Go Affiliate Crew
Can I be sued for not paying bill for services rendered?
During a hurricane a tree fell on my house. After 5 days and many phone calls I finally got a response from a tree removal company that had a crew in my neighborhood. The crew that showed up was not actually affiliated with the local company that I called, they were from another state. The owner of this company said that mine was going to be a difficult job and probably take 1 1/2 days to complete, and quoted me $5,500. Additionally, our area was declared a disaster and getting alternate quotes was difficult. I agreed to let them do the job. It ended up taking them only three hours to remove the tree. I’ve tried to negotiate a different price but they are unwilling to budge. I have not paid them yet, there was no written agreement and a very loose verbal agreement. What can this company do, if anything to force me to pay this charge? FYI I have filed a compliant with the Attorney General.
If I were you, I’d let them sue me.
There was no written agreement for good reason. They didn’t want one, because they knew they were overcharging desperate people, and they didn’t want written proof of what they were doing.
Based on an 8-hour working day, a day and a half is about 12 working hours. $5500 divided by 12 is $458/hr. It took them 3 hours. Three hours @ $458 is $1374.
Send them a check for $1374 and write “total payment for tree services” on the notes line. Send it with a letter telling them that’s all they’re getting, and if they don’t agree, they should sue you, where you will expose their profiteering. If they deposit the check, that will indicate their acceptance of your terms. I’m betting they’ll deposit it.
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