Deck and Gazebo Design, aka Chris Kick, aka Knute Chris Kick, aka Houston Marine Construction, aka D & G Design, aka Shoreline Construction Services, was paid $20,000.00 advance to perform construction of a bulkhead and boathouse on my property in Seabrook, TX. The total cost of the job was to be $53,500.00. Specifically he was to remove an old bulkhead and boathouse, then construct a new bulkhead, dock, and boathouse based on my plans. There was a signed contract, and the money was transferred to him in a notarized transaction in the presence of a Chase Bank Vice-President.
His workers came to my property for several days in June. They performed a partial demolition of my old boathouse, but left the pilings from the old structure in place ("We'll get out them later."). He drove some pilings for the new structure amid the old pilings. Some of the boathouse pilings he drove were crooked, and the pilings for the planned dock were driven in the wrong locations. Chris Kick said, "Don't worry, this is how we do it. You're going to love it." No work was done on removing the old bulkhead, or installing a new one.
Then Chris and his workers disappeared. Chris never answered my phone calls, so I finally went to a local Home Depot store and called him from their number. Chris answered at once, and told me that he was not going to return to the worksite, and that I should get another company to finish the job. He said that the work he had completed had consumed my entire $20,000.00. He said he would not return any money to me, that he did not have to talk to me anymore, and that he was going to hang up, which he did.
Debris from the old boathouse and his workers litters my yard and driveway. Loose scaffolding and other wood debris are scattered among the few pilings he did place, and will break loose with the next storm. It will cost a significant amount of money to repair Chris's poor work, remove the rest of the old boathouse, and clean up the piles of debris. Then I will still have to build the new dock and boathouse, as well as remove and replace my bulkhead. Of course, I have extensive photographic and video documentation of all this.
The dialogue that I have read in the previous consumer complaints from Jeremy and "Texasmom" sounds identical to the things Chris told me (complaint #s 339263,355392, and 349529). I suspect there are multiple other victims of this individual in the greater Houston area, and I am in the process of pursuing both civil and criminal actions against Knute Chris Kick.
The bottom line is, Knute Chris Kick has a signed contract with me, was given $20,000.00 in advance, has done little work and a lot of damage, refuses to return to the worksite, and says all my money has been spent.
A couple of suggestions to other victims of Knute Chris Kick:
1.) Notify the Better Business Bureau of Houston about this individual and his multiple company names. This would help to protect future potential customers. Notify other marine and general contractors about what happened to you.
2.) File a police report in your area, and then take that case number to your District Attorney. Explain to them that this is not an isolated situation, and give them a printout of this complaint. While one case is a civil matter, multiple cases can constitute fraud and deceptive trade practices.
3.) Notify your local TV Stations. They love investigative stories on businesses that defraud the public, and if enough people are involved, they will respond.
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