Should I Take Them to Small Claims Court?

I would never fork over $450 before the work is done.

If you can spend the money for small claims to make a point, do it! You realize, though, that you will most likely be losing more money, right?

I would. The filing of the paperwork has gotten me results when civil methods have failed. Roll the filing fee into the clain itself to recoup that loss as well.

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble this company is causing you!
I did contact BBB when moving company ignored my phone calls about the ruined furniture.
Magically after that the same company did contact me to fix everything. Once we were done I had to contact BBB and let them know that the problem was gone and I was a happy customer again :)
I would ignore their email or would add it to BBB message log. It looks like they're hoping for you to drop the claim with BBB.
Contact BBB again and let them know what is going on. There is no proof that they came to your house the second time- they can't produce any evidence because you didn't sign any papers. Good luck!

Yep. You have the emails and pictures. I'm sure the courts will be THRILLED with the "I'll sue you if you report us" comment as well. They may well find themselves in some hot water in addition to needing to refund you.

I would DEFINITELY get back in touch with the BBB, however.

I agree with Juju, G.. Tell BBB that they did NOT come back to your house. They have nothing to stand on, and they will lose if they were to sue you. They were blowing smoke to try to discourage you from contacting BBB, and now they just hope that they are doing damage control with BBB without having to do anything else for you. Don't let them get away with it.

Dawn

In addition to the BBB angle, you've received lots of pros and cons about small claims court. IMHO - I would not pursue a small claims over this small amount of money. The hassle factor and the collecting issue are not worth it..And you won't get the total $450 back, you'll have to pay them for the 2 hours they did work.

I would recommend that you google their business and leave honest, negative feedback on the sites they advertise....like those Yelp pages, etc.

And people should and do check with BBB, so keep that report going forward.

My final question...why did yo leave the house while they were working? This is exactly why my husband is adamant that I remain home when we have cleaners....as every time I leave, so do they. School of hard knocks....while the cat's away the mice will play.

Does your local Boston paper have a consumer watchdog columnist? They often take on cases, report them in the press, and try to help the complaintant get fair resolution to their issues. And then they usually put others on notice of how not to have those kinds of problems with people you hire. good luck--would I sue? depends on the cost to file a lawsuit and what the procedure is in your local court.

The proof is in the pudding and you've got proof! You've already been proactive in contacting the BBB and posting here. Word-of-mouth is everything. The Internet takes care of that in a mili-second.

If the $450 is worth the time and court costs, than by all means. If you just want to smear them, then mission accomplished.

I have never paid for a service up front. Never. This is exactly why, and any legitimate business would not expect payment until the job that was promised, is done. I am surprised that you paid in advance, to be honest.

Personally, I would take it as a learning lesson & move on. I would leave honest reviews of the business in as many places as I could so other potential customers would be made aware of what type of company it is.

How did you find this company? I just did a search & couldn't even find a site or any information on them. Red flag #1.

The only risk of small claims court, is you are still responsible for collecting payment. So, if they don't pay you...then you're out the $450, the money it costs to file, and the time and hassle.

If you weight that, and still feel it's worth it, most definitely go to court!!!

Yes it sounds like you have a claim. I hope you took pictures of what they did or did not do. You will need proof.

Even if you win at court, you still are left trying to get the money back. The court will not force them to pay you.

Before going to court, follow up with BBB again and see if you can resolve. In the meantime, spread the word to everyone you know and on any and all mom message boards. If you can cost them business, then you will save others from going through what you went through.

If BBB can't resolve, I'd try court.

In my opinion........... my time = $$

You have already spent the $450 in your time alone trying to get the money that the court cannot force them to give to you even if you win the judgement.

First of all, I would never leave anyone in my house, no matter how bonded and honest they seemed if I did not have an established relationship with them.

Secondly, I would never prepay for a job until the job was complete and met my expectations.

I'm sorry to sound rude but they seemed to view you are gullible and took advantage of you which was WRONG and YES they need to be held responsible but I don't think it is worth your time and more money in the court system.

A judge will ask you.... Why did you leave them alone with keys to your house when you didn't know them? Why did you prepay for services?

I would keep everything in writing between you and the company, pursue the BBB to make sure they have a nasty mark on their record and just as you did here... make people aware of the company name and contacts (company names frequently change when negativity hits).

You might try one of the avenues of the media to get the info out there. Our local Dallas networks do that on occasion and it seems to get the word out. Even if someone does not get the money back, the name of the business and contacts are on TV so the exposure is not positive. There are also reviews that can be done online where you can post about your experience.

I wish you luck but I think you have to chalk this one up as a loss.

That stinks!!! Sorry to hear you got ripped off.

It's probably too late -- sounds like it has been past 90 days -- but by any chance did you pay with a credit card? You can file a dispute with your credit card company and they can refuse to pay for you. Maybe good to keep in mind for future reference?

(I learned this from Tom Martino, the Troubleshooter. I don't think his radio show is played in New England (he's in Denver), but you can find the webcast. And there's a lot of good info on his website: http://www.troubleshooter.com/)

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide!

Well, I'm glad you got pictures. I would look around for another cleaning company and see if THEY would be willing to take their own independent before and after pictures, etc. Before being how the house was left by the prior company and after showing how it looked after a reputable company actually did the job.
If you want the work done, you are obviously going to have to hire someone else and I would certainly take the other company to small claims to get your money refunded.
The thing is that the first company will have no proof whatsoever of the "job" they did.

My dad was a contractor and even with a brand new house, there was no way to have it detailed and ready to show for sale in two hours and that was with 3 of us working at it.

I would get proof of what the job done right looks like, the time it took, and yes, take them to small claims.

Just my opinion.

Yes. I would take them to small claims court. I hope you took pictures of what they did and did not do to back up your claims.

I would also report them to Angie's List, the BBB and the local business bureau, etc.

Hire another company that comes recommended from Angie's list and press on but take them to court.

If you have a friend who is a member of Angie's List, maybe you can have them buy you a membership. (It's cheaper this way. Or you can just pay around $55 for your own membership.) I have gone the BBB route, and they are not at all adept at settling disputes.

Angie's List will contact the company for you and do all of the dispute resolution. If it is not to your satisfaction, they will publish the name of the company in their magazine and keep their name on file as a bad business so that other Angie's List members will know not to hire them.

I have no doubt that you would win in small claims court. I would definitely sue, but it might not be worth your time though if you can't take off work to go to court. Good luck, and I'm sorry to hear that you had such a horrible experience. These people aren't just bad at business. They are criminals like moving companies who hold your stuff hostage.

I would also contact your State Attorney's Office or State Attorney General's Office (states differ in the name). These are the local offices who also keep a list of scams.

Absolutely, I would take them to small claims court. They are beyond unprofessional and that is just wrong. They clearly have guilt considering they are calling you a thief! It is them who are thieves! Get your money back any way you can!!!

Yep, take 'em to court.

I understand how you feel. I got new flooring from Lowes.

I had heated arguments with the flooring guy before they ever came out too. I told him I did not want those metal trim pieces along the edges of my flooring where the carpet meets the linoleum. I told him there were none in my house and I hated them. His argument was that all mobile homes had them and that carpet could not be done any other way...I told him again and again I knew there was a way, mine was done that way and plenty of my friends had carpet that met the flooring and they didn't have those crappy metal pieces along the edges.

I reminded my husband several times to watch and make sure they did not put those down. He was watching all right. When I came home they were just finishing up and there they were, those crappy metal trim pieces.

I went livid on all of them. I told them it was in writing that I did not want them and that I wanted them to finish the edges like a normal home had them because that was how all the other edges in my home were finished. The guys pulled them up and they had cut the edge of the carpet to bump up and meet the edge of the flooring. There was no way to fix it. I did not have money to do anything about it either. I was livid with my hubby for months and with Lowes for years. I have to shop there, it's the only store of it's kind within 50 miles.

Since then we have put in new carpet and the guys putting it in had no problem using Z strips on the edges where the living room and the kitchen meet. Too bad they went to Lowes to buy them, had I been there I would have waved them in that guys face and told him that he was stupid since he had them in his department and didn't know what they were for. Because I know he did, he chose to do my carpet the cheap way since it was a mobile home. He discriminated against us in all ways important to me.

Oh yes! The reason I needed new flooring in the kitchen? I bought a new dishwasher at Lowes and the guy who installed it broke my part where the water went from my house connection to the dishwasher connection. Like a garden hose connection. He didn't tell me it was broken because it was "my" part and not his...it flooded my floor underneath the linoleum each and every time we ran a load of dishes.

The floor rotted out from underneath the linoleum and was about to cave in. They came out and since it was "my fault" they would help but they were not claiming any wrong doing....they cut out a 4'X8' area of the floor that was caving in and put in a single piece of plywood.

The un-fixed items....the bladder on the bottom of my house filled with water and fell off, that is the insulation that keeps my house from getting air from under the house. The floor under the dishwasher and sink area rotted out and I can see the grass growing under my kitchen sink when I have those cabinet doors open. I would not recommend anyone using the Lowes in my area for anything but we did not take them to court. We didn't have the money and for all intents and purposes it would not have fixed anything. I tried to contact a manager to file a grievance and their new manager was in Arkansas in the process of moving to Oklahoma to take over this store. Since he wasn't officially the manager yet they were without one. So I let it go. Every time I look at my floors in my kitchen and see grass under my house I get pissed but I have to decide to just let it go.

I regret not doing more at the time. I wish with everything in me that I had pursued it. If I had the money I would have done it in a flash. I think you should at least call the court house and find out how the process works. They did not come back and they are liars, they deserve to be taken to court.

You may want to call the Boston Court to see if they offer community mediation. I know Cambridge Dispute Center does. Please note that mediation is voluntary, confidential and both parties have to agree to participate. The parties come to their own settlement. The mediator just facilitates the process.

Let me know how it goes.

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