My widowed mother-in-law "hired" a "handyman" several weeks ago, and he's swindling her...can I do something??

Question

Her husband died at the age of 43 (very suddenly) and he used to do everything. After he died, she got a flier on the door advertising a window washing service for a set price and hired the guy to do just that (which he still has never done). After she hired him for that he offered to do many more things around the house that really needed to be done, such as fixing up their yard and various other small jobs. Then he started offering to do such things as "renovate" her bathrooms, which desperately need work... Unfortunately, she didn't write up or sign any kind of contract outlining work, quality of materials, etc...but I've seen the quality of work the guy has done and he's ripping her off. I can tell he has no experience or skill whatsoever concerning most of the stuff he's agreed to do. Also, she has paid him for jobs that, to date, have not been done. Does she have any kind of legal recourse? I can provide more details if needed, please email me, I really want to help her.

Okay, thank you to those who have actually given some advice. To those of you who have told me to "butt out", as you so eloquently put it, I would ask you to do the same. My mother in law is older than her forties and is not in good health. She has paid this man for work that he did not do, but said he would, and she has stopped paying him for his services. She has asked for my help because she feels that I am a strong, smart woman, and respects my ideas; on the other hand, she doesn't necessarily want to pay a lawyer if there's nothing that can be done to begin with. The money she has paid him so far adds up to around 6K, and the work is very shoddy. She realizes now that she was wrong, but with no contract, she just isn't sure what she can do. Myself, I am just fishing around, hoping to get someone with either: a) experience with an issue like this, or: b) someone with legal knowledge more than mine.

I am sorry to add more, but I would just like to add this: Please understand that I'm NOT trying to be rude, but I only asked a question about a certain topic, and courses of action I could take on said topic. I deeply, truly appreciate those with real advice or knowledge, and I would also beg that anything that may be inferred about our personal lives be excluded from your answer. Thank you so much!

Answer 1

File a case of estafa through swindling against the handyman if you have evidence so that he will be tried in court.

Answer 2

Your mother-in-law is in her 40s? What makes you think she is incompetent to manage her own life?

If she didn't ask for your help, she would probably be insulted for you to butt in.

Mind your own business if you want to keep peace in the family.

EDIT on your additional details: Given the amount she has paid him, this is a small claims case. She can sue him for breach of contract, claiming that he has not completed the job in a "workmanlike manner" for the work he has done and ask for a refund for money she paid for work he hasn't done at all.

She will have to prove that the work is below the standard she contracted for. The easiest case is if the work is so bad that anyone can see it from pictures displayed in court.

If it is a matter of aesthetic opinion, she might be out of luck, as she didn't have written contract requiring him to do the job to her subjective standards.

She may be able to get a judgment in court if he is unlicensed and the work she hired him for requires a contractor's license. But many states don't go that far--Unlicensed contractors cannot successfully sue to be paid, but they can keep the money paid to them equal to the value of services rendered.

She has little to lose but a small filing fee and a day in court to recover her money. But this is something she personally has to do, not you. As for your "additional details", your original post talked all about what you saw, what you could tell, etc., and nothing about what she felt or wanted. In court, you would have no standing to sue him, cannot represent her, and are not an expert witness, so what you believe or feel is totally irrelevant. In 14 years as an attorney, I've learned not to waste time with the irrelevant. If you are posting her legal problems on the internet with her blessing, my apologies. Otherwise, my original answer stands.

Answer 3

If he is actually completing and not going so far about shoddiness as to do things like reroof with dirty motor oil, likely little. But most states have financial limits for repairs. Exceeding those limits require a contractors license. And in most states, a handiman that, say, buys a can of paint to paint the stairway railng also requires a contractor's license by that act. But definitely do report him to the police. Most home repai scams go state to state to escape. Gypsy families are often running them.

Answer 4

talk with HER about this and point out to her what you are telling us. If she wants to accept this quality work and pays this guy, she probably wants his COMPANY because she is lonely. The "work" he is doing is just an excuse for him to be there. There is nothing LEGALLY you can do if there are no written contracts. It is up to her if she wants him doing these things, or just being there.

Answer 5

i'm in simple terms 15 so i can't say I bear in mind them even as they were well-known yet my father and mom have their acceptable Hits so I pay interest to them from time to time. They were so amazing. i appreciate how they did not even fairly play their gadgets. My well-known track by them is palms down Daydream Believer. I also like the topic track and he or she.

Answer 6

Tell her to stop asap paying him / using his services. And file a police report!

Answer 7

get the police involved.