We put an ad on Craigs list to sell a Harley-Davidson motorcycle so we could remodel and repair our house. The owner, Scott Cmerek, of Scorpion Customs answered the ad.
When he came to our house to talk to us he was very nice. He also seemed to be honest and up front. He stated that he didn't have that kind of cash but he would be willing to barter his labor and all of the materials needed to do the job in exchange for the Harley.
We checked out his web site and did some checking with the usual places BBB, his references, etc. And he checked out. He is even a sponsor for a local radio station for one of thier remotes that they do in and around the Austin area.
We showed him the house to be worked on and came to a barter agreement. His labor and the materials needed to do the repair, remodel and addition in exchange for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The motorcycle would be his upon completation of the remodel.
My husband is very ill and hasn't been able to ride his bike in long time so the battery was bad. We couldn't start it so this guy could check it out. To show that he was getting a good deal my husband agreed to let him take the bike to his mechanic. Once his mechanic gave him the OK Scott was to bring it back to us til the work was done. We voiced our fear to him about letting him take the bike to his mechanic before the work was done but he kept telling us that he is a man of his WORD.
What a mistake on our part!
After he he took it he was really happy with the way it ran. He phoned us to asked if he could use it so he could save more money for the materials to complete our house. He was going to leave his tools at the job site and use the bike to go out there. He said, he and his family lived way out north. The job site is out in bastrop county at least 60 miles one way. At this point we had no reason not to say yes.
He told us that he had a couple of jobs that he was going to finish up before he started ours. He wanted to be able to go out to our house on a daily basis for the month of October, without having to worry about unfinished jobs and unhappy customers somewhere else. That made sense so we weren't to worried at first.
He did go out twice in Sept. To do some demo on the front porch and inside the house.
The last time we physically saw him was on the 16th of Sept.
When October started and he had not been out there since Sept 16th I started calling him more often. Scott kept coming up with excuses. His wife was in the hospital, his clutch went out in his truck, his friends flaked out on helping him, he was trying to make more money for extra materials to do more. MAN! The list goes on and on. He finally when out on the 20th of Oct and did more demo on the front of the house by taking out the bottom 3rd of the siding. There was a chance of rain on the following Monday but he did the tear out anyway. Of course the house had water in it because of the rain running down the wall. We had to clean it up ourselves. The 20th of October was the last time he went there and did any work.
On the 23rd of Oct we went out to the property to check on the work that was suppose to be going on. We got out there to find that there was trash from the demo laying everywhere and big exposed holes in the front of the house.in short nothing but more destruction to our house. There are man sized holes in the floor and in the front of the house. He did have a small amount of wood delivered to the job site but he never used it to fix any of the damage.
On the 23rd of Sept when we demanded the return of the bike until the work was done, HE decided that we would keep the bike, so he refused to bring it back. I tried to tell him that we had trusted him to let him use it on his just his word, so what made him think that we would back out on the deal now, if he completed the job.
I have left many messages on his phone for him to call me but he refuses to.
All we wanted was for the house to be done as per the agreement. We had no reason to keep the bike if he finshed the job on time. We had even told him that we would extend the completion date but he wasn't interested. We were trying to make it easy for him to be able to complete the job and own the bike. His response was not to worry that he was going to finish by the end of the contract date. The terms of the contract where suppose to be met by the 8th of November.
He finally called us on the 27th of Oct to tell us that he would be going out there to repair the front of the house and start to putting in the bathroom. My son and I went out to meet him, but he kept calling to make up excuses why he wasn't there yet.
Since the 27th of Oct. We have not heard from Mr. Cmerek. I have left so many messages it isn't even funny. I have sent certified letters to the addresses he or other people gave me and they are fakes.
We are at wits end! Now we are in a real bind. We have no way without the bike to have the means to get the house livable. We are not going to be able to move out there or rent it out, so we might wind up losing the property as well. We can't afford the house we are in and the land out there at the same time.
My husband loved that bike and the freedom it stands for. The only reason he was willing to give the bike up was so that he could make sure that I and my oldest son (he is handicapped and lives with us) would have a place that I could afford by myself when he dies.
The stress of all of this is taking a toll on my husbands health and its not helping mine either. We are begging for information so we can retrieve the motorcycle. Without it we are dead in the water. Everything I have written here I can prove. I have pictures, the contract and other info.
At this point we have a house that is totally uninhabitable and no Harley. He on the other hand is out what amounts to one days tear out and the cost of a small amount of lumber. But he has in his custody a Motorcycle that is worth at least $10,000.00.
If you have had any dealings with him I would suggest you make a report. He has done this to other people as well.
We contacted the police and we have filed in small claims court. It is considered a civil matter so no one is interested in helping us. We did everything you are suppose to do by checking out his references and with the BBB. Since he was hooked up with a local radio station it seemed like he was a very good guy.
We have not signed anything over to him. We are hoping to get the bike back before we lose the house and land it sits on.
Laura
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.
0 comments