Before You Hire a Contractor, Learn From Couple's Basement Woes

THE ABC NEWS FIXER— -- Jerry and Victoria Marzullo of Chicago had big dreams for their basement entertaining space and thought they’d found just the right contractor to do the work. But after putting down a $4,000 deposit, they got nothing – for six months.

Read Jerry’s original letter to the ABC News Fixer below, and see how The Fixer helped get their money back. Also, check out The Fixer’s tips for the next time you need to hire a contractor for work on your home.

Do YOU have a consumer problem? Maybe The Fixer can help! Submit your problems at ABCNews.com/Fixer.

Dear ABC New Fixer: We hired a contractor to design and build a bar for our basement. He took our $4,000 deposit and never provided the design and gave us the runaround for months.

We've asked for our money back multiple times, but every time, he says he doesn’t have it or it's “a cash flow issue."

Interestingly, he has his own reality show on the Discovery Channel about building high-quality bars. He also opened a tavern next to his workshop. How could a guy with his own TV show and his own bar not have the $4,000 to pay us back for a service he never provided?

- Jerry Marzullo, Chicago

Dear Jerry: You and your wife, Victoria, told the ABC News Fixer how excited you were to hire a reality TV star for your basement bar project. This was back in April 2015, and you were hoping to build the bar to end all bars – a lovely hand-carved showpiece that could accommodate all your friends for fantasy football drafts as well as Bears and Sox games.

You’d visited the builder, Aaron Heineman, at his Heineman Bar Company in Chicago, and were impressed with the operation.

But when weeks turned into months and you still didn’t have the design plans, much less any work on the bar, you wanted your money back.

This took a while to fix. First, we tried emailing and calling Aaron Heineman, with no response. Then, last October, The Fixer went to the woodshop in person and found Heineman. He blamed money problems, saying it was too expensive for him to keep operating at that location, but he promised to pay you back in two weeks.

He didn’t. Through the winter and spring, you and Victoria kept asking him for your money, again with no results. The woodshop closed down, and the bar next door closed, too. Then The Fixer learned Heineman had incorporated a new business. With his new address in hand, we reached out to him the old-fashioned way – by mail – reminding him again of your long wait to get your money.

That seemed to do the trick. Three days later, you got the first $2,000 back in a mobile payment from Heineman, followed by two more payments of $1,000 each. By then, it was almost 15 months after you had first paid the deposit. We never got an explanation for the delay, but you said you were glad to have your money back.

As you learned, home improvement projects can be frustrating. Problems with home repair and remodeling are always at or near the top of annual surveys of consumer complaints.

Besides checking references, here are three tips to keep in mind:

- Beware the low bid. Get at least three estimates from contractors you’ve thoroughly vetted. If one bid is extremely low, it could be a red flag.

- Pay as little as possible up front. Yes, contractors often want money to start buying materials, but try to pay the smallest deposit possible. Your contract should include a payment schedule that’s tied to the progress of the work. NEVER make the final payment until everything’s done and you’re happy.

- Get everything in writing, with as much specificity as possible about the type of materials. Make sure the contract states the grounds under which you can cancel and still get your deposit back.

We have more advice on how to hire a contractor HERE, to help keep your next project on track and going smoothly.

- The ABC News Fixer

Got a consumer problem? The ABC News Fixer may be able to help. Click here to submit your problem online. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

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