When you walk into Linda Alloway’s kitchen, there is nothing left to the imagination.
“As you can see, we have no shelves. Everything’s up for grabs you just reach in and grab what you need,” Linda explained while showing 10Investigates her kitchen.
Everything from dishes to groceries and even the trash can is out in the open.
Linda showed the 10Investigates crew the signed contract from Coastal Cottage Cabinets. It is dated September 17, 2019. She paid $2300 to have her cabinets painted. Linda says the company told her it would take 4 days for the cabinets to be painted and put back in her home.
Instead of getting refurbished cabinets, she got a lot of excuses.
“Then in October, got a call saying they’d be out then they’d be done the end of October, then came another excuse. Then in November they came removed cabinets and that was the end of it. After that couldn’t get a hold of them. Called them every day,” Linda explained.
In December, she finally got a call back. The person on the phone told Linda the cabinets would be done by Christmas.
Linda had enough.
“At that point my husband and I jumped in car and went to Venice to the warehouse and picked up our shelves,” Linda told 10Investigates Jennifer Titus.
Those cabinets and shelves now sit in her garage.
Coastal Cottage Cabinet Refinishing had an 'A' rating with the Better Business Bureau when Linda checked them out before signing the contract. When 10investigates checked the BBB site in December, the company had an F rating and a pattern of complaints.
“I get very angry when I walk in there because this is a project that should’ve been done. It’s not really something I should’ve fallen into. When I did my research, her company was in good standing,” said Linda.
10Investigates also discovered Charlotte County is investigating the company because the owner is an unlicensed contractor, according to a spokesperson with the county. The county also told 10Investigates there are many homeowners complaining of the same issues Linda has.
We tried tracking the business owner down at an address for the business’ warehouse in Venice. No one answered the door, but there is still a van with the company name on the property.
County investigators have also tried to contact the owners, with no luck.
The Attorney General’s office is also investigating. They gave us three complaints they have received on the company.
As we mentioned, this company had a great a rating when Linda started working with them.
So, what can you do to make sure this doesn't happen to you?
- Ask the business for references from recent customers. Then call those references.
- You can also check online for other client's reviews. And reach out to those clients to make sure they are real people who wrote the review.
- Do what Linda did – pay with a credit card.
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have 60 days to dispute a charge.
You can find more information here.
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