1 out of 5
| Trustworthy | |
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| Customer Service | |
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| Recommend | |
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Capital Home Services (CHS) wanted more than 20% as a down payment for an on-the-spot quote with no cost breakdown. They were also available when contractors were scarce. However, the City had issued a violation order for porch demo and reconstruction, so we signed a contract in June 2020 for $43,910 with a $9,500 down payment.
Before doing one minute of work onsite, CHS demanded an additional $31,100 in advance for City-required modifications. Again, no cost breakdown. If we didn’t pay immediately, work would not start. It was Sept. by then, and too late to hire another contractor, so we agreed. They worked for 8 days, then stopped.
CHS then demanded another $18,500 payment for City-required modifications - again just a total. We asked for a line-by-line cost breakdown and questioned costs for work no longer being done. The owner responded by threatening to walk away and sue us. We paid, with the written stipulation that any further unexpected costs would be borne by CHS.
In early Nov. 2020 when we tried to hold back 10% (legally required under The Ontario Construction Act), the owner demanded $49,640 "due immediately." This included not only all remaining payments, but payment for costs they were contractually prohibited from charging, referring to them as a "gift." If we failed to pay, "We will be stopping your project immediately." We were told "take it or leave," and "talk to the Pope." He called us a pain, threatened us with legal action, said we had a lot of nerve, and that he’d had "ENOUGH of your garbage!"
With the courts closed, we foresaw the $60,000 we'd already paid evaporating and the project abandoned with no recourse. We had no choice but to back down. Work halted for the winter in early Dec. 2020, by which point they had $91,100 of a $93,510 contract. They promised to return in the spring to fulfill the contract, repair damages they caused, and restore the lawn which was destroyed when they neglected to remove the excavated material from the site (as specified in the contract), instead spreading it all over the yard.
In April 2021, they returned to do some brickwork, promising to be back at the end of May to complete the project and repair the damages. They returned at the end of July 2021 to do the trim work.
For the next 4 months, we were repeatedly told they'd return to do the painting and repairs. They then stopped returning phone calls and emails, so we filed a Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint in Nov. 2021. They blamed delays on a worker shortage, waived the final payment of $2,410 (2.6%), considered the job paid in full, and promised to finish by the end of May 2022.
In April 2022 they came to assess the remaining work, but we hadn't heard from them by their promised completion date. When we called, they responded by once again threatening to walk away if we reopened our BBB complaint.
They came at the end of July 2022 to do the painting, saying they'd finish the repairs within a few days. They returned 6 weeks later. At first they refused to restore the yard because, although the damage was theirs, landscaping was not in the contract. Eventually they agreed to repair their damages, and it was restored.
After several more broken promises to finish the repairs, they stopped responding yet again. It was Nov. 2022 by then — 29 months since the contract was signed. For a third year, it was too cold to do any more, and we were exhausted from constantly having to chase CHS.
Despite the 2 winters and some weather delays, in the 26 months since work began, CHS was onsite a total of 66 days. We may or may not seek damages. If the City makes good on its threat to tear out and repour the concrete portion of the walkway damaged by CHS and sends us the bill, we will.
The cost, demands for payment up front, protracted delays, poor communication, repeated no-shows, damages, multiple threats of work stoppages and legal action, along with the owner's unprofessional conduct, makes CHS the worst contractor I've ever hired.