When you’re ready to tackle a big home renovation or repair, finding a good contractor is a challenge. Getting one to even give you the time of day can be harder than you might think, in part because of a shortage of skilled tradespeople, and in part because of the economics of construction—your dinky little half bath reno simply may not be profitable enough for an established, busy contractor. This might lead you to hire someone who is a bit less established, which in turn can lead to the nightmare scenario in which they ghost you after starting the work, leaving you with a mess.
If you skipped some of your due diligence in your rush to hire someone, it’s too late to go back and do that now. But there are steps you can take when a contractor vanishes.
Read your contract and start a paper trail
First things first: Read your contract. Unless you hired someone under the table and off the books, you have some sort of written agreement with your contractor, and that agreement will detail things like deficient work and non-performance, as well as the precise procedure for ending the contract and essentially firing the contractor. Even though you might be outraged and angry about your contractor’s behavior, you’re still bound by this agreement, and going rogue could cost you, so pay attention.
Next, ensure that everything you do from this point forward is documented. Send your contractor a written account of what’s not finished, what they’ve been paid for, and what’s scheduled to happen next. Note any deficient work (unfinished items or poor workmanship) and specify how you want it rectified. Then ask them to respond with a detailed schedule for finishing the work and how they’ll fix the problems.
If they respond with a reasonable explanation and address your concerns, you’ll have to do a vibe check to decide if you want to proceed. Even if their explanation is acceptable, don’t agree to pay anything more until the work they’ve already begun is finished. If you have a contract with a schedule of payments tied to finished work—insist on sticking to that. If you don’t have a contract or it doesn’t have a clear schedule, insist that any discussion of payments comes after they’ve finished what they started.
If you get no response, or the response isn’t satisfactory, refer to your contract and terminate it according to its terms. This probably means writing a formal letter. Once that’s done, your next steps depend on whether the contractor owes you money.
Hire a new contractor to finish the job
If your old contractor left your project at a clear stopping point and the materials and labor you’ve already paid for are complete and accounted for, all you need to do now is find someone to finish the job. This won’t be any easier than it was to hire the first contractor, but if you didn’t have a formal contract or didn’t do things like check their bond and license status, get references, or have a clear schedule of work and payments, now is your chance to do it right the second time.
Leave them a review to warn others
Once you’ve severed your relationship with your ghosting contractor, you might consider warning others via the magic of online reviews. If you found your contractor through a service like Angi or HomeAdvisor, leaving negative feedback might save someone else the heartache of hiring this contractor in the future. You could also track down their Google profile or Yelp listing to warn off others.
You can also consider filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, though this isn’t any more effective than leaving reviews elsewhere—but spreading the word about this contractor as far and wide as possible may help your others these problems in the future.
What to do if you already paid a contractor who ghosts you
If your contractor owes you work or money, you have two avenues to pursue:
Make a bond claim. Many (but not all) states require that non-shady, licensed contractors post surety bonds in order to operate. These bonds exist to ensure that contractors follow state laws and regulations, as they can be compelled to pay them if they are found to have violated those rules. Unlike insurance, which is paid by an insurance company, a bond is paid by the contractor, so they have skin in the game. If your state or locality requires that contractors be bonded in order to be licensed, you can make a claim against their bond for the unfinished work. Contact the surety company that issued the bond and file a claim. If you’re one of many people who have had this contractor walk off their jobs, however, you won’t have much luck here. Sue. If you can’t tap the contractor’s bond, your only recourse for getting at least some of your money back is to sue them. Hopefully, the amount you’re out is under your state’s small claims dollar limits (which range from $2,500 to $25,000). You don’t need a lawyer for a small claims action—just bring all your documentation, review the court’s procedures, and make your case. If the amount you’re owed is more than the small claims limit, your only course would be to litigate—but consider the extra costs if you have to involve an attorney and pay associated court fees. At this point, it might not be worth it.
