Invoice, Please!

Almost two years ago now my handyman Uncle Ray decided to help my Mom by redoing her kitchen for her. She refinanced her mortgage and put the new kitchen in to add value to her home. My uncle is fantastic with his hands and enjoys woodwork, capentry and remodeling. He was a full time Detective Sargent at the time and told my Mom that he would not charge her for the labor, that she just had to buy all the materials. He worked at his own pace and did an OUTSTANDING job. I was so excited for my Mom because this was something she had always wanted to do, but my Dad was the anti-Handyman. So, with Uncle Ray's help she got the kitchen she wanted, and we couldn't have been more thankful.

Recently, my sister moved back home to finish out her last year of school. She brought her cat along with her, who Cody mostly wanted to chase. So Mom decided to put new doors on the bedrooms to ensure that Cody couldn't get in and Bella couldn't get out when no one was home. She asked Uncle Ray for his help putting the new doors up, and he agreed. He apparently took a couple days to do it, but the end result was a safer cat and a less full dog.

Suddenly, yesterday, my Aunt Laurie drops an envelope on Mom's desk at work. Inside it was an invoice for Uncle Ray's costs for hanging the doors. On it was the price of the doors, which was expected, along with his own LABOR COSTS for hanging them. He took the time to point out to her that he graciously discounted his cost and said he would have charged "someone else" a higher price. Just so that you are clear, reader, the man never charged her for all the labor he did on the kitchen and he also never ONCE discussed LABOR COSTS prior to him hanging the doors. This was all out of the blue. So, not only did this cost my Mom twice the amount of money, but she was never given the opportunity to get other price quotes from other "handymen" prior to having the work done. Doesn't seem fair, does it?

My Mom is an educated consumer. She shops around to find a good deal and doesn't just throw money around that she doesn't have. The woman is a WIDOW who works three jobs to make ends meet. My Aunt and Uncle take expensive vacations 2 -3 times per year, and have never had to know the pain of not knowing whether you'll make ends meet. My Mom doesn't GET luxurious trips, great clothes or expensive household items. She busts ass to make her mortgage payment to keep her roof over her head. Also, my Mom has provided YEARS of free services to their animals - clipping nails, expressing glands, training advice - and never once did it cross her mind to send them an invoice for her time because you don't do that to family.

I am so angry about this whole situation that I could spit. I wear my heart on my sleeve and my family is the MOST important thing to me. Mom said she is going to pay it and just move on, but I have half a mind to call him up and ask him where the hell he gets off. Honestly, I am not saying that his time isn't worth money, because I know it is. My problem is with the fact that my Mom was never given the courtesy that a normal consumer would have been given, and therefore was treated with disrespect by her own family member. She doesn't want to talk about it but I know that she's hurt that he would treat her this way and her own sister would be in on it. If there were going to be charges for labor, they should have been discussed beforehand.

I just don't understand how the hell people can be so insensitive. It's not about the money, it's about treating your family with more respect than you would "Joe Schmoe". This is the final straw for me and in the future I'll be sure to keep my distance so that I don't tell him exactly where to get off.

Now, I wonder if he'll start charging Grammy for all the things she has him do for her...