3 On Your Side: Contractor Dispute Over Wrong Windows
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's the time of year, when repairs, remodeling and renovations are at the top of many homeowner to-do lists. But just because you hire an expert, doesn't always mean smooth sailing. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan tells us about one woman's battle to get what she paid for.
When Donna Anderson added a bedroom over what was once her garage she hired Cumming Construction in Havertown to do the work. Anderson says, "He had excellent reviews."
But her experience with contractor Jonathan Cumming has been less than excellent. She says, "It took months for him to pay the electricians," debris was left behind and she's unhappy with the windows he put in.
According to Anderson, she wanted, "something that tilted-in, double hung, I wanted the locking screen which is what I have throughout the house."
Her contract says Anderson windows were to be used but that's not what she got. She says, "I mentioned it from the first day they went in, I just did not like the windows."
Anderson estimates the difference in what her contractor used versus what she paid for was between 6 and 7 hundred dollars.
Cumming initially promised 3 On Your Side he'd make things right, but he never did. and when we went looking for him, no one was to be found.
Anderson now plans to take him to court. because as far as she is concerned, "He didn't do what he was supposed to do."
Cumming Construction has a D+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, in part due to its failure to reply to a complaint against the business. Anderson's contract has a clause that says changes must be agreed to in writing. She says didn't agree to different windows, so hopefully that will help her in court.
