Issue with a contractor ... help please

   "A bit of back and forth ensued.  He was supposed to come out a second time and complete hauling away the debris.  He flaked."

     Since you had to pay 350 to have the stuff removed,  I'd give the guy 150 for cutting down the tree.

   You had an agreement with a voice mail authorization.   He accepted based on that, but didn't perform.   End of story.

   I've held my license since 87.  Most all my small jobs are agreed on a handshake, I've never had a problem.    This guy is a crook, and will be fined by the CSLB for failure to perform.    If he deletes the phone message, he has a bigger problem.      I'd just let him know if he's not happy with the 150, you'll have to forward this claim to the CSLB.     It's a shame,  guys like that give the rest of us a bad name.