DC Government Resource Center: In Action

An arrest warrant has been issued for Tony Boyer of T&B Roofers/Home Improvement. The complainant gave T&B Roofers $46,250 to gut her entire home, install a new roof, gutter and downspouts, replace all plumbing and electrical work, and replace all interior and exterior doors and light fixtures. T&B was also supposed to install a new stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer at the residence. To date, T&B has only replaced the roof, installed drywall on the living room ceiling and performed demolition on the bathroom and interior walls on the second floor. The complainant says she has not been able to reach Tony Boyer, the designated representative for T&B, since May of 2008. A court date is scheduled for March 27, 2009. The complainant remains hopeful that she will be able to recoup the tens of thousands of dollars she paid Boyer to complete the work on her home.

Police are on the look-out for U Paek “James” Chong of Washington Metro Window, Siding and Gutters, Inc. The complainant says he entered into a contract with Chong to install two new security doors and hardware locks, security bars and wood trim on front windows, modify an archway that separates living and dining rooms and reroute interior plumbing at his home. The complainant paid Chong $5,455 as a deposit on a $12,253 estimate. Months later, Chong informed the complainant that he would not be able to complete the work and he gave the complainant a refund check in the amount of the deposit. The check was returned to the complainant for insufficient funds and attempts to reach Chong have been unsuccessful.

An investigation by the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) found that Chong had fraudulently used the business license numbers and contracts of legitimate businesses in the state of Virginia and passed them off as his own.

Warrants have been issued for Rafael Valle and Ricardo Carrillo, unlicensed home improvement contractors with Agayu Construction, Inc. The two took $75,000 from the complainant as a down payment on a $140,000 home improvement contract, but failed to ever start the project.

Valle and Carrillo allege that the complainant agreed to allow them to delay the project up to a year due to their heavy volume of existing projects and the necessity to obtain additional permits. Throughout an ongoing investigation by the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP), both Valle and Carrillo have been uncooperative, failing to respond to phone calls, certified letters and visits to the addresses on record for both defendants. Neither is licensed to do home improvement contracting business in the District.

Marcelo Rosales of Master Pieces, LLC is accused of taking $36,000 from the complainant as partial payment for a home improvement project and failing to complete the work. Rosales agreed to completely remodel the kitchen, install a new plumbing fixture, construct a new deck and install new windows and French doors at the complainant’s residence. Neither Rosales nor Master Pieces, LLC is licensed to do business in the District. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Rosales.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Bernard Brooks of Brooks Construction Company. Brooks entered into home improvement contracts in the District without the necessary Basic Business License, General Service or Repair License endorsement for “Home Improvement Contractor.” The complainant says she paid Brooks a $14,610 deposit towards a $21,966 estimate to perform restoration and remodeling on her property.

The complainant says that after the payment had been made, Brooks started pushing the project start date back until they both agreed to terminate the contract. To date, the complainant has not received a refund of the money she paid even though no work was done.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Donald Cable, president of Cabin John Construction, Inc. for operating as a home improvement contractor in the District without a Basic Business License or a General Service or Repair License endorsement, for a “Home Improvement Contractor.” The complainants paid Cable $17,932 of a $25,902 contract to construct a new deck, trellis and privacy screen in the rear of their home.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Dave Hearing of Dave Hearing Carpentry for conducting business with a Basic Business License or General Service or Repair License endorsement for “Home Improvement Salesman.” Hearing accepted a $6,250 payment from the complainant to renovate a bathroom in his home. The complainant claims that after the payment was made, Hearing pushed the start date of the project back repeatedly until they both agreed to terminate the contract. Hearing failed to return the $6,250 deposit to the complainant.

Repeated calls, emails and letters to Hearing from the complainant have gone unanswered, so he turned to the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) for help. OCP questioned Hearing about his failure to refund the complainant’s money, he stated that he would send an initial payment of $2,000 and the remaining $4,250 after being paid for another job that he was working on. To date, Hearing still has not refunded the complainant any of his money.

Terry Carthen of Lace Home Improvement entered into a contract with the complainant to renovate her entire basement, but failed to complete the work in a satisfactory manner. The complainant says she entered into a verbal contract with Carthen because he refused to put anything in writing. She says that first the project was delayed several times, but when it began the work was unsatisfactory, including crooked walls in her bathroom, hallways, ceiling and doorway. She contacted the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) for help after her attempts to get Carthen to correct the problems turned up empty.

An investigation by OCP found that Carthen was not properly licensed to conduct home improvement work, in the District of Columbia. He was also not licensed as a home improvement salesman in the District of Columbia. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The complainants hired Bruce Frierson of B.A.F. Enterprise, Inc. to complete renovations on their home and to add an addition to the front of the home. Frierson was paid $76,500 to begin work on the project. He started, but failed to finish the job. The complainants reached out to the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) for assistance.

During the investigation, OCP found that neither Frierson or B.A.F. Enterprise is of record as either a domestic entity or foreign entity registered to transact business in the District of Columbia. A review of business licensing records also revealed that B.A.F Enterprise Inc. was not licensed to conduct home improvement work, in the District of Columbia and Bruce Frierson was not licensed as a home improvement salesman in the District of Columbia. A warrant has been issued for Frierson’s arrest.
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I wanted to write to thank you for your office’s assistance with a recent issue I had regarding my deposit on a condo and to let you know how effective Vanessa Natale was in resolving this issue.

In June 2008 my offer was accepted by developer Broadway Mass for a unit in the Dumont Condominium. I put down a 5 percent deposit on my condo. The Dumont was a new construction, and I was told it would be completed in August 2008. The seller kept postponing when the unit would be available and in September we received word that the seller had been fired by the developer. We were referred to Broadway Mass for any questions, but Broadway Mass would not respond to e-mails or return phone calls. This drug on for over four months. In January 2009, I received word that the Dumont property was going through foreclosure, but Broadway Mass still refused to give contract holders their money back.

At that point, I contacted Vanessa to see if the District Attorney’s office could help. Within two weeks of her involvement we had received word from Broadway Mass that we would be able to get our deposit money back. Throughout this time Vanessa kept me updated on the situation and always promptly responded to calls and e-mails. Her professionalism was evident, and I cannot be more grateful for her assistance. It is reassuring to know that your office exists to help those in situations where they feel powerless (as I did).

A senior resident of the District of Columbia contacted a contractor based on a flyer that she had received at her home to obtain an estimate to renovate her basement. The contractor informed the consumer that she had “dangerous levels of asbestos” and “dangerous wiring.” The consumer paid the contractor a total of $10,500 to do the repair work. The only repair work that the consumer received was the removal of the wood paneling from her basement walls. Unable to resolve this matter, the consumer contacted the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG) for dispute resolution. OAG was able to obtain a $3,500 refund for the consumer. The consumer was thrilled to obtain a partial refund and now had the confidence to continue her case. The consumer went on to file a court case against the contractor and received a $7,300 refund check from the contractor.

The complainant contacted the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (OAG) to help resolve her matter with a local career advancement business. The complainant was dissatisfied with the course materials that she had received and wanted a refund. When the complainant first contacted the business and requested a refund she was told, “No.” She then filed an on-line complaint with OAG and called the business back. The complainant was told by the business that they had received a telephone call from OAG and that she would receive her refund. The complainant received her full refund for $2,400 from the business.

The complainant signed a contract with Grayton Plumbing to repair the water leak in her dining room ceiling and to install a new toilet. The complainant says that Bobby Parks and Ray Neill of Grayton attempted to do the work, but four days later the leak in the dining room ceiling reappeared. The complainant contacted Grayton and was told that the problem appeared to be coming from another location. The complainant stated that she wanted a full refund of the $2,710.38 she’d paid to Grayton for the work because it appeared that they’d misdiagnosed the problem. She contacted the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) for assistance.

The complainant was preparing to move from the District to the state of New York when she called BR Movers to help her make the transition at a cost of $1,848.50. The complainant says that in the end, she was charged double that originally agreed upon estimate after the contract was altered the day of pick-up. She contacted the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) for assistance.

During mediation with the OCP, BR Movers offered to refund the complainant $700 of the money she’d spent. The complainant agreed to the settlement. She had this to say about the experience working with OCP, “Tim Shirey was a lot of help. I was very impressed with the time he spent on my case and he had an incredible amount of patience. I was on a boat during the time when his investigation had neared the end, but he was so patient in waiting for me to be able to get back to him so that he could wrap things up. I wasn’t even expecting the level of assistance that I received and I’m very grateful for his help in making a bad situation much better.”

The complainant contacted the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) after paying $14,000 to Self Construction, Inc. to make improvements on her home only to walk away feeling unsatisfied. For $21,240, Self Construction, Inc. had agreed to repaint the complainant’s front porch, pressure wash and install handrails on her rear deck, remove and install new kitchen cabinets and flooring, paint interior walls, doors and moldings and refinish her hardwood floors. The complainant says the work was shoddy and much of it was never finished.

A site visit conducted by OCP revealed Self Construction, Inc. had done inferior work and several tasks were incomplete. An OCP investigator also determined that Self Construction, Inc. did not have a Basic Business License to officially do business in the District. OCP immediately worked to mediate the dispute between the complainant and Self Construction, Inc.. In the end, the company agreed to reimburse the complainant $4,000 of the money she’d paid for their services and a representative agreed that the company would take the necessary steps to become officially licensed to do business in the District within 60 days.

The District filed a lawsuit against Metropolitan Money Store and others alleging that they participated in a scam in which 25 homeowners in the District of Columbia were stripped of the titles and substantial equity in their homes. As part of a “Foreclosure Reversal” scheme, Metropolitan Money Store and others falsely promised to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, keep their homes, and repair their damaged credit. Metropolitan Money Store then diverted proceeds from purported sales of these homes to itself and related companies.

The District’s lawsuit has resulted in a settlement of $135,000 for one homeowner. Nine other District homeowners will participate in a $575,000 settlement with a company that conducted the settlements on their homes. Many of the other homeowners have obtained significant sums from lenders and others to compensate them for their losses. The District continues to litigate to obtain monetary and equitable relief for the homeowners.

The complainant called Empire Today to have them install new carpet in her home. She says that during installation, Empire Today removed weather stripping from the front door and forgot to replace it. Water eventually seeped in through the gap left when the strip was removed, damaging the carpet. The complainant contacted the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) for assistance in having the ruined carpet replaced after her own attempts were fruitless.

An OCP investigator contacted the corporate office of Empire Today in Chicago, Illinois and informed them about the complaint. They quickly responded, sending out a representative to replace the carpet and weather stripping on the door. The complainant says she was pleasantly surprised by the rapid response. “The investigator from was DCRA was really wonderful! I’ve had other problems and couldn’t find anybody to help me, but Mr. Shirey got them to come out here and fix my carpet quick!”