(CBS13) EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. An El Dorado Hills mom, a dozen kids, and a contractor who won't finish the deck he started for her. She called Kurtis for help.
Kim Buckmaster runs a preschool out of her El Dorado Hills home.
She and her husband David needed a new deck, and after getting seven bids, they went with Steven Tines of "All Decked Out", who said he could get it done during spring break.
"He looked us in the eye and said he would be able to do it in seven days,” says David.
But those seven days came and went.
"By the time we started school up that following day the situation was that there was no deck at all,” says David.
The yard where the kids normally play was filled with building supplies, tools and scraps from the old deck.
"I am in charge of 12 children and it wasn't a safe environment, so we had to keep them inside the classroom,” says Kim.
One week turned into four, and the deck wasn't done. On top of that, Kim says the contractor wrote two bad checks to the supplier, Berco, who put a lien on their home for $7,500, money she had paid Tines for the material. Tines wouldn’t take their calls.
"The check that the contractor had written had bounced twice, and they were not able to get a hold of him,” she says. "He will not talk to us, he won't talk to them, and my frustration is the money was there, he cashed it. There is no reason why this is happening."
The Buckmaster's got Kurtis involved. He tracked down Steven Tines to this apartment in Rocklin. He wasn't home, but Kurtis did get him on the phone. Tines admitted he was having troubles, and claimed going into business for himself was his biggest mistake. He agreed to finish the Buckmaster’s deck and pay his supplier, but 5-weeks later that hasn't happened!
"The biggest concern with us right now is this railing which is missing,” says Kim, ”This to me, is the most dangerous because I do have children here everyday."
So Kim and her staff keep the kids away from it.
When Kurtis contacted Berco about the lien, they didn't call him back. But they did remove the lien after telling the Buckmaster’s they didn't want to deal with Call Kurtis.
The deck remains nearly-finished, and Steven Tines and his "All Decked Out" may be as well - his license is under a contractor's bond suspension.
Kim plans to hire someone else to finish the job. If she wants, she could go back and sue the contractor for that cost.
Kurtis Ming
Reporting
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