My husband and I hired Vernon Brice to finish off the basement in our new home. He told my husband and I that he wanted to get start the first week in December and told us that he would not charge and more than $8,000 and would need $4,000 to get started. My husband delivered the $4,000 check to Mr. Brice on 12/25. Although Mr. Brice cashed the check the next day (12/26), he did not start working in the first week of January like he promised. When we contacted Mr. Brice, he had many excuses (i. E, ill, still picking up all the supplies, etc.). Every time we contacted him, he always assured us that he would be back the following week.
Finally, in mid-February when work still had not begun on our basement, my husband and I demanded that our money be refunded and we wanted to make arrangements to retrieve the money. He stated that he was sorry that he had not been able to start the basement and that since it was his fault for prolonging the job, he would absorb the additional $4,000 owed to him and finish the basement for $4,000. When I asked if you were sure that that's what you wanted to do, he stated, I want to make this right. A week later, you did appear at our residence and began framing our basement. The March deadline passed and the basement was not completed because Mr. Brice did not show up on the job daily.
In early April, he went back on his word and requested more money for supplies. When I reminded him that he promised he would finish the basement for $4,000 due to all the mishaps in the beginning, he responded by saying, I would be cheating myself if I stuck to that figure. I said that because I wanted you to see that I wanted the job. Since work had already begun on the basement, my husband and I decided to write another check because we wanted to finish the job. Even after we provided him with more money, he started showing up to work less often.
By mid-April, he had framed everything in the basement except the exercise room. One day after returning home from work, I noticed that he had removed alot of his electrical equipment from our basement. When I asked why he removed the equipment when the exercise room still had to be framed, he told me that he needed the equipment to assist someone with another job he had committed to, and that it would not take long to complete the exercise room. When I expressed concern about him taking another job when our basement was not completed, his exact words were, Don't give up on me yet, I will put my signature on your basement.
On 4/27, per Mr. Brice's request, we issued a check in the amount of $1,500 to cover drywall and labor expenses. He said that after the drywall was complete, we would only need $1,500 more to complete the basement. He cashed the check the next day on 4/28, and we did not hear from him. So after a week, we contacted him to inquire about drywall. He told us that the drywall would be delivered on 5/11. Unfortunately, that day has come and gone. We have been calling Mr. Brice at least once a week since May and have been unable to reach him. Also, my husband has driven to his residence on numerous occasions to try to resolve this matter and have had no success.
On September 28, I attempted to contact Mr. Brice again by calling from a phone that did not provide a number on a caller ID box. To my surprise, Mr. Brice answered the phone. When I questioned him about what he did to my family and asked for my money back, he said that he would be unable to give my money back because he doesn't have it. I told him that we have spent so much money because we had to hire another contractor to finish what he started. I asked how could he sleep at night knowing that he took our money and never delivered the services. I told him it was wrong and that the only thing we wanted was a refund. Mr. Brice promised that he would take a look at the basement and discuss this the next day. He never showed up and he will not answer his phone!
Mr. Brice took advantage of my family and promised us services that he knew he wasn't going to deliver. From day one, we have dealt with him refusing to provide us with receipts, making false promises and not following through on the job. We even discovered later that he was using used materials on our basement.in addition to that, he told us that a certified electrician said the wiring was ok; when I had to pay an additional $650 because the electrical wiring was anything but alright.
This man lives on the eastern shore but works alot in the Southern Maryland area. This man talks a good talk but will take your money and run. He needs to be held accountable for what he did. He received $8,000 from us and we still didn't get our basement finished.
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