Beyond that, unfortunately there is not a whole lot of options for pursuing shoddy building or dishonest contractors. The reason for this is because of the fact that there are inspections and certifications that are to be met for a house to be declared as something that can be occupied. If your house passed such inspections, then technically the contractor or builder did their job. However, just because your house passed some minimal inspections does not mean that your builder did not do a shoddy job. Some builders are highly skilled at making things appear as they should be without them actually being that way. So, if you find this has happened to you, first and foremost, call the city inspection office.

Tell them that your home passed inspection, but you have had outside sources come in and inspect the work, and it should never have passed. Inform them that you want them to re-inspect, and to hold the builder liable for correcting problems. If you are lucky they will do this, but generally they will fight you. You must then get an attorney. Usually your contractor is absolved of responsibility once the house passes inspection, and the inspector takes the responsibility for passing sub-par work. So, you have to start at the inspection office, and work your way to the actual builder.

This is a long process, and generally not as fruitful as you would like. So, another great option for getting the builder or dishonest contractor to come out and fix the problem is to black mail them. Yes, it is horrible, but it is probably the best option for getting things done in a timely, inexpensive manner. Attorneys are expensive, and because you will be fighting with the city not just the builder, the costs are even higher. So, instead, do this:

Call the builder. Tell them what you have found (that they did a shoddy job, did not use materials they said they would, etc.) ask them to come out and fix the problem. They will likely say no. You then say, "You leave me no choice. I guess I will have to take this to the media." Attorneys do not scare them, they can afford a bigger, better one. However, the media does. After all, as a builder, their livelihood is determined by people choosing to use them. If you expose their dishonesty to the public, they will lose business, and they do not want that. Usually they will play it cool at first and say, "Ok, you do that."

So, what you do next is write a news release. In the release explain what the builder did, how they were dishonest, used loopholes in your contract to get away with building a sub par home, etc. Paint it black, black, black, but do not fabricate anything. Include conversations you had, etc. then point out that everything was lip service, and once paid, they did a crappy job. Once this is complete, contact a media personnel, usually they will jump on this kind of story. Then send a copy of the release to the builder, and indicate that you wanted to give them a heads up. Usually this will get some fire under their seats and they will come to you with terms. They would rather settle this with you than have their name black balled. You can usually find a television reporter from your local station that exposes dishonest business men, etc. so use their name when talking to the builder, and let them see the lengths you are willing to go to ensure this does not happen to someone else if they will not take care of the problems for you.