Homeowners say Windsor contractor accused of fraud bilked them out of thousands

Two homeowners say a Windsorcontractor who's been charged with defrauding multiple victimstook their money without completing the job.

Barbara Kurtzwanted a shed built at her cottage and decided to reach out to a contractor she found through Facebook Marketplace.

Kurtz was quotedand paid the contractor$3,700, but she sayshe didn't finish the job.

"I also asked him to do a sidewalk for me and he said he could do that, and he removed the old sidewalk and never came back and he never finished the shed."

Kurtz says she was left with exposed dirt and had to pay someone else to finish the job.

She is considering going to police with her complaint.

Earlier this month, Windsor police said RobertJames Jones, 41, hasbeen charged with 10 counts of fraud over $5,000 in connection with 10 different alleged victims. The alleged fraud involvesnearly $600,000, takenbetween March of 2021 and June of last year.

Theallegations have not been proven in court. CBC has attempted to reach Jones's lawyer.

Crystal Cole, who owns a home inChatham, Ont., says she paid Jones$200,000 for repairsafter afire in 2020. Cole says the work was not done.

"It's heart wrenching. I'm a single mom. I have three children," she said, adding that she's concerned by how others were allegedly victimized by the same man.

Cole is not part of the criminal case against Jones, but saida civil court has ruled in her favour.

How consumers can protect themselves from contractor fraud

BrentKlundert, the president ofWindsor Essex Home Builders' Association, says checking with their organization can help people avoid grief.

"We have an internal ethics board, so we make sure that if there is any complaints lobbied against any of our members, we're checking to make sure that you know, they did they do something wrong?... Are they living up to the code of ethics?"

Jennifer Matthews, CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Western Ontario,saidlast year, home improvement scams were the third most common type of scams reported to the organization across Canada,with a medianloss of $2,000.

But there are ways to stay protected, she said.

"Do research on who is a good contractor.You can check with friends and neighbours.You could also check the Better Business Bureau websiteand look at a accredited businesses and see their reviews and complaints they may have had over the last three years."

Matthews added that getting quotes in writing and avoiding contractors who only take payments in cash or full payments upfrontis key.

"It's expected that a contractor is going to want a deposit of some sort and that should be a percentage of the project, but that should not be the entire amount for the project upfront, because that's too much of a risk for consumers," she said.