On Grand Manan, a tight-knit community of about 2,360, it’s not surprising many people would rely on neighbours for word, good or bad, about home improvement contractors.
In fact, word-of-mouth recommendations, often backed by a local Facebook group, led several property owners on the island to hire the same Charlotte County contractor this year to do roofing work, install windows and doors, fix decks and carry out other jobs.
And now, after losing more than $350,000 to the contractor, homeowners are wondering what happened to him.
Some property owners spent money on work that was never finished, while others signed off on work that was not even started.
In desperation, they turned to the RCMP, who say they are investigating 25 complaints about a home improvement contractor working in the county.
Building suppliers and a hotel on Grand Manan that allegedly received bad cheques from the contractor have also complained to police, said Cpl. Jayson Hansen of the St. George detachment.
Most of the homeowner complaints are from Grand Manan, but others have come from St. George, St. Stephen and Saint Andrews, and from the Sunbury County town of Oromocto.
Fraud charges are a possibility, Hansen said.
“In most of the cases, one particular name comes up,” he said. “Of course part of our investigation will confirm if it actually is the same person, or someone just using a name.”
RCMP said they would not name the contractor or the home improvement company…
