Our Contractor Dilemma contest ends Friday!

The never-ending nightmare
Buzz Reynolds’ clients fired his company two years ago from a $150,000 renovation job, refused to pay him $25,000 owing, and brought in a replacement contractor to finish the porject. They accused Reynolds of being four weeks late with the project, and were angry when he had taken time off during construction for a family vacation even though his trades continued to work on the job. The clients had also hired some of their own trades for related work, but accused Reynolds of failing to supervise their work properly as part of his overall project management responsibilities. To pressure payment, Reynolds planned to put a lien on the house as suggested by an expensive contract lawyer. However, when the clients hinted at an out of court settlement, he withdrew the lien application. Then the clients reneged and it then was too late to issue a lien. After a series of letters back and forth that led nowhere, Reynolds made an offer to accept 50 cents on the dollar, but the clients refused. “I feel I am at war with unreasonable clients. Never in my years in business have I been unable to resolve a payment issue,” Reynolds says. “What do I do now?”

1. Hire a new lawyer and go back to court.
2. Walk away and forget it. After two years, it’s a write off.
3. Deliver 3 truckloads of gravel to the clients’ driveway when they are away for the weekend.
4. Something else (please explain).

HOW TO ENTER
Email your answer to John Bleasby (jbleasby@canadiancontractor.ca)

Deadline for entries is April 27, 2018
The winner will be announced on-line April 30, 2018

Your suggested solution can be one of the above ideas, a combination, or your own solution entirely. Please explain your reasoning in up to 300 words of text.

The contractor-submitted answer chosen will win a DeWalt 20V MAX* XR® Tool Connect™ Hammerdrill  (retail $459) plus a set of Tool Connect™ Tags, a 3-part inventory management solution encompassing the Inventory Manager web portal, the updated Tool Connect™ mobile app, and connected products. (retail $109)