How to Document a Contractor Dispute Before You Demand a Refund

In a contractor dispute, the person with the better documentation usually has the upper hand. Before you demand anything, assemble the records that prove what was promised, what you paid, and what was actually delivered. If the contractor has vanished entirely with your deposit, see what to do when a contractor takes your deposit and disappears for the full escalation path.

Photographs are especially powerful. Date-stamped images of unfinished or defective work make it far harder for a contractor to claim the job was complete or done correctly.

Pull together the written contract or estimate, all proof of payment, every text and email about the project, and photos of the work site before, during, and after. Note any verbal promises and when they were made.

Organize it chronologically. A demand that walks through a clear sequence of events reads as credible and prepared — exactly the impression you want to create if the matter ever moves beyond a letter. When you are ready to put it in writing, a Louisiana contractor demand letter turns that file into a formal refund demand.