Contractor took your deposit and never finished the job?
Tell SueEasy what happened, and it helps you prepare a small claims filing to recover your deposit, plus a license bond claim if the contractor is licensed, with fees starting at $199.
File a Lawsuit
The cost of waiting to recover your deposit
Evidence gets harder to pull together
Photos, texts, and receipts fade fast once a dispute drags on.
The bond claim has its own, shorter clock
A license bond claim runs on its own clock, set by the surety, and it can be shorter than your four-year contract deadline.
Repair costs climb the longer it sits
The longer a job stays unfinished, the more it typically costs someone else to pick up and finish or fix it.
So will you actually get your money back?
Not every deposit dispute recovers in full. These are the patterns that tend to decide it.
Recovery more likely
- The deposit was above the legal cap, $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less
- The contractor is licensed and bonded for the trade performed
- You have dated photos, receipts, and a written estimate
- The contractor stopped responding or went quiet
Recovery less likely
- The dispute is really about the quality of finished work, not an abandoned job
- The job was genuinely under $500 in labor and materials, so no license was required
- There's no documentation of what was paid or promised
- The contractor already offered a documented partial refund
What it costs to recover your contractor deposit
File a Lawsuit, see everything before you pay
- Full guided intake
- Deposit and contract checked for common problems
- Defenses the contractor may raise
- Draft demand letter preview
Priced by how much is at stake in your case
- Deposit and damages claimed under $12,500: $199
- Deposit and damages claimed $12,500–$35,000: $699
- Deposit and damages claimed over $35,000: $1,299
- Complete demand letter and filing, ready to go
- Court fee collected in one checkout
Extra confidence, priced by case size
- Everything in File it yourself
- Licensed CA attorney review
- Revisions before filing
- Attorney files on your behalf
Preview everything for free. You only pay to unlock the finished filing package, and the government filing fee is collected in the same checkout.
When you might not need us
If the amount is small, you have a clean written contract and clear photos, and the contractor is still responsive, a demand letter you send yourself may be enough. A quick license and bond status check can tell you fairly fast whether it's worth pursuing further.
The value is in the analysis, not the forms
The small claims form is free everywhere. What we actually charge for is pulling the contractor's exact license and bond information, building a demand letter that cites the correct statute sections, and sequencing a small claims filing alongside a bond claim so you're not leaving money on the table.
California's rules on contractor deposits and abandoned jobs
"Business & Professions Code" and "CCP" below refer to specific California statutes, cited next to the rule each one supports.
The legal cap
$1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less, for most home improvement contracts. Business and Professions Code section 7159.5
Progress payments
Payments after the deposit can't exceed the value of work or materials actually delivered at that point.
Excess deposit
Anything collected above the legal cap is a standalone violation you can cite, regardless of how much work ever got done.
Small jobs exempt
Jobs genuinely under $500 in labor and materials don't require a license, so the deposit cap and licensing rules don't apply.
Written contract
Four years from breach. Code of Civil Procedure section 337
Oral agreement
Two years from breach. Code of Civil Procedure section 339
License bond claim
Runs on its own clock, set by the surety (the bonding company), separate from and often shorter than your lawsuit deadline.
Contractor kept promising to return
The clock usually runs from when they clearly stopped performing, not from the last vague promise. Document the date you treated it as over.
Licensed contractor
You have two paths: sue directly, and file against their license bond ($25,000 for most classifications).
Unlicensed contractor
A contractor working without a required license generally can't sue you for payment, and you can often recover everything you paid them. Business and Professions Code section 7031
No bond behind them
An unlicensed contractor has no license bond, so a judgment depends entirely on their personal assets.
License suspended mid-job
Doesn't pause your deadline, but can open up a separate unlicensed-contracting claim for the suspended period.
Legitimate delays
Permit delays or disclosed change orders are a valid reason for a pause, not abandonment.
Work actually delivered
A contractor can be paid for materials and labor genuinely provided, even if the job wasn't finished.
A full and final refund
Accepting a check marked "paid in full" can sometimes limit your ability to pursue the rest, check the terms before cashing it.
No license required
If the job was genuinely under $500 in labor and materials, the case rests on ordinary contract law instead of licensing rules.
Should you sue, file a bond claim, or both?
A lawsuit against the contractor and a claim against their license bond solve overlapping but different problems, and you can generally pursue both at once.
The lawsuit
- Produces an enforceable money judgment
- Can include the full value of your damages, not capped by the bond amount
- Needs you to find and serve the contractor
- Collection still depends on the contractor's own assets
The bond claim
- Filed directly with the surety company, no lawsuit required first
- Capped at $25,000 total, shared among everyone with a claim against that contractor
- Often faster to resolve for a straightforward, undisputed amount
- Often unaffected if the contractor later files for bankruptcy
The license bond isn't reserved just for you. It pays out to whoever files first among everyone with a claim against that contractor, so if they've abandoned more than one job, filing promptly matters.
File a LawsuitHow to recover a contractor deposit
Before you file
Send a demand letter first, it's often the fastest resolution.
- Amount & datesTotal paid, dates, and payment method
- The exact termsWhat was promised in writing
- What was deliveredWhat's actually done versus what you paid for
- A number & deadlineWhat you're demanding and a response deadline
Check license and bond status
This determines your whole strategy.
- License lookupThe Contractors State License Board's (CSLB) public license search
- Bond infoThe surety company's name and bond number
- ClassificationWhether they're licensed for the work performed
- Business entityThe exact registered name
Confirm your forum
Small claims caps and fees.
- Individual cap$12,500
- Business cap$6,250
- Filing fee$30 to $75, scales with claim size
- VenueWhere the contractor lives, works, or the job site is
File your claim
Form SC-100 (California's small claims court form), plus the bond claim if it applies.
- Court filingForm SC-100
- Bond claimFiled separately with the surety
- Fee waiverAvailable on form FW-001
- Both at onceA bond claim doesn't require winning your lawsuit first
Serve the contractor
You can't serve them yourself.
- Personal serviceMost reliable
- Substituted serviceLeave with someone at the business, then mail a copy
- Certified mailCheapest, only works if they sign
- Sheriff serviceSmall claims clerks can direct you to it for a modest fee
Prepare your evidence
Three copies of everything, one for the judge, the contractor, and you.
- Contract or estimateYour highest-leverage document
- Payment proofReceipts, canceled checks, bank or card statements
- Dated photosBefore, during, and after the contractor left
- CommunicationTexts or emails showing delays or silence
At the hearing, and after
No attorneys allowed at a small claims hearing.
- Lead with the timelinePaid, promised, delivered, in that order
- JudgmentPermission to collect, not money in hand
- CollectingWage garnishment, bank levy, or a lien
- AppealOnly the defendant can appeal a small claims loss, within 30 days
Contractor deposit FAQs
SueEasy is a self-help legal technology product built by LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, P.C. Using SueEasy does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not provide legal advice. We are not a law firm and cannot represent you in court. Every California county provides a free small claims advisor, and we can point you to yours.