If I could give a zero star, I would. My post was originally taken down because I used Brian's full name and it's association with his legal standing in the community.
Before I go into it all, I will say I noticed that they have changed some policies which I hope was due to some karmic guilt from our experience and the $2000+ I lost in the process.
I brought my travel trailer HOME to get looked at in August 2018 for a roof replacement, insulation and hot water heater installation, and gave a $500 deposit to 'hold my spot' before any work was performed. I brought the trailer back at the beginning of November with the intention of work being completed by Christmas, as I would be out of the country for the winter and I wanted it completed before then. I gave another $500 to 'get the project started'. As Christmas neared, with no work completed, and my suspicion that work wouldn't be completed, I accepted the fact that I would have to wait until I got back to the states that MY HOME would be ready for me when I got back (one issue was I couldn't live in it over the winter anyways, so it was going to be insulated at Two Feathers). I sent another check of $1000 to 'get work started', totaling $2000 at that point, with no work completed.
Brian and I had made a VERBAL agreement that no storage fees would be charged until work was completed. BIGGEST MISTAKE I MADE. GET THAT SH*T IN WRITING. GET **E V E R Y T H I N G** IN WRITING. Because I thought the project would be completed by Christmas, I did not leave the trailer with a tarp when I dropped it off (where I was staying was 2 hours away from the shop). While I was over seas, in January 2019 I asked that since work hadn't started if he could put a tarp on the trailer to prevent any further leak damage, I would appreciate it. He said sure. I kept following up, and a couple weeks later he said a tarp had been put on it but the town asked to take it down. I felt like that was extremely suspicious, and because I couldn't make international calls, I asked my mother to check with the Town of Deerfield, and they said there was no such law or rule to have tarps on trailers. I'm assuming Brian blatantly lied to me about the tarp.
In the meantime, I had been asking if work had been started - this had been 6 months since I had given him the initial $500 deposit - with very poor communication at best, he kept telling me other projects came before mine, or blatantly ignoring my inquiries.
I was getting very upset at that point and confronted him about lying to me about the tarp - this is over a month after my initial inquiry to tarp it - March 2019 at that point. He now was saying it was my responsibility for the tarp, when he made no mention of it before. And that the town approved the tarp but he couldn't put it on bc there was snow on the roof. No duh! That's why I wanted something on it! They already had $2k, I had no issue with them buying a $30 tarp to help protect my home.
All to say, I could see he was starting to get nervous I was going to press charges for damages and said he could no longer go forward with the project when I asked if he even wanted to do it. When I got back to the states in April, I had family matters to attend to, and didn't get to pick up the trailer right away. After he SAID he wouldn't charge me for storage he charged me for almost all the money I gave him besides $130. And he said I was lucky he didn't charge me more so that I owed him more money. He charged me $1700 for doing absolutely no work on my trailer home. Mind you, this doesn't include all the travel expense to bring the trailer to his shop 3 times amounting to at least $300 in gas, and I was left with a trailer in much worse condition and lowered value than when it arrived at the shop.
I stupidly signed saying I agreed that it all went down that way because I was so upset. I shouldn't have signed anything and brought him to small claims but living 2hrs away and taking time off work to pursue this wasn't an option.
I hope this helps anyone deciding to get work done on a trailer here. If you have time and resources for a pet project, it does seem like they do good work. But if it's your HOME and you have LIMITED RESOURCES I absolutely, whole heartedly advise you to STAY AWAY.
Again, it looks like they have learned a bit from the mistakes made with me, but I advise anyone to move forward with caution with this business. I also hope that this experience helps Brian to have better business practices. Here is a picture of our 'contract'. As you can see, no mention of storage or my responsibility with the tarp.
I have a feeling Brian will want the last word on this matter, so I expect to see a long-winded response full of excuses, as that's how all my interactions with him went. read more