Contractors Material Gets Stolen- Who's Liable?

Question

I have a contractor who claims some wire and can lights were "stolen". The cans had been sitting in the garage for weeks and he called me today to tell me 8 are gone and 2 are remaining as well as 2 rolls of wire. The day before he claimed he left a Dewalt tool in the basement and it went missing. I think he's trying to get more money because he hinted at me covering some of this or getting him new cans. I find it hard to believe any of my other subs would steal the cans in the garage or his wire.

What do you guys do when you have a contractor claim their material or tools had been stolen? My opinion is, hey you left it there its your responsibility for what happens to it after that. If its a worry, pack everything up daily.

Aaron McGinnis · Answer

What does your contract say?

Mine says that I'm going to take common sense safety precautions - locking doors and windows at night, but that if a thief comes in the dark of night (or while nobody is on site) and steals something it is not my fault.

That being said, I've got a whole darn warehouse where fixtures get stored until the day they get installed... for precisely this reason. Fixtures have a tendency to go missing on jobsites and it is virtually impossible to tell (even for the GC sometimes) if it was theft, accident, or what happened.

In your position, I'd offer to split the cost of the replacement parts with the GC.

Tools are totally different... my longstanding policy is that tools that go missing from a job are the fault of the tool owner. Hand tools and power tools get buttoned up and brought back to the shop daily, which makes it super easy for my lead carpenter to keep a running inventory. Big tools (Like air scrubbers, concrete mixers, scaffolding) are a little bit harder to misplace and tend to stay until they get moved to the next job... unless we're in a bad neighborhood, in which case we aren't working there anyway!

Matthew Paul · Answer

Great way to make a first impression on your first post . Your lack of knowledge shines bright

Matthew Paul · Answer

In my contract , once materials are on the jobsite , they belong to the customer .  I am not the only person with access to the property so I cant provide secure setting . Tools , I dont leave on the job . ( I have insurance for my tools and equip)

Ritch Bonisa · Answer

This can be a complex issue.  If the project materials have been installed - it generally falls on the property or property owner, meaning it is covered by the insurance on the property.  Materials purchased by the contractor, are uninstalled, and are on the job site - most likely fall on the contractor.  There is actually an insurance policy for this, but it is highly unlikely that many contractors would have it.  It seems to be an expensive policy that is not often used.   When the materials are not purchased by the contractor - the whole situation sits in a gray area.  It is difficult to make the contractor responsible for this if he did not purchase the materials.  Missing tools are solely on the contractor, here again most contractors don't have their tools insured.  Now, of course, this is my opinion, but it is somewhat of an educated opinion.  I have questioned insurance professionals on this before.  These are actually things that could be set our in a contract.  This one of those issues where I say - Everyone should have a standard contract that they use - your contract should be an evolving document.  When you come up on something like this, make a note, and add it to your contract for the next time around.  It will be forever more covered in your contract.  It also makes sense to take the position that - these issues occurred while this contractor was on the project, so maybe this should be his last project with you.  Hope that all makes sense and hope it helps!

Allan Smith · Answer

If they are materials commonly used at another job site, I would be a little suspicious. But I do agree that generally materials on the job site are now owned by client.

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Kyle Doney

Is this new construction or a renovation of existing home.

Anyone living in property

As mentioned depends on contract and if no contract did you tell them to deliver them. Typically In my contracts we require them to lockup or protect things like this (as we provide a closet to put these things)

If you haven’t paid for it technically you haven’t taken possession. Also if it’s his tools etc that’s his problem

Since it’s unclear best to split or pay for it - it will go a long way.

Mark Bohstedt · Answer

If I purchase the material, it’s on me, if the customer purchased it, I’m not going to replace it if it’s stolen, but I don’t leave anything laying around as an easy target for thieves. My tools are always my responsibility.

Joe Camel · Answer

Make sure you tell people that up front so they know not to hire you, if you're willing to insure your personal property but not the projects material you're not a good contractor and should not be doing any work for anyone. Contractors like you are what give the good contractors a bad name. If you can't secure the materials at a location then you should have some kind of storage where you can secure it. If you want leave your tools on the job site uninsured then don't leave the material there uninsured.

Kyle Doney · Answer

Thanks for the insight. @Aaron McGinnis I just have a bid agreement, not a full on contract with the guy. Splitting is probably the best solution.

Contractors Material Gets Stolen- Who's Liable?

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