I'm gonna leave some details out to try to make this as short and sweet as possible. If something doesn't make sense just ask and I'll fill in the gaps.
My kitchen was destroyed by a leak between my condo and my neighbor's (for the second time in just over a decade which I feel is important for later).
Condo association hired a company for remediation to eliminate mold and repair what "they're responsible for".
Hired a company to handle the rest of the job. His quote I submitted to my insurance company budgeted $3625 for granite countertops and I was allowed to select any style I wanted "up to a group 4".
After looking over my options, I selected a group 1 which based on what the granite salesperson said was about 37% less expensive.
When he revised the estimate, he wrote the group 1 selection, but left the price at $3625.
I called him on it and wanted to know why the price wasn't adjusted down for the cheaper materials I selected.
He said he didn't think it was going to work out between us as contractor and customer, canceled the cabinets he had on order, and quit the job.
The way I see it, the insurance company approved up to a group 4 based on what I lost. If I replaced it with a much cheaper option, without putting the difference in my pocket, and I'm unlucky enough to have a third catastrophic loss, the insurance company would only be willing to reimburse for the new, cheaper counter and I'll have lost value in my home into his pocket.
My mom and aunt think it was foolish to stand up for myself. They think I should have just let him take all the money (and pay the $500 deductible out of my pocket) so I could get the job done.
My take is that I get screwed over and fucked around from every angle all the time. My condo board fucks me over, my old boss is still fucking with me at work, we're getting gouged at stores and gas pumps and it seems like I just can't win no matter what and in most areas of my life, I just have to take it. And I just don't think I should have to let the people I'm choosing to give my business to screw me too.
So am I crazy? What would you have done?
5
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4 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.If I'm understanding correctly your insurance is covering the more expensive granite, so if I were you, I'd go for that, since there is no way to pocket the difference if you choose a cheaper type. Sounds like they are replacing up to same quality, and there's no reason to go down to a lesser quality, since they are paying for it, not you?
When the condo upstairs from me flooded, into my condo, it was a super headache. They gave me a check for the repairs and I spent it all for the repairs, nothing left to pocket. They should have given me far more, since I the loss of my home for quite some time and was terribly inconvenienced by the episode. They don't pay for inconvenience or loss of use. Water damage is the worst! Hope it all works out for you somehow to your satisfaction.
Julie808
Level 8
Apr 10, 2022
2
Yeah, they won't pay loss of use for me either and the cabinets are on at TWENTY week backorder. I probably won't have a kitchen until it starts to get cold out again.
I didn't like the look of the group 4 colors. Didn't think they meshed well with what I was going for. The adjuster sent the check directly to me based off the estimate with the group 4 pricing though, so if I choose less expensive products, and I don't have contractor that's trying to scam me and pocket the difference, I would get to keep it.
Thank you for the kind words. I have a friend at work. She and her dad, who is a licensed contractor, may be able to help me out. If not, I don't know what I'm going to do. At this point if I can't find a trustworthy person, I'll just keep all the cash, invest it, and sell the condo as-is to someone that wants to flip it when I finally find a home I like. But whatever I do, I'm not letting someone take advantage of me.
Please consider going to small claims court the next time your condo association pulls some shit. If you document everything, you will win, and they will have to pay you and court costs. If it were me, I would move, but there's no reason you should have to do that just because they're jackasses. I repeat: Document everything!
Organist1
Level 8
Apr 9, 2022
3
I want to move. But I fully intend to die in the next home I buy, so I want it to be the house that meets my needs.
If all I was paying was the $500 deductible I would have chosen counters (up to the allowed tier) that I liked, period.
IMO unless You caused "the next problem", (if indeed there ever is one, and perhaps the cause wouldn't be an issue anyway...was your neighbor penalized in any way?) that would be a completely separate issue & would be dealt with without reference to what came before.
That being said, IMO your contractor is a ripoff artist & you are well rid of him!!! No Doubt claiming you chose a higher-tier item & pocketing the difference, and probably on All items involved, that's why he left upon being questioned, insurance companies Always pursue Fraud.
AnneWimsey
Level 9
Apr 9, 2022
6
Oh, and if your old boss is annoying, get a restraining order, he/she has no rights over you unless you are voluntarily Employed/being Paid.
@AnneWimsey
Yeah, I could just not worry about the depreciation of my home by that $1k or so, but I was also losing out on the money to pay the deductible. I just wasn't prepared to let him take advantage like that.
I still work for the same company, but in a different department. She still has things she can do to mess with me that no one cares about apparently. A year and a half after I switched jobs, she still went in and took away badge access to a lot of things I still need with my new department and me and my new manager had to deal with the headache of getting my access reinstated. I mean, how am I still occupying head space in that woman 18 months later during a global pandemic? She really doesn't have enough shit on her plate?
As for my condo board, they imposed fines for the craziest shit ever. They fined me for unlevel concrete (which wasn't my responsibility according to the Bylaws), an illegally parked SUV (which was so covered in snow you couldn't even tell what kind of car it was or see the license plate and I had DMV records proving I don't own any large vehicle of any kind), dog poop (even though I've literally never owned a dog my entire life and I was the one that was complaining we should institute that dog poo DNA prevention method to make people clean up after their dogs), a bird feeder (that was my old upstairs' neighbor's feeder- I don't even open my blinds or windows, ever, why would I put up a bird feeder), my grill (which I literally had to look up the specific verbiage in the ORC and then have the fire Marshall call the management company to tell them i wasn't in violation), and MANY other things. I went to a lawyer with all my evidence. She told me to my face that she thought I was exaggerating during our phone call. She was dumbfounded that everything I was saying was true. She said there was virtually no chance I would lose in court... BUT just the demand letter would cost $1200 to write, and if they didn't respond it would cost several thousand to file and go to court. And since the fines only amounted to several hundred, and the board was fighting with the owners' money, not their own, it would likely be a horrible outcome for me no matter what. So I bit the bullet and paid fines for shit I didn't do. I'm just fucking done getting fucked over when I can't help it, and I'm sure as fuck not going to let it happen anymore when I can.
@JeffMurray 3 words: Small Claims Court. Some states are now up to $14,000. Filing fees usually $75 or so.
And Document...emails & texts are Excellent!!!!! Start off with "I just want to be sure I am clear about our discussion on [date] regarding ___"...and ask a pertinent question. Get a reply, or No reply......Done!
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