5 On Your Side

Hundreds of thousands of dollars paid for remodeling work not done, customers can't find contractor

Combined, customers tell 5 On Your Side that they've paid Tennessee-based Wood Construction and Remodeling more than $200,000 for work not done.

Posted Updated

By
Monica Laliberte
, WRAL executive producer/5 on Your Side reporter

Complaints are piling up against an area home remodeling company. Tennessee-based Wood Construction and Remodeling advertises services across North Carolina.

Combined, customers tell 5 On Your Side that they’ve paid the company more than $200,000 for work not done.

Doreen DiCarlo said she paid Wood a year ago to add a new bathroom to a master bedroom.

"I wanted to do something nice. It just didn’t happen, " said DiCarlo, sounding defeated.

She lives with her best friend who’s battling breast cancer.

"I wanted to make her a little more comfortable because she’s suffering," added DiCarlo. "Now, I don’t know what to do."

After checking online reviews and the company’s detailed website that shows owner Joe Wood with his family, DiCarlo hired Wood Construction and Remodeling LLC, last September.

"I felt like they understood the situation, and they promised they were going to get it done right away," said DiCarlo.

She paid a 35% deposit of $21,238.

"We had a lot of trouble getting in touch with anybody after I gave them the money. Nobody would return our calls. We talked to maybe five or six different project managers, and each one didn’t even know we existed, " DiCarlo said.

Tennessee’s attorney general lists eight complaints filed since July. North Carolina’s attorney general has two.

5 On Your Side did some digging and found images posted on the company’s website under "Our Work" are also on other websites.

A kitchen is part of a portfolio for a home remodeler in St. Louis.

Joe Wood did not respond to a call or emails from 5 On Your Side. Neither did Chief Operating Officer Jeff Sabins or Regional Sales Manager Chris Potts.

DiCarlo says she worked with both Sabins and Potts.

After hearing Wood is still taking deposits, 5 On Your Side submitted an online request for work and quickly got a call to schedule an appointment. The salesman said the company is still taking projects.

On Facebook, the company is posting about projects.

Seeing those posts, DiCarlo says, ".. it kills me. I look on there and I see, look at this beautiful bathroom that they created for these people. Oh, that’s nice, where’s mine?"

DiCarlo has since filed complaints with North Carolina’s Contractor’s Licensing Board and the attorney general.

"Bottom line, I want my money back, and I want these people to not get away with this again," says Dicarlo. "This is just gone on so long that sometimes I lay awake at night and just cry. It’s just sad."

When considering a home project, experts say a best practice is to pay only 10% down then make additional payments as work is completed.

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