can a plumber put a lein on my property for 500.00 owed in ca?

Question

Just wondering! I got ripped by a plumber who quoted me initially 225.00 then 10 min later when he was ready to go 500.00 i put stop payment on check when I realized he only made two cuts and damaged my pipes! now he refuses to take anything and is threatning me with a lien

Answer 1

He can put a mechanics lien on your property. Go to the State of California's Contractor's web site it will give you the specifics on what he can and can't do, and your rights as a consumer. Don't pay him!!
Putting the lien is easy for him, but he has to do a lot more. The lien will go away in 30 days if he doesn't follow up. The statute is kind of long but go to the site I mentioned.

Answer 2

Is the work defective? If you think so, tell him. You ought to be able to use someone else to fix his shoddy work if it is beyond you to come to an agreement with him.

Did he give you a quote in writing which you accepted in writing? If no, it is your word against his. Only you two know what really went on in terms of the "price" he gave. In future always get a price in writing and sign a letter of acceptance in writing. That will help reduce this kind of dispute.

Did you give him a cheque for $500? If yes, that is prime evidence that you accepted that the work he did was worth $500. If you thought the agreement was that he be paid $225 then why did you pay more? You should have only written a cheque for that $225. He now has a very strong case that the agreed value was $500 by reason that you gave him a cheque for $500.

Did you stop the cheque? If yes, then I suppose you advised him in writing why you did so. You must do this in writing and you must have a good reason. Too many people fraudulently issue cheques they have no intention to honour.

Did you stop the cheque because the work is faulty and did you engage someone else to repair it? If so, you need to document this very carefully in case he attempts to enforce payment. You should have the faulty work repaired and deduct the actual cost of those repairs from his $500 and issue a new cheque to him for the balance. That puts him in a difficult situation.

If you don't intend to get the "damaged pipes" repaired then why should you keep his money? You have gained the benefit of his work and yet you have lost nothing, if the bent pipes are so acceptable to you.

Always get your agreements in writing by establish the extent of work to be performed and amount to be paid in full for that work. Always stick to your agreement.

Don't let a shyster bully you around but bear in mind that litigation is way too expensive and unpredictable.

Answer 3

You signed a freelance yet did you cancel it? apparently no longer and he has located a Contractor's/Mechanic's Lien against your materials. this would not require a courtroom judgment to place. It replaced into probably allowed interior the text fabric of the contract you signed. In some states there's a statutory existence of such liens plus a available renewal you could examine that out. we could assume it particularly is a sparkling lien and has a minimum of a 10 365 days existence... interior that element era, it particularly is going to proceed to be there till it is bumped off by skill of the two the contractor or by skill of the courtroom so those are your 2 venues. . a million) call him up. It sounds like he did some artwork yet, stable or undesirable, did you pay him for it? you're able to get a launch from him by skill of in simple terms paying a smaller volume then the seven grand. 2) document a extra healthful to have the lien lifted. For this you could pick a criminal expert that may additionally assist you on account which you have numerous concepts alongside with suing him for any added expenses you incurred in hiring the 2d contractor with the aid of first one's non overall performance. in case you do no longer something, then finally, one in each of two issues will take place,, a) The contractor can enforce the lien by skill of perfecting the lien with a courtroom judgement for the contract, interest, and if the contract allowed it, effects - doubtlessly forcing the sale of your asset (the residing house). on a similar time as the lawsuit is extra probably, the compelled sale of your place isn't likely whether it particularly is a potential journey b) once you sell your place or attempt to pass identify the lien, if nonetheless in rigidity, could first be happy plus any accumulated interest (which in some states is a stiff 7% in step with 365 days). The purchasers lending agency will frequently no longer enable the lien to proceed to be considering the fact it particularly is a senior identify that is affecting their very own loan so they're going to require it to be settled. stable success

Answer 4

He can put a lein on your property for $1 if he/she so chooses. Do not pay, make him take you to court.

Answer 5

if you owe anybody money then yes, they can put a lien on your house. your best bet is to pay him then go to small claims court and sue.

Answer 6

Take it to court, with pictures

Answer 7

i suggest that you take your case to a district masistrate, take pictures of what he did, and anything in writing..