An unfortunate Pennsylvania homeowner claims he’s been charged with a $15,000 fine after their contractor had dumped two tons of trash into a reserve with their name on it. According to Reddit user 1NoodleMage on r/legal, the contractor had been hired to demolish their master bathroom, which they did within three days with a “reasonable quote.” After being paid the first installment, he never returned but allegedly committed quite the sinister crime.
As 1NoodleMage’s story goes, the contractor illegally dumped all the bathroom’s old tiles, drywall, and plumbing fixtures from the demolition into a protected wildlife reserve before taking off. “Investigators found a broken shipping box mixed in with the bathroom trash that still had my name and home address taped to it,” OP explained.
With the shady contractor nowhere to be found, the state environmental protection agency has held the homeowner accountable for the illegal dumping, imposing a $15,000 fine. Needless to say, this Pennsylvania resident is panicking. “I called the phone number the contractor gave me, and it is completely disconnected. I looked up his business name, and the state has no record of it,” they wrote.
The Pennsylvania Homeowner Hired the Contractor Because He Was Offering Cheaper Services
For anyone wondering why OP hired such a contractor, it was to avoid spending more money. “His quote was only about 20% cheaper than others, so it did not seem like a red flag to me. I was just trying to save money,” they griped. Unfortunately, whatever options this homeowner has, “This is likely going to be a mess,” as one Redditor put it.
“At this point, avoiding jail would be the best outcome,” remarked a commenter. Plenty of users criticized 1NoodleMage for their decision to be ‘cheap.’ One Redditor wrote, “You did zero due diligence in trying to hire a legitimate contractor with legitimate business practices. You’re going to have to bear the brunt of responsibility for that, and frankly should.”
As to what OP has to go off of, they claim to only have the contractor’s old phone number and his fake business name. “[I] hope a PI can work with just that,” they remarked. Based on that, they might have a lot of legal trouble proving their innocence to the authorities, since they were still negligent.
As one Redditor says, the best this Pennsylvania homeowner can do is get a lawyer to figure this all out. Most importantly, as the commenter wrote, “And this time, make sure your attorney is really an attorney.”
