How to Deal With a Bad Contractor

YOU WANT TO FIX UP YOUR home – not find yourself in a fix. But home remodeling can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare if you don’t hire the right person for the job.Document your attempts to reach the contractor. If your contractor left you in the lurch with a half-finished project and isn’t communicating with you, start recording your efforts to reach him or her. You may need this documentation later if you go to court or seek the help of a professional organization.If your contractor is dragging out a project and there’s money left to pay, obviously, don’t pay until the job is complete. Binkowski owed one contractor a balance, which he used as leverage “to get them to come back out and repair their sloppy work,” he says.Seek help. Before getting too far into a contractor’s face, use your judgment. Kindel felt safe tracking down her contractor, but other contractors might not take kindly to threats of negative publicity. You may need to bring in someone with authority to help. And if you have given money to a contractor for supplies upfront, and you haven’t seen him for a while and suspect you never will, “call the police,” Moore says. “If they haven’t returned, obviously that’s theft.”You could also contact the board that approved your contractor’s license. But “know that you will have to stay on top of the representative who is handling your case. It can be hit and miss in getting someone who actually cares about the case and will pursue all avenues,” Costello says. She adds that if a project is going really badly, there’s no need to pay for a newspaper ad – contact a local reporter.