Responsibility of PB?

[setsailsoon]

c,

I have a different point of view so I offer it with all due respect for you and others on this thread. I really don't see $500 worth of damage here. It's clear the relationship with this builder has deteriorated to a place where it shouldn't have. No idea who's to blame but a lot of builders are great and sadly some of them don't deserve to be in business.

I'd fix the neighbors bricks and get on with enjoying your new pool.

Respectfully,

Chris

 

[custix]

Because that's what a lot of contractors do now-a-days. It costs them nothing to say "no." If you go away to avoid confrontation, they win. Didn't cost them a thing. No consequences. If they say "yes," they're out $500. Since ethics is no longer a concern, nor reputation, it's likely going to be less out-of-pocket to try "no." If you try to sue them, especially in small claims, they know that a judge will either award you the $500, or not. They'll ride the court case out, knowing the only consequence is paying the amount they should have paid in the first place, and because there is always the possibility that you will either give up at some point, or that the judge will see things their way. There will be no punitive damages. Maybe $50 worth of court costs. They know the odds are in their favor, that you will cave at some point. It's a numbers game, and the cost of the damages is not one of the numbers. So it doesn't matter to them if it's 500 or 5000. They know that if they say "no" to 10 complaints, only one of them will sue them. And if that one wins, that they will only pay for the damages, nothing more. Meanwhile, they are still 9 ahead.

That has become a common business model for contractors. "Doing the right thing" now means beating the consumer into submission, not actually doing the right thing. So you have to be prepared that the PB will reject the demand letter, as a matter of course. That's why the Contractor Board complaint can work. Along with the demand letter, it conveys your level of commitment. And sometimes they'll step in and coerce the contractor somehow (that's how I got paid by a PB for damages to my pool).

But you have to have the stomach for it, and the time to spend on it, and a good sense of the likely outcome. Otherwise, it's good money toward bad (I'm using "money" to mean money, time and stress).

You're exactly right, HOWEVER the $500 is a good bit less than the actual damages, which is why I offered it as a settlement. Everything together is probably at least $1k, which is what I would end up suing for. I tried to make it easy for both of us just to call it a day and they have the customer service to flatly refuse over a $75k job.

And the contractor complaint board is a great idea. I should try that first, or at least write out what I'm going to send and give them the chance to save us all the hassle.

 

[custix]

c,

I have a different point of view so I offer it with all due respect for you and others on this thread. I really don't see $500 worth of damage here. It's clear the relationship with this builder has deteriorated to a place where it shouldn't have. No idea who's to blame but a lot of builders are great and sadly some of them don't deserve to be in business.

I'd fix the neighbors bricks and get on with enjoying your new pool.

Respectfully,

Chris

Your point of view is well taken and I don't disagree with you. However, the $500 offered was for ALL damage (including the damage to my property, not specifically mentioned)--and there are more bricks damaged than what's in the picture. But Dirk is also right (in my opinion) that several factors can and will likely drive up the ultimate cost of fixing that back to the way it was.