Thanks for responses. After I hired him and the carpet in one room was removed, it appears that the previous abatement company did not do their job right (20 years ago) in removing some mastid (the old glue that tiles were laid down on the floors back in the 50's) that is known to contain mastid. He said he had certification for this and that things were okay. Well, now he is threatening me about it and extorting more and more money from me on top of what our contract to do the work is for. I've already paid him $12,000 to do this work with remaining to be paid upon completion. But, I want to fire him, but then he threatened me with this plus he said that he took pictures of everything inside my house ... I think most everyone here knows about having homemade dvd's and he's threatening me with this. He proceeded to tell me that he has another businesss called Catch a Cheat he's setting up here in San Diego (to catch cheating spouses), but I could find no PI license whatsoever for this, so he has fraudulently represented himself on this as well to terrorize me further. It does appear from what little I could locate that he's filed some application for a Tax ID for this businesss, but I don't know the name he's using for it. Also, I think I will have to reformat my hard drive because when I was gone for some while, when I sat back at my pc things were not as they should have been. One item that these PI's do is to use a keystroke program or something to install on a pc and I spent hours yesterday trying to uncover anything like that, but some are undetectable ... and I am a bit above average in pc fixing, but this kind of thing would go far over my abilities.
The main reason I hired him is that I'm having a massive amount of tiles put in my house and he has a tile contractor's license. Well, yesterday he was telling me that the bullnose trim is gonna be put directly onto the hardibacker so there will be a noticeable ridge against the wall! I said, NO WAY! That defeats the purpose of paying for the bullnose trim! He got all huffy and then went about threatening me and played back some of our conversations, informed me he took pictures and that if I filed any complaint about him he was coming after me. He further went on to say that I altered our written contract! No way. Now he wants even MORE money. Realize that I'm widowed and alone and disabled. I don't handle confrontation well. Also, this is a holiday weekend and finding out about my legal status on this I have to wait until after. I do know, though, that his tape recordings are illegal as well as picture taking. I've apprised my insurance adjuster of issues with this man and may have to file a lawsuit against him. But, I have to get this work finished on my house, but no funds here to stray off to another contractor .... lawsuit and live with no kitchen or bathroom for how long?
Also, he isn't doing the work himself, but his son. His son is doing a good job, but have to say this recent deal with the bullnose trim is definitely THEIR mistake and displays the lack of knowing what they are doing. Later after the guy left to have his son put up more tile, I went in and checked to see how things were going and YIKES ... there was my bullnose atop the hardibacker, which I had instructed definitely was not to be done previously, but he said that his dad told him to do it! So, naturally, I told him to take it off before the thinset hardened, which he did. They will have to cut that hardibacker and fix this problem. I refuse to have shoddy work done.
I already know it is illegal for him to do what he's done with photos and tape recording ... he's probably done video taping as well, and god knows what else. I had to pay to find out my stance yesterday online, so focus on the 632 statute:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=630-638
I trusted him in telling me he was certified for the asbestos, but when I looked yesterday I could not find any referencing about it. So, I'm having work halted until lab testing is done properly, which should have been done at the start. I am further concerned that since he appears to own or affiliated with some company that provides the PI surveillance equipment that he might have installed something in my house here in addition to being on my computer. After all, if he is going so far to terrorize me and threaten me with photos and tape recordings, this next idea here isn't a stretch of what he is capable of doing or has done.
I need to know how to block that iPhone or iPod or whatever it is as well as any bugging devices he might have put inside my house with my unawares. I need to get the work done in my house and I'll put up with his abusiveness as long as I can, but I need to know how to block or jam or whatever for my own sanity. I hired a contractor from hell! I'm told thus far I need to hire a civil litigation attorney, but in the meantime I need some info on how to block that thing or at this point I'm almost prepared to ask how to destroy it. I've been driven to such terror here you cannot fathom.
