Question
Please help. i think that i've been ripped off. I called many landscapers and only one kept following up with me.  Before he began the job he asked for $800 in cash in order to purchase the plants. Today, i received a call from him saying that he miscalculated the number of plants he would need and said that he needs more money. He hasn't planted anything yet, and I have never seen any plants that he purchased...he and his two workers have only pulled up the old shrubbery.  I arrived home to find the old shrubbery stuffed into plastic bags and piled on top of each other in front of my house with the cups, debris from the workers and then received this call.  When I complained that his miscalculation wasn't my fault he said 'nevermind' and hung up. now my husband and i fear that we'll never see him again, that he has taken off with our $800 and the front of our house is a wreck!! is there anything we can do? he is a small contractor and I don't believe that they are even incorporated. To that end, although we had him fill out a form with his name, number and address will we ever be able to get our money back? please help. i simply feel like crying. can we report him? anything?

Answer
Wow.  I don't know what to suggest to you.  I'm not a lawyer, so anything I say is only my opinion.

If you have a slip of paper with some sort of list of what he agreed to do, then it would be considered a binding contract in most states, and there are ways of coercing him to perform on what you both agreed to.  If there hasn't been a lot of time that has passed, maybe a bit more time and patience is all that is required.   

If, however, you feel you've been "ripped off", then pursue some sort of remedy as best you see fit (contact the local Better Business Bureau, talk to the contractor's board, small claims court?  Its up to you.)  

Try posting your question to another section of AllExperts.com  (Business or Law)

Good luck, and I'll pray for you, Micky.