That's a point. Many years ago, a contractor harassed me for the final payment for an extension on our house. As well as being the contractor, he was the project manager, responsible for overseeing the paperwork for the building certificate.
I refused to give him the last payment until the snags were fixed - one was a doozy, I can tell you - and until I had the building certificate. He tried to say that that we didn't have an agreement that I could withhold part of the payment. Well no. We did have an agreement that he'd complete the job and he hadn't done that...
My husband had a severe stroke on the last day of work on the house. The contractor was phoning me and demanding payment while I was visiting DH in the Acute Stroke Ward.
I emailed the Building Inspector and explained the situation - basically begged him to come out and sign off so that I could pay the contractor.
The BI couldn't sign it off. The plan (drawn up by the contractor's architect) didn't show a change of level and he needed a tanking certificate as well. God bless him, he told me that he was sick of cowboys and he'd email the contractor.
When I phoned the contractor, he started yelling and shouting at me...
Anyway, I dealt with it. The inspector eventually was able to sign off. I paid.
After 4 months in rehab, DH learned to walk with a stick, in spite of permanent hemiparesis.
We were out for dinner one day. DH headed for the loo. I would normally have gone with him (to open doors etc), but his brother and SiL were with us, so his brother held open the door to the hotel lobby...and DH saw the contractor for the first time in over two years.
Contractor was at least 25 yrs younger than DH and 6ft 2. DH was a septuagenerian Aberdonian shortarse. DH: "I should slap your effing face for what you put my wife through!"
The contractor fled. True story.
DH knew that I'd handled things (with the help of the Building Inspector, I admit) but he wasn't going to lose his chance to let the contractor know what he thought of him.