I am a contractor, and I can only imagine what you are going through. Most cabinet jobs we do, we are going to require a deposit (for ordering the cabinets and surface tops)In Florida where we are located, we run into a lot of fly by nites. I would suggest a draw schedule. So much for signing contract no more than 10% give them the monies for the cabinets when they arrive. Then completion when installed and punch-out items. I use this system for all my contracts. Never pay someone up front for anyting. But, deposits are very status quo in our biz. Please, don't lose the faith, there are a lot of great Contractors out there. God Bless

Here is a link that might be useful: KB Remodeling And Construction LLC

Unfortunately we live in a society where you can't always trust people based on their word or rely on a hand shake. It doesn't necessarily mean that all people are bad and can't be trusted. You just have to protect yourself.

Several years ago our builder went bankrupt on us when we were in the middle of building a house. Fortunately our bank protected us and we weren't out 1000's of $$. We didn't know it at the time. We thought the worst, especially when the jerk put a lien on the house!

Can you perhaps work with a bank on your remodeling project?

I feel horrible for you and know of the pain and frustration all too well!

hi there ni
sorry to hear of your troubles....that's a lot of money!
i don't like to order things, preferring to buy them off the shelf. but in this case, you have to...unless you are my friend that has a very lovely kitchen filled with lowe's premade medium maple cabinets. but that wouldn't work in most kitchens.
good luck to you in the future! kren

I know it's not going to put a dime back in your pocket, but pressing fraud charges against this SOB may prevent him from doing this to someone else.

What a nightmare. I hope you do end up with your dream kitchen after all this craziness.

I am really sorry to read this. I wish you nothing but good luck from here on out.
And remember-- credit cards... and I believe it was Gorbachov but not sure who said my favorite-- Trust, but Verify. Don't be afraid to confirm and double check when an order is placed that it has been placed for example.
And again, good luck.

"Trust but verify" was a signature phrase of Ronald Reagan, but he did not invent it.

What a horrible experience! Best wishes for the future.

Unfortunatley, the way the economy is, many business that got a lot a of business from home building are taking a beating. Many more are likely to go out of business, esp. the newer ones and smaller ones that don't have as much to fall back on and absorb say a 20% 0r 30% drop in business, or whatever they are facing. Also, someone faced with losing everything may be tempted to grab whatever money comes thier way and become capable of behaving in ways you never would have guessed. It means everyone should be more careful. On the on the other hand only using big companies means even more would go out of business. Many don't accept credit cards, are not that big and don't want to pay the 2 or 3% or more they get charged by them. In your case, it may be worth going with semi custom with a large company and using credit cards for as much as possible, and at least for the first deposit until you see the cabinets showing up. It might be worth it for you to interview GCs with the condition that you will provide the cabinets and they will only get paid on schedule for labor peformed.

Look into your options. If you are not comfortable going with another local custom shop, then don't. It won't be worth your anxiety. Life is too short to go through that over cabinets.

Sue

You might also ask anyone you consider working with whether they'd be willing to hold your deposit in an escrow account. They way they know the money is there, and you won't stiff THEM.

But they might be willing, once they hear how badly you've been burned, be understanding about finding a way to make YOU feel comfortable. Or they'd be willing to have to pay X % for lumber, then more when the cabinets are cut, and more when assembled, etc. And they'd have you visit the shop to verify that work was being done.

I think if I were a cabinet person, I'd believe that creating a positive experience for you would really help me get local business.

And I agree w/ Sue that you may feel less vulnerable if you go w/ someone big (though I purchased cabinets from the nation's largest mfr of frameless cabinets, and they went out of business--the mfr, not the local shop who would order them)

I agree with Bill V. Contact the local district attorney and press charges. You may be able to get your money back if you can prove the KD committed fraud. Certain types of debts are nondischargeable under bankruptcy laws. It may also depend on whether he filed for Chapter 13 or Chapter 7.

Best of luck.

Bless you all for responding to my post and for your kind words. I called the local district attorney's office today and was told to go to the police station and file a report. I have printed all the email communications with the SOB plus the contract I have with him. Not sure if I will ever get a penny, but I will feel better about this situation.

I just want to pop in and say I am so sorry that you are going through this! That is a lot of money, and I know that you must be sick to your stomach. I can only hope that if nothing else, his name will be tarnished and that he will not be able to get another job ever - if he should someday reopen.

BEST WISHES!

No need to feel bad, it takes some time. I've been screwed over by people before, close friends, (not related to renos) and I went through a phase of not trusting anyone. It felt lonely because you need to take a risk in order to gain trust with someone new.

What you hopefully will learn is how to spot bad people. They all tend to have similar habits and if you see the signs, you'll learn how to protect yourself.

Good luck.

Have you talked to your lawyer about suing him for fraud? Actual fraud cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Is your lawyer a bankruptcy expert? It might be worth the consulting fee to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer.

Carla in Sac

Dear GW friends,

I have good news to share. After doing a little investigation, I found out that the SOB was in bancruptcy as a person, and not as a company. Can you believe he lied to us???

We made a bunch of calls: the local district attorney told us to file a police report for fraud, but the police refused to take a report, claiming that it was a civil matter. After a bunch of calls, I ended up talking to someone at the Dept of Justice. Next thing you know, the trustee assigned to this case got involved...anyway, we just received a cashier's check today with our refund.

I think this was a miracle. I still can't believe all of this happened and I also can't believe that we got our money back! This has been the biggest lesson for us!

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. You all gave me the guts to see this through!

that's great news!

have you come to any conclusions about who you'd feel safe working with for the next round?

I'm so sorry to hear that you were ripped off. It's so disheartening. My DH is a contractor also so anytime we hear about the shiesters, we cringe.

Even though he has declared bankruptcy, can't you pursue a civil suit against him?

Just because he's a jerk who thinks he can run from his problems by declaring bankruptcy, you may very well one day collect from him. I would definitely take him to small claims court. If he owns his home I would see about a lien also.

Congratulations! I'm glad you persevered.

What a happy ending. I hope the rest of your remodel is trouble free!

I'm so happy things turned out well for you!!!

Praise God! Persistence wears resistance! I am so proud for you!

FWIW: Hired a small business cabinet maker that was incorporated and $crewed us...ended up in court. We won, but he had changed his business name, so I got nothing but the shoddy work he did. He has $10K of our money and I've had to spend over $30K correcting and modifying cabinets, painting, etc. This bozo is still operating in the same location, too! (Florida needs to have all contractors doing more than $5K worth of work LICENSED. I believe all cabinet makers should be licensed and bonded by the State.)

What I learned after shelling out over $30K more than I had planned: I will NEVER hire anyone that does not have the financial backing to correct mistakes or pay me should we end up in court. I will seek out the business of big stores because they will not be changing their business name. They will have to hire the smaller companies for cabinets and the like. Those 'big box' stores look better and better to me all the time.

FWIW #2: Buy granite from the fabricator directly and not through the big box stores. Save about $25% or mor doing so.

That is such wonderful news!!! I'm so glad you got all your money back! It sounds like the trustee (or somebody connected to him/her) assigned to this KD's bankruptcy case is the one who made sure the right thing was done.

Wow! I'm thrilled that this had a happy ending and that your persistence payed off.

ni, what good news about you refund !!!!

funny coincidence, a friend of mine got a refund june 5 from his insurance company for a fraudulent transaction at his store , it's a good karma day.

I felt so bad for you when you posted about this so it is wonderful to hear that you got your money back!