I filed the complaint last night against the contractor. It could not have been easier. The website walks you through what to do and give you the contact information for the nearest BBB office. I can log onto the BBB website anytime to see the status of complaint.
Having the 30 day demand letter on hand was a good reference to frame the complaint and what I wanted for a successful conclusion to the issue. Also being able to state Dan's response or lack of response to the letter (Note: There was no response)was a bonus for stating my case.
The BBB will contact the contractor and attempt to get his side of the story. They will mail him the contents of my complaint. Dan can respond as he could have to the demand letter or simply choose not to acknowledge it in any way. This process takes 15 - 35 days from the time the complaint was filed.
Will anything come out this? I don't know, but I am trying to take all action I can before I go to the Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing Department.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
30 Day Demand Letter - Time expired
I sent the contractor the 30 day demand letter 31 days ago. The letter was signed for on 08/13/07 by the contractor. We have not heard from him during the 30 day time period. It is time to proceed as planned.
About Demand Letters - FYI A layman's definition
A demand letter is exactly that. It is letter written by a legal entity or person to declare the through some one's actions or inaction damages have been suffered. The letter should detail the damages and the relief expected. Regardless of who (lawyer or customer) is writing the demand letter, the letter must be written, sent certified mail, and 30 days must be allowed to expire before taking any additional action.
This allows the other party to respond to the demand letter. That is not to say the response will be acceptable to the letter writer; however, a response usually demonstrates a willingness to work the issue out between the two parties or with the services of an arbitrator.
If no response is received from the recipient at the end of the 30 day period several options are available to the person who is claiming damages.
My intention is to follow through on the options available to me.
About Demand Letters - FYI A layman's definition
A demand letter is exactly that. It is letter written by a legal entity or person to declare the through some one's actions or inaction damages have been suffered. The letter should detail the damages and the relief expected. Regardless of who (lawyer or customer) is writing the demand letter, the letter must be written, sent certified mail, and 30 days must be allowed to expire before taking any additional action.
This allows the other party to respond to the demand letter. That is not to say the response will be acceptable to the letter writer; however, a response usually demonstrates a willingness to work the issue out between the two parties or with the services of an arbitrator.
If no response is received from the recipient at the end of the 30 day period several options are available to the person who is claiming damages.
My intention is to follow through on the options available to me.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
September 11th
Today is September 11th 2007. Six years ago I was working in downtown Boston when the first word sprang up that something was wrong in NY. It was hard for me to believe that over 3000 of my fellow countrymen died in the space of a few hours.
Nothing my wife and I have experienced in our lives can compare to the loss the families of 9/11 experience each day since this tragedy. We just wanted to take a moment and say that our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who lost friends and family on September 11th.
We also wanted say thanks to the brave members of our armed forces whose dedication and service allows us to continue to have the freedom and quality of life we enjoy as Americans. We salute you.
Nothing my wife and I have experienced in our lives can compare to the loss the families of 9/11 experience each day since this tragedy. We just wanted to take a moment and say that our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who lost friends and family on September 11th.
We also wanted say thanks to the brave members of our armed forces whose dedication and service allows us to continue to have the freedom and quality of life we enjoy as Americans. We salute you.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mistake #1 - Not hiring a lawyer
Remember Item #5 from, Please Read Me First? We did not have a lawyer look over the proposal or contract from Dan Stanton.
Why didn't we have a lawyer look at the contract written by Dan? Well, at the time we thought there was no way he was going to screw us over because he had just returned to the Massachusetts area. Also, he was a registered contractor who was going to pull all the permits for the project himself. This was also his first big job and we thought he would do anything to ensure the project went smoothly. All we had to do was submit any changes in writing and ensure he was paid in a timely fashion. The signed contract was specific and thorough enough that we felt good about signing it.
While I believe that the contract helps us more than it helps Dan at this point, hindsight tells us we should have paid a lawyer to review it and suggest changes to limit our liability.
If you live in Massachusetts, you can go to http://www.masslawhelp for assistance in finding a lawyer to assist you with contract review in your area. The service is free.
The lesson here is if you are going to invest the amount of money and time on your home with a home improvement contractor, get a lawyer and have all the paperwork reviewed before giving the contractor ONE dime!
Your contractor should see it as a way of protecting both parties. I would not hire a contractor who would not let a lawyer review all paperwork.
Learn from this mistake, if you don't read another post from this blog, this lesson could save you money and heartache. Next post will look at the project from a cost overview perceptive.
Why didn't we have a lawyer look at the contract written by Dan? Well, at the time we thought there was no way he was going to screw us over because he had just returned to the Massachusetts area. Also, he was a registered contractor who was going to pull all the permits for the project himself. This was also his first big job and we thought he would do anything to ensure the project went smoothly. All we had to do was submit any changes in writing and ensure he was paid in a timely fashion. The signed contract was specific and thorough enough that we felt good about signing it.
While I believe that the contract helps us more than it helps Dan at this point, hindsight tells us we should have paid a lawyer to review it and suggest changes to limit our liability.
If you live in Massachusetts, you can go to http://www.masslawhelp for assistance in finding a lawyer to assist you with contract review in your area. The service is free.
The lesson here is if you are going to invest the amount of money and time on your home with a home improvement contractor, get a lawyer and have all the paperwork reviewed before giving the contractor ONE dime!
Your contractor should see it as a way of protecting both parties. I would not hire a contractor who would not let a lawyer review all paperwork.
Learn from this mistake, if you don't read another post from this blog, this lesson could save you money and heartache. Next post will look at the project from a cost overview perceptive.
How this all started
A little over two years ago my wife and I looked at each other and decided that we wanted to keep living in Abington, MA, and raise our family. Abington is located about 20 minutes south of Boston and is considered a great community for young families. We had been living there for over ten years and with great neighbors the choice for us was simple, instead of moving, we would build an addition on our existing home.
We hired an architect, who drew up plans and we started looking at home improvement contractors.
From the beginning we knew we would have to stay within a budget and we built a cushion into the amount of money we would be able to afford. Most contractors we interviewed at the time were either too expensive or booked up to the point that work would not start for quite some time. It was at this time that we were introduced to Dan Stanton of Stanton and Sons Contracting.
Dan Stanton showed up at our house one night in November, 2006. Our first impression was a good one. He was attentive, asked good questions and communicated a desire to work for us. Dan stated that this would be his first big project since his main area of expertise was going to beThe Timber Room line of products. The timber room is a one room addition with exposed timber beams. According to Dan, this was something he was looking to do big time in each state, but a project such as ours would be able to show that he could manage projects of all sizes while keeping his standards high.
Dan looked at our plans and came back to us with a price. It was substantially lower than any of the other quotes we had received. Dan explained to us that he was not big operation with much overhead. He could work with subcontractors to do work like the foundation, framing, etc., so he could negotiate lower prices. He said he passed on those savings to us with the lower price. Plus, successful completion meant we could throw a lot of business at him. After getting a couple of other quotes from bigger contractors, we thought it over and asked for a proposal.
At that time I checked with the Better Business Bureau, the state licensing board and found no complaints registered against him. I could not find anything negative on his contractor license.
My main sticking point was to ensure that ANY change orders be done in writing. This language was put in the final signed contract. On January 18th, 2006, we put a deposit on the work to be completed and signed with Dan Stanton
We hired an architect, who drew up plans and we started looking at home improvement contractors.
From the beginning we knew we would have to stay within a budget and we built a cushion into the amount of money we would be able to afford. Most contractors we interviewed at the time were either too expensive or booked up to the point that work would not start for quite some time. It was at this time that we were introduced to Dan Stanton of Stanton and Sons Contracting.
Dan Stanton showed up at our house one night in November, 2006. Our first impression was a good one. He was attentive, asked good questions and communicated a desire to work for us. Dan stated that this would be his first big project since his main area of expertise was going to beThe Timber Room line of products. The timber room is a one room addition with exposed timber beams. According to Dan, this was something he was looking to do big time in each state, but a project such as ours would be able to show that he could manage projects of all sizes while keeping his standards high.
Dan looked at our plans and came back to us with a price. It was substantially lower than any of the other quotes we had received. Dan explained to us that he was not big operation with much overhead. He could work with subcontractors to do work like the foundation, framing, etc., so he could negotiate lower prices. He said he passed on those savings to us with the lower price. Plus, successful completion meant we could throw a lot of business at him. After getting a couple of other quotes from bigger contractors, we thought it over and asked for a proposal.
At that time I checked with the Better Business Bureau, the state licensing board and found no complaints registered against him. I could not find anything negative on his contractor license.
My main sticking point was to ensure that ANY change orders be done in writing. This language was put in the final signed contract. On January 18th, 2006, we put a deposit on the work to be completed and signed with Dan Stanton
Please Read This First!!!
Before I start on our history with Dan Stanton I need to state the following.
1. This blog is a place where I can easily show someone what not to do and what actions should be taken in the state of Massachusetts if there are problems with a home improvement contractor.
2. This blog is to chronicle our story and to raise awareness about homeowners who have to deal with bad contractors in Massachusetts.
3. This blog allows me to take action with my situation and chronicle the difficult task of fighting for my family.
4. One should consider this blog a public service announcement about bad home improvement contractors. One should not take this blog to mean that all home improvement contractors are out to rip them off. It just seems the bad outweigh the few.
5. The best thing you can do before any contract is signed is contact a lawyer and have the contract reviewed line by line. I can not over-emphasize this point. Paying a lawyer to review the contract would have saved us some pain in trying to make this work. We did not do this and why we did not will be discussed later.
I do not know how this will turn out. My goal is to make Dan Stanton take responsibility, or at the very least explain what went wrong with the project.
If you wish to share your experiences with us, then leave a comment or send an email. I would be happy to discuss this with you. That goes for you too, Dan.
1. This blog is a place where I can easily show someone what not to do and what actions should be taken in the state of Massachusetts if there are problems with a home improvement contractor.
2. This blog is to chronicle our story and to raise awareness about homeowners who have to deal with bad contractors in Massachusetts.
3. This blog allows me to take action with my situation and chronicle the difficult task of fighting for my family.
4. One should consider this blog a public service announcement about bad home improvement contractors. One should not take this blog to mean that all home improvement contractors are out to rip them off. It just seems the bad outweigh the few.
5. The best thing you can do before any contract is signed is contact a lawyer and have the contract reviewed line by line. I can not over-emphasize this point. Paying a lawyer to review the contract would have saved us some pain in trying to make this work. We did not do this and why we did not will be discussed later.
I do not know how this will turn out. My goal is to make Dan Stanton take responsibility, or at the very least explain what went wrong with the project.
If you wish to share your experiences with us, then leave a comment or send an email. I would be happy to discuss this with you. That goes for you too, Dan.
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