Thought you may like to know the outcome of the mess.
I did the "sensible" thing and said I would pay when the work was complete.
Turned out not to be a good idea - the guy whacked a possessory lien on my plane, moved to foreclose for more than twice the pending bill - didn't like that hired a lawyer recommended ny AOPA - got a court date in May 2017 (!!!!!!) - passed by and looked at the airplane in June rotting into the ground (apparently one can possess it, owner cannot have it back until the court hearing is held) - decided to settle - asked how much and they settled for less than the lien and less than the amount pending (I assume the money all went to his lawyer so he got nothing a plus for me). Plane flown to Ft. Lauderdale, after US$2,000 spent to fix the brakes - the comms and alt failed en-route - since then I have spent on replacing the engine mount, the mags, the alt, the starter, radios next - and my lawyer cost me $20,000+.
Best thing was got the airplane looked over last December - declared unairworthy oddly a week after the first guys signed the annual - my lawyer said don't tell the FAA after I expressly told him I was travelling to the US to make a formal complaint (goes to show how good he was - it did lead to me paying him more money of course).
So I have the world's most expensive PA28-181 with the defective work the original guy did - if this ever happens to you pay the crook and sue him if you have to - and never, ever take anyone's advice on who to use - if I'd gone where I planned to none of this would ever have happened.
On a positive note I will have my airplane back and will have a 1400 mile cross country over open ocean to look forward to
