# ethics question



## dayexco (Mar 4, 2006)

you as a contractor do a site prep job that was started last summer for a local govt. entity....they had an area for you to stockpile your fill material, topsoil with the understanding any excess would be hauled away when job completed. between september of last year, and this week......our topsoil pile is GONE. they said they only used a "few loads"...they had some rubber fuel bladders buried they dug out and filled the excavation with topsoil, the water/electric/gas depts. when needing topsoil have been "borrowing" some....now, i'm about 300 yds short to finish the job. i've told them that hadn't they touched my pile, and i ran short....there would be NO question as to how much i have to haul back in, or who pays for it....in my son and my opinion, our stockpile last fall was MORE than adequate to complete the project. we've formally told them, that we're not getting into a guessing game as to how much they used, and how much i'm short.....they have to make up the shortage. am i being wrong here? my standpoint is....had they LEFT our material alone, there'd be no question....now we're short, and they can't tell me exactly how much they used. what a freakin headache.


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## shanekw1 (Mar 20, 2008)

Not wrong at all.

If they can not prove how much they used, they can just replace it all thank you very much.

And next time stay the f*** away from my dirt.


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## genecarp (Mar 16, 2008)

If they hit your pile without your permission, then they are responsible for the total to complete the job. If they had your permission, then you must come to a fair resolution, each party taking part responsibility. Now, that being said, if they are a good moneymaking account for you, right or wrong, you must be diplomatic. G


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

Shouldn't be a problem, they will get what you need by taking it from someone else's pile, the so on and so on...

It's government that's how they roll.


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## rino1494 (Jan 31, 2006)

Get it in writing that they are responsible for payment to import needed topsoil to complete the job since they so conviently took a "couple loads".


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

Worked on a subdivision years ago, the site super sold all of the stockpiled topsoil for cash. All the owner could do was fire him. Couldn't prove it was him, it just somehow "disappeared" That's a LOT of money man!


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

I would agree with those above.

The municipality needs to pay for all the soil you need to complete the project.

There's no chance that there is a picture of the stockpile as it was in the fall is there? Maybe even a photo of something else with the soil pile in the background?


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## backhoe1 (Mar 30, 2007)

I agree 100%, stick to your guns. Give them the option to provide topsoil to finish the job or they can buy it from you at fair market value.


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## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

Mike Finley said:


> Shouldn't be a problem, they will get what you need by taking it from someone else's pile, the so on and so on...


 

Dang Mike, I swear Obama must be reading your posts.:furious:


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## Jayrek (Sep 6, 2008)

backhoe1 said:


> I agree 100%, stick to your guns. Give them the option to provide topsoil to finish the job or they can buy it from you at fair market value.


This is what you need to do.

The 300 yds is not all that expensive, but the fees to haul it back there is, combined with the lost time, dealing with supervising the replacement...

Sounds like they owe you some money.


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## ebeye (May 31, 2009)

I agree with Genecarp, it is always better to come to a mutual agreement in cases like this. Figure out the dollars amount involved in fixing the situation and compare it with the total of your contract: that way you can evaluate how hard you want to fight this. But you will probably want to do business with this client in the future so it is always better to compromise.


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