I'm getting taken for $200
I called a property home inspector for my parents because they were thinking about selling their home and wanted to see what issues it may have.
They've decided to wait to sell until next year so I called the guy and said to cancel the appointment. Yesterday I got a bill from him for over $600 saying he's done a lot of "pre-consultation work" and needs to be paid.
I called and said I wasn't paying and he threatened collection agents or putting a lien on my parent's house. I challenged him to produce the work he says he did before I cancelled and he said it's in his files and I can't see it.
I said the bill was in my name and not my parents so he can't put a lien on their house and as for collection agencies I don't really care about them. He said he'd take $200 and forget about the rest and I stupidly agreed.
Now at this point my neighbor is saying not to pay and just ignore him. Not sure what to do. I shouldn't have called him in the first place and just ignored the bill.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 4, 2020 3:42 AM
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He has no court ordered judgement against you. He can't put a lien on anything. He can sue but anyone can do that. I would let hi sue. What did you sign off on? What were the terms?
by Anonymous | reply 1 | September 24, 2015 11:40 PM
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Even if he had inspected your parents house, you would have been taken for a ride. Real Estate Home Inspections are a total scam. We've bought two houses in the last couple years and both times the inspection was a complete farce. Read the fine print - you'll see that they don't actually inspect anything.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | September 24, 2015 11:51 PM
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Home inspections are the result of government "feel good" legislation.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | September 24, 2015 11:58 PM
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Dont pay him. If he calls a collection agency, you just write a letter to the agency and tell them to contact him and have him provide proof that his work was worth anything.
We had a contractor put a lien on our house. He actually owed US money when we fired him from a job. Anyway, a lien has to be renewed every -- I think 18 months? At any rate, it's easy to get that first lien put up against someone's property, but come renewal time the person claiming the lien has to prevent proof of work done that wasn't paid for and he didn't bother to renew it. It's a pain in the ass to keep renewing a lien.
He has to provide proof and if he can't, then poof, he's gone.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | September 25, 2015 12:07 AM
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Thanks everyone for your advice. I wish I had just ignored the bill instead of calling him to ask what the hell it was about. I think I'm going to just avoid him and see what happens. I can't afford the throw away $200 on someone who claims who have done work but won't present the work for me to see.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | September 25, 2015 3:53 PM
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OP
You asked him to do work for you. He did the work, but YOU changed your mind.
Pay him for his research.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | September 26, 2015 2:49 AM
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Tell him you need physical proof of the work he's done so far. You want documents, emails, photocopies, everything time and date stamped. You also should give him a very short period of time to release this information to you, as you are positive it's all in his files and can be printed from his computer in a matter of minutes. Document everything by email as you do this. Then, if he tries to sue you, you have good documentation to give to the judge showing that you tried to get what you are being asked to pay for, but didn't get any results from him. The inspector will know that you're setting up a defense, and may back off even before you get to the point of a civil case.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | September 26, 2015 9:08 AM
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Take him to Judge Judy, OP! Sounds like a con to me.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 4, 2020 1:20 AM
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Never give in to a scammer.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | April 4, 2020 1:49 AM
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You agreed to $200 by your own admission. Unless you lie about that, judgment will be for him.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | April 4, 2020 1:51 AM
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^upon proof of work completed, so fuck off.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | April 4, 2020 2:11 AM
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He's a PROPERTY inspector. He can't inspect a goddamn thing until he sets foot on the property. Thus, he did not perform the job.
He's just bullshitting you and you owe him nothing.
FFS, imagine that bullshit argument being used by your doctor or dentist whenever you cancel an appointment: "I prepared for your appointment by looking at your record. You owe me for my time!"
by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 4, 2020 3:42 AM
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