About two days ago, we needed our pipes to be cleaned because of the roots growing, the man named Steve Fisbeck told us that he could not clean the drain, he had to put in a new pipe, and that he needed a one hundred dollar deposit, and than he would be back the next day.
My husband called a reputable company, and they said because of the day after july fourth, that they would not be able to come out but they gave him the name of another reputable licensed plumber that was available, but they arranged for him to come out to our house.
I kept asking my husband did he work for a company and he didnt say anything, just that he must be if he was recommended by a reputable company. So the guy wanted one hundred dollars cash on the fifth of July and the bank was closed, so my husband went to the atm, and the guy said he would follow him, I found that strange but I was just so relieved that we were finally going to have this problem fixed.
The next morning I was skeptical, and I felt that maybe this guy was a scammer and would not return, but he did, and my husband went to the bank to pull out the rest of the five hundred.
Meanwhile this guy and a guy who spoke no english were there, and they were digging the hole, and about thirty minutes later they knock on the door, and my daughter goes outside, than this guy is saying it could be one thousand, maybe two thousand dollars, and he wanted more money right away or he was going to leave.
Within five minutes he was gone, and when my husband came home from the bank we told him what happened. I than asked him for the invoice, and whatever paperwork, the guy had written out a receipt for the hundred dollars, and they remaining balance of four hundred dollars, but on the invoice it had another guys name and address, and the guys phone number, nothing about us, I asked my husband, how did you allow this to happen, didnt you read the paper.
My husband called the guy, and he explained to the guy that he wanted him to come over and explain everything, well the guy came back, my husband asked him for his license, to explain to me that he was for real, and also we noticed that the guy had no license plates on his truck, that the number on the truck was disconnected, the only number that worked was his cellular phone. The only reason he came back to your house is to collect two hundred and fifty more dollars, he said that the hole that was dug was worth three hundred dollars, and that he was going to take us to court for the money.
I later called him on the phone and told him that if he didnt show that he was dishonest, and told us five hundred, and than said he needed like two thousand more dollars, and than said that he would take a post dated check for one thousand, and than one thousand in cash. He refused to give us his business card, or proof that he was a licensed plumber.
Even before the job was started, he was taking pictures, i didnt notice until after he said something to that effect, and remembered that while I looked out the window, all he did was stand and mad the other guy dig the hole. Said he would return after we gave him more money so he could rent a machine. When i called him, i asked him why the number was disconnected, and why he had no license plates on his truck, it wasnt new, it was old, and he said, that is to protect me, and I am a smart guy, and that basically meant that he wanted nobody to really know who he is.
I had someone else call to find out if he was really licensed when they asked him, he hesitated, and than said only for small jobs under five hundred dollars, and that he couldnt do big jobs.
He knew that the job he quoted, he wasnt licensed to do, he had not intention on completing, or just taking pictures of the digging, so he could prove just in case, that he had worked. He than told my daughter over the phone, that the hundred dollars was only for him to just show up to our house, it wasnt a deposit, but yet the receipt shows a deposit. The guy didnt realize that the invoice he gave us had the other guys name on it, but the work for our house, we called, and he told us that he tried to scam him, but the guy told him no, he said that when he noticed that the guy had no plates on his vehicle, he bacame suspicious.
I wish that I had done something about this before, and that I had insisted on not giving this guy any money. A lesson to everyone, dont hire anyone who isnt licensed, because if the job doesnt get done, you have no recourse on it.
Dont give any money to anyone that isnt a reputable business with a reputable receipt. Check out his or hers credentials. Check out other places and get different estimates, sometimes paying a little more protects your rights and your safety.
I would of been different if this guy just stated hey I estimated wrong, sorry, but that wasnt the case, he came back to the house maybe to do the job with the intention on getting triple the money, saying he would be back on Thursday after he cashed the thousand dollar post dated check. Who would come to your door and say to you, okay, I have done two hundred and fifty more dollars of work, pay up, or else. I am pretty sure I have his real first and last name, and I also have an old address, for the guy that was almost scammed told me that he gave him a card.
He also said on the phone, good luck in finding him, that is because this is the way that he does business, he preys on innocent people, he moved from the san fernando valley, and now is operating in the antelope valley area, he operates with a cellular phone number and advertises in the pennysaver.
If I had known that he was unlicensed and in the pennysaver, I would not of used him. I assumed that he was legitimate when another company recommended him. I contacted the police because he made threats about his money, and they said that there was nothing they could do, we had to go to court, but without a known business address, there is nothing we can do, he doesnt have license plates on his vehicle. And I am planning on contacting the state of contractors, and also the district attorney, this man's intent was to defraud me and my family, and had no intention on doing the contract that he originally agreed upon.
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