Originally Posted by
pharmjenn
Long story that I will try to keep short. We had a water leak a couple years ago and lost the lower half of our 2 year old kitchen (Cabinets, flooring) Our contractor that had built the kitchen stole our insurance money that we paid him to purchase new cabinets.
We have now started the search for a new contractor, and met with one found through Nextdoor. This lady is actually a school teacher and working with a contractor. She found a local dealer to order our cabinets using the original plans with a couple modifications. She then sent us her bid and we found out her friend is not a licensed contractor.
So we can not use them, for multiple reasons but primarily due to the legal issues we are dealing with due to stolen money.
She has not said anything, but I feel like she is owed something for the time she put in. The cabinet dealer had our original plans from the maker but she made some changes. The cost of the cabinets is more than $20k if that makes any difference.
I am not under any obligation to pay her, but should we give her something?
Hmm, well, shouldn’t she have checked to make sure her contractor friend was licensed? And if she is a school teacher, does she have any experience working with cabinetry? How much experience does she have working with cabinets? Does she have references? Which is her primary profession? There is a real science to measuring cabinets accurately, as we have personally found out. Not just anyone can do it properly. There are cabinet softwares out there that can make it seem simple but it definitely is not. I’d hate to see you pay her for something that was worth nothing.
I’m sorry you are dealing with this mess, with both the contractors. I can’t imagine the headache you must be dealing with.
" I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi
"This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems." Martin Luther King, Jr.