Contractor Gone ยท Massachusetts
Contractor gone in Massachusetts: where the money can come from
Massachusetts gives registered-contractor customers a state arbitration program and a Guaranty Fund that pays unpaid awards and judgments. The order is: OCABR complaint, then arbitration or court, then the fund application with the unpaid judgment. A deposit over one third of the price is a violation you can cite in the first letter.
Run the free check for Massachusetts
The four paths in Massachusetts
| 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. |
| State fund | Home Improvement Contractor Guaranty Fund, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR). Cap: $25,000 per claim (confirm on the state page). Precondition: Registered home improvement contractor; a court judgment or arbitration award that goes unpaid. Deadline: confirm. verified 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: Mostly protected | A sub's lien is limited to what you still owed the contractor when the sub's notice was filed (M.G.L. c. 254, s. 4). |
Is the contractor licensed?
Licensed by the OCABR Home Improvement Contractor registration (plus a Construction Supervisor License for structural work). Look up the license. Registration is what makes the Guaranty Fund available. Check it first.
Deposits and the contract
Deposits are capped at one third of the contract price, except for special-order materials (M.G.L. c. 142A). confirm
Small claims
District Court, small claims, generally up to $7,000 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 fund; 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 Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR). The fund claim hangs off it.
- 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's lien is limited to what you still owed the contractor when the sub's notice was filed (M.G.L. c. 254, s. 4).
The paperwork, done
The Contractor Gone kit, $39, fills every letter and form above with your facts: the chargeback script, the demand letter with Massachusetts's deposit rule cited, the licensing complaint, the fund application, 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.