Effing contractors
I hired a general contractor to do an addition to my house and various other projects I couldn't do myself. He thought from day one (as did I) that we'd be able to tie into my existing heating and cooling system - but he didn't bother to check if my unit was capable of handling the extra square footage of cooling space we were adding. Well, as soon as the first HVAC subcontractor comes to give a bid, we find out the system is undersized. #2, #3, #4, and #5 all agreed that I'd need a larger system or a separate system for the addition - but their costs were outrageously expensive. We agreed to split the cost, with him contributing what he would have paid to have tied into the old system and him doing the electrical and sheetrock work. The contractor told me he'd deal with the AC guys because he could probably get a better price than I could, and said to my face that he wouldn't mark up their cost for me.
Finally the contractor finds another HVAC place that he's using for another job of his. This guy comes out and gives me an estimate on the spot. He told me that my contractor didn't want him to give me the quote, but understood I'd be paying for most of it out of my pocket so he told me directly what it would cost. A few hours later my contractor calls with the guy's estimate... and $700 worth of padding. He tried to cleverly come up with why his number was different than the one I'd gotten, saying maybe it included tax and blah blah blah. I didn't really buy it.
This morning the AC guy calls and says my contractor isn't willing to do the electrical work he said he would for the new unit and that he's not willing to fight it out with the contractor because he already got yelled at for telling me the true cost of the installation. (so my contractor couldn't get away with padding the cost like he tried to do, despite telling me to my face he wasn't going to do so.) All of this confirms that he did actually pad the price and was lying to my face.
So now I'm stuck with another $300 charge for the electrical work which I plan to pass on to the contractor by subtracting it from his last check. I'm tempted to call back the person I gave a good reference to - this guy is worse than a stereotypical used car salesman. Blah.
Finally the contractor finds another HVAC place that he's using for another job of his. This guy comes out and gives me an estimate on the spot. He told me that my contractor didn't want him to give me the quote, but understood I'd be paying for most of it out of my pocket so he told me directly what it would cost. A few hours later my contractor calls with the guy's estimate... and $700 worth of padding. He tried to cleverly come up with why his number was different than the one I'd gotten, saying maybe it included tax and blah blah blah. I didn't really buy it.
This morning the AC guy calls and says my contractor isn't willing to do the electrical work he said he would for the new unit and that he's not willing to fight it out with the contractor because he already got yelled at for telling me the true cost of the installation. (so my contractor couldn't get away with padding the cost like he tried to do, despite telling me to my face he wasn't going to do so.) All of this confirms that he did actually pad the price and was lying to my face.
So now I'm stuck with another $300 charge for the electrical work which I plan to pass on to the contractor by subtracting it from his last check. I'm tempted to call back the person I gave a good reference to - this guy is worse than a stereotypical used car salesman. Blah.