"I’ve waited 37 years to get my nice kitchen, and this is what I get," said homeowner Angela Costabile when talking about her recent loss of over $50,000 for a kitchen renovation job gone sideways.
Angela and her husband Gino hired a private contractor by the name of Quy Ly to perform a kitchen renovation at their home in Oakville. Ly was recommended to the Costabiles by their tiler, and because he was reputable, they took his word.
When they first met, the Costabiles were very impressed with Ly. "Initially it was very positive, he came over, looked very professional, showed up on time, and showed us designs."
Angela initially seemed very optimistic about her decision hiring Ly, "Work was moving quickly, as per schedule, until he asked for the second deposit," she said. "Once he got that, everything went downhill."
Ly was very persuasive - when he initially asked for the second deposit, the Costabiles were hesitant. Angela said he responded to their hesitation with, "You see that I come here every day and whatever you want changed I change it for you."
His rationale was that he needed to get the next phase of the job moving since there was too much millwork in the kitchen. That’s when the Costabiles gave him the second deposit and he stopped showing up.
"There’s not a huge amount left, but it’s enough that anyone else coming in is quoting us over $15,000," Angela said.
Angela says the project was initially supposed to conclude in late July - early August. In the six months since he began the project, it’s been a nagging feeling for the couple not knowing whether he’s going to show up.
"For four months we’ve been asking 'where’s our stuff?' and he’s just been sending us pictures and saying 'oh they’re ready, I’ll come to install'. But where is he?" says Angela.
"We got to the point where we said we were going to come to pick up our stuff and he says, 'no I don’t have it' after telling us that he did."
When she spoke to her tiler about Ly's unresponsiveness, he was shocked to hear it. The two had worked together on projects in the past and he said that Ly was very skilled.
According to Ly’s Facebook, he owns LDQ Kitchen Home Renovation, though there is no website connected to this name, only Ly’s phone number.
Oakville News made multiple attempts to reach Ly, but each attempt resulted in a notice of a full voicemail.
In an article from CityNews about this incident, Pat Taney went to the address of the business that Ly listed in the signed agreement with the Costabiles. Ly said that he owned this business, but all Taney found was a business Ly used to work at but quit after the owner allegedly caught him trying to deposit the same paycheck twice.
The owner alleges that Ly has since been using the address of his company without his knowledge or permission.
This is not the first time Oakville News has seen an incident with home repair contractors taking money from residents in this community. Just two months ago, we saw a similar incident with a woman looking to get a new garage door opener.
Read more: Oakville woman scammed nearly $3000 to repair garage door opener
After that incident, the Halton Police put out a notice about rising home repair scams. In that notice, they outlined a key precautionary measure:
"Always get contracts and agreements on paper, including reliable contact information."
Read more: Police issue warning about rising home repair scams
Agreements should include:
- Work requested and agreed upon.
- Dates – Start, benchmarks, and finish.
- Exact Cost of the project.
- Acquire a receipt.
- Acquire a guarantee/warranty information.