First off, Douglas Jeff Warren Jr of APEX Contractor Group likes to imply that people who leave him bad reviews are lying, so I made sure we have a paper trail. I sued him in Campbell County court, case number 2024-CV-558, where I received a $10k judgement and court costs. If anybody reading this has also been hurt by this man, reach out to me here on Yelp, maybe I can help you.
On September 7th, 2023, I paid him a 10k deposit on a 20k bathroom. This deposit is actually illegal; in TN code 62-6-510 it sets out that a deposit of more than 1/3 is illegal, a misdemeanor, and something that Jeff as a home improvement services provider should know. So we started the job out with a crime, and it frankly never got better.
Jeff proceeded to continually push out the job start date, a few weeks to a month at a time, and what should have started in October eventually got a date out in January. Which also didn't happen. In fact, he never once set foot on my property again after he got my deposit.
Eventually, on March 5th, 2024, six months after giving him ten thousand dollars and with absolutely no work done, I asked for my deposit back. He had me write up an essay on why I wanted that, for 'his bosses'. March 18th he tells me it takes 30 days to do a refund this large, because 'corporate'. This is also illegal, but I'm patient. April 15th he tells me the check is in the mail. UPS or FedEX. No tracking number was provided. Suprise the check did not arrive.
April 27th I offer to go pick up the check in person, no reply on that. I mail a ten day deposit return request letter per TN code 39-14-154. He receives my certified letter on May 1st, 2024. May 2nd he texts saying the check was undeliverable, and 'they' want him to send 1000 from his own account as a 'test check', and this time he will send a tracking number. I inform him the amount is 10k and the 10 day clock provided by law ends on May 11th.
I'm on vacation so I don't sue him immediately after the clock wraps up, maybe he will pay. May 13th he tells me he has the cashiers check and we can meet. We set a meeting for the 15th at 1pm. I leave my vacation early and drive several hours for this meeting, but he had no intention of showing. Instead, he texts telling me that because of the 10 day notice he now requires that I sign a document giving up my rights to talk about this or sue him, before he will give me back my deposit. This is also illegal, so I decline.
I file the lawsuit same day, May 17th he gets served, which results in daily texts about how my money is totally for reals ready now, along with certified mail demanding I sign my rights away. I ignore these as we've got a court date already.
June 3rd I am successful in Campbell County general sessions court. APEX Contracting Group was in administrative dissolution in TN from August till November of 2023 because he didn't do his paperwork, so he wasn't legally allowed to take on new work under this corporation. The court acknowledges this and I get a judgment against him personally, piercing the corporate veil. He tried to set up a payment plan for 500 a month, but I have no desire to give this man a two year loan, he is untrustworthy and unreliable.
He still hasn't paid, so there is more escalation to come. He will protest that he's trying to pay me, but because there is a judgement all he has to do is walk down to the courthouse and pay in full. We never have to interact with each other ever again. And yet, its over three weeks since the judgement, and it remains unpaid. read more
