APOPKA, Fla. – Two couples who hired the same handyman through the website Angi, formerly Angie’s List, say they were reimbursed thousands of dollars after initially being left out of pocket.
News 6 reported in January about the handyman who allegedly took money without doing the promised work.
Tracy Griffin said she fought for over a year to get her money back after paying a handyman who never started her project.
“It took me a year and a half and contacting you in order to get my money back,” Griffin said.
[MORE: Complaints on Angi prompts BBB alert, Central Florida victims speak out]
Griffin was matched through the website Angi, formerly Angie’s List, with QC Painting Inc., owned by Chad Heasley.
She and her husband signed a contract and paid two deposits totaling $5,000, according to bank statements.
However, the work never began, and Griffin said Angi initially did not reimburse them.
“For the first six months, it was Angi saying, ‘Fill out this form and we’ll get back to you,’ and then weeks later, ‘Fill out this form, OK, we’ll get back to you.’ So we filled out form after form after form,” she said. “Finally, they came back and said they couldn’t do anything and we should pursue other avenues,” Griffin said.
News 6 contacted Angi.
A spokesperson provided the following statement.
“We’re always disheartened when a homeowner has an issue with a pro. In each of these scenarios, the pro was removed from our network within a week of the complaint date and was no longer able to match with homeowners on our platform.
“We always encourage homeowners to reach out to us when they have issues with a pro, so we can investigate and help resolve the situation. We have reached out to both homeowners.”
Within weeks of being interviewed by News 6 and after the investigation aired, Angi reimbursed her and her husband, according to Griffin.
“I got my money back. It was less than a month,” she said.
Irene Simon, another victim, says she lost $2,500 to Heasley operating under a different company name and advertising on Angi.
She says she was also reimbursed after the News 6 investigation.
The problem appears widespread.
The Better Business Bureau in Indiana issued an alert about Angi due to a volume of similar complaints.
Jennifer Adamany is the director of Communication for the BBB serving Central Indiana.
When asked if consumers paid handymen who then ran off with the money, she responded, “Yes, we’ve had complaints related to consumers using Angi to find professionals that then take the money for the work and then do not do the work.”
Griffin described the experience as “Russian roulette.”
“You can have a great experience multiple times and then get hooked up with a fraud contractor,” she said.
Despite the ordeal, Griffin is relieved to have her money back.
“Thank you so much for your help, ‘cause I could not have done this without you,” she said.
News 6 attempted to contact Chad Heasley but received no response. He still has an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Lake County related to the Simon theft.
Anyone with information about Heasley’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
[MORE: Lake County couple loses thousands after handyman disappears with money]