Vent: Contractor ghosted me after taking a $2000 deposit for a Calgary deck reno last April

I paid the guy half upfront to tear down my old deck and build a new one, he showed up for two days then disappeared. Now my backyard has a half ripped off deck and a pile of rotten wood sitting there since May. Anyone know a decent way to track down a contractor who already cashed the cheque?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryanm605d agoMost Upvoted

Gotta say I used to be one of those people who thought paying half upfront was just normal business. But after seeing a buddy go through almost the exact same thing last summer... I changed my mind completely. He put down $2500 for a garage roof job and the guy did one afternoon of work then vanished with the money. Ended up finding the contractor through a Facebook community group where someone else posted about the same guy scamming people. Small claims court is probably your best bet at this point, get the cheque number and bank records together and file a claim.

kim_ramirez35d ago

And another thing - check if your home insurance covers contractor fraud. I know it sounds crazy but some policies have a clause for theft by a service provider. My neighbor actually got reimbursed for a similar situation with a fencing contractor. Called his insurance on a whim and they paid out like 60% of what he lost. Also file a police report even if they say it's civil. Having that paper trail helped him a ton when he finally took the guy to small claims. The contractor suddenly wanted to settle once cops got involved.

jana8811d ago

100% agree with everything @ryanm60 said. Same thing happened to me with a kitchen guy last year - paid $1500 upfront for cabinet installation, he worked part of one day, then boom, gone. My bank records were key when I finally filed in small claims court, and I had to dig up his full name from the check he cashed. The Facebook community group tip is gold, I found three other people who got burned by the same guy and we all shared info. Honestly the half upfront thing is a huge red flag now, I wont do more than 10% or just pay for materials myself. The police report part is smart too even if they blow you off at first, it makes the small claims case way stronger later.