‘I feel like I’ve been robbed’: Ontario woman loses $28,000 in basement reno scam

A Brampton woman hired a contractor and signed a contract for a basement apartment, but when she paid him in advance, he didn't come back. Pat Foran reports.

A Brampton, Ont., woman ended up being out thousands of dollars after hiring someone to build an addition on her home.

Doreen Johnson told CTV News she always dreamt of adding a walkout basement to her house, so she could have a place for her son and his dog to stay.

Johnson said she believed the addition would also be useful in the future if she wanted to spend winters in Jamaica and rent out her home.

She said the project started in April of this year and was supposed to only take one week, but the last time Johnson heard from the contractor was in June.

Her home has now been left with no deck after it was ripped off, a mess in her backyard, and a giant hole in the ground where the entrance to her walkout basement was supposed to be.

“I feel like I’ve been robbed,” Johnson said. “I feel stupid, I feel scammed. How can someone do this to a 64-year-old? I cry day and night. I don’t know how he (the contractor) could do this to me, a total stranger.”

Johnson said she found the contractor using word of mouth and thought she was protecting herself by signing a contract. But the contract had her paying 10 per cent to book the job, 40 per cent for arrival of equipment, and 40 per cent for arrival of a concrete truck.

It meant she paid for 90 per cent of the job before any real work was done. In the end, Johnson said she was scammed out of $28,000.

“He plowed through and when he got to the part where the cement truck was supposed to come (after I paid him), he didn’t come back,” she said.

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) said while a contract is important to have, it should also include a payment schedule that’s fair for the contractor and the homeowner.

“There are definitely things you want to look for in a contract, like having the correct permits and a long list of other things including the kind of warranty provided,” said Kevin Lee, CEO of the CHBA.

Contracts can take different forms, but they should be created in a way where payments are made as a project progresses, with some money held back to make sure the customer is satisfied with the outcome.

Lee also suggests getting multiple bids and researching each business carefully.

“Don’t necessarily go with the cheapest one,” he said. “Renovations work like anything else, you get what you pay for and you’re doing it with the biggest investment you have which is your home.”

CTV News reached out to the contractor, who only had a phone number on a business card with no email or physical address, and our calls were not returned.

Johnson said the contractor also completely ignores her, although she holds out hope one day her dream project can be finished.

“I just want my money back,” she said. “The winter is going to be coming soon, and I want the job done and I don’t want it to get worse.”