3 days ago
‘Don't hire him' Customers out thousands after contractor leaves jobs unfinished
ATHENS, Tenn. (WATE) — More complaints have been filed in Monroe County against a home improvement contractor from Meigs County.
Records show Jerry Gardner was taken to court last year, lost the case, but never paid up. Two women in Monroe County found out about him because he places ads on and responds to social media sites for those looking for a contractor.
Libby Robinson hired Gardner to install flooring one year ago. The agreed-upon cost was $8,000, although Robinson paid more.
'All total, I have paid $9,572. But the bad thing is I didn't have the three bedrooms and the two baths done. They were included in that $8,400,' said Robinson, who questions Gardner's workmanship. 'Oh, it just squeaks when you walk on it. You can hear it. He didn't put it down. You can hear the sounds. I think he just wedged it in there, beat it down, and left it.'
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Gardner was supposed to install jacks under the home to add support, but visual evidence shows no jacks or any type of support were added. Robinson said Gardner told her the job would take two weeks.
Katharyn Ahart hired Gardner two years ago.
'He was supposed to do a complete remodel, new floor, new cabinets,' said Ahart.
Gardner quit before finishing the kitchen and never painted the walls inside her home. Hardwood flooring was laid, but the workmanship is questionable.
'He put in the floors and they're uneven. I can feel stuff underneath the floor. It kind of ripples,' said Ahart.
Her initial contract was $23,000, but costs kept on adding up.
'I had to pay more money for tile. I had to pay more money for the flooring, my own countertop,' said Ahart. 'He ghosted me when I told him I was not going to pay him another dime until he was done.'
She paid him a total of $39,500.
'What I'm left with [is] a house I could not live in,' said Ahart.
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Because Gardner left so many things undone in the home when he quit, Ahart recently moved back into her home after living with her mother for quite a while.
'Three months shy of two years… long time. A long time to pay my mortgage without being able to live in my own house,' said Ahart.
Ahart sent a four-page demand letter to Gardner, but it went unanswered.
Robinson became so frustrated with Gardner, she filed a civil lawsuit charging him with breach of contract and won the case. But Robinson hasn't collected a dime.
We tried to reach Gardner at the number he gave to his customers, but received the following message: 'We're sorry the number you dialed has calling restrictions that prevent the completion of your call.'
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Amy Guillot and her husband were the first to tell us about Gardner early last month.
'We just wanted someone to come in to put some flooring in for us and have the job done,' said Johnny Guillot. 'We paid him everything upfront,' Amy Guillot added.
The contract with the couple was signed in February. They paid Gardner more than $9,000 for work left undone.
'Don't hire him. Do not hire him,' said Ahart.
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The people we talked with had to hire a second contractor to complete the work that Gardner never finished. There is a law in Tennessee that says contractors may be charged with a felony when they start work, quit, don't respond to a demand letter, and if law enforcement believes there is enough evidence to press a theft charge. The people we've met with in Athens, Sweetwater, and Tellico Plains said they are considering filing theft charges.
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