Viewers Call Kurtis after local contractor, Newcastle Screens, disappears with their deposits
SACRAMENTO - With Sacramento summers, screens are meant to keep the bugs out. But when a custom screen installer took money from viewers and then seemed to vanish, it was time to Call Kurtis to investigate.
Scanning the aisles of the Auburn Home and Garden Show last fall, Deborah and Andrew San Juan found Newcastle Screen Company. They signed a contract and paid more than half of the $7,000 job upfront. They say the contractor never installed the screens to close off their patio, and then quit responding.
"We got really duped," says Deborah San Juan. "We want our $4,320 back."
State law says a contractor can only require $1,000 down or 10 percent of the job, whichever is less. That means instead of roughly $4,200, the San Juans should have paid no more than $723 on the $7,200 project.
We found six recent complaints to the contractors' board against the company, claiming Newcastle Screens took excessive deposits and didn't complete the projects.
CBS13 reached out to the owner of Newcastle Screens, David Elkan, who says that he put his work on hold when his son was involved in a near-fatal car accident last November. But that still doesn't explain why three months later, his company was at the Cal Expo Home and Garden Show entering into a contract with viewer Michael Aldo.
"He came out, gave us an estimate, wrote it all up," said Michael, who also put half down, $4,900, for his back patio that still isn't screened. "It's no different than going and stealing it right out of your wallet under the guise of a contract," he added.
Licensed contractors must carry a bond of $15,000, money that customers can tap into in situations like this. But with the average home improvement project costing $60,000, that money doesn't go far.
Next year, the state is raising the bond requirement to $25,000.
But both the San Juans and the Aldens have learned they may have to split Newcastle Screens bond with six other customers who have filed claims.
The only way either family could recoup the money if they aren't compensated is in small claims court. Meanwhile, the state contractor's board has suspended Newcastle Screen's license and the people behind the local home and garden shows say the contractor is not welcome back.
They also add that they check contractors' licenses, active bonds, and any complaints. None showed up for Newcastle Screens before their respective shows.