The disappearing contractor is something we are getting used to here at "Get Jesse".
What's with these guys? Last night we had a Lynnwood woman who hired a tree cutting service start a job. They did and then vanished. At least when we got a hold of the business they stepped up and finished what they started.
So what can you do?
Number one: Never pay for the whole deal upfront.
Secondly, check with the Department of Labor and Industries to see if the company has been in trouble (i.e. judgments) before.
Third, ask for the name of the owner of the company. If you check the L&I search engine, you may find out the owner may have run other businesses in the ground.
Talk to your friends. They often have good references or they'll save you from hiring a bad business. Full story.
3 Comments
D said:
This same tree service owner; Mark Kowal, scammed us in 2005 when his tree service company was called K&S Tree Service. I am sure there are many more people out there that have been scammed by this man and the numerous business names he has been running under.
peterpetervm said:
As a general contractor i take offense to these one way biased forms of reporting. Isn't it a reporters job first and foremost to bring to light both sides of a story. I do believe it is but let me know if i'm wrong. As a general contractor i can't remember a job i've done and the client didn't half way thru the job change there mind and want something totally different thus costing me a whole days work if not two or three days of wasted time. but what can i do if i protest they get all worked up and then say i was being unreasonable for not allowing them to just change there mind. I can't tell you how many times i had to chase people down for payment well after the job was completed perfectly i might add. i've had to take three people to court all three times the judge faired in my favor. if these people are so capable then they should probably do it themselves, oh really they can't because why?? Their idiots thats why. Why is it that one town can have so many idiots but yet they make so much
d said:
In response to "peterpetervm" comment above....did you even watch the story or listen to a word being reported? We are not talking about someone who was dealing with a client that changed their mind. WE are talking "reporting" about someone who has a long standing record of being a SCAM artist! The report was that the company was already paid for a job they were supposed to do! 24/7 (the company name of the month) was paid to do a job and then skipped away with the $ and didn't finish the job. Sorry but this has happened MANY MANY times before with these guys.
This same tree service owner; Mark Kowal, scammed us in 2005 when his tree service company was called K&S Tree Service. I am sure there are many more people out there that have been scammed by this man and the numerous business names he has been running under.
As a general contractor i take offense to these one way biased forms of reporting. Isn't it a reporters job first and foremost to bring to light both sides of a story. I do believe it is but let me know if i'm wrong. As a general contractor i can't remember a job i've done and the client didn't half way thru the job change there mind and want something totally different thus costing me a whole days work if not two or three days of wasted time. but what can i do if i protest they get all worked up and then say i was being unreasonable for not allowing them to just change there mind. I can't tell you how many times i had to chase people down for payment well after the job was completed perfectly i might add. i've had to take three people to court all three times the judge faired in my favor. if these people are so capable then they should probably do it themselves, oh really they can't because why?? Their idiots thats why. Why is it that one town can have so many idiots but yet they make so much
In response to "peterpetervm" comment above....did you even watch the story or listen to a word being reported? We are not talking about someone who was dealing with a client that changed their mind. WE are talking "reporting" about someone who has a long standing record of being a SCAM artist! The report was that the company was already paid for a job they were supposed to do! 24/7 (the company name of the month) was paid to do a job and then skipped away with the $ and didn't finish the job. Sorry but this has happened MANY MANY times before with these guys.