They Took the Deposit and Stopped Turning Up: A Contractor Dispute, Start to Finish

Illustrative case study. This is a fictionalised example created to show how a dispute can move through a structured process. The people, business and details are invented. It is not a real case and does not describe any real person or company.

Background

Priya hired a small renovation business run by Tomás to refit her bathroom. She paid a 40% deposit. Work started, the old bathroom was removed, and then Tomás stopped turning up. After ten days without a reply, Priya raised a report.

Stage 1: Report

Priya's structured report set out:

• The agreed scope, price and timeline
• The deposit paid and the date
• Work completed: strip-out only
• Work outstanding: plumbing, tiling and fitting
• Her attempts to contact Tomás

Status at this stage: an open report. It did not affect Tomás's RR Score.

Stage 2: Evidence

Priya attached:

• The accepted written quote
• Her bank transfer record for the deposit
• Dated photos of the stripped-out bathroom
• A log of calls and messages over ten days
• Her formal written notice giving 14 days to resume work

Stage 3: Response

Tomás responded. He explained that:

• He had been in hospital for a week following an accident, and his phone had been off
• Materials for the job, bought with part of the deposit, were in storage
• He accepted he should have arranged for someone to tell Priya

He attached supplier receipts for the tiles and fittings, and proposed resuming work within a week or refunding the unused portion of the deposit.

Stage 4: Resolution

Priya was sympathetic but no longer confident in the timeline, and had already obtained a quote from another contractor. The parties agreed:

1. Tomás would deliver the purchased materials to Priya's home.
2. He would refund the remainder of the deposit, less the documented cost of the strip-out and materials.
3. Priya would use the materials with her new contractor.

The refund was paid within the agreed period. The Resolution recorded the dispute as resolved by agreement, with the refund and materials delivered.

What the record shows afterwards

• For Tomás: a communication failure during a genuine emergency, followed by a documented, honest response and a completed refund — very different from a contractor who disappeared with a deposit.
• For Priya: a homeowner who documented the problem carefully, gave fair notice and accepted a reasonable settlement.

A traditional one-star review written on day ten — "took my deposit and vanished" — would have stayed that way permanently. The structured record shows what actually happened next.

Lessons

• A formal notice with a deadline creates clarity for both sides — see what to do when a contractor stops responding.
• Silence is not always bad faith, but it always damages trust.
• Receipts and bank records made the refund calculation straightforward — see what counts as evidence in a payment dispute.

Read why reviews don't show how disputes were resolved, or learn about the Resolution Centre.