We hired Joe and his father Salvatore Ricupero of RRS Contracting Construction & Develpoments to build our dream addition and to renovate a bath/laundry. We signed a contract on Aug. 13, 2006.A review such as this would have saved us a great deal of hardship (all references are family members).
To make a long story short, the house foundation was condemned by our town's building dept. and had to be demolished - footings with 6 inch gaps underneath and irreparable cracked walls. Further building would have caused a total collapse of the addition and damage to our existing house. We have photos, video and professional reports to prove all allegations.
Worse still, Joe ran away with our $50, 000 plus the cost of demolition and repair to EVERYTHING they had done including the work inside.
We had no choice but to fire RRS Contracting on April 1st 2007 before they destroyed our property. All the electrical work indoors was a fire hazard, the plumbing guaranteed to leak as well as the shower floor and walls. He even installed the whirlpool switch and outlet right above the tub that would have electrocuted us. We paid for professional installation but instead Joe sent his brother and brother in law who admitt they had never done this kind of work before! Even the "experienced" father made a mess of the drywall plaster and tape.
We are now in litigation but it is a long process. Joe has agreed to settle out of court but all 3 cheques he sent at Christmas 2007 have bounced. He has since returned only $2, 500. after we went to the police. His favourite excuse involves the illness and death of a family member. He never returns phone calls, only email so that he can't hear your angry voice. He has made a point of not disclosing his address, but we tracked him down in Uxbridge. He purchased this home right after we gave him a deposit of 50, 000. towards our project. All work halted on our project at this point and trusses as well as framing materials did not arrive because they weren't paid for.
Recently the engineering firm Joe hired, called to collect $600.00 overdue from May 1st 2007, as have other unpaid suppliers. RRS Contracting website is a fantasy (recently ceased to exist), they have no manpower or assets - do not own any machinery or equipment, borrowed all our tools, even the wheel barrow out of the barn. His sales pitch is cunning, but don't be fooled. Beware.
We seriously advise against hiring this outfit.
Helen & Michael
Cookstown, Ontario
Canada
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