[Figmo Bohica]

Just because something is prohibitied does not stop someone from doing it. Be watchful, be careful, its your responsibility.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by redwitch

I think what amazes me the most is that the Sheriff's Department didn't recommend Seniors Against Crime or even why they said they couldn't do anything. So far as I know, fraud is theft.

Makes you wonder how customer oriented Sumter County Sheriff's Department is to the taxpayers of Sumter County. They are pretty good about giving our various traffic tickets I've heard!

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by elevatorman

This will help explain Seniors vs Crime. Seniors Vs. Crime Project

THIS IS ALL GOOD TO KNOW..........

In Vermont, for the most part, a handshake seals the deal and we know all of our carpenters, plumbers, landscapers, etc......we know their families and even their grandparents. Thus, the handshake is sufficient.

It's a small , self contained town of 16,000 souls....so our frame of reference is different than this orginal poster and what anguish they've been through.

However, we both remember what happened to us in Florida back in 1994 when we bought a condo gulf front on the beach in Venice Florida.

The previous owners were elderly and going into a retirement place in Colorado to be near their children..........we decided to totally remodel every single room...........the bathroom remodelers were efficient and reliable........ditto for the carpeting and the tile guys for the balconies and the foyer, bathrooms, etc..............however, although the KITCHEN GUYS had a beautiful showroom..........and came and did the layout for the new kitchen, after we had chosen the cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc........as it was nearing an "end" they told us that a LIEN HAD BEEN PLACED ON US BECAUSE THEY HAD NOT PAID THEIR DEBTS TO THEIR SUPPLIERS.

We got a formal letter in the mail telling of this lien. The bad thing was we had decided to return to Vermont and put the condo on the market for sale..........not easy when you have a lien, through no fault of your own, on your condo. After my husband threatening to sue them, they paid their debt to their supplier which took our lien off. But, it was nerve wracking, to say the least.

We returned here and bought another house on our same old street.
Again, a handshake with a known reputable person is the best way to go.

In Florida, there was so much "paper work" and "contracts" for every little thing, whereas here it was back to business as usual.......a handshake sealed the deal. WE'VE NEVER GIVEN A CONTRACTOR MONEY UPFRONT.......and we've done a lot of remodeling to this house..........my husband has even offered them money and they won't take it until the work is done...and they are always fair. NEVER SIGNED A CONTRACT.

Maybe our one little complaint is that they all take on more work than they can comfortably handle and the "window of opporunity" is a short one in the northern climates (for outdoor projects)......so they kind of start one customer.......and then bounce around a bit.......unless it's an indoor project they can do in the winter...........but we like all of our carpenters, roofers and plumbers and our landscaper we held in our arms when he was a newborn infant.

Again, this is a cradle to grave community. Now that the temps are no longer 24 degrees but in the 50's.........it's beautiful and warm out.
We were "roasting" this morning when the sun was out at 50.

[Mack184]

I am very sorry that the OP got taken. There must be some special place in hell for scam artists. BUT...After reading these boards for a number of months I find this interesting..there are people here who raise a purple fit when some neighbor's dog lifts a leg on the corner of their lot, (people you know) yet people have no trouble letting in somebody whom they do not know, didn't ask for, and willingly give them money. I'm missing something here. Another poster said that "we are a trusting generation", but I don't get that feeling from reading these boards. People here have been very clear repeatedly that they don't want uninvited people at their doors or on their phones, yet somebody or multiple somebodies are willing to do business with unasked for unknowns who just happen to stop by? Doesn't that ring any sort of alarm bells? Again, I feel very sorry for the OP, but if you didn't ask them to come by, why in the world would you do business with them in the first place?

[ribil]

It's so sad that you have to go through this at a time when you should be enjoying your retirement. I'm sure you will never have to be reminded to do a little research on someone who shows up at your door. The best resource for getting something done by a contractor is the Villages Warranty Department. The second best is your neighbors' experiences. We've had a lot of work done and have always tried to stay with the contractors that do work for The Villages. They can't have complaints against them or the Villages will drop them. Granted, they cost a few pennies more, but well worth it for the great craftsmanship and a job done right. Again, we are sorry to hear of you troubles. You just picked the wrong guy.

[kaydee]

Just for the record, we did not just answer the door & hand over our money to some solicitor. Our neighbors driveway was being done, we asked the guy to give us an estimate, we liked the estimate, we gave deposit after signing a contract which included the specs such as date to be completed, paint choice, design etc. Do I wish I never laid eyes on the guy??? of course but..the situation is what it is and I was hoping to get some suggestions or maybe I just needed to get it off my chest. Thank You elevatorman for the link to seniors vs crime project.

[Goodhealth]

Originally Posted by AnnTony

May 27, 2012
****Please don’t get taken like our Villa’s did – This is just my story – pass it on!!!
We would like to file a complaint against Roger Greenlee and request some restitution of compensation for the following reasons:
We originally contracted with Roger Greenlee; his business card identified his company as Professional Services Plus, LLC. in February 2012 when he approached my husband at our garage entrance. He was going door to door soliciting business in the neighborhood of Crestview Villas. This particular contract included driveway/sidewalk painting at our new home in Florida. It included pressure washing, painting, base coat, top coat and sealer on driveway and sidewalks, in both the front and back walkways.
We contracted again (before he was finished with the first one) for the landscaping of our property. This one included some concrete work (building a pad and doggie step), waterfall, palm trees, flowers and plants, removing all sod, putting rock down and capping off/relocating sprinklers to the appropriate spots.
The first job began on schedule in February 2012. The work stopped at our home to allow time for him to acquire materials for contract #2. However, we identified areas to him which needed to be finished: no sealer coat applied to any of the driveways in Crestview Villas, spray paint on our home and fences, including our neighbors, needed to be removed, painting on the driveway next to the front door, doggie step had not been smoothed over or painted (left to dry with debris mixed in), and where tape was placed in the lanai, when removed; peeled paint inside enclosure. All items were identified to Roger or Patty (his assistant) as they were discovered. Said they would finish all the work after the landscaping and concrete pad work was completed.
While waiting for the materials to arrive for our contract, he proceeded doing many other driveways in Crestview Villas. As a result of this, work did not start in a timely manner for the landscaping. I called and told Roger we would do it ourselves, but I wanted the money back that we had given him in advance for this contract. Roger finally sent someone out to start removing the sod in the back yard in mid-March. He pulled some sod up in the backyard, however, the employee didn’t return the next day. We were getting very frustrated by now. After seeing the quality of work with creating the doggie step, we contracted with another company to pour the pad and sidewalk, figuring we could deduct that money from the estimate. I again informed Roger of the delay in doing the work. Next, as time went by, we hired another contractor to pressure wash the house hoping this would remove the paint, in addition to cleaning the vinyl – no such luck, paint wouldn’t come up (still there). Rogers’ employee came back again to finish removing the sod. Landscaping started and the waterfall was finally being constructed.
Well, here we are in May. The work that needed to be finished from our initial contract still needs to be accomplished; but now, add the fountain leaks (can’t run it, drains all the water into the lawn somewhere). There was not enough slate to even cover the tub of the fountain. The new concrete work was to be painted along with the doggie step. None of the paint was completed per estimate. After such a long wait and no calls/contact with Roger except once said they would be back in the next couple of days (April timeframe) I hired another contractor to finish the work. Oh by the way, our fence was hit with a bobcat when he was landscaping the yard…Cost to fix the dents, is yet to be determined.
Below is recap of the timeframe and money this contractor has cost us to date. Please take into consideration some unfinished work still needs to be completed correctly, our costs to hire additional contractors are included with additional materials that also had to be purchased. We ended up paying Roger $1200.00 for the first incomplete contract and $8900.00 for the second. However, we spent additional money to hire others to at least help fix some of the left other problems.

(First Contract)
First payment: 2/14 $400.00 Second payment: 2/21 $800.00 Both Checks
(Second Contract)
First 2/12 $3500.00 Check
Second 3/1 $ 500.00 Check
Third 3/26 $2500.00 Check
Fourth Cash 4/6 $ 500.00 Check 4/6 $ 500.00
Fifth Cash 4/10 $ 200.00 Check 4/10 $ 1200.00
Additional contractors hired:
Pour concrete $1640.00 Check
Pressure Washing $ 150.00 **** Check
**** (As far as the pressure washing goes, we needed to do this house anyway, just hoping it would take off the paint too)
Slate purchased for waterfall $ 87.74
Our time repairing/fixing TBD
Additional Painting Completed $ 800.00 (Backyard only)
The following are work still needs to be accomplished:
- Front Paining redone with the right kind of paint and fixed where left unfinished $ 800.00

- River Rock purchased/delivered to fill in the no rock spots and build it up to where it should be (edge of walkways) $ 826.80

Since Roger Greenlee has been misleading Villages residents on what he is unable or unwilling to finish, we are requesting a partial refund to in-turn pay the additional contractors in completing the work we paid Roger to do. We have also spent a great deal of time just trying to finish the waterfall correctly.
I asked repeatedly for a receipt for the landscaping contract, but was never given one. I do have all other receipts. To date, we have had to spend an additional $2677.74, not including our labor or the work that still needs to be done right. There are so many more individuals, in our neighborhood alone, that have also been taken by Roger, but are afraid to speak up. Please help us all. If you can, I’ll try to get the rest that have been taken by Roger Greenlee. “Talk of the Village” website has additional warning/complaints on this contractor in other parts of the Villages. If you need to contact us, call 633-2505. Thanks for your assistance with this matter.
//signed//
Ann M and Tony L Seldomridge 2108 Shady Hill Court (Crestview Villas) Village of Buttonwood

I was scammed by Roger also please call me at 702 321 7255

[JohnFromMaine]

I just posted about this guy (Bad and Good Driveway Painters) but I got away relatively cheaply. My heart goes out to all who have been ripped off by this loser. It's too bad that there are people like this out there. I now only have people do work for me who are recommended by satisfied customers.

[gamby]

I've been a contractor all my life !

Here are some helpful tips;


Never give any more then a small deposit about 20 % and only pay additional monies after each project section is completed and acceptable.


Do your homework ; find as much possible about who you hire before you hire. Call your local building dept. Contact the BBB.

All states have a dept. that registers contractors, call them !

If you feel uncomfortable with a contractor at the first interview don't hire them. Ask for references !

There are some good posts here for you !


Al