Sleazy contractor gets 90 days in jail

[Locutus]

Six years ago, Ann Alves hired a contractor to renovate the kitchen and bathroom in her Ajax home. She gave Charlesworth K. Carter nearly $6,000, about half the total, as a deposit.

For that she received a partially finished bathroom and an uninstalled shelf and vanity dropped off in the garage. Now the bathroom remains unfinished, save for the tiling that another contractor completed, and the shelf and vanity remain in the garage, turned into makeshift storage units.

Alves is just one of several victims of Carter’s company, C.K. Carter Kitchen and Bath Renovations, which used to operate out of a squat industrial building on Lawrence Ave. near the Don Valley Parkway.

Carter, 59, was sentenced to 90 days in jail in early June for taking a $4,000 deposit from a couple to renovate their Etobicoke home — which he never completed — thereby violating the Consumer Protection Act on four counts. The sentence also includes Carter’s violation of his probation for refusing to repay Alves’ money. It’s the second time he’s violated a court-ordered ruling to repay her.



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Toronto News: Charlesworth K. Carter: Serial bad Toronto contractor sentenced to 90 days in jail - thestar.com

 

[JLM]

Six years ago, Ann Alves hired a contractor to renovate the kitchen and bathroom in her Ajax home. She gave Charlesworth K. Carter nearly $6,000, about half the total, as a deposit.

For that she received a partially finished bathroom and an uninstalled shelf and vanity dropped off in the garage. Now the bathroom remains unfinished, save for the tiling that another contractor completed, and the shelf and vanity remain in the garage, turned into makeshift storage units.

Alves is just one of several victims of Carter’s company, C.K. Carter Kitchen and Bath Renovations, which used to operate out of a squat industrial building on Lawrence Ave. near the Don Valley Parkway.

Carter, 59, was sentenced to 90 days in jail in early June for taking a $4,000 deposit from a couple to renovate their Etobicoke home — which he never completed — thereby violating the Consumer Protection Act on four counts. The sentence also includes Carter’s violation of his probation for refusing to repay Alves’ money. It’s the second time he’s violated a court-ordered ruling to repay her.



more


Toronto News: Charlesworth K. Carter: Serial bad Toronto contractor sentenced to 90 days in jail - thestar.com

Serves the F**Ker right!

 

[talloola]

thats right, its good to hear that some of these losers are actually being punished.

after watching 'holmes on holmes' for a year or so, I am realizing that many so-called home
contractors are actually crooks, and people are ripped off and lose thousands and thousands
of dollars, and are left with either unfinished projects, or projects that leave them with
dangerous and shabby results.

throw the book at them.

 

[taxslave]

It should work both ways. Ever tried to collect for work done on a house? You can't even legally remove the materials you put into house when you don't get paid. Scammers are everywhere.

 

[TenPenny]

It should work both ways. Ever tried to collect for work done on a house? You can't even legally remove the materials you put into house when you don't get paid. Scammers are everywhere.

You have 90 days after the work is finished to file a lien if you haven't been paid.

And let me tell you from experience, if the lien gets 'perfected', the bank holding the mortgage, if there is one, will not be happy, and will want the lien to go away quickly, or the mortgage gets cancelled.

 

[taxslave]

You have 90 days after the work is finished to file a lien if you haven't been paid.

And let me tell you from experience, if the lien gets 'perfected', the bank holding the mortgage, if there is one, will not be happy, and will want the lien to go away quickly, or the mortgage gets cancelled.

Filing a lien and collecting on it are two different things. It is time consuming and expensive.

 

[TenPenny]

Filing a lien and collecting on it are two different things. It is time consuming and expensive.

Not if the house has a mortgage on it. The bank holding the mortgage will demand that the homeowners clear up the lien. And if htere is no mortgage on it, the house is unsellable until the lien is cleared up.

 

[taxslave]

Not if the house has a mortgage on it. The bank holding the mortgage will demand that the homeowners clear up the lien. And if htere is no mortgage on it, the house is unsellable until the lien is cleared up.

Not quite. Or at least not in BC. There can be numerous liens against a house. Usually the bank is number one so they are covered but there may be insufficient funds left over to cover all the liens. Your lien could also very well remain on the house until the owner decides to sell it since courts are very reluctant to order the sale of someone's home.

 

[JLM]

Well, if the "lien law" doesn't work out maybe it's time to invoke the old "six gun law". :lol:

 

[Nuggler]

It should work both ways. Ever tried to collect for work done on a house? You can't even legally remove the materials you put into house when you don't get paid. Scammers are everywhere.

guy I know hired a contractor to fix his roof, new shingles, the whole nine yards.

Job was done

Buddy never paid.

ever

The temptation would be to take a chainsaw to the roof when buddy wasn't home......

 

[The Old Medic]

There are a hell of a lot more crooked contractors out there, than there are people that don't pay for their construction work. Any responsible contractor collects all of the money for materials, before the work commences.

Keep in mind that shoddy work is also a part of crooked contracting. So is performing work without the necessary permits. So is misusing various products, using a much lower grade of product that the customer paid for, hiding illegal stuff (like hidden electrical boxes), etc., etc., etc.

90 days in jail is nothing for guys like this. They should get a minimum of a year.

 

[talloola]

guy I know hired a contractor to fix his roof, new shingles, the whole nine yards.

Job was done

Buddy never paid.

ever

The temptation would be to take a chainsaw to the roof when buddy wasn't home......

it definitely should work both ways. If I was a contractor I would demand payments all thru the
period of the job, at different stages of completon, then have material on the site to finish the job, and demand at least 3/4 of
the total price before I finish.

It is disgusting both ways, whomever doesn't pay. It is very difficult to to do anything to
a contractor long after the fact when one finds faulty workmenship that is behind walls, or in electrical
and plumbing areas, and how does one get a contractor to come and finish when he just doesn't come and
finish.
On the holmes and holmes show, I wish they would talk about what happens to those contractors who have literally
stolen from the home owner by ripping their homes apart, doing part of the work, then gives excuses for
a while, then dissapears.

 

[JLM]

There are a hell of a lot more crooked contractors out there, than there are people that don't pay for their construction work. Any responsible contractor collects all of the money for materials, before the work commences.

Keep in mind that shoddy work is also a part of crooked contracting. So is performing work without the necessary permits. So is misusing various products, using a much lower grade of product that the customer paid for, hiding illegal stuff (like hidden electrical boxes), etc., etc., etc.

90 days in jail is nothing for guys like this. They should get a minimum of a year.

The old six gun law would be a lot cheaper (and a lot more convincing) than than a year in jail. :lol: