I stopped doing verbal contracts after losing a $12,000 job in Cincinnati

Last spring I gave a handshake deal to a property manager for a rodent exclusion on a 12-unit building, and three months later he claimed I never agreed to the second floor work and refused to pay. Has anyone else had a client twist a verbal agreement after the fact?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jessica1mo ago

I switched over to writing out every single detail on a work order after a handshake deal went south on a crawlspace encapsulation. I list everything from square footage to specific materials, and I make sure the client signs it before I pull up to the job. It seemed like overkill at first, but that piece of paper saved me from a similar headache last summer when a homeowner tried to say we only agreed to seal the vents not the whole perimeter. Your mileage may vary, but a simple signed estimate with bullet points has been my safety net ever since that Cincinnati mess.

river_allen1mo ago

That signed estimate saved you from a real headache, glad you stuck with it.

the_spencer1mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly I think a handshake still works fine with the RIGHT clients, paperwork can't fix bad judgment.