Contractor Gone · California

Contractor gone in California: where the money can come from

California has no recovery fund but it has the strongest licensing board in the country. Every licensed contractor carries a bond, deposits are capped by statute, and CSLB runs its own complaint and arbitration process. File the CSLB complaint and the bond claim at the same time; the surety pays real money and CSLB can suspend the license until restitution is made.

Run the free check for California

The four paths in California

Card chargeback	Same in every state. Dispute for services not rendered within 120 days of the promised completion, no later than 540 days after the payment. Each payment has its own clock.
Contractor bond	Contractor license bond, Contractors State License Board (CSLB). Amount: bond amount, commonly $25,000 (confirm current figure). How: Licensed contractor; claim against the surety, with or without a judgment; CSLB complaint and arbitration also available. Deadline: bond claims generally within two years of the license expiring or the work ending (confirm). confirm Agency page
Bankruptcy claim	If the company filed, a proof of claim (Official Form 410) with the court by the bar date. A deposit for personal or household services is a priority claim up to $3,800 for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025 (11 U.S.C. 507(a)(7)); the rest is general unsecured.
Lien exposure: Real exposure	A sub who served a 20-day preliminary notice can lien your home even if you paid the contractor in full. The defense is the preliminary notice itself: if none was served, the lien right is lost. Ask for it in writing.

Is the contractor licensed?

Licensed by the Contractors State License Board. Look up the license. Swimming pool contractors hold a C-53 license. Unlicensed contracting over $500 is a crime in California.

Deposits and the contract

Home improvement deposits are capped at 10% of the contract price or $1,000, whichever is less (Bus. & Prof. Code 7159). Swimming pool contracts have their own schedule. A larger deposit is itself a violation to report to CSLB. confirm

Small claims

Small Claims Court, generally up to $12,500 as of 2025; confirm the current limit on the court's site before filing. Above the cap, the regular civil docket, where a lawyer is optional but usual. confirm

In order

Pull the contract, every receipt, and your card or bank statements. The contract page shows where each number lives.
Check the license at the link above. Licensed opens the bond; unlicensed means small claims and a report to the licensing body.
If you paid by card, call the issuer today and open a dispute for services not rendered. The window closes; everything else waits.
Send the demand letter by certified mail. It starts the clock the licensing body and the court will want to see.
File the complaint with Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and ask for the bond and surety details. Bond claims are paid in order; file early.
Search PACER for the company. A bankruptcy filing stops the letters and the lawsuit and replaces them with a proof of claim.
Answer any subcontractor notice in writing with proof of what you paid. A sub who served a 20-day preliminary notice can lien your home even if you paid the contractor in full. The defense is the preliminary notice itself: if none was served, the lien right is lost. Ask for it in writing.

The paperwork, done

The Contractor Gone kit, $39, fills every letter and form above with your facts: the chargeback script, the demand letter with California's deposit rule cited, the licensing complaint, the bond claim, the lien-defense letter, the proof of claim worksheet, and a checklist for hiring the contractor who finishes the job. What's in it, or run the check first; the answers carry into the kit.

Page written 2026-09-07. Rows marked verified were read on the agency page or statute on the date shown in the data; rows marked confirm are from general knowledge and should be checked with the agency. Spot an error? Email jon@homestillworks.com and it gets fixed the same day.