possibly extortion or blackmail- what should I do?

Question

we had a handyman do some work on a house - replace sheetrock amd some plugs. he also did a bathroom addition with a plumbing permit but not electrical . We put in a vent fan and light switch without a permit. his crazy girlfriend says unless we pay her $600 by tomorrow she is going to the planning dept to report us. what should I do?
She just wants to extract money for herself. (drug addict I believe) They arent even together anymore. She says she knows incriminating evidence against the work done.. ( we cant figure out what she means exactly) Maybe the electrical? He in fact did some more work recently and always gets paid in cash.
She is a certified bi-polar on dope instead of her meds.
Just verified that. BTW this in a toen of less than 1500 citizens.

Answer 1

Will she really do it when it means her bf would get in trouble too? If this is for a drug problem she'll just keep pulling it again and again. Might be better to just call her bluff and threaten to call the cops on her for blackmail/extortion. Or face the music now rather than giving her thousands of dollars and ending up facing it later anyway. I dunno, that's a toughie.

Answer 2

The girlfriend can't do a darn thing, since her boyfriend did the work. Only the handyman can demand payment. I doubt you'd get fined over a ceiling fan and light switch. I've never heard of needing a permit for a ceiling fan and light switch. In fact, I know several people who have installed such things without a permit, so I think maybe this woman is full of BS.

Answer 3

I think under no circumstances should you give this women any money ,it would take alot for you to get into troulble over a fan and a light switch , they wouldnt bother you , if you give it to her she will hang it over your head and continue to call you for that reason, have an certified electrician come out and make sure it is wired properly then you will be all set , it shouldnt be anymore then a service call , or so not nearly what this women wants then their will be nothing over your head best of luck ,, i would report her to you local pd she can get in big trouble

Answer 4

My husband is a contractor, so I'm speaking with alittle bit of experience. If the work is already done, she doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. You can always just say you didn't have anything new done. If you paid your handyman in cash, you don't even have to acknowledge you had anyone doing repairs but yourself on your own house. Hope this helps alittle. Don't fall into her trap.

Answer 5

let her report. the only one getting in trouble is the contractor. if she is a doper, they most likely will ignore her. you can call him and tell him what she is doing, and tell him to handle it or you are going to the cops. as far as you know, you did not need additional permits for the switch,....right? right. so no worries. worse that could happen is a fine, which would be less than her payoff. even if you did pay her, she could keep coming back.

Answer 6

ok her mental state is really no ones business and a court prob wont take that into consideration in this situation because her medical history is not your business. they dont certify mental illness by the way. and if you did something illegal then maybe you should worry. sounds like a really messed up situation. maybe you shoyld be more careful about getting permits and making sure the people working for you are bonded workers.

Answer 7

I doubt if you needed an electrical permit. I would go to the police--beat her at her own game! Even if you get a fine, it will be less than $600---and she will get help.

Answer 8

as long as all permits were obtained if they were required and he was licensed to do the work, i would tell her to go for it. i would be curious though to find out what she means by "incriminating evidence" and whether this man did the proper work. a faulty electrical system would be scary, so you may want to get that checked out.

Answer 9

(one million) Infidelity is Infidelity whilst you're in an intensive relationship with somebody. yet perhaps this occurred earlier he met his now spouse? (2) He would not be the 1st to sleep with a co-worker, or the final. (3) in case you have been a multimillionaire, might you particularly a sixty two year old woman or a youthful woman? in the event that they are keen, why no longer? as quickly as somebody is common their inner maximum organization is meant to be public area. i think of inner maximum could stay inner maximum. i myself do no longer care who the wealthy and widespread have been sleeping with, because of the fact one situation is for specific - they have not been doing 'it' with me!

Answer 10

The fee for unreported installation of the fan will be much less than $600.

But, I wouldn't be too concerned. People who make idle threats are cowards.

EDIT: if she does report you, uninstall the the fan and hide it somewhere. ;)