What happens if we dont pay for a bill that we feel is not right?

Question

My neighbors uncle put in his sprinkler system . When we were having our driveway poured we called and told them what day they would need to have all of their lines marked. They didn't mark it till a few days after the driveway was poured. Now my neighbors uncle said we buried the sprinkler heads and sent us a 600 dollar bill. When we asked him for an actual itemized bill he called us and threatend a lein against our house. he would just yell and scream and not answer any of our questions. What happens if we dont pay? We want an itemized bill showing what we are paying for. Also, our driveway is right on our property line so if anything the heads could be on our property

Answer 1

Get proof the driveway is on your property and save it. If he sues you it will be small claims court. If you have the proof he will not win.

Answer 2

You don't need to pay it or do anything right now. Don't worry they can't put a lien on your house or do anything with your credit until after a judge hears the case.

If they don't persue this in court nothing will ever happen, except you'll have a po'd neighbor.

If they take you to small claims court you just need to explain to the judge what you wrote here and you'll be fine. Make sure you bring a copy of your survey showing where the property line is and bring photos to show the driveway is on your property.

Bottom line if their sprinkler head was over the property line you could have maliciously yanked it out with your bare hands and there is nothing they can do.

Even if the heads are on their property then the court will give them nothing without an itemized bill from a company that is qualified to do the work, so again don't worry, if the uncle shows up in court with a "bill" he did on his computer, he'll get nothing.

PS: you CAN'T take him to small claims court as you are not claiming he owes you anything.

Answer 3

Sounds like you have a great neighbor, lol. That is why I still rent, so I can move if I don't like the neighbors. Well, if you are 100% sure the driveway is on your property, then that means his sprinklers are also on your property. If that's the case, then there is nothing he can do. As far as putting a lein on your house and all that, well, if he doesn't have anything to do with the ownership of the house, then he is just blowing smoke. The only thing that he could do (if in fact the sprinklers are on his property, also meaning that your driveway is on his property) is to hire a lawyer and take you to court. He would then be forced to prove his property lines (which would probably require hiring a professional surveyor to come mark them), then get an estimate in writing for the repair to show the court. In the end, he end's up paying for a lawer and all the time to go through all this. Sounds like he is just upset and wants to make some quick cash off the deal by threating you. First, just be sure that your driveway is indeed on your property. If so, then you have nothing to worry about.

Answer 4

The only way he can get a lien against your property is by suing you and getting a money judgment. It is quite obvious that your neighbor can't get a mechanics lien because he did not do improvements for your real estate.

Do you have a survey of your property? Maybe his sprinkler head was actually on your land. Quite frankly, you may need a metal detector to be able to determine where his sprinkler heads are located if they have been paved over. Mort de rire.

Your neighbor may try to sue you in small claims court. If he does, he will have to prove his claim before a judge or justice of the peace. Be prepared to defend yourself. You may see your neighbor make a fool out of himself in a public place.

If he does sue you in small claims court, get an attorney to represent you. I think it would be worth every penny you would pay.

Answer 5

I'm confused by your pronouns and your situation - I'm assuming your neighbor's uncle put in a sprinkler system on your neighbor's property. If your driveway is on YOUR property, why do your neighbor's sprinklers come into play unless they are on your property or your drive way goes onto your neighbor's property?

If you didn't contract with him to do work for you, he can't just put a lien on your house. He would have to take you to small claims court first and get a judgement in his favor.

Answer 6

I may be wrong here, but if you didn't request the work, why should you be paying him anything? He can only lein against you if you have signed a contract with him, I think.

All he can do is take you to small claims court, and you bet they are going to want to see an itemized bill. Also, if you have verifiable proof that you requested they mark their lines by a certain date, what else can you do? You can't force people to listen to you, you gave them a warning, and if they installed anything on your property, without your knowledge, couldn't you sue them?

I am not a lawyer, but common sense would tell me he is wrong here.

Answer 7

get an attorney to send him a letter and if you have any proof that when you told them to have their lines marked then show that proof. if his sprinkler heads are on your property you actually have a right to sue him to have them removed. get your property line marked. you do not have to pay it, let him take you to court and get a decision. he cannot take a lien against your house unless the court orders you to pay and then i doubt they would for this small amount. he's being a jerk and trying to intimidate you, and by yelling and screaming and not answering your questions he is admitting that he knows he was wrong. don't let him intimidate you and don' t pay him a penny. tell him that his sprinkler heads are on your property, you informed him on such and such a date that the drive was going in and he failed to mark the lines properly so that is his problem and if he wants he should take it to court. the thing is it will cost more in attorney's fees and time going back to forth to court than he will want to do.

Answer 8

You need to find out where your driveway is. If it's on your neighbor's property, then you'll end up having to pay. If it's on your property, then you probably won't.

Either way, do not pay now.

I encourage you to hire an attorney to sort this matter out. It's better to let someone with advanced training take care of it.

Answer 9

If your driveway is on your property I wouldn't sweat it. To do anything they will have to take you to court and it will get laughed out. I would send him a bill for the removal of the buried heads, if they are on your property, because they will run and deteriorate your driveway from underneath. Now who needs to get out the checkbook?
Good luck.

Answer 10

Sounds like you are right. Get a survey of your property and if his sprinkler heads are actually on your property then it's his problem. He can't take a lien on your house without some kind of mediation (Small claims court or each of your lawyers talking to each other to get it resolved).