DO NOT TRUST RICHARD PIKE
Pike construction are dishonest in their business practices, and they are a very high risk to take on for home improvement projects due to their general lack of attention to detail and disregard for diligent project management.
Richard stole our $3,000 deposit that was put down on a contract for a project that they never performed any work on. We hired them to do work on two separate projects: Project 1) an outdoor kitchen, and Project 2) a retrofit of our sprinkler systems. Pike Construction did a poor job on the sprinkler retrofit work, and this ultimately resulted in my neighbor's home being flooded while we were away on vacation in France. Upon hearing about the flooding and having our house sitter neutralize the situation, we contacted Richard to make him aware of the issue, tell them that there was no emergency, and because the project had been so mismanaged, indicate that we wanted to meet with him before resuming work to correct the problem; we wanted to understand what happened, and to be assured that we would see improvements going forward. Pike Construction disregarded this directive, illegally entered our property while we were away, covered up their poor workmanship with a "repair" that was equally as bad, and then tried to bill us for the work. They did all of this in violation of their own contract which states that they will not perform work, even on an emergency basis without consent from the owners. However, when we challenged them on this matter, asking them to discuss the situation with us, they simply stopped responding to phone calls and emails, and kept our $3,000 from the other contract that had absolutely nothing with the sprinkler retrofit. Ultimately, as we stated in our communications to them, we still wanted to work things out but didn't feel comfortable moving forward with the same project manager and we needed assurance that we would see improvement. We had observed Richards rude and bullying behavior towards our elderly neighbor who's house was flooded, and we generally felt that his project management skills were lacking; he was never on site to validate the work being performed, he didn't seem to work against detailed timelines, and he just had an unpleasant demeanor at times. On top of all of this, there were just too many mistakes made with the sprinkler work.
In an effort to get our $3,000 deposit back, we followed up with the California State Licence Board who found Pike Construction in violation of several Business Professional Codes, and advised us to seek reimbursement for the $3,000 from their Bonding agency. A point of interest is that the Bonding agency informed us that a payout was in question, no matter the outcome of their investigation, because Pike Construction already had cases pending against their bond. Nevertheless, after a couple correspondences with the bonding agency, we were informed that Pike Construction will not have to return the $3,000 because they (falsely) claimed that we asked to cancel the outdoor kitchen contract after their three-day cooling off period stipulated by that contract, and thereby forefited the money. They never provided any proof that we cancelled the contract, and the bonding agency has refused to acknowledge our documented email in where we clearly stated that we wanted to move forward with the outdoor kitchen work, but just with another project manager, and after sitting down to talk things over.
Again, do not use this contractor. They hide behind arbitration clauses in their contract which puts the responsibility to pay for arbitration (~$750) on the homeowner. Pike knows that most homeowners are not willing to pay this fee, and will just walk away. We actually dont' care as much about the $3,000 as we do about the principle of the matter. We don't like it when people steal from us. If anyone wants to talk this further, just let me know. Happy to help.
Sorry for the long story that i have been compelled to write, but i dont want other poeple being burned by Richards company.
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