Fierce college girl legally annihilates the shady contractor trying to rip off her elderly parents: 'I was possessed by the ghost of a prosecuting legal shark'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Mar 3, 2024 7:00 AM EST

Think of the most charming and adorable granny and grandpa imaginable–now picture that delightful couple, just enjoying their golden years with freshly baked pies and knitting projects, getting completely ripped off by a sleazy contractor. Yuck. If that doesn't grind your gears and make you instantly infuriated, it's time to check your pulse because you may be heartless. 

The college girl in our next story felt the same kind of rage when she came home for winter break. Upon returning to her childhood home, a house her parents worked and saved for their entire lives, she returned to a demolished front driveway, construction carnage, and a very concerned pair of elderly parents. What happened?!

After finding out her parents had been getting squeezed for every last dollar in their retirement fund by a shady contractor, the college girl's legal nails retracted and she went into battle mode. Scroll for the entire story of how one determined daughter's first legal battle was fought using jargon and knowledge from her first semester in Lawyers 101. 

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  • 01
    Don't mess with the elderly
    via canva
  • 02
    Posted by u/Known-Independent413 21 hours ago Don't screw over my elderly parents Back in 2004 I came home from college to find my parents driveway ripped up and unusable. My mom was in tears because the contractor had just informed her that the price of the project had gone up to double the original quote.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 03
    Gave no reason to why it would now cost double. My parents were teachers in a city in a poor state so they didn't make a lot of money. It was through careful investments and savings that they moved to upper middle class.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 04
    neighborhood in city and worked hard their whole lives and took pride in their home. It wasn't an extravagant house by any means. It was a tri-level 70's Brady bunch house in a city of one story Adobe houses, never renovated but well built and we'll maintained the 30 years they lived there. My parents lived in a nice this
    via Known-Independent413
  • 05
    Contractors would often assume my parents were rich and try to squeeze them for money. So this is something we unfortunately have been dealing with my entire life. When this all happened they were retired and on a fixed income so projects like this were thought out and prepared for carefully.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 06
    My mom was beside her self with stress about the whole situation but managed to keep it from me when I called every Sunday. So imagine how mad I was to learn about this situation. This particular contractor went out of his way to make the driveway a disaster area and my 70 yr old parents with mobility issues had literally been prisoners in their home for two weeks unable to get through construction zone.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 07
    The contractor had stopped all work until the full payment was made. My parents had already paid half of the first quote. He had dragged out a straight forward job by only having one or two workers show up whenever they felt like it work an hour and then leave. I had no idea while I was at school that this project had been going on for over a month.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 08
    That semester at school I had taken a legal class for my area of study and had just written a paper on contract law. Within an hour of me getting home I had the contractor on the phone. To this day I don't know what came over me it was like I was possessed by a ghost of a prosecuting legal shark. I insinuated but never specifically said that I was their lawyer.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 09
    I threw out legal terms and accused them of being in breach of their bid and a legally binding contract which (fortunately) had some language meant to cover their 1. Pointed to all the areas where they had violated their agreement and the obvious intentions to screw my parents. I had the contractor stuttering and stammering and promising to make the job a priority.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 10
    When I got off the phone both my parents were staring at me in shock and made the statement I made earlier that it was like I was possessed. Victory was won when the next morning at 6 am a full crew of at least 5 guys plus contractor came and finished the job in three hours. Contractor never asked for the revised price and not even the second half of the first price.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 11
    Of course mom being mom tried to get in touch with him to make the second half of the payment and he got so freaked out that she was going to sue him he dropped off a check for $1,000 from "accounting errors" and apologized profusely.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 12
    Plus he left all the extra supplies that he over purchased and had billed my parents for. It was enough that the following year when my father had to go from walker to wheelchair we had enough concrete and supplies to build a ramp. that felt good and that one thing I could do for my parents after a lifetime of them sacrificing for me made my whole college education worth it to me.
    via Known-Independent413
  • 13
    Moral of this story...don't with the elderly. And give a daughter an education she'll defend you from the wolves. Lol
    via Known-Independent413
  • 14
    badpuffthaikitty - 21 hr. ago When the contractor fixed things the next day, and didn't ask for any money tells me this guy does this shady all of the time. He is frightened of his shady business being found out by the proper authorities.
    via badpuffthaikitty
  • 15
    cryssyx3 20 hr. ago and tried to screw them initially if there was enough to give $1000 back Reply Share ... 598 ShortButHigh 18 hr. ago 1000$ back after only accepting half of the original quote. That's insane amounts of fraud. It's also likely he paid out of pocket in hopes they would be happy and leave him alone and not give his name to the authorities.
    via cryssyx3
  • 16
    theDagman 17 hr. ago He probably was not even a licensed contractor, and was committing fraud by purporting himself to be licensed. 156 Reply Share ... Notmykl 12 hr. ago That's easy to find out by looking the contractor up with the State SOS and Contractor Licensing Board.
    via theDagman
  • 17
    BeautifulPhantom1 - 21 hr. ago Anyone that tries to scam the elderly is scum of the earth. Good on you for scaring the out of this particular scum.
    via BeautifulPhantom1
  • 18
    CuthbertJTwillie - 20 hr. ago I'm a driveway adjacent contractor. (Heat melt guy). I always look out for the elder folks on the other trades involved. Electricians and concrete guys who do the same get a lot of work from me v
    via CuthbertJTwillie
  • 19
    skoltroll 20 hr. ago To this day I don't know what came over me it was like I was possessed by a ghost of a prosecuting legal shark. It's called "love." And it's a powerful friggin weapon.
    via skoltroll
  • 20
    curiousnomad2222 - 21 hr. ago Go you baller! Your parents are lucky to have such a fierce kid!!!!! 51 Reply Share weesti 21 hr. ago Dang, it feels good to be a gangsta
    via curiousnomad2222
  • 21
    Sufficient Lynx7869 21 hr. ago Well done. You may not be a lawyer yet, but you played one on the phone to a tee.
    via Sufficient Lynx7869
  • 22
    myatoz 21 hr. ago . This is beyond I up. People who try to screw over the elderly have no moral compass whatsoever. I think I'll go hug my dogs and cats now.
    via myatoz

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college girl contractors lawyer legal construction legally legal shark daughter elderly Reddit illegal contractor college parents
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