BBB puts out warning on contracting business
The Better Business Bureau has accused a Lincoln contracting business of charging customers but not completing the work, but the owner says he is working to resolve complaints and get people their money back.
The BBB on Monday issued a warning for Weatherlock Home Improvement Firm Inc., saying the company has had 13 complaints in the past 36 months, six of which remain unresolved.
Among those are two Lincoln customers who, combined, say they are owed more than $8,000, including a woman who won a $2,300 small claims court judgment against the business. An Omaha customer is owed $4,000 and one in Columbus is out $1,300.
Weatherlock also has more than a dozen liens filed against it, according to the county Register of Deeds Web site.
Weatherlock owner Jamy Boutin acknowledged problems with some customers but said much of it was beyond his control.
He said bankruptcies involving several customers caused him to not get paid for $60,000 in work. He also said a business partner disappeared and left him with a “disastrous mess.”
That forced him to close the business six months ago, Boutin said. But he said he has been working since then to make amends with unsatisifed customers.
Barry Conover is one of those customers.
Though Conover didn’t directly lose money to Weatherlock, he says Boutin’s failure to follow through on a contract caused him to lose about $2,000.
Conover said he hired Weatherlock last year to replace windows in an apartment he owns.
Boutin took measurements and removed trim, but then didn’t hear back from him, Conover said.
A couple of days before the agreed-upon completion date, Conover said he was told there was a problem with the windows that had been ordered.
Conover said a series of agreements to get the work done followed, with Boutin failing to show up each time.
In the meantime, Conover said, his tenant refused to move into the apartment without the window repairs, so he was forced to refund the deposit and readvertise.
Conover said he continued to dog Boutin about getting the work completed, including tracking him down at a trade show because Boutin wouldn’t return his calls.
Conover said he last spoke to Boutin about five weeks ago, at which time Boutin said the work would be done in three weeks.
“He still has not made good on it,” Conover said.
The BBB recommends that anyone hiring a contractor get several estimates, get references, get an agreement for work and payment in writing and never pay more than 30 percent of the bill up front.
The BBB also recommends checking with the agency about the company’s reliability.
In the case of Weatherlock, the company advertised itself as a BBB member, including saying on its Web site and in advertisements that it had a “perfect record” with the BBB for 17 years with “no complaints.”
According to the BBB, that’s false. Weatherlock is not a BBB accredited business, and it certainly does not have a clean record.
Boutin again blamed his partner for that, saying he had been involved in the business for only a couple of years.
However, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Web site, Weatherlock was incorporated in Nebraska in May 2007, and Jamy Boutin is the only name associated with the business.
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
The BBB on Monday issued a warning for Weatherlock Home Improvement Firm Inc., saying the company has had 13 complaints in the past 36 months, six of which remain unresolved.
Among those are two Lincoln customers who, combined, say they are owed more than $8,000, including a woman who won a $2,300 small claims court judgment against the business. An Omaha customer is owed $4,000 and one in Columbus is out $1,300.
Weatherlock also has more than a dozen liens filed against it, according to the county Register of Deeds Web site.
Weatherlock owner Jamy Boutin acknowledged problems with some customers but said much of it was beyond his control.
He said bankruptcies involving several customers caused him to not get paid for $60,000 in work. He also said a business partner disappeared and left him with a “disastrous mess.”
That forced him to close the business six months ago, Boutin said. But he said he has been working since then to make amends with unsatisifed customers.
Barry Conover is one of those customers.
Though Conover didn’t directly lose money to Weatherlock, he says Boutin’s failure to follow through on a contract caused him to lose about $2,000.
Conover said he hired Weatherlock last year to replace windows in an apartment he owns.
Boutin took measurements and removed trim, but then didn’t hear back from him, Conover said.
A couple of days before the agreed-upon completion date, Conover said he was told there was a problem with the windows that had been ordered.
Conover said a series of agreements to get the work done followed, with Boutin failing to show up each time.
In the meantime, Conover said, his tenant refused to move into the apartment without the window repairs, so he was forced to refund the deposit and readvertise.
Conover said he continued to dog Boutin about getting the work completed, including tracking him down at a trade show because Boutin wouldn’t return his calls.
Conover said he last spoke to Boutin about five weeks ago, at which time Boutin said the work would be done in three weeks.
“He still has not made good on it,” Conover said.
The BBB recommends that anyone hiring a contractor get several estimates, get references, get an agreement for work and payment in writing and never pay more than 30 percent of the bill up front.
The BBB also recommends checking with the agency about the company’s reliability.
In the case of Weatherlock, the company advertised itself as a BBB member, including saying on its Web site and in advertisements that it had a “perfect record” with the BBB for 17 years with “no complaints.”
According to the BBB, that’s false. Weatherlock is not a BBB accredited business, and it certainly does not have a clean record.
Boutin again blamed his partner for that, saying he had been involved in the business for only a couple of years.
However, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Web site, Weatherlock was incorporated in Nebraska in May 2007, and Jamy Boutin is the only name associated with the business.
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
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