Call Kurtis: Waiting On An Awning
A Stockton woman says a contractor took her down payment, and then seemed to vanish. When she learned he didn't even have a license, it was time to call Kurtis Ming.
Bertha Davis paid $1,500 up front for a new awning, but never got it. We learned the contractor she dealt with is a convicted felon.
"I don't know if he took advantage of me because of my age. I am 76," says Bertha.
She says since putting half down on a $3,000 awning in May, she hasn't heard from Tim Kuntz of Awnings Plus. Ahead of the summer's heat, she says he promised the job would be done within two weeks. But she says her calls and handwritten note she left on the company door went unanswered.
"I tried the kindness thing, then I tried the anger thing. Then it's like, ugh. I don't know what else to do," says Bertha.
So she asked us to investigate. We uncovered something she didn't know; Kuntz is a convicted felon. He was sentenced to prison twice on drug charges.
"Oh my gosh," Bertha exclaimed after hearing our findings.
And Kuntz doesn't even have a contractor's license. Court records show he was busted last year for contracting and advertising without a license and using someone else's number. Kuntz faced a $25,000 fine, but that was put off as long as he didn't do any illegal contractor work again.
"I found no evidence that he ever tried to apply for a license," says Venus Stromberg, of the Contractors State License Board.
The CSLB also says it is investigating complaints it has received since the injunction last year.
"People that do this, they have to realize that they're committing a serious crime and it can be charged as felony. A felony, it means it's serious and there could be prison time associated with it," says Stromberg.
Kuntz tells us he hasn't owned the business for two years but the man who now owns it does have a license. But the state says anyone who sells contracting services must be registered under that license.
"I really wanted my awning," says Bertha.
After our call, Kuntz returned Bertha's $1,500.
"I hope that I'm the last of the people that he takes advantage of," says Bertha.
Kuntz promised to give Bertha the awning she originally wanted for free, but that hasn't happened yet.
State law says a contractor can't ask for more than 10 percent down or $1,000, whichever is less.
