I am really sorry! There is something so upsetting about being cheated. I am glad you are standing your ground. Sorry you have all this headache surrounding a project we all hope to enjoy!

I am so sorry you are having to continue to deal with this bozo in any way shape or form other than receiving (good) work or money from him. I am glad you were able to maintain your claim on the oak trim (without bopping him on the head with it, which is what I'd want to do at this point).
It makes me realize again how lucky we were with our GC, even though everything didn't always go perfectly.

melissastar, I am so sorry for what you have been through and no you are not a fool to have trusted him. He is a fool for having broken that trust. You will get through this. I wish you a speedy resolution through the HIC and hope that in the end you will have the kitchen you envisioned.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with an @$$hole like that! I think I would have finally flipped my lid like you did too.

It WILL work put somehow in the end. Hopefully you will be able to look at your kitchen years from now and not remember this horrible experience. Deep breath...in....out....

Well, of course you are hyperventilating and shaking. Your body is in conflict with itself. Part of you wants to justifiably and with the sanction of God Himself unman the bastid with your hand held mixer, perhaps in combination with a Dyson vacuum. I think a food mill might also work. The other part of you doesn't want to find yourself on the evening news or getting a tattoo from your surprisingly large bunkmate.

Today you are in a hole, so you can't see out of it. You will, indeed, get out of the hole, and even largely forget what all this feels like. You may have to wait until you are also old enough to forget where you live, or that your underwear goes on under, not over, your clothes; but you will forget. Promise.

Best of luck and best wishes.

I am sorry too, what a horrible person he must be. Fingers crossed all turns out well in the end, and I am sure it will.

Lol

Surprisingly large bunkmate

Hmmmm, Marcolo. I hadn't thought of the hand held mixer as a method of castration. My violent instincts are more along the stabbing line...probably shouldn't say that. If the man now shows up dead (and I've gotta assume I'm not the only person who wishes it), I will end up in a made-for-TV movie.

Oooh, who do you want to play you???

I don't know how you refrained from beating the h@!! out of him with the oak trim. Then it did occur to me that you had already paid for said oak trim, and I too would have tried to restrain myself as the trim is definately valuable whereas wasting it on him is not!!!

I too am passing on good vibes and hope that you may see an appropriate resolve to this sooner rather than later. I am pulling for you and your kitchen!

I feel for you! I know all too well what it feels like to be cheated. That's not fun at all. But I must tell you that I did get a charge out of imagining you grabbing the trim pieces right out of his grubby, thieving hands and declaring that that material was yours. You Go! :-) And, indeed you go, and you go and you just keep on going on Melissastar. Look at far you've come already. You're almost home! (Yeah, I know, so much for the pep talk when you're mentally fingering a knife blade.) But I agree with everyone else that this, too, shall pass. In the end, you will get that which you are deserving (a fantastic kitchen, I'm sure) and so will that lousy GC (we won't put what that will be in print)!

And, yes, since I get this is a sympathy/empathy thread, I'm sending you lots of (((HUGS!)))

Hmmmm....Susan Sarandon has the right feisty personna and is relatively close in age (a few years older than me, but looking a whole lot better). But if we were going for accuracy, I'm afraid we'd be talking something closer to Kathy Bates. Then again, it's made-for-TV...why worry about accuracy? How about Natalie Portman?

Natalie Portman....you would have my DH's full and undivided attention!

melissastar, just reading about your experience made my heart start pounding! I empathize, quite literally from the bottom of my heart! Your story made me remember my awful experience with the man who did our bathroom -- til things got so bad we fired him (and he was not bonded -- we were stuck paying someone else to complete the job).I do hope that what you've gone through has been the worst of it, and that it will get better from here. Hang in there!

Yeah! I'm so happy you grabbed those trim pieces from that thief!

I'll never understand how anyone can treat another person so badly--let alone a customer! Melissastar, your urge to shred your GC is completely understandable. Hopefully the HIC will give him a thrashing and make sure your work is completed or you get some kind of compensation.

Still sending you positive vibes for things to get better and ((((HUGS))))!

Who's playing the GC in your movie?

Melissa;

I was hoping that there were rusty nails in the wood trim, and I was picturing them ripping thru his crusty flannel shirt to reveal a stanky yellowed wifebeater . . . . but then I went and got some dark chocolate and a glass of wine. I held them up to the computer screen in support for you. But then I read marcolo's post and spewed the wine on my computer screen! That sounds like a good inspiration for a Dixie Chicks song (the mixer/dyson combination, not the wine spewing).

And then, I was thinking that maybe Julia Roberts could be a great you! Yes! Julia!

But really, I felt the adrenaline rush sitting at my computer. Marthavila, move over, time for my ((HUGS)) (OK, now it's a one armed ((Hug so I can take a sip of my remaining Riesling)

Hmmm....playing the GC. James Gandolfini? Nah, too nice. Harvey Keitel...no too evil and too smart. It needs to be someone capable of portraying ineffectual and yet duplicitous. Suggestions?

Steve Buscemi (I know that isn't spelled right). Chris Cooper could do it, but he's my favorite character actor so I wouldn't want him in it.

Nicholas Cage? (have no idea why he came to mind - I've only seen him in 2 or 3 shows).

you go girl - I was yelling 'YES!' to you grabbing that oak trim also! the lousy swine...

I can only imagine the home remodelers coming out of the woodwork (literally?) if there were a murder trial on his behalf... what a cheering section that would be! (for self defense, of course).

"unman the bastid with your hand held mixer, perhaps in combination with a Dyson vacuum"

good gracious I have to remember this!

Danny Devito.

(((((HUGS))))))

It has to be someone who can be nasty.
How about Charlie Sheen?

~boxerpups

Gary Busey?

Yes! Gary Busey! Idiotic and evil!

thank you all for the hugs and support. I've stopped shaking but doubt I'll be sleeping much for the next several weeks.

Julia Roberts/Natalie Portman vs. Gary Busey : ), with a 2x4.

Not only would I watch, I'll spring for popcorn and gin for all.

Good luck, Melissa, and be strong...

Becky

I think Julia could take him, not so sure about Natalie, even with the 2x4....she might need a small firearm....

melissa - so so sorry. Hope better news ahead.

what a nightmare! Im so sorry to hear this!!!

Karma will get to him - hopefully you'll get to see it ;o)

Oh Melissa, I know all too well what you're feeling. In fact...my husband and I just had our final meeting with our lawyer today. We "trusted" someone we "thought" we knew. Come to find out he scammed people all around our town and he's doing the same now in South Carolina. Thank goodness he had insurance so we were able to recoup some of our money, but it has been a nightmare for over a year and a half. Ours was a whole house remodel, so we have been living with my father 30 minutes from our home town since Nov. 2009. I have 3 young children who have lived in a "cocoon" since then. They don't deserve this!!!

It's amazing the emotions you go through. You feel so stupid for allowing someone to take advantage of you and your family. You wonder how the "man" can sleep at night. You've never wanted to physically harm someone in your life, but it would bring you joy to see him suffer. I can tell you from experience, you will make it through this, and you will be alright. If there is any legal action you can take, do it now. Contact a good lawyer and tell him your situation. You will be in my thoughts.

Lori

Thanks Lori. I have contacted a lawyer and I filed a formal complaint with the state Home Improvement Commission a month ago. This Friday is the GC's deadline for formally responding. Once that's done (or not done), the HIC assigns an investigator. The GC is licensed and therefore bonded with the HIC, so there's a chance I'll recover the funds to get everything fixed. But it could take, as you know, a long time.
Thanks for the good wishes.

Good for you for standing your ground! I'm duly impressed by that.

And I hope it gets resolved by the HIC without any hiccups.

I'm so sorry!! What a nightmare! I think it's awesome that you grabbed that trim from Evil Moron and stood your ground. If it were a movie, I'd be cheering. Plus you've kept your sense of humor which is pretty terrific accomplishment. Hope the investigation goes smoothly and well.

I will keep you in my thoughts. I love your cabinets and tiles when you posted your choices. Hang in there. Good luck with the contractor board.

A bit of consolation, the universe tends to balance itself, really, it does. And if your a bit impatient I purchased a Do it Yourself Voodoo kit a couple of years ago, but never could decide who to use it on. If I can dig it up from the abyss of relocated stuff in my house, I would be more than happy to send it to you.

Oh Melissa-- I was just having a pity party of one because I cannot correct my layout woes and then I read this!! I dealt with a dumb GC when I remodeled my bathroom and wanted to kill him on several occasions! But what you have gone through is craziness-- a nightmare indeed! But it sounds like you are doing the right things-- although I know that does not give you the satisfaction of what Marcolo described!! Hang in there!!