re: Anyone else been victims of contractor fraud?

Louisiana Attorney General's Office has a division assigned for this.

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how many people fricked their contractors

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Yep. Up vote for you sir.

and the OT ballers that say your residential job has to be bonded are FOS. I was involved in the residential and light commercial construction industry for years, and my father for years before me, and I have never heard of a residential job being bonded.

The OT ballers want a $100K job done for 75K, want the job bonded, and want perfection on the completed job. I will tell you right now, no job will be perfect and flawless upon completion.
As in anything, you usually get what you pay for.

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I was involved in the residential and light commercial construction industry for years, and my father for years before me, and I have never heard of a residential job being bonded.

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I guess you were working for unsophisticasted morons who didn't want to protect themselves.

In your defense, it is a newly enacted statute.

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Acts 1981, No. 724, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982

§4812. Bond required; terms and conditions
A. To be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of R.S. 9:4802(C), every owner shall require a general contractor to furnish and maintain a bond of a solvent, legal surety for the work to be performed under the contract. The bond shall be attached to the notice of the contract when it is filed.
B. The amount of the bond shall not be less than the following amounts or percentages of the price of the work stipulated or estimated in the contract:
(1) If the price is not more than ten thousand dollars the amount of the bond shall be one hundred percent of the price.
(2) If the price is more than ten thousand dollars but not more than one hundred thousand dollars the amount of the bond shall be fifty percent of the price, but not less than ten thousand dollars.
(3) If the price is more than one hundred thousand dollars but not more than one million dollars the amount of the bond shall be thirty-three and one-third percent of the price, but not less than fifty thousand dollars.
(4) If the price is more than one million dollars the amount of the bond shall be twenty-five percent of the price, but not less than three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three dollars.
C. The condition of the bond shall be that the surety guarantees:
(1) To the owner and to all persons having a claim against the contractor, or to whom the contractor is conventionally liable for work done under the contract, the payment of their claims or of all amounts owed them arising out of the work performed under the contract to which it is attached or for which it is given.
(2) To the owner, the complete and timely performance of the contract unless such guarantee is expressly excluded by the terms of the bond.
D. The bond of a legal surety attached to and filed with the notice of contract of a general contractor shall be deemed to conform to the requirements of this part notwithstanding any provision of the bond to the contrary, but the surety shall not be bound for a sum in excess of the total amount expressed in the bond.
E. The bond given in compliance with this Part shall be deemed to include the following conditions:
(1) Extensions of time for the performance of the work shall not extinguish the obligation of the surety but the surety who has not consented to the extensions has the right of indemnification under the original terms of the contract as provided by Article 3057 of the Civil Code.
(2) No other amendment to the contract, or change or modification to the work, or impairment of the surety's rights of subrogation made without the surety's consent shall extinguish the obligations of the surety, but if the change or action is materially prejudicial to the surety, the surety shall be relieved of liability to the owner, and shall be indemnified by the owner, for any loss or damage suffered by the surety.
(3) A payment by the owner to the contractor before the time required by the contract shall not extinguish the obligation of the surety, but the surety shall be relieved of liability to the owner, and shall be indemnified by the owner for any loss or damage suffered by the surety.
Acts 1981, No. 724, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982.

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I guess you were working for unsophisticasted morons who didn't want to protect themselves. 

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Wasn't aware of the new law Chief.

If an owner made me obtain a performance bond on a residential job, I would insist he obtain a payment bond.

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A. To be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of R.S. 9:4802(C)

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I was surprised that I had never heard of this statute in Louisiana, as I used to be the regional credit manager for a wholesale building materials company with 3 branches in Louisiana and one branch in South Florida.

So I went and looked at my old credit manuals on Louisiana Immovable Property Law.

Your selected copy and paste is kind of deceiving as that law hinges on R.S. 9:4802 (C).

So look that up that portion of the law.

And as credit manager I sent hundreds and hundreds of Notices to Owner, and filed hundreds of liens on residential immovables in Louisiana, and never once did I come across a bond on residential construction. I'm sure they may exist, but I would say they are rare.

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And as credit manager I sent hundreds and hundreds of Notices to Owner, and filed hundreds of liens on residential immovables in Louisiana, and never once did I come across a bond on residential construction. I'm sure they may exist, but I would say they are rare.

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It's rare bc the construction industry is as trashy as the car industry.

A sophisticated buyer wipes his arse with your notice, and let's the gc, you, any subs, and the surety company deal with the trashy shite.

No, but I can get damages for his wrongful lien bc I followed the requirements of the act.

Do you read, baw?

9:4800 Et s...and beyond.

I don't doubt it. At the same time, our contractor has lied to our faces and over social media about how WE screwed him over. And he has done this with every single other victim. And yeah I don't expect everything to be perfect, but when multiple walls in your house didn't have insulation, and the tiles weren't even set properly, that's not just an "imperfect job".

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If an owner made me obtain a performance bond on a residential job, I would insist he obtain a payment bond.

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Fair and equitable. Or if he’s got cash he can do a trust with a bank. Either way it’s good business.

And I'll add that having a bonding company getting involved in your project should be a completely last resort.

They may be contractually obligated to correct shoddy work and finish the job, but they will hire their own contractor to complete the work. And they will try to satisfy their contract obligations by spending the least amount possible. Even if that means blaming some of the delays and problems on you, the owner. The bonding company would not be a white knight on a white horse ri ding in to be on your side. They would be on their own side with only their interests in mind.

If your project turned to complete shite, they would be better than nothing, but, they would not be your friend.