KFI: A Louisana roofer was arrested after he removed a roof he had replaced after the homeowner never paid him for his services. Andrew Jackson Higdon is facing charges of simple criminal damage to property and criminal trespass. Both charges are misdemeanors.
The victim told police that Higdon agreed to replace her roof in June 2016 and that she would pay him after she received a check from her insurance company. She said that he came to her in December 2016 and demanded the money.
Unable to pay the full cost, she attempted to work out a payment plan but Higdon would only accept the full amount. He warned her that if she did not pay that he would take her roof back and her house would be vulnerable to damage from rain.
On December 22, 2016, the victim returned home and found her roof gone and rainwater had soaked through the house resulting in $11,500 worth of damages. more here
Wait a minute! Stop calling the damn woman a “victim!” HIGDON is the victim. He spent all the time and money on materials putting the roof on.
lmao … guess he never heard of a ‘mechanic’s lien’
I understand that some folks may not have the money for a new roof, but guess what? Don’t take advantage of someone else who you can’t afford to pay. Higdon was essentially her slave.
If I sat on a jury, I’d have the bitch behind bars. Yeah a mechanic’s lien was the ticket. But she doesn’t care about the lien if she doesn’t plan on moving or taking a loan out on the house. Even if he took her to court, it’s difficult to collect if the person has no money. She’s actually a thief.
What happened to the money the “victim” received from her insurance? Spent it on weaves and malt liquor?
The salesman told the blonde that the roof would pay for itself in a year in heating costs alone. Hellooo.
agree w/ you GF … the problem w/ Mechanic’s Liens is that the squatter may not care & walk away from the house anyway, thanks to too lenient mortgage loan laws … the contractor should not have to wait for payment beyond a certain amount of time
was just having a little fun …
according to the story she offered to make payments, but he wanted full payment … looking at his pic, I don’t blame him … Show Me The Money!
@Moe T ~ how’d you know she was a blond? … did the carpet match the drapes? 😜
The perils of the construction trade. Don’t know Louisiana law but normally you can place a lein on the property. This guy did it the wrong way.
We had a garage growing up. My dad had a customer who he replaced the battery. The guy had a good job but wouldn’t even make payments on the battery. After about 3 months of this BS my dad saw his vehicle parked out in public and opened the hood and took the battery back.
The next day the guy came in and told my dad that he couldn’t pay for the battery because somebody had stolen it. Dad just said “no problem, don’t worry about it.”
If he would have been in need it would not have went down like that, many people got batteries and tires and gas if they were in dire straights.
The first thing a contractor did with us was place a lien on our property when we had the roof replaced, and when we had a shop built. With the shop, when a certain portion of the shop was completed we paid him. We paid him in 4 different payments (I forget the term). With the roof we paid by check the day he finished – $14,000 and that was 15 years ago. Where the consumer can get burned is if the contractor asks for the money upfront and then takes off. Don’t ever do that. I wasn’t home at the time, but DH had a guy do some tree trimming. The guy pruned half the tree then he asked DH for the money so he could go to the hardware store and buy a blade for his saw. Dummy DH gave him the money and that was the last DH saw of him. DH learned a hard lesson there. Too bad I wasn’t at home as I would have told the guy to finish the work then you get paid. The guy was a tweaker, we got lucky that he didn’t fall off the ladder and get hurt on our property and sue us.
@Goldenfoxx – smart move. NEVER pay up front. If contractor asks for payment up front, kick his butt off property fast as you can. I contract normally for payment within 90 days from completion unless otherwise negotiated. That’s pretty standard most times.
We do 3rd’s …A 3rd up front…and so on
Back in the bad old days…It was rumored that certain
Contractors would leave open containers of P*ss behind the Dry
Wall…If You paid…they were removed….If not 😉
Yeah, I know there are hoops to jump through, there are laws to follow, there are asses that have to be kissed and dicks that have to be sucked….
Let’s be up straight and honest….If you are going to hire a contractor…..have your damn ducks in a row so everyone knows ahead of time what the plan is.
In WVa and MO the mechanic can force the sale of your house if you don’t pay.
But if she sincerely tried to come to some kind of agreement, he’s a dick.
izlamo delenda est …
In this story, guess which one is the conservative and which is the liberal.
If I sell you a car and you don’t pay, I repossess the car. Why can’t he repossess his roof?
@Bcattin – I’ve found a lot of old beer bottles and cans in wall cavities tearing into old houses. Always figured they were drunk contractors. You have me thinking now!
I’ve heard in most states you can go to a judge and get a right to reclaim your materials, showing owners this paper usually produces the money, however you probably can’t leave a roof uncovered because of damage.
Small claims? It is in use and has been for some time.
Or, you can have her SWAT’d.😉
Louisiana law is based on the Napoleonic system and is nothing like any other state in the union. I have no idea what rights the contractor had but I do understand a coonass getting pissed enough to go get his shingles back. Right or wrong I bet he felt better.
Unfortunately, Mechanics Lien Law does not permit peaceful removal of improvements once installed. Ties up contractors and destroys their finances, never saw the justice in that!