Why am I scared to reject contractor bids?
Contractors often react to declined bids with verbal abuse, profanity, and physical intimidation like storming back inside. This aggressive behavior makes homeowners terrified to reach out to other bids or leave honest reviews because the contractor knows where they live.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1keeping calm and hanging upDid this help you?
- 2looking up contractor records and reviewsDid this help you?
- 3filing a police report for a paper trailDid this help you?
- 4Paying the contractor to leave immediately to avoid escalationDid this help you?
- 5Withholding reviews out of fear of retaliationDid this help you?
- 6Installing security measures like Ring doorbells before posting feedbackDid this help you?
- 7Waiting until moving out before leaving a negative reviewDid this help you?
- 8Not answering phone calls or ignoring messagesDid this help you?
- 9Refraining from leaving negative online reviews out of fear of retaliationDid this help you?
- 10Considering contacting the police non-emergency lineDid this help you?
- 11Getting a ring doorbell cameraDid this help you?
- 12Stop using real phone numbers when requesting service quotes online.Did this help you?
- 13File complaints with consumer protection agencies such as the FCC or FDACS.Did this help you?
- 14Avoid further engagement or response to prevent fueling the harassment.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“it’s made me incredibly anxious to reach back out to anyone who gave a bid.”source ↗
“The day after I got back, he left me an aggressive voicemail while I was at work saying things like he “wasted time and effort and fuel at $6.40 a gallon, and wear and tear to drive to my home to provide me with the quote”.”source ↗
“Fast forward to today, I’m sitting on the couch with my husband and the man shows up unannounced knocking on my door.”source ↗
“My husband was going to do a google review (he’s on there too) but I asked him not to because to be honest I’m scared of the guy coming back. I’m so non-confrontational and it really made me feel anxious.”source ↗
“He mutters something under his breath, a couple of F-bombs and some other words from the same book.”source ↗
“He storms out of the house back to his car to start bringing stuff back inside. My daughter tells me that he was calling me an effing a-hole on his way out.”source ↗
“everyone else who met the man I did are reluctant to leave a review at all because this guy KNOWS WHERE YOU LIVE!”source ↗
“I VERY promptly started receiving texts from a personal cell number calling me names. When I didn’t respond, the calls started. 8 from the same cell number, and about 30 from a private number that were undoubtedly from the same individual.”source ↗
“I have quit using my real number for services. Learned this lesson just like this.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 8Contractors asking for admin access but not knowing basic IT
- 5How to deal with a disrespectful business partner
- 3Retainer client pays on time but never responds