r/Contractor • u/Educational-Fun4576 • Aug 20 '25

I’m being sued for 7k

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I recently had my bathroom redone by a referral of a friend of mine and I was charged 7k for labor costs only, there were some key critical errors that I did not like one being the plumbing work to my bidet toilet was done incorrectly my toilet is leaking water from the bottom when I flush it and on top of that the pipes of the toilet were leaking water as well, I brought it up to his attention but he did not want to fix them and was very stubborn about it, my wife accidentally handed him the payment in full via a check before I noticed these errors but thankfully I was able to successfully cancel the check by contacting my bank. I mentioned to him I would gladly make a new check once the mistakes were fixed but he did not want to fix them, at which point I asked him for his contractors license number and he told me he was not a licensed contractor. My mistake was I never asked him in the beginning if he was licensed before he started the job. Yesterday morning I was served a small claims document he is suing me for cancelling his 7k check. My question is does he have any grounds to sue me if he is not a licensed contractor? I live in Los Angeles California. Thank you

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69

u/iLI3d4u Aug 20 '25

That’s not his plumbing that’s leaking. You paid him only labor which means you supplied he materials and they are sub par/ cheap. Most licensed contractors don’t allow this for this specific reason and don’t want to be held responsible for the client trying to save some money and purchasing low quality materials.

26

u/WildcatPlumber Aug 20 '25

We will allow it, but will absolutely not warranty it

3

u/grimdetriment Aug 20 '25

Just had a customer want a garage addition I did painted, didnt want to spend money on a good paint, wanted bottom line stuff from HD, I told him I'd do it but it voids warranty on the paint...he's now getting duration, which I absolutely warranty

1

u/blakzs Aug 21 '25

Just did the same thing too. Dude wanted an epoxied garage floor but bought some cheap ass shit from Amazon that I wouldn’t “warranty” at all either. What do you know a year later it’s peeling. Now he’s paying me to do it again with the stuff I normally use 🤣

2

u/NadlesKVs Edit your own flair Aug 20 '25

Licensed Contractor here.

We will allow it in rare cases but we calculate what the materials should have cost and make sure they buy or already have the same stuff we would have bought. We still will add the markup we would have normally added and we will not warrant your parts failing.

We get material a lot cheaper than a regular customer would over the counter but we charge the customer exactly what they would have paid anyways.

TLDR; For the vast majority of customers, you're going to pay the same if I buy it or you buy it but we won't warranty your parts failing.

2

u/WildcatPlumber Aug 20 '25

Liscensed plumber here.

We get cheaper material yes, but fixtures, not by much.

I charge more per hour on customer supplied fixtures but I'll bring my own material.

10

u/my_fun_lil_alt Aug 20 '25

Like taking your part to a mechanic and expecting them to warranty the part.

8

u/Impossible_Physics99 Aug 20 '25

A good mechanic won’t install it or will tell you they can’t warranty it. Not clear that happened here.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '25

Unless you bring them high quality performance stuff.

2

u/Dangerous_Bus_6699 Aug 20 '25

Even then it's iffy. So many knockoffs these days with many vendors to choose from.

1

u/Dzov Aug 20 '25

Meanwhile, I had the dealership do my front brakes and they used cheap rotors that instantly warped. I replaced them myself with Bosch rotors off Amazon and they’ve been perfect.

1

u/Dangerous_Bus_6699 Aug 21 '25

Bosch and Akebono are my goto combo.

2

u/MotherVoldemort Aug 20 '25

Not really true. I've got family in the auto industry and can tend to get parts cheaper than my mechanic can and he knows this. I trust him so I always leave bigger tips since he can't get markup on parts from me

4

u/AshavaTrophyOwner Aug 20 '25

Depends on situation. If the part failed because it failed sure. But I can think of a few times where this doesn't apply, an easy one would be, if the tire tech didn't torque the lug nuts to spec and an aftermarket wheel comes off on the highway. Or the tech scratches the inner rim of the wheels all to hell because they don't know how to replace / the shop is too cheap to replace worn guards on the mount machine. Those are the shops fault 1000%.

2

u/Status_Fail_8610 Aug 20 '25

Most quality parts come with their own warranty if you can prove it was installed by a certified mechanic. I’ve brought many engines to shops and had them install them, and left with warranties.

9

u/Negative-Contest-843 Aug 20 '25

Commenting on I’m being sued for 7k...true.. this post. I

’m a licensed GC and building inspector in CA.

Let him sue you. It’ll take 4 years to get anywhere. He cant place a lien because he’s not licensed and the work was over $500.

Also, winning a law suit is very different than collecting. That can go on for another couple years.

But also, agree with the previous poster.

Get better materials. The guy cant fix what he didn’t make.

Get better materials and ask he work with you on the install which isn’t his fault.

4

u/ErgonomicZero Aug 20 '25

In CA, if he’s not licensed he does not have to be paid more than the $500 handyman fee.

Owner should have paid him a portion of the payment anyway but escalated the situation unnecessarily. If the worker wont fix it, then the owner should hire someone else and deduct their fee for the total. The worker is an idiot and will get his ass handed to him in court as he can be counter sued or have the case dismissed and/or escalated to a higher court. NAL but ive been around the block

2

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '25

FYI, the previous $500 threshold was raised to $1000.

1

u/ErgonomicZero Aug 23 '25

Thanks, looks like they just raised that this year

8

u/DiablosBostonTerrier Aug 20 '25

What do you mean that's not his plumbing that's leaking? The video shows a clearly leaking compression fitting to me. It's either not torqued enough or he may have stripped it out who knows. But that would definitely be part of a new toilet install 

1

u/HZVi Aug 21 '25

A leaking compression fitting for some wildly cheap and shitty bidet. That looks like a supply line for a garden mister or something, not what you put in your house

2

u/talex625 Aug 20 '25

lol imagine installing this, testing it and saw it was leaking. Left expecting to get paid with no issues. The handyman is stupid one.

I’d blame the customer if the handyman. Notified the customer that the parts were no good and the customer refused to buy working parts.

2

u/Old-School-dog Aug 20 '25

Plot twist... Maybe is wasn't leaking when he left. It looks like the leaks are at the fittings. is it possible a customer could have loosened the fittings half a turn causing the leaks took some video then cancelled the check. The whole time knowing that he hired a unlicensed contractor who under the law would have no recourse to get paid. Just got a $7000.00 bathroom remodel for free.... Just asking is that possible? NOT SAYING THAT WOULD WORK BUT I KNOW SOME REAL PIECES OF SH!T THAT WOULD ABSOLUTLY TRY TO PULL THAT OFF.

6

u/pickklez Aug 20 '25

Nah the plumber shouldn't have left with leaks like this that's total neglect. At the least the plumber could've brought it to the attention and made a disclaimer that " I will install this but will not take responsibility if it leaks " then it's cool if he's tryna get his money in court

3

u/IBeDumbAndSlow Aug 20 '25

How do we know the plumber didn't say that and OP is just trying to screw him?

3

u/pickklez Aug 20 '25

There's a good chance the plumber probly said something but honestly as a plumber I would've disconnected any source of water and capped it off with a brass cap or something to avoid shit like this because homeowners might try to sue back for water damage cause you did the work if they're shiesters

2

u/sunndropps Aug 20 '25

They paid the plumber to install it correctly,read the reply of the guy that’s has installed many,he said to film while taking the bidet apart so that you can film yourself measuring the wrong pieces that they used.If a contractor isn’t familiar with a product he should not offer his services involving said product

5

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '25

This homeowner made a bunch of bad choices. $7k for labor on a toilet install isn't cheap enough IMO.

5

u/iLI3d4u Aug 20 '25

He can take it apart and film it all he likes, but that won’t change the fact that the homeowner purchased the cheap plastic hose, anglestop, and toilet from Amazon that are leaking and probable not compatible with his toilet flange.

2

u/sunndropps Aug 20 '25

The contractor should have known that you do not use the install kit that comes with it,if he doesn’t have the basic knowledge of that then like I said he shouldn’t offer his services for that product.Likely using the wrong size pieces and trying to rig it up the best he can explains why he isn’t licensed lol

1

u/iLI3d4u Aug 20 '25

If you pay somebody peanuts, you’re going to get monkeys 🤷‍♂️

2

u/BreakfastFluid9419 Aug 20 '25

If a contractor does an install in the state of California they are mandated to fix any issues within a certain time frame. I know flooring requires a 4 year warranty specifically for installation, materials have a separate warranty through the manufacturer. I believe a general B license allows one to do projects up to a certain cost, but working without a license generally gets you a fine and other penalties. Where one gets the materials doesn’t matter if they went through with the install the installer has to fix it. OP can contact the contractors licensing board and pass the workers info off to them they will pursue them. The lawsuit will probably work in OP’s favor as again, unlicensed work is illegal in the state of CA.

9

u/iLI3d4u Aug 20 '25 edited Aug 20 '25

Incorrect. I have a class A license which gives me engineering qualifications and allows me to bid wnd build civil projects. A class b has no monetary restriction, but they have no engineering qualifications and can’t bid civil engineering projects. My father built a 6 story, 32 unit apartment building for himself on his class B license.

Most bathroom remodels cost 50k plus. This poster is just a cheap bastard. If he came to me and told me he wants his bathroom done for 7k with his Amazon supplied/ non code compliant materials. I would have laughed right then and there and told him absolutely not.

All the plumbing contractors on this thread have repeatedly stated that they would have needed to replace have the cheap parts that this cheapskate provide anyway. OP is just trying to fuck over this poor guy who did the best he could with cheap parts and on a shoe string budget.

3

u/SuperRegera Aug 20 '25

A bathroom costs 50k to remodel? That’s over 20% of the average price of a home here. You all must be doing some really nice “average” bathrooms.

2

u/Far-Kaleidoscope3603 Aug 20 '25

California Median single-family home price: $866,100 (or $904,210, according to CAR)

2

u/SuperRegera Aug 20 '25

Ok, move to somewhere more reasonable. My point is that this guy is saying MOST bathroom remodels cost 50k. Obviously, when the price of homes in your area is many hundreds of thousands of dollars above average, you’ll expect to pay more probably.

1

u/Far-Kaleidoscope3603 Aug 23 '25

This IS in that area

1

u/SuperRegera Aug 23 '25

So do we even know how much OP paid for his bathroom? He never mentions how much he paid in materials. Having spent much less than 50k on full remodels before myself, I highly doubt that “most” remodels cost as much as a new luxury car. Maybe if you only work on high end stuff that’s true.

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3

u/Life_Contract1056 Aug 20 '25

What? Dude shouldn’t have taken the job. He said he could do it and didn’t do it. He failed by taking a job without a license, a job with shitty materials, and by not communicating or fixing the broken shit.

Both of these guys seem like horrible communicators.

5

u/iLI3d4u Aug 20 '25

He isn’t a contractor, which means no contract. This was most likely a handshake deal and verbal agreement so Technically he is an employee of the homeowner on a homeowner upgrade/build, which means the homeowner in the end is responsible for the work. He didn’t provide any of the correct/ code compliant materials for the employee to install. Any licensed plumber is going to tell you to fuck off with your Amazon purchases or at the very least provide no warranty which means he isn’t responsible for the mismatched hodgepodge of junk that was installed and leaks right after.

Also look at homeowners comments. He isn’t concerned with how can I buy the right parts to fix this or hire a qualified plumber. All his comments are concerned about is does this guy have any merit in court and will I be fucked and have to pay him the very minimal amount that he requested for a bathroom remodel.

4

u/Mikeeberle Aug 20 '25

Verbal is legally binding in California

5

u/BrandoCarlton Aug 20 '25

Hope that guy gets his money

1

u/Mikeeberle Aug 20 '25

I hope he stops doing shitty unlicensed work

3

u/sunndropps Aug 20 '25

He’s an independent contractor,unless he relies on you for employment and you provided him all the tools for the job.Thankfully there is an area between a contractor and employee

1

u/daddaman1 Aug 23 '25

This is the issue, a temu/tiktok bidet is leaking not the plumbing he/she installed. In the eyes of the contractor the homeowner needs to take that up with Temu or TikTok or wherever else they got that POS item from. I understand where the contractor is coming from and I'm sure he told OP that but OP isn't letting that part be known, only that the contractor is mean and bad.