Man warns others after local contractor takes money and doesn’t finish job

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    COVINGTON, GA (WGCL ) — A Newton County man — months away from retirement — is out thousands of dollars after he says he paid a contractor who never completed the work.

Now he’s warning others.

Bennie Neal is planning on retiring in a few months. So he and his wife bought a house in Covington.

“We got this contractor, we’re new to the area, and this contractor came in and told us what he could do and what all,” said Neal.

He hired Robert Nash Construction in March of 2019, and paid a down payment to get the work started for the slab and the materials.

“About $3,100,” Neal added.

The slab was completed, but the screen room was supposed to completed two months later.

“We were supposed to be enjoying it at the end of May,” added Neal, “And here it is, January of 2020…and this is what we have.”

He said he’s texted Robert Nash for his money back or for him to complete the job, but to no avail.

“I’ve tried to text and phone call but all it does it go to voicemail,” Neal said, “It’s been seven months.”

So, he contacted CBS46 News.

CBS46’s Melissa Stern knocked on Nash’s door and called him several times.

She got no response.

“I believe in the good book, as Matthews 7:12 says, “Do unto others, as you’d have done to you,” said Neal.

Neal says he found Nash through a friend who said their coworker used him and he did a good job, so he didn’t bother reading any online reviews.

“That’s my fault on that, I did not, I came in on the trustworthy policy, not knowing anyone in the area,” added Neal, “In the future I will be very much more careful,”

“It’s actually more common that you think,” said Vlad Gorenshteyn, with the Better Business Bureau of Metro Atlanta, regarding how often this happens to unsuspecting people.

He said oftentimes these incidents go unreported, as people are too embarrassed to share what happened.

There are several negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau’s website saying Nash did the same thing to them.

“They should also contact their credit card company if they paid with a credit card and see if there’s some sort of a process that could be brought about to get the money back,” Gorenshteyn said.

The Better Business Bureau says to go online, get references, do your research.

“You want to make sure you have everything in writing, and very specific timelines,” Gorenshteyn added.

He said to always make sure they have proper licensing, permitting, and insurance, and file a complaint with the licensing board and submit a review on the BBB website if they don’t follow through.

“Just to come out in the morning time, sit and watch the sunrise, have coffee and hot chocolate, that’s all we were wanting, just something to come out and enjoy,” added Neal.

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