On May 5,2007 I signed a contract with Tavares to build stamped concrete steps down the side of my house; to repair a back concrete step (done by another company), to repair damage to front steps (done by other company) and to cover front concrete, back concrete patio, back concrete step and new steps with a non-slip sealer. I paid a $500 deposit (cash) to Joe on the 5th of May. The concrete was poured the week of the 14th of May. Joe came by to personally collect another $4300 in cash on the 17th of May. He seemed very eager to collect. After that date I called & called his numbers to find out when the work was to be completed - unfinished work includes: removing the forms from the stairs that they poured, fixing cracks in the stairs that they poured, fixing cracks in their repairs on the front steps, removing all debris, sealing all areas mentioned above. After several calls, I got a hold of someone named "Rob" on June 11th, who works for Joe. Rob informed me that Joe was "out of the province". I explained the situation, he (Rob) promised to come the next day (June 12th), he didn't show, I called and Rob told me they'd be there on the 13th, they didn't show, I called and Rob said they'd be there on the 14th. They finally arrived at about 5pm on Friday the 15th of June (as I pressured them by telling them of the party I had planned for the wknd - a pool party). Rob and his co-worker were surprised by the job that had been done and said they would need several hours to dig up the forms, remove hardened cement and repair the cracks to the steps that they poured. He promised to come the following Tues or Wed (June 19 or 20) and apparently Joe was to be back by the. No one showed up. Since that day, I have called Joe's 2 numbers (work & cell), voicemail was never one, I emailed Joe at 2 different email addresses and I heard nothing. Finally on July 22nd, I called Joe's cell number and he answered. I asked him what was going on, told him how much I'd paid, was he going to finish the job. He "acted" suprised at the fact it hadn't been completed, he said he was still away. He said he'd call Rob the next day and get them on it. I continued to reiterate my concern, that I'd paid him $4800 out of the $6500 for the entire contract and that there was still much to be done. I told him I signed with him on the 5th of May so I could enjoy my backyard for the summer. I asked him for Rob's number, I had to push & push and the number he ended up giving me was his (Joe's) office number. I asked him why I should believe that he'd call me tomorrow (June 23rd) and he said "I give you my word". I told him to date his word hasn't meant alot. Well, surprisingly not, Joe did not call me. I left him 2 messages. I called the number for Rob several times and the message says "the person you are calling is unavailable at the moment". Finally, I had to hire someone else to hire the work (someone very reputable, [another company]. They did a wonderful job. However, due to the rip-off situation with Tavares, my backyard was not completed until mid August when it started in May! I filed a complaint with the BBB last year and they did not get any response from Tavares to their inquiry.
