Feeling ripped off by a home renovator? Here’s why police may not take your case

In a series of reports over the past several months, CityNews has been telling you stories from multiple people across the GTA with similar complaints about hired home contractors.

“We feel ripped off,” said Zubair Khan, who CityNews interviewed earlier this month. He and several other customers paid a general contractor to renovate their homes.

“He didn’t do any work, never even started,” Khan said.

That contractor then closed up shop and stopped answering phone calls from Khan and several other customers.

“We’ve all filed police reports, but there has been little action.”

Customers looking to authorities for help

While police in several jurisdictions confirm with CityNews that officers are looking into the accusations, it’s not uncommon for investigators to say they won’t get involved in certain disputes between homeowners and contractors.

“I was told my case wasn’t a criminal matter,” said Mary Fielder. CityNews also shared her story this month.

Fielder filed a police report after a bathroom reglazing company she hired ruined her bathtub by using paint instead of actual reglazing material.

“It’s frustrating because we look to police to help us when we feel cheated.”

Khan feels the same.

“It seems as though they look at these cases as civil matters when we feel it’s outright fraud.”

CityNews brought their concerns to Peel Regional Police and its Fraud Investigation Unit.

“There are a lot of grey areas when it comes to contractual disputes,” said Const. Nikhil Chakravarthy.

There are several cases of home renovation fraud they do take on which lead to arrests. Earlier this month, a contractor was arrested after taking money but failing to do the work promised.

“Not all cases warrant this,” Const. Chakravarthy said.

“If we were to use a driveway for example. Maybe at the end of the job, the driveway is uneven, and the dimensions are off. Perhaps the worker didn’t use the material that they originally agreed to use. This is a contractual dispute between the customer and the contractor.”

Const. Chakravarthy says it’s not fraud if it appears the contractor is not intentionally setting out to defraud the public.

“This person is not great at their job. That’s not criminal; it’s a civil dispute between that contractor and the homeowner.”

Police get involved if they see a pattern

“If through investigative means it is determined that this is an ongoing issue with this entity or contractor, then it swings back into the realm of a police investigation,” said Const. Chakravarthy.

Let’s say you hire a contractor, like Khan, pay them a hefty deposit, and no work is done. Then what?

“If the customer does pay, no work is done, and it comes to light that there was no intention of even starting the work, to begin with, this is an obvious fraud and is well within the realm of a police investigation,” Const. Chakravarthy added.

Police are looking into Khan’s claims but have not said where the investigation stands.

Police never discourage anyone from filing a police report, it doesn’t always mean they’ll investigate, but if enough reports are filed about a contractor, it increases the likelihood that a criminal investigation can start.

“Even if those reports are filed in another jurisdiction,” Const. Chakravarthy said. “Police services are regularly in contact with each other, so the same contractor could be operating here in Peel, or Toronto, Halton, and York. There will be collaboration between the agencies to resolve these incidents.”

As for cases deemed to be civil contractual issues that don’t warrant a criminal investigation, authorities will often tell complainants to file in small claims court.

“It’s designed for customers to try and get recourse in contractual disputes.”

But that doesn’t always lead to financial justice.

Fielder took her contractor to small claims court, but the owner never showed up for the hearing. Fielder failed to get any of the money a judge awarded her, despite an exhaustive effort on her part.

“I did everything by the book, and I have nothing to show for it.”

There are ways to navigate the small claims court system to better ensure justice, experts say. As CityNews continues to examine the paths available to customers who feel cheated by contractors, we’ll take a closer look at the small claims court process in a story on Friday.

If you have an issue, story, or question you’d like us to look into, reach out to us here.