contractor issues
My contractor has basically skipped out on me and left me without windowsills that i paid for, with primer spots on my painted walls and with an expensive fan (that was installed at the time of my renovation) that is in pieces, most of which are missing. He won’t return phone calls or emails and…
My contractor has basically skipped out on me and left me without windowsills that i paid for, with primer spots on my painted walls and with an expensive fan (that was installed at the time of my renovation) that is in pieces, most of which are missing. He won’t return phone calls or emails and even has a set of keys to my apartment! I’m not sure what to do next. Does anyone have any ideas?
Hello Tab,
It’s been a while you try to find Alex. Well…I am not surprise to learn today that Alex put me the same situation as you are…he just disappear from me after he took money from me. I am in Bay Ridge I gave him a job because I know him many years from St. Goerge in Brooklyn Heights. He works there and lived there and also I know where he live in Astoria. I though there is no way he can disappear from us. But he is a professional thief so he did… I file complain against him and court day is coming in May. so I am just waiting if anything I can do to STOP his bad behavior….tell me what happen to your case?
Hello Tab,
It’s been a while you try to find Alex. Well…I am not surprise to learn today that Alex put me the same situation as you are…he just disappear from me after he took money from me. I am in Bay Ridge I gave him a job because I know him many years from St. Goerge in Brooklyn Heights. He works there and lived there and also I know where he live in Astoria. I though there is no way he can disappear from us. But he is a professional thief so he did… I file complain against him and court day is coming in May. so I am just waiting if anything I can do to STOP his bad behavior….tell me what happen to your case?
Tab,
I just signed a contractor and I checked out the Dept of Consumer Affairs website. There is an insurance fund that all contractors must pay into. The money is used to repay consumers if their contractor skips town or does work that needs to be redone. You can get up to $15,000. You ought to look into filing a claim.
Tab,
You may as well finish with someone else. Your damages will be how much more it cost you to finish than if the contract were completed. If you end up out of pocket no more than your original contract price once you finish, you won’t really be able to recover. So you should finish, document everything the new contractor does, particularly anything he repairs that the old contractor did wrong, and carefully document what it all costs you. Besides, you will feel better if you keep moving forward.
Countless readers of this site have learned this lesson the hard way — it always pays to be vigilant about not letting payments get ahead of the work, no matter how much you like and trust the contractor.
Thank you everyone for your help and input.
Giovanna- Did you hire someone else to finish the work when you filed the complaint? I am living in the apartment and would really like to have this ordeal finished, but at the same time want him to be held accountable.
That is the address and information listed on the copy of the license I have for the company, although I have no idea who Fotis Kiropoulos is. I feel so naive. He was a friend of a friend which is why I went with him, but has basically shut off contact with everyone I know who knows him.
You can also register complaints with the Dept of Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau.
Is this the same company, this is the info that comes up when I did a corporation search for NY State…
No sign of an Alex Ruiz for this company.
Maybe he is a complete scam artist???
Selected Entity Name: ORBIT HOME IMPROVEMENTS, INC.
Selected Entity Status Information Current Entity Name: ORBIT HOME IMPROVEMENTS, INC.
Initial DOS Filing Date: SEPTEMBER 24, 2001
County: QUEENS
Jurisdiction: NEW YORK
Entity Type: DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
Current Entity Status: ACTIVE
Selected Entity Address Information DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)
ORBIT HOME IMPROVEMENTS, INC.
44-07 NEWTOWN ROAD
ASTORIA, NEW YORK, 11103
Chairman or Chief Executive Officer
FOTIS KIROPOULOS
24-04 154TH ST
WHITESTONE, NEW YORK, 11357
Principal Executive Office
ORBIT HOME IMPROVEMENTS, INC.
24-04 154TH ST
WHITESTONE, NEW YORK, 11357
Registered Agent
NONE
I unfortunitly went throught the same thing. I filed a complaint with Consumer Affairs and have a court date with them next week. They have there own court and have also pressed charges against them.
Before you get a lawyer you need to calculate how much you lost and then consider how much a lawyer would cost. May not be worth it.