Cape Town - A Grassy Park couple have warned against a building contractor who allegedly walked away with close to half a million rand of their money, leaving them with an unfinished house just before the festive holidays.
Zeenith and Gerry Maart said they tried everything to get contractor Redoh Kimmie back to complete the R517 000 home renovation, but he has since stopped communication.
Speaking to the Weekend Argus, Zeenith explained that she and her husband decided in November last year that they wanted their home to look more modern for the 2023 holidays.
“We googled and checked a few sites. Redoh’s name popped up as someone located close to us, so we contacted him.
“At first he seemed very legit. He always availed himself and came to the property regularly, he always spoke positively, so we went ahead with him,” Zeenith said.
Building commenced in March after Kimmie quoted them about R500 000 to renovate four bedrooms, an en-suite bathroom, kitchen and separate entrance, she said.
“The material we had to pay 50% upfront, that was about R200 000; we also had to pay for weekly labour, between R20 000 and R30 000.
“They worked until around August and completed three of the four rooms and the separate entrance, but that was it, everything else was half done and we paid just over R400 000 all in all.
“I even had to approach another contractor to fix up my kitchen because I didn’t even have a table to work on, nor did I have a stove, nothing. I ended up paying for his mistakes,” she said.
Zeenith added that they contacted the bank, who in turn contacted Kimmie.
“He sent his workers back in September. When they got here they told us he didn’t pay them. He ended up just taking his tools and we never heard from him again,” she said.
Since then the couple claimed Kimmie has blocked them on WhatsApp.
“We just want him to do right. It’s not a nice feeling knowing that you put all this effort, money and thought into something only to get this.
“We also approached a lawyer who will handle our case further, so we just want to warn people about him in the meantime,” she said.
Kimmie told the Weekend Argus that he had a lengthy discussion with an attorney friend, who advised him not to comment.
“I’ll basically just wait for the outcome and all the details will be released in due course.
“So unfortunately no comment, because I have got some situations with the client as well, who refused to pay for certain stuff that we did,” he said.