Wednesday, February 17, 2016
"Was licensed" contractor scammed old lady
From PIX11:
Joseph Battaglia claimed to be a licensed home improvement contractor when Virginia James hired him to renovate her small bathroom and replace a number of doors in her Queens home.
But a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs says “Battaglia and Sons Contracting license was revoked in 2013.” His new company, JAB Home Improvement, is also “not licensed” and is “under investigation,” says the Consumer Affairs Department.
We recently confronted Battaglia about a court judgment he lost to Virginia James for $4854.00 for failing to complete the bathroom renovations and not delivering the replacement doors.
“How come you haven’t paid the judgment?” I asked Battaglia. He claimed to be unaware the court case had taken place six months ago and that he lost by default when he failed to show up.
“You take advantage of the elderly. My mother was 80-years-old”, said Eileen James. It was Eileen’s mother who sued Battaglia. Tragically, she died just one week after filing suit, and Eileen continued the court fight on her mother’s behalf. “He made commitments to me that he was going to refund the money and fix what needed to be fixed. And of course, months went on. He never did anything”, said Eileen.
9 comments:
Have you ever played "Wack-a-Mole"???
Battaglia: "We were supposed to go to court"
YOU were supposed to court too. Did the plaintiff have to suggest the "royal we"
And sure change your contractor name to avoid vetting and research from prospective clients. Next time call your little company E(xploiting) & G(ouging) T(he) E(lderly) home improvement
You can verify anyone's home improvement contractor license before hiring them:
http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/2952/home-improvement-contractor-license-verification
Good job Arnold !!
With the commenters on this blog I would think she would be bashed for not checking the credentials before she hired them! It would be her fault!
I still think about that poor woman with the sick husband who had to come from Florida to go to court to get the ex-NYPD out of her home and how the commenters knocked her for being an absentee landlord!
Ghetto is as ghetto does!
He's going to pay her when he gets his income tax refund.
Folks, that's bad running of your financial life. You should NEVER, EVER GET AN INCOME TAX REFUND. If so, you're lending the government your money. Do what I do, ALWAYs owe the government money. Of course, without incurring penalties. Plan your financial life accordingly. Don't be a financial schmuck.
PS The victim will be getting interest on what's she's owed?
Folks, that's bad running of your financial life. You should NEVER, EVER GET AN INCOME TAX REFUND. If so, you're lending the government your money. Do what I do, ALWAYs owe the government money. Of course, without incurring penalties. Plan your financial life accordingly. Don't be a financial schmuck.
Disagree, George. Those of us in the middle class getting the best end of the bargain from Uncle Sam (percentage-wise) have a side business against which we can recoup a nice chunk of our W2 losses in expenses. A steady income AND a shelter for it.
There's a lot to be said about trusting and verifying. However, when a trusted tile store that has been in the area for many years recommends someone and there business card has a license number on it, you can easily be fooled.
Anonymous said...
...when a trusted tile store that has been in the area for many years recommends someone and there business card has a license number on it, you can easily be fooled.
Point taken.
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