MNM Construction

What a sad day today in the conclusion of our relationship with MNM Construction. We had a written contract with Matt McGuffee, the owner, for them to do $ 750 worth of work which included replacing a toilet, cutting open a wall and repairing a pipe. We paid them $ 450 for the first day of work with the understanding that we would pay the balance of $ 300 when they came back to replace the drywall after the leak had dried up.
On the way out the door when the workers began their work the first day, Matt noticed some water stains above the door. He asked if we would like his workers to open the walls in the entry way and adjacent room and check for mold when they came back to do the drywall in the living room and quoted us a price of $ 200. This was never put in writing. This meant that $ 450 was to be paid after the first day of work and $ 500, rather than $ 300 would be paid upon completion of the work.
Everything went fine and we called MNM and spoke with Jerry and asked for an invoice for the final payment of $ 500. He did email us something saying it was an invoice, but it looked suspiciously like an estimate for $ 500. This took place after all work had been done and the workers had been paid. Eventually, we received an invoice stating that all work had been paid for in full.
About a month later we received a letter stating that the invoice we had been sent saying that payment had been made in full was wrong, and that, based on the first estimate for $ 750 and the second «estimate» for $ 500, we owed an additional $ 300. We called to speak to Matt about the oral agreement for $ 200 we made as he was the only other person there who would remember what was said aside from me and my father, but he refused to speak with us. We called back on numerous occasions, but every time, we were told that Matt was not there and that he would call us back, but he never did. We attempted to explain to Jerry what had happened, but as he had no part in the negotiation, he could not help.
Eventually, rather than speak with us, Matt filed a small claims case against us for $ 300. He paid a filing fee of $ 30 or $ 40, $ 15 to have us served by certified mail, and then, for some reason, he hired a process server to serve us a second time for $ 95.95. We called and emailed him, but again, he would not take our calls. We would have been more than willing to pay more even if he had just said he underestimated on the $ 200 quote, but he simply would not speak with us.
Finally, court day arrived and once again, Matt sent Jerry rather than showing up himself. Jerry wasn’t there for the oral contract, so all he could do was show the written estimate that was sent to us after the work had been done with the quote «here is an invoice for your records.» As far as I’m concerned, a contractor who writes an estimate for a job after the work has been completed and attempts to use it to swindle a few hundred dollars from a senior citizen is beneath contempt. This may have been a simple misunderstanding, but a rational human being would have returned a phone call rather than filing a lawsuit, and this would have been resolved very easily.
Initially in mediation, Jerry said he could not settle the case. I then told him that if we did have to sit there for several more hours and go to trial, I would not only win in court, but afterwards, I would go after Matt’s license with the CSLB. He then called Matt and spoke with him in a corner of the room several times but came back eventually asking that we at least pay for their court costs. Ha! For a lawsuit with no merit after making us waste dozens of hours preparing for court. No way.
Finally, the mediator suggested we offer them what he called a nuisance payment to make them go away. We offered them $ 50 with a promise not to go after Matt’s license, but amazingly, Matt told Jerry to counter with $ 400, $ 100 more than the suit. Eventually, my dad gave Jerry a final offer of $ 100, mainly because he just had total knee replacement and wanted to leave, and Jerry convinced Matt to take it. It was less than they spent in fees and charges to bring the suit so I consider it a win for us, but it was less than we would have paid had Matt been a man and had a conversation with us.
Matt McGuffee, you have lost our business, you have lost our trust, and most importantly, you have lost our respect. You are very fortunate that Jerry was concerned enough about your business to settle this matter, as I believe he realized that in doing so, he was saving you from many headaches in the future. If he was not so polite, respectful and mature in how he dealt with us, there could have been a far worse outcome. You could learn a few things from him.
There are many contractors out there. If you are concerned about having days of your life ruined by someone who has a history of filing petty, frivolous lawsuits for even the smallest amount of money, using estimates written after they have been paid, I suggest looking elsewhere.

Great Company. Great custumer service and employees are clean and on time. The owner Matt saw to all my needs and project was completed on time and on budget. Id use MNM for any job.