A Nod to Angie’s List as an Alternative to Contract Law
posted by Jeffrey Lipshaw
As I’ve written in Models and Games, I think contract law is often a poor template and, hence, a poor solution for issues in transactions.
My lousy experience with builders and contractors is the stuff of legend. I was walking home from the Porter Square T station, looking at the old Cambridge houses, and wondering how, in the view of the general level of competence out there, any building actually manages to withstand entropy. We have a brand new house in Cambridge, and notwithstanding my contractual right to have an entire punch list of repairs done, and notwithstanding the builder’s one year warranty, and notwithstanding his earlier promises to show up, he has disappeared with only a voice mail message as evidence that he ever existed.
Contract law is not going to solve my problem, except in the most indirect sense. Because I have a contract, I can sue the builder, get a judgment (I assume it will be a default judgment in small claims court), and have the judgment satisfied by a guaranty fund that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts established with the builders’ license fees. Other than that, the accepted wisdom is that you never resort to the contract in arguing a money issue with your builder. You may win the battle, but you will lose the war, particularly if you never manage to get inside the walls to discover he used 1/4 inch rather than 3/4 inch plywood or a lower grade of insulation to make back what he lost in the other battle.
An even better tack is to deal with people who will do what they say will do regardless of the contract. In that regard, let me recommend Angie’s List. This was founded by a person in Indianapolis, where we used to live, and has spread around the country. We got referrals for the electrician and the plumber from the list of A-rated companies, and I just finished posting excellent reviews of both.
December 4, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Posted in: Contract Law & Beyond
Print This Post
Leave a Reply