Hi guys,it's been awhile since I've had time to write in.I just got a hard lesson in handshake contracts.I've just finished a condo with slate and travertine,about 12,000 feet in all..Because of all the footage I came down in price pr sq ft.The flooring contractor wanted me to pay for all my material which didn't sit well with me after taking a cut on the install.The contractor being more carpet,hardwood oriented(and not knowing much about tile)when bidding on the job,didn't take into consideration the extra material needed as there were 64 heated bathrooms,plus in his bid he charged only $25.00 per mat install(I wasn't aware of any of this going into the job.)On a handshake we agreed to go halfs on the mud.I knew this job would run until early Dec,so I allowed the contractor to keep money off my checks to offset my half of the mud,usually 500 to$700.00 per check twice a month,plus I did some extra stuff on weekends(fireplaces etc)which I also put to mud.I had no problem doing this as my checks were good and I was kinda looking at this as Christmas money(I have 5 kid's)After crunching the numbers I was looking forward to about a $5,000 christmas check,ho,ho,ho.When I went in on dec 23rd to get my "christmas check"he out and out lied and told me he never said he made such an agreement.What a heartbreaker.Needless to say this was the crappiest christmas ever,this guy has put me behind in rent,all bills,car insurance.and still owing my helper a few bucks.If I was a drinking man ,I would Have handled this "old school"with pleasure,as it turns out,I paid him about150.00 a bathroom (64 in all)for the pleasure of heating their floors.I hope my kids aren't to traumatized by this,so far they seem to holding up well,but when they get back to school,they might get a little bummed out hearing about everyone elses christmas.So anyone doing buisness with Layed Rite Flooring out of Black Creek,B.C.get it in writing,the man is a liar and a thief,around here we won't be telling the story of Scrooge anymore because he has nothing on Dale from Layed Rite Flooring,heres looking to a better new year.


P.S.(please save the shoulda got it in writing lectures,I know,I know he just seemed so genuine going into this,I had no reason to doubt his word.)
Happy new year to all.
Mike

Sorry to hear about this problem Mike. Sometimes even written contracts are useless in resolve .... the gut is usually the deciding factor.
We've all been there, myself included ... more than once. I've been hit twice in the last 6 years, and both times were by people I trusted and during the days before Christmas.

Don't lose your faith in people Mike ... most aren't like this jerk.
Perhaps you should let him know he's gonna be a star on this website.
I'm sure he'd like to explain his problem with paying you what you deserve so that people don't get the wrong idea regarding his reputation.

Sorry to hear that Mike.Even if it was a contract on paper,some people are just crooked and have the intent to screw you from the start.Some of them think that it's just business.I think you should give him "the business".

I hope that this Dale at Spelled Wrong Flooring is gonna see this come back at him someday by way of karma.Probably will.

Happy New Year to you and yours Mike.I'm sure things will be better soon.

2008 is going to be good...Bri even said so.

Thanks guys,when I hear it's happened to the "old dog's" it takes a little sting out of the burn.If this didn't screw up my families christmas and new years I probably wouldn't be as pissed,but under the circumstances(plus if he's doing it to me ,he's doing it to other setters)I've a "gut" feeling that DALE TALOR of LAYEDRITE FLOORING in BLACK CREEK,B.C.definatly hasn't heard the end of Mike the tile guy/As we wrote on the bottom of my checks how much I wanted to take off to offset my share of the mud,i.e.$500,$7oo,etc,almost every check for 6monthsThis is my money I've already finished work for,kinda like pickpocketing I feel.Anyway,I've had my bank pull my checks for the last 6 months,when they come in,and I have the paperwork in hand,I've been advised to pursue theft over $2,000 charges because under the B.C.emplyment standards act it is illegal to withhold monies from work completed to pay for the suppliers materials(must be a reason for this eh?)Besides it's just plain criminal.I'll be in touch with both agencies and the B.C.labor BoardIt just burns my ass that he's playing daddy big bucks and boozing er up over the holidays at my expense,while my family had grilled cheese sandwiches and green pea soup for our New Years dinner,Don't get me wrong,I love grilled cheese and pea soup and am grateful to have that.the confusion and lack of provision for my family at such a special time of the year,especially when your expecting your check 2 days before Christmas,and buddy pulls this crap,not to be vengefull but to show my kids that I nor they did anything wrong, you call it Karma,I'll call it justice and righteousness.I can't in good conscience let this slide,some of that money was earned going out of town and doing fireplaces for his clients,weekends away from my family because I was his "tile guy",total rip offI'll also continue to call him a liar and a thief,because that's the truth,and the truth shall set you free,(and hopefully get some of my earnings back,thanks again,there's nowhere to vent about this except to other tile guys,so pip,pip,chin up and all that,May 2008 be a year of good health and prosperity to all honest tradesman especially true setters,cheers.
Mike

Mike, the idea to come down on the price psf at the onset: Was that his idea or yours? I've found that in many situations, when I see someone that is obviously doing well for themselves, then they start asking me to come down on prices, I am in for a big headache.

Most contractors know that you are out there to make money for yourself, not everybody else. When they want you to come down on your prices, they're usually asking this so they can put the money in their own pocket. Don't get me wrong, I like helping people, and I'm loyal to my regular contractors, but they pay me on time, and they pay what I ask. I do small repair jobs for little or nothing for them, just to keep relations good.

The one time I was asked by what I thought was a "loyal" contractor to come down on my price psf, (after having the same price for the last seven years) I started looking for work elsewhere. Life's too short to work for somebody who doesn't care whether or not you get through the next day.

That just sucks.

Isnt there some kind of lien you can put on the property? Not sure how things work in Canada, so...

Reminds of a builder that hired a friend to lay his travertine. Asked for and got a discount on the sq. ft. price. He watched him lay the travertine for about a week and then started laying the stuff himself on the weekends and at night. 6000 ft. turned out to be 3500. I went out there with him to help race the guy.

Thanks again for all the advice,my next course of action is to in fact put a builders lien on the building,lodge a complaint with the B.C.employment standards act,the B.C.labor board,the better buisness bureau,and when I get my checks back over the last 6 months I'll be pursuing criminal charges of theft over $ 2,000.Don't get me wrong,I'm not making this my obsession,I just put in to many 16-18 hour days and weekends to make deadlines and I just don't have it in me to see him walking around with my money in his wallet.As soon as I finished the condo I had people booking me for jobs,like they say(whoever they are)your work speaks for itself,so we;re back at 'er'and still loving it,just a bit wiser and a little more cautious,christmas 08 will be great,we'll all gather round the fire and tell the story of Dale of Layed Rite,then watch Scrooge for a bit of comedy relief.All the best for the new year,keep on setting.
Mike

happened to me to! i did about 4 or 5 jobs for a to z home improvements in nyc. no problems got paid and everything was good.
i did a bathroom job and he claimed he had to put me off due to expenses but if i did another job he would take care of me in full. after i finished the job he tells me my prices were to high and i had to lower them that he would'nt pay what i charged
needless to say i paid out to all my help about 600 more then i made but every mistake in business is a learning lesson and my help saw that i was honest to them and paid reguardless of my financial liabilities.