all about heavy construction equipment

What To Do When The Contractor Bails

26 January 2018 by Dan Adams

Your construction project is ready to go, you're waiting for the crane operator to show up, and you wait, and keep waiting, and keep waiting.... No general contractor likes to think about the day a contractor actually doesn't show up, but it does happen. Sometimes it's due to a situation the contractor couldn't help, like illness, but other times the contractor has bailed on you and not fulfilled his or her part of the contract. Once you've verified that the contractor is gone, and not just delayed, you can do the following:

Call a Replacement Service

Have a replacement contractor come in as an emergency worker. For example, if the contractor was supposed to operate the crane, a crane service can send a qualified worker to your job site to help you move the project along. Keep in mind that these services have several customers, so when you call the first one, don't be alarmed if no one's available. Ask when someone can come out, or try calling another service.

Make a Claim Against a Bid Bond

If you required that the contractor provide a bid bond before starting, chances are that contractor won't bail on you. But if the unthinkable happens, then you can file a claim against the surety bond company. Bid bonds offer financial protection against a contractor failing to fulfill a contract; you could be reimbursed for not only the bid cost but also the cost of finding someone else to do the job, and the cost of the difference between that person's bid and the original contractor's bid. Surety companies usually check out contractors well for these bonds, so it's unusual to see someone with a bid bond disappear. Still, it can happen.

File a Complaint With the State Licensing Board

If your state requires construction contractors to be licensed, complain to the state licensing board. They could revoke the contractor's license, which means that any other companies checking out the contractor would see that he or she does not have the license necessary to work in that state. That would cost the contractor future work.

Meanwhile, a properly licensed, insured, and bonded crane service can take over and get that job done. Seeing a contractor bail out isn't the end of the project; it just means you have to take action quickly to find another worker and to be reimbursed for any financial hardship that resulted from the situation. For more information, contact companies like Bogner  Construction Co.

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