Apple Valley Contracting Company Under Fire After 'Nightmare' Reports
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Apple Valley contracting company has come under fire for what former customers are calling poor work and poor communication.
7-10 Services does a variety of contract work, but over the past year customers have filed numerous complaints ranging from bad roofing jobs to badly built decks.
Some have even said that the company even quit before completing the job.
In May of 2015, a hail storm took out the roof of Mike Fischer's Houlton, Wisconsin, home. He settled on 7-10 Services to fix it, and says he gave owner Jesse Haug a $13,000 down payment.
"It wasn't even flush to the house because it was so bumpy underneath," Fischer said.
The roof with 7-10 Services was redone in its entirety two full times over the course of 5 or 6 weeks.
After numerous errors, Fischer said he asked the company to stop.
"A roof like this was eventually done in a day and a half without issue by a separate company," he said.
He says 7-10 agreed to refund him, but then rescinded. The case went to court and Fischer won a judgement for $15,000.
However, he says he hasn't seen a single penny.
"Jesse did not show up and there was a judgement that is now long overdue for payment," Fischer said.
Tom and Liz Hanly of Shakopee say they have a similar story.
"We ended up with one delay after another," Liz Hanly said. "They got the frame built then Jesse said he wasn't happy with the project and quit."
The Hanly's wanted a deck built. But they say things went wrong from the start.
"Things aren't straight," Hanly said. "Things aren't proportionately placed correctly."
After asking for a city inspector to come out, the Hanlys say Haug quit the job through an email. They too hired a second contractor to finish the work.
"He actually had to do more repair work than he thought to fix the deck and make it work right," Hanly said.
The Hanlys say they also won a judgement against the company, and discovered they weren't alone.
Numerous judgments against 7-10 prompted us to stop by their office space in Apple Valley. But the doors were locked and black curtains were put over the windows. No one came to the door and calls were not returned.
The company's website does not appear to be running. But in an email, Haug said his company did over 100 jobs last year for politicians, police chiefs and "your average Joe."
Dan Hendrickson with the Better Business Bureau says the 7-10's rating dropped to an F when they would not arbitrate a complaint.
For the Fischers and Hanlys, any future contracts will contain a clause that an arbitrator decides the fate of any disagreements.
The Better Business Bureau recommends that when looking at a potential contractor, research as many different accounts as possible and to make calls.
If you win a judgement but aren't paid, it is possible you are eligible to receive some funds through the Department of Labor and industry's recovery fund.