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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
05/15/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
*************************** of ********* Electric and Handyman Services based out of ********, ******** is a CON ARTIST and SCAMMER. Unfortunately we didn't research ahead of time. In 2022 we sold his neice ******************* which he picked up for her at our farm. During conversations with ****** he told us he's a licensed contractor and if we ever needed any work done to give him a call. He left his business card with us. Fast forward to 10 days ago; we have an electrical emergency and needed work done so we gave ****** a call. We weren't prepared for what followed. We made a huge error in giving him $1,200 cash (with no receipt of payment given to us) which he took to order supplies/parts we were told. And when asked for an itemized receipt for parts; he told ** instead he would give ** a receipt for double what he would be charging ** for tax purposes. Red flag #1. He came to assess the problem and quoted my husband $3,700 which we said was too much. He then dropped it to $3,500. A day later he said he would hook us up and do the job for $2,500 but needed the additional $1,300 right away to pay his helper, get more materials, etc. My husband then paid him through PayPal which does put a 21 day hold for business transactions. Each time we asked how much the parts were he would change the subject, say his vehicle broke down, he had no money for gas, etc etc.....even though we just gave him $1,200 cash and he bought NO supplies for the job yet. My husband offered to pick him up...go to the stores and pay for the needed supplies with his CC and even offered to drive ****** to the property that needs the work done and to drive him back home since he claimed to have vehicle issues. He refused any help. Of course he tried to change the subject all the while saying we need to contact PayPal to release the funds to him. Oh, he also said someone tried to hack into his personal bank account and it was locked so he can't access any money. Hmmm, yet he wants PayPal to release the $1,300 which goes directly into his bank account. No permits were pulled (he said it would be $500 for him to pull a permit so he told us to do it as it would be less expensive). We just found out that he in fact does NOT have a contractor's license! He has given us the runaround for days and had the nerve to have an attitude with my husband; accusing him of calling ****** a liar and wasting HIS time! My husband asked for an itemized list once again and finally today, my husband told ****** he thought we should just part ways and to please give us the parts he supposedly purchased for the job. ****** wanted to meet my husband is a semi secluded place. We weren't born yesterday!!So this afternoon, May 15th, my husband met up with ******....once again asked for receipts of the items purchased for the job. ****** danced around it and gave my husband a hand written invoice that he quickly scribbled together. smh My husband told ****** he wasn't a dumb*** and that's when ****** made a fist, pulled back and said "I'm gonna beat your a** boy!"Things got heated verbally....****** tried to take back the chewed up, used, moldy parts he brought and when my husband told him he was calling the police.....he took off! Fauquier Co police stopped him minutes later. A police report was filed and legal action will follow.LONG story short....this person is a compulsive liar and had no intention of doing the job. We called the ***** of ************************** and he is NOT a licensed contractor like he said although he does have a license number on his vehicle right under his business name. And I have NO DOUBT that this is how he makes his living.....by scamming people. Imagine all the people who don't know to lodge a formal complaint with BBB or otherwise. Wish we had seen this before moving forward. **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************Business response
07/10/2023
From: *************************** <*********************>
Date: Mon, Jul 10, 2023 at 11:48 AM
Subject: Email
To: Better Business Bureau <**********************************************>Initial Complaint
05/09/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Unanswered
Complaint Against: Leonards Electric and Handyman Date of Transaction: March 28, 2022 April 8, 2022 Money Paid to Business: $3,850 What the Business Committed to Provide: Replace busted pipe Install floor in basement Nature of Dispute:Refuses to provide copies of receipts Work has NOT been done He quoted me an hourly rate of $25 on March 28 and said he would need $500 up front for supplies. When he showed up April 4 he said it was going to be $35 because he brought a helper.Ive requested that he refund $3670. This is the $3850 minus the $180 that hes charged for the 2 hours of work that he did on April 4. He has not responded.He claimed to have purchased the material from the ********** in *********, **. He never placed an order.He claims I owe him $180 for the 2 hours he was here on April 4. All he and the helper did was remove the old baseboards (which they left lying in the middle of the family room along with leaving the nails in the wall;) sweep and mop the floor, and reverse an outlet. He claims the $180 consists of:?$25/hr for him ?$15/hr for his helper ?Wire, plug, box cover, plate (I gave him $500 on 3/28 because he said he needed that up front for supplies.) The only supplies he brought on the one and only day he was here, that I could see, was shop broom, mop, bucket, and a large bottle of ************** far as Im concerned, the supplies he billed me for on 4/23 should have been covered by the $500.****************** has NOT tried to resolve any of the issues. He does not answer my calls or respond to my texts.
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