Home reno co. bankruptcy ripoffs Calgarians including Brendan Morrison

[taco.vidal]

http://globalnews.ca/news/1660449/fo...ation-company/

Former Calgary Flame Brendan Morrison said Friday he has lost all the money he paid a company called The Remodelers to rebuild his home.

Morrison is one of almost two dozen homeowners who have filed complaints with Calgary police, claiming they are the victims of fraud.

Morrison and his wife hired Bruce Hopkins of The Remodelers to renovate their entire home and paid a 50 per cent deposit.

He said the job was to be featured on Hopkins’ Remodel It television show and he was guaranteed the work would be done in time.

Also:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1658450/ca...ation-company/

It appears the company’s bankruptcy may have also affected sponsorship offers. Olympic athlete Hayley Wickenheiser told Global News The Remodelers signed on to sponsor her international female hockey festival in November, but defaulted on their payments.

“It doesn’t affect my pocket, but it affects the charities we support— like Jump Start and Right to Play— as well as putting on the event.” She said Thursday.

[Bill Bumface]

My sister used these guys a few years ago. It was a complete disaster/nightmare.

[Caged Great]

They really should amend the laws so crooks like this get thrown in jail instead of being allowed to rip people left right and center.

[Travis Munroe]

^^ same goes to developers who put up terrible projects, cash in, shut down and wipe their hands clean.

[JonDuke]

Is this the same company that advertised on 660 quite often?

[darockwilder]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

Is this the same company that advertised on 660 quite often?

Yep, I heard ads on there even in the last couple of weeks.

Frigging scam artists.

[RedMileDJ]

Wow, and I was this close to calling these guys next week for a quote.

[GGG]

Is this fraud or just a company going bankrupt?

[Drummer]

Yeah they sure pumped out the ads on 660.

[darockwilder]

Originally Posted by GGG

Is this fraud or just a company going bankrupt?

I have a feeling the writing was on the wall for some time for these guys, yet they kept accepting 50% deposits. It may have only one employee who knew, or perhaps more. Its not too difficult to arrange things so that the company goes bankrupt, which can affect a ton of people that will be lucky to get back even pennies on the dollar, but meanwhile the person(s) responsible walk away with a healthy personal bank account. Good luck to anyone hoping to get any money back if the bank is owed anything because they'll take all they can.

[taco.vidal]

From one of the articles:

It isn’t the first time the company has had issues. Bruce Hopkins filed for personal bankruptcy in 1999 in Cranbrook, and efforts to contact him by CTV News went unanswered.





Read more: http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/customers-...#ixzz3IaM8OX1C

[Azure]

Reputation is key in the home construction/reno industry, but it really makes you question the whole idea of a 50% deposit that is so common with many companies.

My company requires it as well now, but for years we never did because of incompetent management. Then we ran into problems with a few customers that refused to pay after the job was completed and we were left hanging. Talking to other people in the industry, they have similar problems. Seems like a few bad companies combined with a few bad customers have turned it into a problem for everyone.

Personally, if it were up to me, I would do 10% deposits upon agreement of work, 40% upon start of production/ordering(with proof required), 30% upon delivery, then 20% when job is completed or at least progress payments on the last 20% while the job is being completed.

After 10 years of being involved in the industry, I would honestly just prefer to walk away from home reno/construction jobs. 80% of jobs go well, but 20% are such a headache that you just want to drop everything and quit.

[Bill Bumface]

We are doing an addition on our house right now and they asked for 10% down and bill us as the invoices come in.

No question they have some exposure on their end (we are probably 60% complete but have only been invoiced for 20% so far, as they wait for their trades to bill) but as a customer, 50% would make me wonder how tight you are running your business that you don't have cash flow for materials etc.

[Locke]

50% deposit up front? Go pound sand right there.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Azure

Reputation is key in the home construction/reno industry, but it really makes you question the whole idea of a 50% deposit that is so common with many companies.

My company requires it as well now, but for years we never did because of incompetent management. Then we ran into problems with a few customers that refused to pay after the job was completed and we were left hanging. Talking to other people in the industry, they have similar problems. Seems like a few bad companies combined with a few bad customers have turned it into a problem for everyone.

Personally, if it were up to me, I would do 10% deposits upon agreement of work, 40% upon start of production/ordering(with proof required), 30% upon delivery, then 20% when job is completed or at least progress payments on the last 20% while the job is being completed.

After 10 years of being involved in the industry, I would honestly just prefer to walk away from home reno/construction jobs. 80% of jobs go well, but 20% are such a headache that you just want to drop everything and quit.

As a customer I would probably prefer to have the funds kept in an independent trust account so that if there are issues with the company I could get my money back easily and also the company doesn't have to worry about payment at the end of the project.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

We are doing an addition on our house right now and they asked for 10% down and bill us as the invoices come in.

No question they have some exposure on their end (we are probably 60% complete but have only been invoiced for 20% so far, as they wait for their trades to bill) but as a customer, 50% would make me wonder how tight you are running your business that you don't have cash flow for materials etc.

50% usually covers the cost of materials/labor, most of which has to be paid for before the customer will see the product.

But, there is exposure on both ends, and if both parties negotiate on good faith, the project will go well and everyone will get paid. 10% down indicates you're not wasting my time, and billing you as invoices come in is fair.

Like I said though, some idiots on both sides have ruined it for all of us. We have projects where the customers refuses to pay anything more than the original 10% because of ONE remaining item. We have always finished our work, so taking that stance is completely unfair. Of course if we take the legal route and apply a lean, we become 'evil.' So what happens is that companies demand 50% deposits and people get caught up in fraud because there is always someone out to rip people off.

[SportsJunky]

If materials for the project need to be special ordered then 50% is usually a requirement. Trying to return special order products because the customer backed out can be a massive pain.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

As a customer I would probably prefer to have the funds kept in an independent trust account so that if there are issues with the company I could get my money back easily and also the company doesn't have to worry about payment at the end of the project.

Except the company requires some kind of payment to fund the project on their end. I realize if you have good cash flow that shouldn't be an issue, but that isn't always the case.

I do like the idea though, and we have done it at times with good success.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

If materials for the project need to be special ordered then 50% is usually a requirement. Trying to return special order products because the customer backed out can be a massive pain.

Really? I've only had renos done once but they were fairly major and I didnt pay a dime in advance.

[Azure]

Well that is not industry standard at all.

Major renos with off the shelf components might equal paying nothing in advance, but if you go for any kind of custom work, chances are you have to pay half in advance.