Hall of Shame: Kitchen & Bath remodelers vanish, customers say money is drained

[@mnek742]

So many get years in prison for stealing not even 1% of how much this couple has, how have they not been arrested yet?

[@jayanxiety]

Some get years in jail for selling weed to the wrong person, but these scammers don't face any repercussions because of legal loopholes? Sad!

[@dissimulii]

@@jayanxiety if you're stupid enough to pick up controlled substance charges from weed, you're probably mentally deficient and need to refocus your life. edit: i sold weed for more than a decade and have smoked more than half my life, squeaky clean record. a background check would not exclude me from anything. don't do dumb shit when you're carrying, it's not hard if you're not mentally deficient.

[@SynZ777]

White

[@mpayne8206]

This has everything to do with certain city/ states weak justice systems. This shit doesn't fly many places.

[@thiagogregory1]

they are white

[@huevosrancheros702]

I’ve been watching your videos for hours. Keep ‘em coming Rob.

[@Downeast1994]

Amen

[@shannonwilliams4260]

This is outrageous. I hope that everyone involved will get their money back.

[@charlesmurphy1510]

They won’t. Buyer beware!

[@dr.loomis4221]

Yea that's not gonna happen

[@heaveymelt]

If they had there company setup right they walk and you can't touch there personal assets, people you can't trust contractors never give money upfront

[@dennissvitak148]

Not a chance. Bankruptcy is just that.

[@willmeldrum4583]

Not gonna happen

[@eternalbeing3339]

150k for those drawers? That cannot be right wtf.

[@heinzbergheinzburg4316]

I know right wth

[@ColombianoBlanco]

If you're willing to pay 150k for kitchen drawers you kinda deserve to be taking advantage of

[@dyates6380]

It was a total kitchen remodel. Watch it again, but still, even for an entire kitchen that's steep. Sixty or seventy? Okay, but one fifty?

[@engineking777]

did mines for 8k (cabinets, backspash and granite) (yes up to code )with latinos from 7-11 and looks better than most rich folks houses lol. Ya get played son.

[@jameslrouse]

49 foot of cabinets lowers 30 ft uppers , paint . Detach and reset granite is less then 40k

[@KBratcher11]

Every city needs this kind of program! Good work.

[@dyates6380]

Sadly, there are a LOT of people like this in the country. A very similar thing happened to a good friend of mine about three or four years ago here in Cleveland. A "well known and respected" furniture store which had been around a while did this exact same thing only they took a LOT of hefty down payments for furniture and used the "pandemic" as an excuse as to why people had to wait so long. The delivery dates came and went, came and went, and he started to get suspicious when all of a sudden the salesman who was so nice and accommodating during the sale wouldn't even pick up the phone anymore and voicemail was full. He did get about half of his stuff because he was very persistent and actually "caught" the owner's mother at the store one day after, like Rob here, stopped by several times a week to locked doors and delivery trucks and vans parked in the same place, but NO "out of business" signs. He eventually put up a sign on the door asking if anyone else has been "concerned" about their furniture, and he left his number. Almost immediately, his phone was blowing up. Long story, at least thirty five people where in the same boat as my friend, but most were even worse than him because he at least got about half of what he paid for due to running into the mother who promised everything would show up the next day, but only a few things did. They contacted a lawyer (collectively) and the State Attorney General's office, and were basically told that they could sue the owner (they finally found out his name and like the two crooks in this video, was living in a beautiful home and had also been through a few bankruptcy deals and knew the drill) and were told a class action suit would basically result in NO MONEY. The scumbag knew what he was doing, and just like this story, continued smiling and taking honest, hard working peoples' money KNOWING he was going to run and hide and they'd get nothing. Nothing anyone can do. You can't bleed a stone if he's "bankrupt", but as I told my buddy, one day this guy - who posts pictures of himself and his wife on their boat on Lake Erie and lives in a gorgeous home with the beautiful cars - is going to either cross the wrong person one day or it'll be someone who knows a friend who knows a friend. My buddy is okay, big strapping Marine and got over the loss of ten grand and it was a lesson learned, but he told me his heart broke when he went to a meeting he arranged of others who were ripped off by this asshole and there was a thirty something black woman who had two kids with her, crying like crazy because she give the guy eighteen thousand dollars for furniture to furnish the first home she ever bought. He said it was heartbreaking to see those genuine tears because she knew that money was gone forever.

[@angelseliteautodetailing]

Happens to everyone it's sick 🤢

[@BarneeFife]

I would bet you can find them at the nearest Golden Corral.

[@douglasadair2951]

These fake ass contractors need to be held responsible. Lock them up.

[@garrywhipple7558]

they seem to be very smart $116,000 thats what I call a score, lol hahaqhaha, people getting rip;ped off, lol yes

[@jimda4910]

This is how I did it for 40 years successfully. The customer pays 25% on the first day of the job I show up with a substantial amount of the materials and the men. The customer pays 25% when the job is 50% complete. The customer pays 40% when the job is complete and hold 10% in escrow until all parties are satisfied. If your contractor can't meet this standard don't hire them.

[@SolidSonicTH]

I like your structure.

[@visionary6498]

@@SolidSonicTHit's project percentage complete billing pretty basic stuff and how it's done on the big projects monthly.

[@Nuttyirishman85]

Customer covers material cost and 50% of labor up front.

[@derick3482]

i pay you nothing upfront are you kidding finish the job then get paid

[@Nuttyirishman85]

@@derick3482 Yeah right. Not in this economy, especially with the way people behave these days.

[@michaela3681]

I’m a contractor, and I never take money up front. They shouldn’t be in business if they need down payments to start work.

[@marcyounker6379]

Terrible business not taking a deposit just like there are bad business owners there are just as many bad customers.. a contractor delivers materials they are now the property owners property paid or unpaid for by the property owner, in event that the materials are unpaid for the recovery process is a lien lots of expense to recover and lots of time therefore reason to collect the deposit for materials and be paid for labor in a separate outlined progress payment process. I have been in business for 30 yrs and have thousands of happy customers!

[@tabletop45]

I know Greg, one of the nicest most genuine guys you could meet. Would help you in a heartbeat if you needed it. It’s just sad to see when this happens to honest hard working people.

[@KBratcher11]

Huh?

[@tabletop45]

@@KBratcher11 imagine being so stupid you respond with "HUH?" with no other explanation

[@KBratcher11]

@@tabletop45 Huh?

[@a552bcx]

greg, is that you

[@jonnawyatt]

Sounds like expensive bathrooms. $50,000 deposit? $39,000, $27,000 etc Some people have too much money.

[@vanessamiller9202]

I live in Maryland and I live for these videos lol PLEASE PLEASE keep them coming. Make this country wide! Call em out!!

[@Treasuremonk]

This is my favorite channel on KZbin! Rob makes me laugh with his awesome style !!

[@user-tb2jy9lu3d]

The building should be confiscated by the court and sold. All vehicles on the property should be sold and the proceeds given t to the customers that were ripped off. The FTC and BBB should have been notified early on, as well.

[@chrism8180]

The FTC doesn't gaf, because it's not large enough to be worth their time

[@eambriz86]

@@chrism8180 BBB is just a review entity like yelp They don't enforce anything. In fact, I dont think people even go to the site. Its a relic entity before yelp and google reviews were created.

[@egrace67]

How is this not theft? This is absolutely disgusting. How do you live with yourself knowing that you have done this to people? My husband and I want to have some work done on the house but I’m hearing of this way too often - more so in this economy, so we are just going to sit it out and wait-You can’t trust anyone😕

[@mccalejk2]

It's not "theft" because they willingly gave them the money. It could be fraud, theft by deception, etc. but you have to prove they did it intentionally. In most cases, it is a civil matter.

[@chunkpowers]

@@mccalejk2 It is considered theft it's called theft by deception but it's also fraud

[@grizztough4091]

its not theft, its fraud...

[@joshdavis3743]

Sometimes businesses go belly up, and you can sue them and win. However, there is no money left for them to pay out, so you wind up getting nothing. I used to work for a business that was a franchise. They kept like 3 or 4 different LLCs for like 15ish stores. They had all their assets listed controlled by even more and different LLCs. They kept their petty cash on hand and in the bank as low as possible. That way if there was a worker's comp claim. They get sued, declare bankruptcy, pay out what little money they have, open back up again as a new LLC, and they have all their equipment and other things available because they were shielded by being under other LLCs.

[@lukebrown1484]

That's exactly right. My friends and I became involved with a unscrupulous contractor in central Utah and they have done exactly what these contractors did. My brother who was in construction the majority of his life said exactly the same thing "you never give money up front".

[@evielknievel4972]

$50k down payment?!? Imagine how much he was charging for the whole job!

[@ocholiocholi5735]

Hehe. Rob keeps going, keep it up man

[@giovahnnigucci409]

I don’t even live in Michigan, and I LOVE THIS SEGMENT!! I wish KSAT12 Did stuff like this!!!

[@JDeubel]

You need to do follow-up videos on these situations Rob

[@warrenlewis3977]

It seems almost like its worth scamming for thousands there's no consequences.

[@Psychology]

Lol at the couple trying to hide from Rob. Even more lol at them putting the sign saying they will call the cops.

[@diehardeaglesfansince1994]

I used to do this kind of work for years and years and it's people like this that piss me off and give us all a bad name

[@justmythought1586]

When I see things like this, I think it would just be easier to sell my house and buy another one that had what I wanted.

[@miltonweaver5461]

I would hire me a couple of goons to find them and bring them to me

[@jamesstephenson2346]

Ok milton

[@thesuperjoe]

It bothers me that they can’t get their money back when they’re living in an extremely nice home…why can’t they serve them at this address?

[@deerhunting2441]

What a pair of scumbags

[@williambush7971]

Not a chance I'd give 30-50K for a down payment. If they can't front the job I'm not paying up front. You pay them in steps. They do a part of the work to your satisfaction and you give them partial payment.

[@karllager2214]

This is reasonable. I do some remodeling and I'd never ask for money upfront for anything but materials.

[@raymondcamp8212]

I agree . I have borrowed to finance jobs rather than try to get money up front.

[@GMONEYGMC]

This how people die

[@jamesstephenson2346]

Typical black guy comment.

[@gta123987]

I know someone who got killed cause he stole 40$ and a ps4

[@garlictyme2472]

Hope they get their money back or these people are arrested, but who the hell has 50g to 150g for a kitchen? Must be nice to be able to make or save that kind of dough.

[@miahvasquez6272]

why does rob look like Freddy Kruger tho

[@jo151]

Did they pay 50% or 100% up front? If so never do that!

[@kd3nal72]

They'll never see s penny unless they know a guy that knows a guy that'll break legs for at least 30%

[@TechJayr]

I would of busted their door 🚪down and said 🔫 “where’s my money “?

[@kushkingla7385]

Vigilante justice.

[@blackhoodiefitness5862]

Yeah ik taking that much money from someone will have you missing.

[@jeffreyharvey8111]

They should be arrested and jailed.

[@drewski1535]

5:30 THE HAAAAALL OF SHAME 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@opertinicy]

every news station should have a reporter/segment like this

[@mikethemechanic7395]

Had something similar happen to my wife and I. It’s a shame the contractors cars were all vandalized and not workable 😂

[@GeorgiaWhisper]

They should hire a private investigator and a process server to serve them. Put a line on all of the supplies and the vans

[@gregorysiota3113]

Update?

[@raymondcamp8212]

Who gives anyone that large of a down payment. I would never take someones money until l did there work.

[@adatshhc]

150k for a kitchen remodel??? Insanity.

[@TheHamburgler123]

I have a friend that's in high-end finish carpentry in a place loaded with legacy money. $150k is chump change on the real high end of things. Some of his clients spend $150k on just cabinets alone.

[@SynZ777]

@@TheHamburgler123 Sounds like rich people who don't know the value of their own money. Are those cabinets made of the rarest wood in the African Congo or some shit?

[@MrYtubenewsanchorman]

And won't boil water in it

[@Me97202]

NEVER pay before the work is completed. Never.

[@originalkingalpha5116]

📌This is a job for the Mob.🍻😂

[@jamesstephenson2346]

No, this is the shit the mob did.

[@stevesmith775]

Cabinet drawer slides don’t get screwed in on the backs of cabinets.. just an fyi. Also the profit margins for selling cabinets aren’t very high. I feel extremely bad for all the customers but I doubt this guy that has a big show room and nice vans just wanted to screw all these people. He was probably trying to catch back up and didn’t make it. I hate seeing businesses go under. Failures happen but when we find out that the government lost billions during their audits no one is making videos to put on the news

[@jayanxiety]

A perfect way of getting at least something back would be for the City forcibly taking away their house and changing the locks. Maybe take away their vehicles as well. The sale of the home could go to paying back at least some of the money owed to the people they scammed! An eye for an eye i say! However, we dont live in a society which believes in vigilantly justice do we?

[@chrism8180]

Wouldn't happen without a court order, and only after they can't pay damages. They'd have to sell business assets, personal assets wouldn't be included. Yea the "justice" system. It's totally here to protect people

[@AAA-o4g]

Every news station should do this

[@tvman8]

You are the best.

[@trvrsln]

Thanks for always reminding me why I’d rather look up some videos and do everything myself

[@angelseliteautodetailing]

$150,000 for cabinets???

[@williambush7971]

If they did that to me legal trouble would be the least of their troubles.

[@raymondcamp8212]

You are correct. I am off on Saturdays

[@daveschannel747]

I'll fly in from Massachusetts

[@HeinzGuderian_]

These companies run rampant all over the country. My coworker had a house built by a company that immediately filed bankruptcy and closed. This meant anything wrong with the house was not going to be fixed, except at his own expense. A week later the owner was up and running under a new name.

[@dashcan8479]

Rob go and interview the Michigan AG about these cases. Please do that.

[@hagbard72]

We got screwed by a friend of my wife's auction business in Victoria BC when we gave him most of our furniture and other stuff to sell before moving cross country. He knew he was in financial trouble, sold it all, went out of business and we had nothing. We still live like we're in college after 15 years.

[@j-rock-kiki6346]

They spent the money point blank

[@your247support]

For that money. I can go all the way to Morocco and buy hand made kitchen and a whole house n bring back to the US lol

[@Tzreoaor]

The way he says “haaaallll of shammme” never gets old!

[@joshdavis3743]

That is ironic the car salesman is complaining about getting duped in a deal. LOL

[@briandaniel931]

Time to break some bones

[@OregonCrow]

These folks are so well off they don't even bother to research who they are about to give their money to. No sympathy from me.

[@LightSkinCreole]

But the one guy was friends for over 20 years with them..he was even at the wedding 😩..

[@DudeMannn]

Scammer: Are you ready to beat the SH*T out of me when I steal your money ?? Then call us for a consultation.

[@hectormoreno6433]

What ever happens to these thieves? Is justice ever served? That is a ton of money there stealing!

[@lulspintheblock]

Anytime people want a big down payment months in advance you’re better off finding someone else. The only exception is if you’re using expensive and hard to acquire materials but even in that case their should be invoices and you should store the materials.

[@HeWhoIsNamedPatrick]

See this is where you have to tell those you are hiring that failure to complete the contract and running off will incur massive penalties that you don’t need a court of law to hand down. No physical harm but mentally they would see what true insanity is like!

[@ColombianoBlanco]

150k?? Down payment on anther house... rich people love to throw money out

[@bryanfindley1438]

another great job RON

[@angelaanaconda5837]

Rob**

[@jamesstephenson2346]

Im sure he appreciates your comment ryan

[@AtlantaGoth]

After 23 years in this industry, I can state a number of facts: According to the pictures that were shown in the video during the broadcast. They will not have the be torn down and started from scratch. As long as the plumbing as gas lines are up to code. I see full backsplash to the base of the cabinets, yes, the island isn't skinned on the opposite side with deco doors with OCM in the corners. I would highly recommending calling your bank, stopping payment on all work with every client who is going through this.

[@Sonic_Boom_25]

Never pay the money first, write out a contract for them to sign stating that they're getting paid after the work.

[@alex321neo]

4:58, is this Rob Wolchek with a dash cam?

[@honchosayso]

do it to the wrong people and end up in the ditch

[@ericweiler6571]

Let’s hope car salesman friend of 20 years who literally bought them a new Jeep at least got commission on the sale

[@lonestarr1707]

At least put them in prison, don't just let them go free wtf

[@shannonwilliams4260]

Well I feel exactly like the people in this video. I trusted a man that Told me a sob story. He lost his business due to the covid virus. And was trying to get back on his feet. Lol he was supposed to replace my kitchen cabinets. The lower one's. Destroyed by water damage. I gave him money to buy the cabinets to replace my damaged one. He never got new cabinets he tried to repair the old cabinets. One cabinet was missing needed to replaced. But he kept asking for more money to buy supplies. But he kept coming to my daughter's home where I was staying until all the repairs were made. So I finally told my daughter take me home so that I could see what he had done. He hadn't done anything. He just took my money. I will never trust anyone else again. Beware of wolves in sheep clothing. I've learned my lesson.

[@metoon3092]

Fools

[@Sonic_Boom_25]

These remodelers are not licensed, they are scammers!

[@kevinowensmith1572]

Absolute stupidity giving someone all that money up front. What did they expect to happen?

[@jamesstephenson2346]

They probably expected to have the kitchen built, wouldnt you guess?

[@mikecartermulcy]

And Ward Stone Group Kitchen and Bath! Supposedly at 4274 E Grand River Ave, Howell, Michigan. Last update 20 Nov 22. Obviously, leading a life of extortion and fraud was always their intent...

[@nicole14355]

I feel like for times like this when the law "cant" or wont help we should be able to police ourselves. Because these are clearly the actions of people who have never been punched in the face. Because if they "cant" or womt help me then they are gonna look away because ill be damned if they are gonna protect them.

[@gregO00O]

Because home improvement contractors don't need any regulation from our state or municipal government.

[@bigd9526]

If you meet them at there favorite bar and let them know you're not playing about your money

[@brianmoore493]

Let's hear a big... GET EM ROB!!

[@mesropmadzharyan6727]

Why would u give someone 30-40k for work to be done next year lol .

[@moochythecat3435]

"Ripping people off" is just another word for Capitalism...

[@sophiaschier-hanson4163]

It’s ALWAYS contractors lmao 😂

[@jaywires717]

The owner looks like the CarHop guy from the used car commercials.

[@steveludwig4200]

Guys like this should be in prison along with the politicians they bribed...

[@diddsdaddiddsdad6865]

Why would you give a legitimate company so much money as a a deposit.

[@yungmetrogaming9487]

Idk how any contracting business works and i might be wrong but any down payment that is 20k and above have to look some sort of suspicious but again i might be wrong due to different sizes of homes and buildings

[@AntiSerpent]

Scams never stop. 😢

[@michaelritchie-ch6ib]

I bet they love to eat a bunch of Doritos and Fart really loudly 🤭🤣😆

[@stevea2085]

They are "Closed Permanently" so people can't leave any bad reviews on their business page.

[@chrisbridges655]

No way in hell I would pay anyone that amount of money before any work was done. Great way to be ripped off.

[@Onxy1976]

Exactly!!! Absolutely ridiculous...let me give a stranger 50k...wow...no offense but they are dopey and have horrible judgement.....you get a little deposit than paid in full when job is done..not giving stranger 50k hoping they do what they say...can't trust anyone

[@nimajnebrm]

Rob is a KZbin celebrity that's for sure

[@007missionary55]

I don’t pay majority of the money until the job is complete and I’m satisfied, if they want all the money up front, that throws a red flag up to me,

[@IsleOfFeldspar]

So as usual the crooks get away with it.

[@questioneverthing1892]

First red flag, the contractors are white not latino 😅.

[@shyturner3418]

They probably only did enough work to make it look like they were reputable so they could continue getting new customers down-payments, and knew they were scamming and pre-planned to file bankruptcy after they net over a million.. No way would I give someone that type of money for as a down-payment.. They know the contractors' law, and it is very scary to hire people because the law is on their side even if they are shady..

[@AtlantaGoth]

I hope their neighbors know.

[@ethancortez2024]

They took everything!!

[@ryangardner5896]

They have this many scam artist in one city that's extremely scary