Dispute Over Fence For Child With Autism Nears 1 Year
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Fridley mother trying to protect her son, who has autism, says the contractor she paid in full last fall never finished the job he was hired to do: put up a fence.
Katie Sele received a community grant paid for by taxpayers to make her home safer for her son, Kaiden. She said Kaiden likes to run, and since he is quite fast, it only takes a second for him to run off.
Sele hired the Plymouth-based Fence and Repair Company last November to build a fence around her yard.
The job still isn't done.
There's no front gate, entire sections of the picket fence are missing, and some areas weren't even touched.
Sele says the company was paid in full, a total of $4,750.
"Every day...we call him," Sele said. "Every day there is an excuse. Everyday it's another thing. We don't understand why he just doesn't want to finish it. Come and finish the job."
She showed us one of many text messages the owner has sent her. One of them read: "Guys couldn't come, because I have my keys to my shop...will be back Monday."
She says no one ever shows up, and she's had it.
"Ten months. We just want our fence done. I want to keep him safe," she said.
WCCO-TV went to the company's address in Plymouth and right away the owner, Striker Quinn, told us: "The job will be done this afternoon."
We asked him why he hasn't finished the job in 10 months.
"That's not the actual case," he said.
Before Quinn walked away from WCCO's cameras, he said Sele owes him money and the job is bigger than initially thought.
We checked back with Sele on Monday, and she said the owner showed up right before dinner time with a load of materials. He was at the house for about 30 minutes and just put up a few posts.
According to the Better Business Bureau, Fence and Repair Company has had three complaints against it in the last year, including Sele's. The company currently has a D- rating with the BBB.
The Better Business Bureaus advises people to check with them on a company's rating, check references and compare bids when hiring a contractor.
