KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — Typically when you get married friends and family shower you with gifts. Although a wedding during a pandemic does limit the guest list and the number of gifts most likely. So, last October, before their wedding Beth Cox and her fiancé decided to get themselves a present.
“It was going to be like a wedding gift to us,” Cox said.
The couple did some searching online and found a contractor to replace the deck in their backyard.
“We wanted a two-level deck versus what was there, and we wanted a screened-in porch on the second level,” Cox said.
The plan was to have the deck finished before the wedding in October. The couple paid half of the $9,000 upfront and were expecting the construction to start in late September or early October.
“We were excited about it, we thought it would be done before our wedding,” Cox said.
A short time after the contract was signed and the initial deposit was paid things started to slow down. Cox said the communication between her, and the contractor was not great. He would often not return text messages and didn’t notify them before the supplies were dropped off.
“My fiancé just happened to be home to open the gate to let them in the backyard,” Cox said.
After the supplies were dropped off Cox said she didn’t hear from the contractor for a few weeks. He then told her it would be a couple more weeks from the scheduled start date before they could begin.
“He said he was running two weeks behind which was actually more like four,” Cox said.
The problems would only get worse. On the day he was finally scheduled to start he called Cox that morning to tell her he forgot about a vacation he had planned and needed to reschedule the project again. He wanted to do it a couple of weeks out, but Cox had family in town and did not agree to the date.
Cox and her husband discussed the delays and decided it might not be best to move forward. Cox then contacted the contractor and asked for a refund.
“He started talking about keeping 10-percent because that how he does things,” Cox said.
Cox was eventually sent an email that outlined the refund less the 10-percent. The contractor claimed he would be charged by the supply company to return the materials. Cox however had spoken with the supply company and discovered they were not charging him
Again, Cox asked for a full refund and was sent an itemized printout that showed the refund would be returned less administrative and other fees that totaled about $900.
“He was just making stuff up to get to 10-percent of $9,000,” Cox said.
A couple of days later Cox went looking for help. She reached out to friends and neighbors through social media posts.
“Several people explained the process of small claims court, but I had several people say you need to reach out to News 2,” Cox said.
Cox called us a couple of days later and we contacted the contractor. After talking with him several times during the week he eventually agreed to give Cox a full refund.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate (News 2),” Cox said.
The deck is still not done but Cox and her fiancé have found a new contractor and hope to have it completed by late Spring.