You paid a deposit — maybe the whole down payment, maybe just enough to "get materials ordered" — and then the contractor stopped responding. Calls go to voicemail. Texts sit there unread, or get a one-word "will call you back" and nothing after. The truck that was supposed to show up Monday never does, and neither does the one for the Monday after that.
This is one of the more workable versions of a contractor dispute, because disappearing tends to leave a clean record: money paid, work that didn't happen, and silence.
A written agreement, even a short one. An estimate, a proposal, a text thread where you agreed on a price and scope — anything showing what was promised and what you paid toward it.
What you paid versus what was actually done. Full deposit and zero work started is the strongest version. Partial work followed by silence is still a case, but the amount owed is what you paid minus a fair value for anything actually completed.
A timeline of the silence. The date work was supposed to start or continue, every attempt you made to reach them, and how long it's been. A pattern of ignored contact is itself evidence.
Sometimes it's literal — a disconnected number, an address that turns out to be empty. More often it's someone who keeps saying "next week" and never means it, or who answers just often enough to keep you from filing anything. Both count. What matters is that money changed hands, work didn't happen the way it was supposed to, and you can't get a straight answer.
If the contractor is licensed for the trade, it's worth checking whether that license is still active — a lapsed or revoked license is itself a sign of how this usually goes, and some licensing boards handle complaints like this even before a court does.
You're probably in good shape if: you have some record of the agreement and the price, you paid toward work that didn't happen or only partly happened, and you've made a real effort to reach them that's gone nowhere.
You may not have much if: the work delivered so far is roughly proportional to what you paid, there was never any agreement on price or scope to point to, or the contractor is actually still reachable and responding — even slowly. A contractor who's difficult but engaged is a different, harder problem than one who's vanished.
Pull together the agreement, proof of payment, and your timeline of contact attempts. The full sequence — including how to total what's owed and when to escalate — is in how to get money back from a contractor. When you're ready to put it in writing, see writing a demand letter for a contractor refund.
Wherewithal is an organizational tool, not a law firm, not legal advice.
Wherewithal is an organizational tool only. Not legal advice. Consider consulting a licensed attorney.