VAN SCHAIK CONSTRUCTION

He gave me what I thought was a decent price and assured me that he could get the plans done and approved by the city within a month or so. For the next 5 months, he had me packing up one room and then another, claiming he was ready to start, and kept changing where he was going to start the project. Although I kept asking for a contract, he kept making excuses. I asked to see the plans and he claimed they'd already gone to plan check (he never got my approval on them before submission). After many delays and a call asking me to pull permits because his license had expired due to non-payment, I terminated the contract as I had no confidence in his ability to complete the project on time or on budget. On October 15, 2011, he finally gave me a contract, which was nothing more than my bid checklist with numbers scribbled on it. I rechecked the math, and still hoping to get my project started so I'd have my new kitchen for the holidays, I foolishly gave him the $25,000 deposit he requested (I made the mistake of not educating myself as to what he could legally request). When he told me that his license had expired on October 31 because he got his payment in late, I told him I didn't want him doing any work until his license was back in force. By November 22, it was apparent that he had no clue as to how to really do my job, and had spent the money I gave him on himself. I asked for it back and he refused. I did finally get the cabinets he'd ordered too soon, and have been paying storage fees on them ever since. I also had to come up with the rest of the money for the floor tile we'd ordered and spent several months fighting with the vendor, Eurotile and Stone in Simi Valley. Ultimately, after failing to recoup my funds via his bond company, I took the case to binding arbitration. Although they didn't award me the full amount, I was awarded about 2/3's of what he hadn't spent on cabinets, tile or permits. The award came at the end of June 2012, he was given 30 days to pay me, which he did not. He was then given 30 more days before his license was suspended. This occurred at the end of August. He now has 90 days in which to make good or have his license revoked. I strongly recommend avoiding this unprofessional, incompetent creep at all costs. He's far more concerned about beating up his daughter's boyfriend and chasing down his grandkids when he has delusions of them being kidnapped than in doing an honest day's work.