Without a signed contract a stucco company did work on home and now are demanding payment? What options are out there or what type of certain lawyer am I trying to find?
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Without a signed contract a stucco company did work on home and now are demanding payment? What options are out there or what type of certain lawyer am I trying to find?
Hello and thank you for the help or suggestions in this matter. ES Stucco LLC., of Ft. Myers Fl. did work on a clients home in Naples Fl. without any signed contract or any verbal communication from either the home owner or my self to do the work at said home. Now after they have done the work,forced it on me with a total of 1011.00 dollars worth, they are requesting payment. For work we never agreed to be done by them? We decided to go with another company at a cost of 500.00 and when they got there it was already done by the above mentioned, ES Stucco LLC.
Thank you again for the response to this issue.
Asked on February 15, 2018 under Business Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You do not have to pay for any work you never authorized or asked them to do. The law is very clear that someone may not do work or provide goods and services to you without your consent (or even actively against your will) and charge you for them. If they did work without your agreement to pay them for the work, they essentially gave you a gift.
That said, bear in mind 1) that even if they are legally in the wrong, that does not stop them from filing a lawsuit (e.g. in small claims court), since the law does not "pre-screen" lawsuits to make sure they are valid; and 2) if they do so and can convince a judge that you *did* tell them to do the work, they could win--after all, if there is nothing in writing, just your word vs. theirs, it's not impossible that a judge would believe them. That being the case, it's probably in your interest to settle with them for an amount you can both live with--maybe that $500 you were willing to pay a different company?
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