I worked for a masonry contractor in Kenmore (Seattle area) WA and as we were veneering a building with 4" blocks, I noticed that every opening (doors and windows) needed a cut. I suggested to the foreman that had he started the veneer with a 4" or 12" cut on the end of the building, then every opening would have worked out with whole and half blocks, instead of the 4" and 12" cuts. The foreman informed me that "every cut was an extra". In other words, the masonry contractor laid out the block work in order to exaggerate how many cuts were needed in order to cost the customer more $$.....POS

My wife is my contractor, she has been taking my money for years.

Thank you for all your videos. As an older woman who just purchased a home with a leaking basement, I find it very scary hiring any company to do a major project without getting ripped off, and having bad work done. I can't even get someone to clean my gutters properly. At least watching your videos gives me some sort of an idea how the project should be done. Thanks again :)

It is gut wrenching to watch this especially after being screwed by a dishonest contractor in the past. Thank you for great examples and even better tips!

I took a guy's cabinet doors out of house two days before thanksgiving, it was a straight up barter job, i'd provide and install his cabinets, he'd do the electrical in my small 900 sq ft house. He never did the finish electrical, so I took the doors back. His wife had him at my house that night to finish it.

“The contractor should invest more in you than you in them”. I will remember this for the rest of my life. So logical but sometimes forgotten. Thank you for your videos

I like how you're keeping it professional and not name dropping and saying im better. You're just saying you're doing it right and not screwing the customers.

It's the other way around for me. I've had horrible customers that I've worked hard to get away from lately. Business has become increasingly better.

I got ripped off my a contractor. So I followed his men and trucks on his other jobs. I turned him in numerous times to OSHA, Code Enforcement, ICE, EPA, Work Comp, DOT and his Bank. He ended up going out of business and almost to jail because he jacked me around for $16K. He knew I did it. I became his worst nightmare. Vengeance was mine.

I had a contractor just like that. This is how I handled him. I first put him in bill collection, second I put leans against the property, third I started a contractors alliance. This alliance allowed us to input bad debts on a information board. Surprisingly suppliers joined and in the end because we had bill collection and leans to prove non payment no contractor or supplier would work with him. This put him out of business. He took us to court and lost. Subs and suppliers have to work together to rid our industry of these scumbags.

That first contractor that is going around suing will sue the wrong person one day. Many contractors are coming out of prison or jail and won't hesitate to put someone in the ground for pulling bullshit like that.

Dump and run will always find jobs because people will always hire them for cheap. Cheap work isn't good, and good work isn't cheap.

If I ever hired a contractor it would be to build a roundhouse so they couldn't cut any corners.

Over the years I’ve dealt with many many contractors and customers and I finally worked out a solution that protects both sides. In simple terms I use an escrow type account just like when you purchase a home. If I’m the customer I put an agreed upon amount into an escrow type account. I can’t touch it and neither can the contractor. When the work is done and I sign off on it the money is released to the contractor and everyone is happy. If something goes wrong by either party it’s in both of our best interest to find a way to settle it quickly and through mediation instead of attorneys. Neither side can touch the money until both sides sign off on it. I can’t keep the money and decide not to pay and the contractor can’t take the money until he’s completed the work. There’s more to it than I have time to explain here but you get the general idea. It’s not perfect and there are some drawbacks but it protects both sides and keeps everyone honest. One downside is I can’t hire people that are just getting started because they usually can’t afford to float an entire job without some money up front. Upside is I tend to only work with people that have been around for quite awhile and have a proven track record. I have to mention that since I started using this system I haven’t been scammed or screwed over. And that’s all I have to say about that lol Cheers mates

One Way to prevent Scams like this is how many Companys are doing it here in Germany. You agree to a Contract and Price and the Costumer is putting the Money into a Fund that is overlooked by a third Party. The Contractor can get the Money for the Materials after handing in the Receipts and will get the Rest of the Money after the Job is done and everything is fine. This is good for both Sides because the Contractor knows that the Costumer has the Money to pay for the Project and the Costumer knows that the Contractor cant run away with the Money without doing anything. One big House Construction Company in Germany even has the Policy that they build the entire House without demanding Money for the Materials before the entire Job is done if you agree to put the Money in a Fund. But tbh, thats just possible because it is a big Company with enough Savings to finance this. But every Company, even smaller ones, should have enough Savings to pay Workers and Machines for a while before the Company is paid and you should avoid Companys that demand huge Payments upfront. A Company that didnt have enough Savings to pay their Workers for a couple Weeks is a huge red Flag.

Nice to see someone exposing the frauds everyone should know about.

Mr. Stanley, your information was spot on. I had a friend that was a GC and I started working with him and had to immediately STOP because he was doing all of those things. Glad you put that information out there.

After hurricane ike here in Houston i started to do fencing theres was a lot of work we were backed up for weeks 1 of the customer that had been on the list decided to go with someone else to do her fence she got screwed bad they used cement on the very bottom lots of dirt and topped it off with a little cement on top. We came in and actually removed about 60 posts just on the walk around. Turns out that lady was dealing with this contractor and the death of her husband at the same time not only that but 2 weeks after the husband past her mom died aslo. We came in and did the best we could to make her happy not tearing up any more than we needed to. And just put something back together right like it should have been done the first time

I always get a bit anxious the first day or two of the contractor starting the job. My experience as a customer is that it's a coin toss, regardless what price you've agreed to pay, as to whether they turn out to be useless or great. Such a relief when they at least turn out to be competent!

Stanley, thank for sharing all your work experiences! As a Home and Building Inspector it is very helpful to see the real world behind the scenes! Good Job! Keep on going!

Wow thanks for sharing. Been doing construction disputes for a long time and never heard of that first one. I would’ve fought it too. Good job. His lawyer is at risk of getting disbarred but other lawyers rarely push that.

Thanks for making this video. Its important information for everyone to know. It helps both customers and contractors. I run a small tree trimming business and i run my business 100% honest and on positive relationships. I had a partner that decided he was not going to do business as such when I found out what he was doing behind my back I approached him and ultimately parted ways, and now he is my competition. It is hard to compete with scammers, but ultimately my profit is higher, my work is better, and my conscience is clear at the end of the day. Happy customers are the number one goal in a business the reputation goes farther than a few bucks.

Over the years. I thought I must have encountered every conceivable scam, or twist that could eventuate. Never really got around to keeping notes, but wish I had.. The hardest thing was to believe anyone could be trusted to appreciate a fair deal.

Last point about contests it so critical! Everything has to be in the contract, both what you will do and what you will not. Great video! I wish more people/customers knew this things. Would make it so much better for everyone.

Stan, what an awesome video. I would love to see a video on how customers screw contractors. I was a remodeling contractor for 14 years and had no problems.. just some really minor issues. I had most of my real problems working for unscrupulous framing contractors by the hour. I have retired from my federal career and may start contracting again. Thank you sir. I appreciate you sharing.

I always take my customer with me or meet me to buy the materials so they can pay and I don’t touch that money. Then I have them pay me 50% half way and 50% at completion. They seem to be happy with this.

The first scenario is sadly common. I got scammed by a customer the exact same way. I was the 3rd contractor renovating a large home. She told me about how bad the last 2 guys were and how happy she was that I was on the job. Stupid me, I complete part of the job and instead of getting paid, get sued for double what I'm owed. I wouldn't call it a contractor scam because it was a homeowner that did this to me. It's just garbage people in general.

As being in this type of business I’ve seen some shady stuff, my advice would be to go on the internet and research the kind of project that you are having done, know what kind of materials are commonly used and approximate amounts for your type of project. So if the contractor says he needs money for three times the amount of material that is actually needed you can dispute it and if they tell you they’re going to use the best or exotic materials check and see if you’re getting what you paid for because a lot of times you are not

Holy smoke Stanley, that 10 year old wall looks fantastic! I am an electrical estimator, and I used to work for an electrical contractor who lived for change orders. Had to move on because I just can't do business that way. Really enjoyed the video, thanks for posting.

As always, good stuff. Sooner or later they will have to have a go between that cuts checks on daily basis, the owner pays this person in full for the job, then that person pays when the work gets done. Its always been a nightmare. Suing for double has been around along time.The people who do this, always look for a newer/small company. Our company repaired computer systems, if we had no history with a new customer, we stopped work every hour and had them write another check for the next hour. It got that crazy, some company's would just go through the yellow pages, call a company, get stuff fixed then never pay the invoice, next time they had trouble, they just called the next yellow page ad on the page, and again not pay the invoice. We stopped working for Lawyers and Doctors early on.

Awesome, honest and informative video. We have been fortunate enough to have worked with honest contractors/landscapers, but not before meeting and getting quotes from the "crooked" ones. Its up to home owners/investors to do their due diligence. Its not enough to get a few quotes, you have to know what the job entails from start to finish and consider the "what ifs". You have one more subscriber!

I didn’t realize you were in my area! I found your channel randomly while my wife and I are looking to put a retaining wall in our backyard. Good info, thank you.

Yes please do the video on customers. I have been in business since 2011 and have been very fortunate so far, but I would like to know more about what to watch for. Love the videos. Keep them coming.

I've been a civil engineer for 25 years. I agree with every word you said, particularly in commercial contracts.

Long story short, I had a witch of a lady not pay me after cutting a big tree down that took all day. After playing nice and trying to talk sence in her for half an hour i dumped a full load of chips from her tree back in her driveway, a full trailer load of wood infront of the chips and then all the raking back onto the yard. I took her to court and won what i was owed minus $200 for dumping everything in her driveway. It was worth every bit of the $200 to give her a taste of her own medicine lol. The next day after settling in court i got a packet in the mail from the court TV show "Hot Bench", they heard about what happened and offered to fly me to California and pay me to go to court on TV through their show. If only they was a day faster i would have excepted for the free trip to California lol.

Wow! I so learned so much from this short video about the dangers of being a new contractor I guess you can say as a I just started my own landscaping business thanks to Keith Kalfas. Thanks Stanley for this informative video!

Here is a story about a customer who refused to pay for his new shingled roof. The gentleman who had installed the shingles stopped at my friend's house and asked him if he would take a ride and be a witness, he agreed unknowing what was going to happen. The gentleman drove to the house where he installed the shingles threw up a ladder and started to tear off some shingles, the home owner came running out saying "what are u doing" the roofer said u don't pay u don't keep my shingles! Home owner went into house and came out with a check for the rest.

i'm in the process of starting a landscaping company (intending to specialize in gravel driveway construction, repair and maintenance) and the story of you getting sued made me glad i'm refusing to do any work until my llc is finalized. already have business insurance but still better to wait until it's a bonafide company.

Stuff i've seen contractors do: Contractors may over-bill on a project, like charging you for 3 jobs worth of nails for 1 job so they can use those nails on 3 other jobs where they may either over-bill that customer too or underbid the next contract because they screwed over a previous customer on material costs. Sub-contractors will come in to do excavation job. They take all the good parts of the property - top soil, rock etc and bill the customer for removal of that stuff, use it on the next job site, bill the new customer for adding that stuff in (the customer assumes they bought it somewhere). Another excavation scenario i've seen; A contractor comes in to grade and or re-gravel/add gravel to a driveway at a new construction site. They spread disperse the 'shotrock' already laid out on the driveway area, they bill the customer to add that back into the areas they worked on and for the rock they haven't added yet but were contracted to bring in. The contractor who built my house, put the septic field in but did not install it correctly (it has to be put in with a laser level at a certain grade). They did not attach the waste pipe from the house going to the septic field. They left unattached and unsealed, covered it all up with dirt then put it on the market. He also broke the water line and didn't fix it, the neighbor saw it and fixed it. The county inspector being a complete idiot, only tests the septic fields ability to drain water from the tank itself, not from inside the house so nobody ever caught that issue until the first owner bought house and moved in. 15k of work later fixing it, the contractor and the county both deny any culpability (they signed off on all of it, including the bad wiring). This guy built multiple houses with similar problems. I could say more but i'd run out of room.

Your first story that happened to me. After I got half what I was owed. I walk the sidewalk on the homeowners block warning other contractors in this new neighborhood. With a big sign no one else would do any more work. And since the sidewalk is public the homeowner came to me and said what can I do. I said pay me what's owed. He did. Never not fight for what your owed.

In the first scenario, your attorney should've added $20K in damages in your counterclaim. Rare that you get 100% of the damages you claim but, based on your knowledge of the other two contractors he scammed and ability to bring that into evidence, you very likely would've been able to prove his intent to defraud you and collected at least $10K in damages over and above payment of your $20K invoice.

Had a contractor tell me, after finishing patching a hole and putting a new roof on my house, that I owed him $1,500.00 additionally because of putting in new support beams etc.. I knew he was lying so later I crawled up in the attic and looked, nothing he said was done. He calls next day demanding to be paid, I told him what I did, he said he would take me to court, I laughed and told him I took a video while up in attic and would be happy to go to court, and would counter sue! He goes silent then says he would never do work for me again. No telling how many honest hard working people get stolen from by him and other contractors.

In 30 years as a General Contractor I cant say Ive had any negative encounters worth mentioning. But yes! These kinds of things go on constantly. I feel pretty lucky.

My brother had a customer, similar to your first one, who flat out told him "I'm not going to pay you." He went in at night and removed every fixture he supplied. - another call; my brother says "YOUR what? - You haven't bought anything." He could have gotten in 'criminal' so - probably don't, but still a great story. Another one I had no part in - another customer got C.O. took residence and said "Sue me for your money." The contractor bulldozed the entire house. (Also heard he had no legal trouble, but I doubt it.)

Thank you brother.. please yes more vids like this and yes how customers pull fast ones.. this was great, years ago I went bankrupt because a GC ran a system on me and I was powerless.... me and my family suffered while this guy took the cash and lived good. This stuff is nothing more than organized crime and pure evil

Two little stories of things working the way they should. While we were writing up the contract to replace my roof, I told the contractor I wanted two rows of ice guard, because I have plaster walls & ceilings and get pretty big ice dams in the winter, better safe than sorry. He frowned and said well, we usually use one row and never have a problem, but if you want two, that will add, let's see, about $800 to the project. I agreed to that and we wrote it up. I later heard him telling his crew to put up two rows. One of them asked why, when they usually use one. He said "Because it's what our customer wants, and it's what our customer is paying for, so that's what we're gonna do." "You got it, boss." And that was that. The contractor is a relative, so I trust him and he trusts me, but business is business. When the project was underway, he found that an old disused chimney (from when the house had a coal furnace) was in bad shape. He suggested knocking the top off and roofing right over it. He figured the time & materials was about the same as all the work to flash and seal and shingle around it, so there was no change to the price... but we changed the contract anyway, putting in that detail to roof over the chimney. Business is business.

this place is right by my house love to hear these stories

This was awesome! Thank you so much for the insight to these trends.

I agree with most of what you said Stanley but i do like to collect half down on privet jobs to protect me if the customer doesn't pay in the end. I can eat my cost on labor but i never want to be stuck paying for material and get nothing from the customer in the end. We collect half once material is on site and machinery is dropped to start the project. Thankfully i have never had an issue and we have a great relationship with our customers.

I like the Video, and its an eye opener. As always, i look at the other side of the coin, as some Client is being rob by Contractors cold blood. To get a claim, every bit of dollar is to be justified. You need to get each of the scope items approved by Client or Client Rep. from Material samples, material delivery at site, (and even mockup installation if require) prior installation, and finally get every deliverables in the contract approved and signed by authorized signatory and/or Client himself. If you have all these documentation done, and that you completed and/or rectified all non-conformities of works as required, you get your claim of 20K, but remember,... most Client would require penalties to delayed time of completion of xx$ per day of delay to maximum 10% of Contract (as normally does in other countries). If Client counter claim for 40K, then your contract value would be ~ 400k, and could have been delayed for more than 3~4months (Contractor Default), and you have a claim of 20K as your final bill as approved again by a Client Rep., but still, subject to retention if any. If you bring this scenario to the Court, it should be a commercial court expert enough to understand time impact analysis as Lump Sum Contract (Specs and Drawings) and BOQ (Bill of Quantity) Contract differs from each other. Local Laws and Commercial Contracts differs significantly, and only a judge with enough experience can provide a justifiable verdict. If a contractor is confident to complete the works as per agreed duration, as a tool for safety against liquidated damages from Client, you need to submit schedule of works for completion, and have it signed and approved . If not, it wont be an easy fight when delay comes as a result of change design, delays in materials or drawing approvals, or simply a delay in payments as agreed. :-)

Thank you for the hard work putting this together!

You're awesome for sharing this info. I'm sending this to my parents! Thank you!

Excellent video. Same thing is happening with LA Rams Coliseum. The original price tag was 2.25b now it's ballooned to 4.25b. The source of the costs are earthquake retrofitting and soft costs. Didn't they engineer the stadium with earthquakes in mind before pouring the foundation, pillars and walls?

Hello, When I compose the Scope Of Work for a contract, I include: 1. The Specific Work; 2. The Inclusions; 3. The Exclusions; and, 4. The Method of Operation. Stating the Method of Operation is helpful because: 1. It states the intended method of operation; and so, 2. it enables the client and the contractor to determine if a change in the method of operation is a significant change in the agreed method of operation; and (if it is, then), 3. it enables the value of that variation to be determined. For example, if my client wants me to bring in a bigger excavator (than that stated in the method of operation) to reduce the work time then the cost to float in and out that bigger excavator is a variation cost to the contract. Regards, Geoff. Reeks

I’m a subcontractor 1 time I had a contract with a general contractor for 50,000 after all the work was done he said he could only pay me 30,000 That is a scam general contractors use to make more money on projects. It happens a lot more than you think.

EVERY contractor I have ever had, as soon I write the final check, the warranty and anything needing fixed or adjusted will NEVER get done by them!!! Don't give them the final check until YOU are happy with them.

Years ago, as a family business, had a fancy man from the big city contract us to build a pond and dam in front of his new house. When it came time to pay, he refused because it wasn't what "he wanted". So I was polite but told him I needed the money by Friday and he laughed and said "sue me". Monday morning at about 6 AM I posted a notice on his door with a deputy and our crew dug up the culvert pipe that was in the dam/driveway. We repoed the culvert since we had paperwork showing we had bought and paid for it, and a recording of his refusal to pay for the materials and extra work on this job. Got our money that day, and made him prepay to have his driveway repaired from the repo. After that, no local contractor would do a job for him without 50% down and installments. One guy even charged for stop job/change orders if he had to stop work and pull his equipment & guys because the fancy man dragged his feet with payments. Turned out this guy wasn't as rich as he wanted everyone to believe, and lost his house in bankruptcy a few years later.

yes that is the video I want. The one about what customers do to screw us over. I have had a lot of those situations.

Never thought contractors would screw over their own. That's extra special messed up.

wow you are a wealth of good information, for me just starting out small 1 truck 1 dump trailer , 1 skidsteer not yet purchased and the dump trailer not purchased

I got one! If you are a customer you better make sure your contractor is insured.

The air quotes are legit, and your commentary about them is even funnier. It's a little Chris Farley from old SNL... He air quotes "Maybe I eat my own dandruff". hahaha. The info is great as well!

GREAT VIDEO! from a small time electrician in the midwest. 100% of my customers are referrals because someone got screwed.

True story: In Miami (FL) there is a construction company called Downrite Engineering who's owner has a yacht called, "Change Order"

You mentioned about the change orders and our contracts between us and the gc. MECHANICS LIEN is always an important safe guard at the beginning of any large job for us subs. Sure wish I had the time to let people know the things I've seen as an electrical contractor and the scams I've heard of and seen. One is a service call of power is out in a certain area of a residence. Something like 2-3 plugs in one room and maybe one in a room next to it. IT'S ALWAYS A LOOSE NEUTRAL...OK, maybe more like 90% of the time but....a local contractor in my area will not find the simple solution. He goes to the main panel, finds the wiring going into the wall above the meter panel, locates its neutral wire and maks a very slight, but enough to not carry current cut with his wire cutters. Tells "Mrs. Smith" and shows her the little unexplainable cut in the w"worn-out wire" that's unrepairable and will charge an outrages price to rewire the circuitry. That's just one example of this thief making us HONEST contractors look bad. and I've got more about this guy here in so cal.

condominium scam I know an investor who applies a very nasty strategy, and he can keep doing it because he just travels all over the country, doing multimillion dollar projects one after the other, but without seeing them through. Here's how he does it: He'll start a project with unfinished units that people can buy on plan (and after the project is finished, they can finish the units to their own needs and desires). He calculates a break-even at 25% of units sold. Once 10% of units are sold, he starts a "venture of co-owners" (don't know the proper word in English, sorry) where all owners become shareholders. Every sold unit is then translated into a certain share of the total project, and all owners become equally responsible for the completion of the project. Sounds great, but therein lies the trap. He's the one with the big project budget, so he's needed to complete all common areas, and structural work for the entire project. But once he reaches 25%, he drops in the board meeting that he is considering to drop out, and is offering the remaining shares for sale. Usually the people don't fully understand what is going on, so they refuse at first, which seems smart, but it's already too late, the trap has already sprung. When 30% is sold, he comes with a story that he's going bankrupt, and that he has to sell the remaining 70% of shares, but that the banks won't allow him to sell under the price. (which is b.s. but most home owners don't realize that). So all co-owners are suddenly forced to come up with 3 times their original budgets in order to have the budget to finish the project in its basic form. And sure, if they can, than all of them can make a profit from selling the other two units (because it basically means that every unit owner suddenly has to buy 3 units). But in most cases, they can barely gather the budget to buy all the shares, and the project fails when contractors can't be paid anymore and stop working. This scam works, because at first it seems interesting to be in charge over the project, and to determine the policy of the projec that you have invested in. And he gets away with the dumping of the shares because people don't realize that to realistically estimate the financial impact, they should not only count the purchase of the sales, but they should each individually feel 100% responsible for the complete cost of the entire basic project. Because once one owner can't keep up with payments for the work, they all fall like dominoes, and unless there's one very potent co-owner who can carry the load of the entire condominion, the project will never finish, and they won't even have a unit to sell, so everybody loses all of their investment. And the investor has already started his next project, 200 miles away, looking for new victims. I have done some engineering work on some of his projects, and if I had been the one picking the customers, I'd have kicked him out faster than he could introduce himself.

I’m a handyman interested in getting a contractor license here in Florida. This advice just blew my mind. Looks like I got a lot more stuff to learn besides the theories, business laws and Florida state building codes.☹️☹️

SO! Last Spring, I bid a retaining wall& flagstone stepper staircase at 23,000. Some random came in and bid it at 17,000. She just messaged me and asked if I could look at it because the wall is already bulging and the stairs are sinking. They did NOT backfill, no drain, and no base for the wall or stairs

I'm going through this right now! He pulled his credentials offline and from October- December I paid over 30,000 and he didn't do anything but half halfass put up a door and cleaned the house from the previous owners. He stopped working and disappeared then contacted me saying he wanted 20,000 more if I wanted him to finish my house, so I hired someone else last week and they've put up a new roof, put down flooring, sheetrock, primed and starting to paint tomorrow. I lost my husband & children and I needed the money he took!

I never have to worry about contractors. Can't afford them in any way, shape or form.

This guy is great. This is exactly what I have been telling clients for decades. As a Building Designer it constantly amazes me to see clueless homeowner run their own construction projects. You know..........to save money.

Change orders with GC's are becoming more complex as the years pass on. Mark ups are being pre-stipulated, Change Order rates are being pre-established, plus they are making mandatory to see your invoices from your supplies w/ pre-determined markups applied. Read your contracts before you sign. red line them and negotiate terms. Protect yourself. - Great video by the way...Thanks for putting it out there and showing that Contractors can be honest and hard working!

One time we had a huge mulch job and the customer would not pay due to us laying the mulch upside down.

Moved to Giddings, Texas about 6 years ago. Out here in the country, the 800 foot or more water line from the road to the house separated at one of the compression joints. Called a plumbing company who dug it up at the joint and, as I watched, replaced that joint by creating what I would describe as a U-shaped joint. This U-shaped joint contained 3 lengths of pvc about 6 inches long, connected in a U-shape using 2 90 degree elbows. To connect to the line, they of course added 2 more 90 degree elbows. And it seemed to work fine. At first. But then another compression fitting blew, and they replaced it using the same technique. And another. Each trip costing about $300. After each replacement, the water pressure at the house became lower and lower. As water pressure and flow tends to do when introducing additional 90 degree elbows. The water slams into an elbow which diverts it 90 degrees, over and over again, slowing it down! And after the most recent trip, our water pressure is quite low, where even one of our commodes fails to fill due to low pressure. And I've realized that this company's scam includes an expectation of our having the water company coming out here to increase the pressure at the street valve in order to provide adequate pressure and flow in the home. Which of course results in the remaining compression fittings blowing out due to the increased pressure! And more $300 charges to fix. And eventually, having the plumber replace the entire length of line for over $2500! People, please WATCH your contractors as much as possible. Something like a plumbing job that may last a couple of hours may be worth taking vacation time in order to see what they are doing. The owner of the plumbing company has not requested the late payment on that last service call. It has been at least 2 years. He knows that I now know what he is doing to the people of Lee County Texas. P.S. - With the lower pressure, we have not had any further blowouts. We can live with it like this for awhile, but I'll be replacing the 800 foot plus water line by myself. Perhaps in the Spring. Without U-shaped joints!

Thanks for the video. Very educational from a customer's perspective knowing I have some projects on primary and rental properties.

I was getting my house painted and in emails I listed what needed to be done (including soffits). Before the job started I had him sign the list (2 copies, mine & his). Towards the jobs end I pointed out the soffits and when he said they don't do soffits, I pointed out the list included soffits. I reminded him I'd given him plenty of time to change his bid, but didn't so he painted the soffits.

I worked in Germany in civil engineering. your third example is what I faced every single time on a construction site, you are absolutely right. Big companies even have their own lawyers just for finding the weak spots in the tender documents to hit you later on after getting the job on a low bid.

I am not in your line of work. I do try to DIY. I was looking for ideas for a concrete driveway and came across you. Man I love what you are doing And appreciate your opinion and expertise. Like I said I'm not in your line of work, but im subscribing to your channel. Not to mention the Challenger and the Stang. Peace bro. Thanks

Yes i definitely want to see the 2nd video And great job on this one. Btw thats a kick ass car you have. And cool snake. Keep up the good work. You now have a new subscriber.

I worked in private landscaping industry as a contractor since I was 16 years old. Eventually I got tired of dealing with bad customers both commercially and residentially. Now I only do government/city contracts.

I was sub contracted to clean the windows through a cleaning company who was contracted through the GC on a $70 Million project. I submitted my first few invoices to the cleaning company based on the % of work I completed. They said according to the wording of the contract that I would be paid based on the % of work they completed on their whole cleaning contract. (2 years out) The difference was thousands of dollars. I stayed on top of my invoices and reminders. I got 5%, 7%, 15% Finally I went to the General Contractor to see if I could rework the contracts because my work was signed off completed and I was out of pocket the entire project's expense. Find out that the cleaning company had already submitted my invoices and gotten paid in full. They were using that money to float their expenses. Through a bit more digging I found out that the cleaning company is a franchise and the owner declared bankruptcy, kept the money, and corporate took back the franchise. He had done this to several other businesses. In the end I was able to get the General Contract involved. The GC put pressure on the franchised cleaning company corporate office. I was paid in full and the General Contractor started playing an active role to make sure all subs were paid.

Happens all too often man. It pisses me off. The Golden rule is to control the money!!! IAM a small residential paint & drywall company and my common order of operation is a 1/3 deposit 1/3 at 50% and 1/3 upon completion after final walk-through with customer. It is subject to change though especially if I'm stepping in to help after a scam I will have them purchase materials and pay me in full upon completion.

OMG that is so true -- contractors bid in low then and once they start they find all kinds of stuff, jack up the price, knowing the expense all alone, and the customers get stuck paying so much more.

You are truly the most honest and certainly the best! Thank you for doing what you do...

I've been burned by several homeowners...we tradesmen have to watch out who we get involved with and the initial meet and greet is a critical time to interrogate the job and client to try and get a feeling who these people are...one bad feeling and I'm out the door!!!

I had a water leak that had destroyed the back wall of my house because the builder's contractor didn't put the flashing above my back door and rain water was running into the top of the door and into the wall. The catch was that I was stationed in Japan and my wife was here, so I had an agreement with him that he would come back and make repairs that she would pay him for. He never came back and when I returned from Japan the wall around that area had deteriorated. I ended up hiring another contractor to come in, tear down the 2nd floor balcony, repair the wall, and replace two back doors for about ten grand. The first contractor is no longer in business, but the second was awesome. When he saw that the job was going WAY above and beyond the scope of the contract, he worked with me on a handshake and finished the job, letting me make payments to pay him off. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to pay for the repair and may have even lost the house.

THANK YOU! I have been trying to understand what a general contractor was. NOW I understand! THANK YOU! Getting ready to build a house in August. So need to know these things.

Stanley, your dad is a MAN OF HONOR for standing up to this crooked contractor. Keep following in his footsteps.

Here in Md contractor law says we can ask for 1/3 down, 1/3 halfway and final 1/3 upon completion. Of course, there are special circumstances that may give variances to that but generally its design is to protect the contractor AND the homeowner.

Oh man.. the change-order scam. I'm a project manager at an HVAC engineering firm. There are certain mechanical contactors in our area that win with a very low bid and do this over and over and over. Nauseating. Some of the GC won't work with them.... others do, because the GC always get a few % (sometimes 10-20% even) of the sub's change orders. Again: nauseating.

Thank you for uploading at 60fps. Thank you. I see where you're coming from on the change orders if someone is doing it intentionally. I build commercial pools and if there's a deadline and the project is behind, they could be losing tens of thousands every day the project is held up. So when the general manager comes to me in desperation because a contractor quit or got ran off, and has me doing something besides the pool, you better believe I'm marking it up. I'm saving them heaps of money and it's putting me behind.

Your comment to and about the guy loading rocks was a great reveal of your personality and the workplace climate.

As far as the contract between contractors in customers. It should be fair game for both parties. Not where either party has an upper hand over the other. Therefore customers keep in mind the contractor should be bonded and insured and you need to do your due diligence to make sure that the bonded insurance and company insurance and licenses that are required. ( These MP’s must have all three!! HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Foundation) And up-to-date /current and valid. Subcontractors or performing general construction work and need to be bonded and company insured. If you’re state requires general contractors to be licensed. Then by all means do your due diligence. Find out from their insurance company’s behalf that they are bonded and insured. How much its cover for and that it is a valid Company. Therefore when the contractor asked you for half down. And that half down fits within the amount the company’s bonded coverage insurance. You will feel Safer ; for instance if they are covered for only $50,000 but they’re requesting $100,000 down payment. 🙅🏾‍♂️ They’re bonding insurance company will let you know they’re not covering for that much money. So you would only be a fool to write them a check for more money then what their coverage for. This keeps it fair for both parties. It has nothing to do with if a contractor has enough credit with his suppliers. 🤫 When you’re placing an order at Home Depot or anywhere / Amazon or anywhere they require money upfront before you get your order. You find comforted by knowing that you can return your order. That’s called insurance. 😇 Likewise make sure the contractors have valid insurance. And that they are bonded. 🙏Keep in mind 🤔 Insurance only protect your property 🏡 it does not protect the contract for the money. 💴However when they are bonded. ✅ Then that’s different. That protects you up to their maximum amount of coverage. But do your due diligence and make sure all of these documents that they need/should have are valid and legitimate companies. Then you can give the half down. ✍🏾 For them to start the job. Because without the half down. In the customer has the upper hand the contractor loses 😓 you can’t put a lien on a “home stead” property. ( and when you do back log and property not been refinanced our sold any time soon; is a damper And when subcontractors are continuing to get stiff in such a way by homeowners. Or people that know how to work the system. Like Donald Trump, yes I see it it🗣 It runs them out of business. Trying to fight liens that you have to continue Updating every couple years. Or law suits. Not all subcontractors have a large amount of company operation capital. However their work is great. And their honest and they do outstanding work however some if not a great majority of their projects are small. And the high scale project doesn’t come to often. ie don’t judge a book by its cover, however the simple documentation that the contractor needs in order to be independent working for himself. That’s a must and nonnegotiable to protect your most valuable asset your property & money.

A young gun I know ended up using all of his credit on one job, and when the work was done, he got paid for the labor, and stiffed on the materials. He didn’t have enough money to continue on, or to sue the a-hole and actually win. He ended up going out of business over some jerk Home owner that knew how to game the system.

Your work looks good ! I have started a new backhoe/dump truck business so I found this info valuable and your presentation is clear and on point, great job thank you!

Great video, good advice. I'm an excavator in Utah. 90 percent of my work is with 3 generals who I know and trust. If I get a bad feeling I walk away. I've been burned years ago. Developers are the worst they are smart enough to know how to get you. Most homeowners are ok. Old general told me 25 years ago, we like to work for people who spend other people's money. Schools, cities, churches. I've spent years developing good relationships with owner reps, architects, civil engineer and generals. I do over a million and half a year with one owner through 3 generals. When they say jump I say how high.

Here in Texas, those that dump and run with your money, can be filed on for criminal theft of services...Depending on the amount, it can result in a felony....

I worked for a guy who owned a welding company in Blairsville, GA a few years back. He had signed contracts on dozens of jobs that he already had been paid in full on, bought new trucks for himself and his crew (sons), a new shop, welders, a new forklift for his shop, etc. Out of over 30 jobs, he only finished three. When lawsuits began to come in, he closed his doors and moved out of state to Florida. In total that I knew of from speaking to customers personally, he's been paid over $650,000 for over 15 jobs and hadn't even begun them, which included three steel buildings. I quit working for him when I found out how he was and called him in to be investigated. To my knowledge, he still hasn't been found.

We had a dump and run on the property that we bought last year. The dump and run happened two years before we bought it but this does explain the massive load of materials just randomly on my neighbor's and my property line. All of it was still on pallets but it wasn't covered and was, at this point, junk. So, I was left with about three tons of shingles, rotted wood, caulk, nails, and solid buckets of breached cement and cement bags. Luckily, I have a loader. It took me a couple of hours to move it all to the back and use it as the start of my back stop. Thanks for clearing up what actually happened. To me and the neighbor it was the most curious thing...Now it makes sense.

With over 4k comments, I will assume someone has already said this but I think it bears repeating. Your practice of what is NOT included is an excellent practice indeed. As a PM for DoD contracts, we always add statements of what is NOT included in our Statement of Work packages if there is any indication that something may be misconceived as being included in part of the project. It covers you, educates the customer as to where their money is going, and provides a realistic picture of what something ACTUALLY costs instead of the SWAG estimate they came up with in their head.