Contractor vanishes
She came to South Florida to give her children a better life. Then saved for a kitchen her family could enjoy, but after her contractor was paid, he vanished. That’s when she called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Flaurette Cajuste wanted to raise her family in South Florida so they’d have a chance at a better life.
Flaurette Cajuste: “You’ve got a better life here than in Haiti.”
And she wanted her children to get an education. Something she says wasn’t available to her when she was a little girl.
Flaurette Cajuste: “When I go to school every Monday, they used to send me back home because of money. Here, you don’t need money to go to school.”
She also dreamed of a beautiful kitchen to cook food in for her family. So with her daughter Rose’s help, they saved their money for cabinets, countertops, baseboards, and even simple stuff like wall plates.
A handyman told Rose he could do the work for $6,000, so she gave him half the money to get started and told him to just deal with her.
But when she wasn’t around, he pulled a fast one on her mom.
Rose Andre: “He gave her a sad story and blamed it on inflation, saying that due to inflation, all the prices were going up and that she needed to give all the money up front. She just said, ‘Here you go and he took the money, and she never saw him again.”
He barely did any of the work. He put the cabinets and drawers in, but no handles. You need a spoon to pry them open them.
Only one countertop was installed. He left the sink loose, and it leaks, and not a single baseboard was used to cover these walls.
Then he stopped showing up. He’d been paid in full and left a mess.
Howard, we’ve seen it before. Someone gets their money and vanishes.
Howard Finkelstein: “This is why we tell you, never pay for the whole job upfront, make sure you pay an installment and hold back the final payment until the job is completed to your satisfaction.”
Howard says it’s also important to get everything in writing.
Howard Finkelstein: “A contract can lay out when each payment is due and what work is expected along the way. Both parties are protected.”
Unfortunately, Flaurette didn’t have a contract to protect her.
We called the handyman over and over to come finish the job, and though he promised to do so, very little additional work was done.
He put handles on the cabinets and attempted a backsplash, but mostly, he took advantage of someone who saved for a long time to make her home nicer.
Rose Andre: “She wanted a nice kitchen, that was the gift she was trying to give to herself, but this is what he did, he took the money and basically ran with it.”
Howard says withholding that final payment is key and make sure the project is done to your satisfaction.
We’ll keep after the handyman to finish.
Got a problem? Need a hand? Here’s how to find us below. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Brandon Beyer at bbeyer@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
