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Home Improvement Contractor Scam

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Home Improvement Contractor Scam Reports & Reviews (68)

- New York, NY, USA

Chris Deraffele misrepresented himself as a licensed contractor. He also employed subcontractors who were not licensed. When this was brought to our attention, he was terminated from the work. Eventhough, he was not licensed, he sued for construction payments which were not due to him. He also did not pay his subs.

- Warminster, PA, USA

Ceown

Moore who represents Apex Appliance Repair Service came out to my house

on 12/26/2023 to service my GE gas dryer that was not producing heat.

He diagnosed the problem and determined that it needed a igniter and he

would have to order it. He also said he needed from me a deposit of

175.00 and suggested to pay him with Zelle which I did thru my credit

union account because I was anxious to get it fixed. Well, he left and

said he would contact me and return when the part came in. On Dec 28th

he said he had a family emergency and said he could come on Tuesday, Jan

2nd. He never came and ignored my texts and when you call his number

it always goes to voice mail and he never returns my calls. I kept

calling and texting him the next several day which he just ignored me. I

ended up calling someone else on Tuesday, January 9th. This service

person came the next day and fixed my dryer. So basically Ceown Moore

from Apex Appliance Repair Service scammed me for 175.00. This guy is

dishonest and not trustworthy. I guess he thought I was a pushover

because I was a senior citizen.

This customer was fully reimbursed by our company for all expenses and placed on our priority care membership. We’ve also talked with the customer and resolved the issues with all complaints dropped
Photo 1 proof in review #17600764 about Home Improvement Contractor Scam
Photo 2 proof in review #17600764 about Home Improvement Contractor Scam

- Mc Lean, VA, USA

Did a Google search for appliance repair and came across https://www.appliance-pros.com which connected me to a scam company that actually came out to my property and gave what turned out to be a bogus repair assessment for a refrigerator. They said they needed an initial deposit for the work and then I never heard back from them.

+1
- Martinsburg, WV, USA

Contractor was supposed to come to work and asked for money to buy supplies. Sent money via Venmo. When confirming the time he would be arriving on 12/11/2023, his phone is out of service, no response to calls or texts for days, (this is his business cell) no response to emails. The water and mold company that referred him to me has also tried to make contact with him unsuccessfully.

- Mount Rainier, MD, USA

My parents contracted with Haziel & Brothers Construction LLC as general contractor for work at their home. The contractor sent emails to my parents requesting that the payment be made through Zelle. My parent received multiple emails from the contractors email [email protected]. These emails discussed the quote for the work to be completed, start date, Zelle payment information. The money was sent to the Zelle account information twice, but the contractor (Edwin Hernandez) said he did not send the emails and he did not receive any payments. My parents reported this to their bank as suspicious but because the email was from the contractor address, the bank denied her the refund of the money that was Zelled. This now appears that the contractor is running a scam, we reviewed all the emails sent from that address to my parents is the same. Unfortunately my elderly parents believed the contractor so they paid him by check. This means the contractor got paid double for the job that was done. This is another example of scammers taking advantage of senior citizens. It's obvious that this contractor used Zelle to scam my parents out of their money, now they are unable to get back the money sent to this contractor's accomplice. The company does not have a fixed address so I could not file a complaint on BBB. The website used is https://haziel-brothersconstructionllc.com/. I hope that this can be turned into a complaint against this company. My parents or any senior citizen should not be taken advantage of.

- Leesburg, VA, USA

They posed as state highway contractors, saying they were doing work on local roads and noticed drainage issue in my driveway, the surface of which was loose round smooth stones. I did have a small drainage issue, so it seemed legitimate. They said they had a little extra gravel in their truck and would place it on my drive. When I asked how much it would be, they said they had to measure the area after the gravel was laid down. When it was too late to back out, they said I owed $2800 which I shouldn't have paid, but did. They cashed the check the same day, and their invoice didn't have a printed company name on it or a phone number, so I know now it was a scam. The work is pretty shoddy too.

- Jericho, NY, USA

The scammer posed as an Egress Windows expert. He was trying to sell me a $3900 job. I looked him up, and he has no business license or a home improvement license in the Nassau or Suffolk county. His business is supposedly called 'EgressXperts', but that business is not registered in the NY state. He told me he was 'licensed and insured', but he couldn't produce any documentations. Based on his Facebook reviews, he has done this kind of scams before.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

On October 2 I submitted a post to the social website Next Door, looking for a contractor who could widen three doorways in my condominium. I received a text response from Cedrick Smith, offering his services. He visited our unit on October 3, agreed to do the job starting October 7, and gave us a receipt for his estimate of $773. He asked for a down payment of $413, the cost for the doors, which he said he was going to pick up from Home Depot on Friday, October 6. October 3, we sent the down payment via Zelle to the number Cedrick said belonged to his wife, Jennifer Speight. On Friday, October 6 Cedrick and I discussed who was going to pick up the paint needed for the drywall; when I asked him to get it, he asked for another Zelle payment for the paint. I sent him $81.67 via Zelle to his wife’s phone number.

Cedrick was expected the morning of Saturday, October 7 to begin the job. He contacted me late that morning to tell me that Home Depot did not have the doors. He said the doors were expected on Sunday, October 8. The.next day, Sunday, October 9, the doors did not arrive. He texted me that he was trying to find the doors from a different source and that he would be at our house Monday, with no exceptions. Monday, October 9 I texted Cedrick to ask if he had picked up the doors. That afternoon he responded to say that the truck had been delayed due to the holiday. I asked what time he would arrive on Tuesday, October 10, to which he responded that he was figuring it out.

I didn’t hear from Cedrick on Tuesday, October 10. Wednesday evening, October 11, at 6:30 pm, I asked Cedrick why I hadn’t heard from him. He sent me photographs showing that he had been in a car accident that day. Friday, October 13 I texted Cedrick complaining that I hadn’t heard from him; I was wondering when he would be returning to work. I asked him if it wasn’t going to be soon enough for my purposes, when could I have a refund.

By October 19 I had tried to reach Cedrick many times by phone, with no response. That afternoon I called Cedrick from a different number, which he answered. I asked him what his plans were. He said he would be at our home the next day. I have not heard from him since.

- East Stroudsburg, PA, USA

Gave deposit to have renovation done came back about a month later to say he no longer had the money as it was in his account when another customer disputed the charge wanted us to pay the remainder of the balance to do the job. He refused, it has been just over a month since the job was to be done and he has now ghosted me.

- Darby, PA, USA

Timothy Pettigrew, he said he could put a full bathroom in my basement. I gave him $4,000 for supplies to start the project. He wanted $10,000. He said he wanted cash to purchase the items for the bathroom on his expense account at Home Depot and Lowes. I gave him $4000 in cash on July 26, 2023. No services have been done or started. Tim brought the shower unit to my house which costs $650. Every time I call for a status on the project, i get the run around. He has given me false dates to start the project and never shows up to my house. Tim has claimed that the only way to get the project completed is to have full access to my house at all times especially when I am at work. He says the hold up on the bathroom is because i have not given him keys to my house. I have asked for my money back which he has saud NO. I have asked for receipts which he has said "i dont have receipts ". I am unsure of how to go about getting my money back from Tim Pettigrew, Lionrock construction llc.

- Weatherly, PA, USA

Wife of Daniel Sabella, Alice posted on our local group that they just moved here,her children will be attending school at Weatherly and her husband lost 2 big jobs. Met with Daniel at my home, he gave me a estimate. I paid him 50% of job 2175.00 by check. Never seen him again.

A Google search revealed he has been doing this since 2018.

- Springfield, VA, USA

Electrolux Chat Agent referred All Appliance Repair to me when I needed a service on Electrolux dryer. I called the number and Lucky showed up to look at the dryer. He didn't examine much but told me that he could do more than Electrolux appliance repair. I gave him two additional appliances to repair. He charged me a $300 for a deposit and later another $300. It was a short discussion; I noticed his rude behavior and tone, but I trusted him because he was referred by Electrolux. I confirmed an appointment date with him a few times, but his answers were always vague and unclear. He said he would call me when he was on his way to my house. He never called me to confirm the appointment. When I called him again for the appointment. He did not answer. I tried a different phone number on the work order, the same person (Lucky) pick up the phone and told me that Jay was on the way between 5 pm and 9 pm. No one came. I contacted my credit card company to claim a dispute. The merchant ID number has a different business name, Prime Appliances Repair, 19904 August Village, Pl., Ashburn VA 20147, (703) 424-0579. I did online research on both companies and found multiple scam reports. However, Lucky continues to scam innocent people. I provided the scam reports to my credit card company and my disputes were closed. However, I want to make sure there will be no other victims.

As is documented on both the Thumbtack app and in our text messages, I hired Ultra Masonry and Construction on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, to complete construction of a storage shed at my property. Both myself, as homeowner, and Mark of Ultra Masonry and Construction, agreed upon a price of $1200.00 for the construction of the aforementioned shed. One day of work was completed on Thursday, July 6, 2023 and a cash deposit of $800 was provided to Mark of Ultra Masonry.

Since July 6, 2023, no further work has been completed, or attempted, despite communications between myself, and Ultra Masonry and Construction, for their return and completion of the project. The last communication between the parties was Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Further text messages, along with messages in the Thumbtack app have not been responded to.

Offered a 20% coupon..he did finish laying/spreading the gravel in the driveway and never came back to deliver the rest of the stone. The job done was below subpar and not completed. He was also supposed to reinforce my deck and didnt to it correctly..he actually used scrap wood we had laying around the outside of my house..find out he is not a licensed contractor

+2

Contacted me on Facebook after I posted needing someone to do my bathroom. He saw a picture I posted of the project. Begged me to let him do it. He came over the next day and looked at the job and accepted it with condition he would be finished in 5 days. He was here for over 8 days and left the job on 8.11.23 with the bathroom totally incomplete. He already took $1,000 from me at that point.

Bruce Cohen of PA Home Services. He is seeking out people looking for home improvements on Home Advisor and giving them illegal work and overcharging for a deposit. The 2811 Philmont Ave address doesn’t exist, he doesn’t have an actual physical address. Thats how he avoids prosecution or gettin served legal papers. I hired him from Home Advisors, he hired a unlicensed carpenter for my work and didn’t pull permits to put a staircase in my home. The work is unsafe and dangerous. I have 3 special needs children at home. When you say you want your money back or will sue, he says your wasting your time and he won’t do it. How is still allowed to have a legitimate business? He’s done this to so many people.

The scammers name is Michael Walker or Michael Lane. He was introduced as a distant family relative to my father. His business is construction/home repair services. My father gave him access to his Lowes and Hope Depot accounts to make it easier to buy the materials he needed to fix the first floor ceilings in the house. Over the course of 6 months almost no progress was being made daily but Michael was still attempting to work the family angle and said he just need a little more time as he is waiting for consistent workers. He was being paid in cash or by check in the amounts of $5,000 at a time. While he’s being paid there is a ripped up ceiling in the living room dinning room and kitchen has been completely gutted in my fathers home. After inquiring about an exact start date for the kit then Michael began to brush off my fathers attempts to reach him via phone/email or though his wife Giovan Lane. He sunk over $22,000 traceable dollars plus credit card charge ups by this terrible scammer of a contracter. He disguises himself as a know it all but he truly is a thief without a trace because he runs his business through his wife and different phone numbers. We lost all contact with him after he never came through to work on the kitchen. My parents home has been destroyed by someone that was never going to provide a service for them. We need to report this man so it stops happening. I’ve heard of others he has done this to but I’m not sure they caught him yet.

Purported contractors "saw" an issue with a chimney while working a few blocks away. Initially gave an estimate of $1000 and then indicated whole chimney needed to be replaced at cost of $40,000 (without ever entering the premises and demanded $4500 cash "for materials". No more than $200 worth of materials ("Special bricks which were in reality basic Home Depot 80 cent bricks and 4 $7.00 bags of mortar) were delivered before they attempted to get an additional $6500 for "Special" materials "already bought and use verbal strong- arming to gain compliance.

Address given on their website (1294 Geraldine Lane, Elmsford NY 10523) does not exist. Telephone number given 917-498-4766 does not accept incoming calls. They have said they are based in various places in different conversations (the Bronx, Brooklyn, etc)). No such corporation exists according to the NYS Division of Corporations, they do not have a NYC Contractors license as per , and refused to produce insurance certificates. Vehicle that they are driving LBS 9392 is not for the vehicle the drive and is registered to a license plate for a landscaping company in Buffalo.

Robert Gracin falsely claimed he is a licensed and insured electrician. He took a $1,000 cash deposit, then would not produce credentials or complete permit requirements. He took my money and never returned to do promised work

Approached home about estimate about roof repair and handed me a flyer. Needed some repair on missing roof ridge shingles they said we needed more repair than that. because there were more broken shingles and some rotten plywood. We were also needing other work so we continued to show them and requested an estimate. When they left we were able to see from the window above that section that they actually damaged some more shingles

We called them and they said they were sorry, that they just touched them and they broke. Said nothing at the time. Said they would come back and make the repair at noon the folloing day because they value their feedback. Did not show up. Said they would come the following day. No show.

Called numerous times, no longer answer.

Further efforts revealed that there is no such address just a website with the same information and what seems like bogus reviews. The only thing that actually works is the phne number 914-531-4552

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