MIAMI – A South Florida family was looking for a kitchen makeover for the holidays. After the contractor walked off the job, the family contacted Local 10 News consumer advocate Christina Vazquez.
Local 10 brought both parties back to the table to make sure the couple got the product they paid for and learned something about the contract in this case, which a legal expert said could be a red flag for customers.
For weeks, Josephine Francois hasn't been able to cook a meal in her northwest Miami-Dade home. She and her husband signed a contract with Alex Millwork Inc. in October. The contract was for $4,500.
She paid the bulk of it, and the cabinets were delivered and installed. But following a dispute with contractor Alejandro Morlans, the job was left undone, with no granite countertops and no sink.
"I wanted my parents to have the kitchen they paid for," said her son, Mark Francis. "My dad was in disagreement with him."
His father, Francis said, misreading the contract, didn't pay the second installment.
"I went there and they refused to pay me," said Morlans.
The contractor said he captured that moment on his cellphone. That's when Francis stepped in to smooth things over.
"For the sake of argument, to ease off the process, we paid him," said Francois.
Francis said he paid the agreed-upon second installment and the fees that Morlans added to the job.
"I paid him $1,700 right in the driveway," said Francis.
But when it was time to finish the job, the family said Morlans wanted the remaining $300 up front, even though the contract says "upon completion."
"He left and assured me he would be back and that's the last time I've seen him," said Francois. "Come on, Christina. It is really unacceptable. He took that money, which is 95 percent of his contract, and he left. I just want this resolved. He really doesn't have a heart, to take that amount of money and be so inconsiderate. He knew it was the holiday time. He really didn't make an effort and if I didn't call you, he didn't reach out.
"No one can live like this. This is unacceptable. He's trying to make us accountable for that one day that he came and my dad said he wasn't paying him and he left with the cabinets. He's making us accountable for that when he's not telling you he promised time that he was supposed to be here, he didn't show up. I am a consultant. I have never gone to a client where I have demanded payment when my work wasn't done. In business you are going to have some clients you disagree with. As a business person you have to have the proper business etiquette to handle it in a professional manner. It's not about the money at this point, it is about principle, it is about him honoring the contract and finishing his work."
Morlans left, leaving Francois without a kitchen in which to cook for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
"He has held my parents hostage for this money," said Francis.
Morlans continues to remain focused on the moment that Francis' father didn't pay him. Even after acknowledging that the family eventually gave him the money, he said he lost trust that they would pay him the remaining $300. He conceded that the family already paid him $4,200 of the $4,500 contract, and that the remaining $300 as per his contract was due upon completion.
It is clear that there was a breakdown in trust between the two parties, but at the end of the day, Morlans admitted that he has received $4,200, and the Francois family didn't have the product.
Ray Robinson, who specializes in real estate and construction law, reviewed the contract.
"For the contractor to demand that the owner pay monies in advance of what the contract calls for is improper," said Robinson. "It looked like to me it was prepared by a contractor that wasn't overly sophisticated. It had certain terms in there that I thought were kind of onerous, especially the payment terms or the program for the payment, and it didn't have many provisions in there that standard contracts do that would protect the owners."
Based on his review, Robinson said the granite and sink should have arrived with the cabinets before the homeowners made their second payment installment. Both sides said Morlans showed up only with the cabinets and not the granite countertops at the point where he demanded the second installment, which Francois originally denied before his son eventually paid.
"This particular contract -- it was front loaded, meaning almost all of the payment was at the front end of the contract, which leaves the contractor very little incentive to finish the job," said Robinson. "It's not that the contractor isn't going to finish the job, it's just that when it gets near the end and there's very little money left, the contractor has a lot of incentive to work on other projects where he is getting a larger sum of cash. Eventually you just have to go back to the terms of the contract."
Web Extra: Call Christina conversation about contractor concerns with Ray Robinson
After a series of phone calls from Local 10 News, that's exactly what happened.
"Finally we are going to finish," said Morlans.
Morlans agreed to waive a fee that he added to the job and finish the kitchen at the previously agreed upon balance of $300, and the homeowner's son assured Local 10 News that he would pay him. Local 10 was there as the work was completed.
"I want to thank you and just tell the general public to be careful who you get into day-to-day contracts with," Francis said. "Just do you background work before you commit to anything."
He also advised those with older parents to review contracts on their behalf.
Follow Christina Vazquez on Twitter @CallChristinaTV
Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10