Once I had done that I would talk to the garbage company again and see how the issue can be resolved as soon as possible. Hopefully the restoration company can "lean" on them a bit as well.

Just my two cents....
Mike

[Smoking Duck]

I knew I was right  ;D

I have a call into my adjuster as we speak Mike.  They've been extremely slow in paying my claim, so maybe I can put a little teeth into that as well.

As far as the makeup $ex is concerned Pens, I'm always in makeup $sex mode.......she's got a lot to make up for.  I didn't bargain that when I said "I do", she said, "You don't anymore"  >:( :D

[Wildcat]

Mr. Walleye is spot on.  Going through your insurance is probably the most likely method of getting action.

I know it is frustrating dealing with the idiots, but it can be even more frustrating going to court.  Not sure about your state, but most have a 2 year statute of limitations to bring suit in the event nothing else works.

[Gizmo]

I like Mr Walleye's approach as well.  The only other thing I would have done is contacted one of my lawyer relatives and ask them about the legal issues and if it is alright if I use their name when I contacted the company back to let them know that unless they fix the problem the next day, they would be hearing from my lawyer.  Usually that gets their attention and more importantly, their action. 

[West Coast Kansan]

Mr Walleye seems right on for the best approach.  Afraid you may have limited an option prohibiting them from doing it... It is disgusting isn't it...  :-[

[Smoking Duck]

Yea, I know I kinda painted myself into a corner doing that, but I still have a card or two to play, I think.  I'm gonna discuss this with a good friend who has dealt with this over the years.  My next probable move is to contact the owner of the company and discuss the lack of customer service.  As you all know, stuff runs downhill. 

The sad part is that here I am, unemployed, willing to work my hind region off and you can't even get a person to make a phone call to tell me why they couldn't do something.  I'm telling you.....the quality of service that comes out of a lot of companies today is sickening.  It's still a huge reason why I will always stick with Bradley.  Customer service is king in my book and when a company fails to provide that to the people that provide their wages, something's wrong.

[Smoking Duck]

Well, I ended up calling the owner of the company and told him that they had one more chance to do the right thing.  I told him that I wanted to hear it from his mouth when they would have it done.  Then I told him that I had documented our conversation and that if it wasn't done on the agreed upon date, I would have a company do the project and then submit the bill to him to pay. 

You know, I wasn't even mad when it happened (people make mistakes all the time; who am I to not understand that?  :o).  I told him I was irritated by the lack of communication when the job wasn't done on the timeframe they gave and the broken promises from his employees.  Just goes to show that a little communication goes a long way.  If they had ever communicated, it wouldn't have come to this.  We'll see if they are able to keep their word this time.

[Wildcat]

Effective communication is normally the key to resolving issues.  The trick is in finding someone who cares and has enough brains to comprehend.  Let us know how it goes.  ;)

[Mr Walleye]

Effective communication is normally the key to resolving issues.  The trick is in finding someone who cares and has enough brains to comprehend.  Let us know how it goes.  ;)

Absolutely correct WildCat!

Marc, good on you too! Someone has to step forward in situations like this in order for a resolution to take place and you did. Your the bigger man for it!  ;)

Good job

Mike

[La Quinta]

Well done SDuck!! :) Let us now how it comes out!!

[bigredsmoker]

I think your handling of the situation is the correct approach. I do think that you paying for it and billing them should be the last, last resort. Once you pay it I would be afraid you would have a hard time getting your money back. The insurance angel is a good one as well.

[Smoking Duck]

Well done SDuck!! :) Let us now how it comes out!!

I have a great mentor, LQ  ;) ;D