Victim Location 29334
Total money lost $25,000
Type of a scam Home Improvement
We contracted with RS Mechanical (Rodney Shipman) to complete a renovation project at a residence – finish a basement. A price was negotiated and agreed upon. That price was inclusive of all labor and materials – a "turn-key" project. Any changes during the project life was to be discussed and agreed upon. The length of the project was 4-6 weeks and began in September 2019. The project began smoothly and appeared to be progressing as planned. Within a few weeks, warning signs appeared. The contract called for RS Mechanical to obtain a building permit. When questioned, Shipman would not provide a clear answer as to where it was. Finally, he admitted that he didn’t believe we needed one. I had to obtain the permit. We paid Shipman installments in order to pay for materials and sub-contractors. We have now discovered that he was telling sub-contractors that we would pay them directly – even though we paid Shipman for the majority of the services. Throughout the project, we asked Shipman for an accounting of project costs to ensure we remained on budget. He continued to stall by advising he was working on the numbers, and continued to state, "we should be alright." We have had to pay for contractor services (electric, plumbing, sheetrock, HVAC) multiple times and the project is stalled and over budget. Now – Shipman will not return phone calls or messages. Shipman conducts this fraudulent business by invoking the name of his cousin Sheriff Chuck Wright and his alleged extensive ties to the first responder community which provides a false sense of trust. At least one sub-contractor has initiated civil proceedings, and we are being forced to do the same.