"It's just a mess; if I wanted a waterfall it'd be great. It waters the pavement more than it waters my lawn," Doris Collins, of Willingboro, New Jersey said.
Collins says she repeatedly asked the landscaper who put in the sprinkler system to fix it, but "I haven't seen him since I gave him the $3,000 check."
Collins sued the landscaper and won a full refund, but the landscaper's appealing and Collins has yet to see the money.
She's not alone in her outrage.
"As far as I'm concerned, he took our money and ran," said Denise Bard of Burlington, New Jersey.
Bard gave the same landscaper $4,200.
"We find more and more things that don't work," Bard said.
John Cutillo of Lumberton feels the same way.
"The water was coming through my finished basement here out through the back," said Cutillo.
Cutillo says he got flooding problems after giving the landscaper thousands of dollars in cash with no written contract.
So who is this landscaper and what did he say that made these consumers trust him?
"[He said] he was a police officer for Willingboro Police Department," said Cutillo.
"And the landscaping business got so big, he decided to give up the police force," Collins added.
The landscaper is Brian K. Lewis of Lewis Landscaping.
Lewis was arrested for alleged theft by deception for not completing the work at Bard's house. That case is pending.
Meantime, the Burlington County Consumer Affairs office is investigating Brian Lewis for these cases and others.
"He's received a number of violation letters from this office," said Renee Borstad of Burlington County Consumer Affairs.
Lewis also has 15 liens and judgments against him totaling nearly $40,000!
"He isn't registered. He doesn't have the required minimum $500,000 in general liability insurance and he continues to work and that's a fourth-degree crime in the state of New Jersey," explained Borstad.
Any contractor doing work for more than $500 must be registered in New Jersey and give you a written contract with a start and completion date.
"If permits have to be taken out, you're not supposed to pay a contractor in full until those permits have been concluded and the local code officer has checked the work and approved it," said Borstad.
Your contractor should take out the permit, not you. That way, if something goes wrong, the township will hold the contractor responsible. Also, call your county consumer affairs office to check a contractor's history. Plus:
"Never ever pay cash," said Cutillo.
And Collins' final word to the wise: "Not to pay the bill until you're completely satisfied."
Brian Lewis declined an on-camera interview, but told Action News by phone he has thousands and thousands of happy customers and the consumers complaining make up a very small fraction. He also says he did do the work as promised, so the customers should be satisfied, but he's trying to resolve everyone's complaints. In addition, Lewis says he's in the process of dissolving his company because of all these issues and because of the state of the economy.
By the way, Pennsylvania has a contractor registration law similar to New Jersey's.
For More Information:
Information about NJ Contractor Registration Law:
http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/brief/improve.pdf
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/HIC/
To find a registered home improvement contractor in NJ:
http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/consumeraffairs/search/searchentry.pl?searchprofession=1301
Information about PA Contractor Registration Law:
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/hic.aspx
To find a registered home improvement contractor in PA:
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/hicsearch/
