Arlington subcontractor who didn't get job is trying to get paid anyway
51³Ô¹ÏÍøLaw Professor Julie Forrester explains the Texas law on paying for estimates.
By DAVE LIEBER
WATCHDOG@ STAR-TELEGRAM.COM Ìý
A subcontractor reacted in an unusual way when he wasn't selected for a job for which he had bid $19,000.
Tim Anders, owner of Anders Interiors in Arlington, sent an e-mail in September to homeowner Maebe Davis laying out his request for a payment anyway. . .
Davis and her mother, Florence Siao, contacted The Watchdog to see whether Anders could make them pay for an estimate, file a lien against the property or report them to the government if illegal workers were involved in the job. . .
In Texas, some estimates cost money. If an auto repair shop hooks up a car to a diagnostic machine, accepted practice is to tell the customer of any cost ahead of time.
"People assume that you don't get charged for an estimate," says 51³Ô¹ÏÍøDedman School of Law professor Julie Forrester. "If someone is going to charge, they should make that very clear."
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