Contractor Took My Deposit and Vanished: Sending the Demand

The deposit cleared, the start date slipped, the texts got shorter, and now the contractor is gone. This guide is the practical part: what to gather, how to work out the number, where to send the letter and what to do with each kind of reply. Why the law is on your side, the trust rules for deposits, the licensing rules and what you can recover beyond the refund, is set out in the attorney's guide to the law at Hochman Law PC.

1. Gather two trails before you write

The money trail is every payment with its date and method: checks, bank transfers, Zelle, Venmo, cash receipts. The promise trail is whatever shows what you were promised and when: the contract or estimate, the texts or emails about scope and start dates, and the last message where the contractor said they were coming back. Photograph the job as it stands today, room by room, before anyone else touches it.

2. Work out a number you can defend

Start with everything you paid. Subtract the fair value of any work that was actually done, judged honestly; if a second contractor will charge more than the original price to finish the job, write that figure down separately. A demand that already accounts for the work performed is much harder to wave away than one asking for every dollar back.

3. Find the right name and address

Letters to a nickname or a cell number get ignored. Look up the contractor's license record (in New York City, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's license search) and, if they operate as an LLC or corporation, the New York Department of State's business entity search. Use the legal business name and the registered address you find there, and also send a copy to the person who took your money.

4. What the letter needs to say

The dates and amounts you paid, what was promised and when the work stopped. One line each on the law that applies: New York requires a written home improvement contract (GBL § 771) and requires advance payments to be held in escrow or covered by a bond (Lien Law § 71-a(4)). The exact refund figure from step 2, a specific deadline (ten to fourteen days is common), and what will follow if the deadline passes: a licensing complaint and a court claim.

5. Send it so you can prove it

Mail it by USPS Certified Mail with tracking to the registered address, and send the same letter by email or text if you have them. Keep the mailing receipt, the tracking printout and a copy of exactly what you sent. If the contractor later says they never got it, that receipt answers them.

6. When they answer, or don't

A full refund or a firm payment schedule: get it in a short signed agreement before you accept, with dates and amounts. A partial offer: compare it with your number from step 2 and counter in writing. Silence after the deadline: file the licensing complaint, then a claim in court (the statute of limitations checker shows how long you have); small claims in New York City hears claims up to $10,000. One honest limit: this playbook is for money paid and work not done. A dispute about the quality of finished work usually needs an inspection first.

If you would rather have the letter drafted, signed and mailed by a New York attorney, that is the contractor demand letter, a flat fee.