The most egregious contempt of contract for home maintenance work took place last fall. It was before the holidays and I had the thought (or fantasy) of family gatherings which would include Dave. I wanted the yard to look nice in case he might come here or at least look in, from the driveway.
I found a local company, Veterans' Contracting, and requested an estimate of what needed to be done. The owner, David Fiero, showed up promptly, surveyed the area and gave a glowing appraisal of how he could make the yard look good. It would include a last of the season mowing as well as removal of all debris, and even tree trimming. His estimate was rather pricey, I thought, over $300, but I decided it would be worth it. He requested half the cost in advance. He had 16 people working for him and he could do the work the next day. No one showed up, so we resorted to the instant message route: he could do the work the next day, then the next---you get the picture---he never showed up.
Not being born yesterday, or thousands and thousands of yesterdays for that matter, I had put the charges on my credit card. So I disputed the charge, which he did not challenge, and the charges were refunded. Thanks, Discover Card.
David had warned me that his brother, or maybe he said cousin, had a similar business and to avoid him, as he overcharged his customers. Not long after, I saw Dwight's picture in the paper, being arrested, among other charges, for altering a check, adding an extra zero to the amount. Most of his victims had been quite enamored of his personality and appearance; he looked a lot like his relative David.
Amid his later reviews David had been charged for not completing jobs he had been paid for. But that's a civil matter, not for law enforcement, so he's not in jail, as far as I know.
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