Best In Flooring

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My husband and I hired Keith Hanke as a general contractor to have a room added in our basement. The job was bid at $8,000 total. On 12/3/12 we gave Mr. Hanke $4,000 cash to begin work. He proceeded to purchase some of the materials needed for the job. We believe he spent less than $1,000 out of the $4,000 provided, however he is either unwilling or unable to provide us with receipts for the materials. Mr. Hanke hired a subcontractor to do the work. As he was generally not available to assist, we paid the sub $1,500 weekly on his behalf. We also ended up purchasing all of the additional materials needed to complete the job. He refused to return our deposit, as he stated we have a contract and he should be able to keep the proceeds, even though he had nothing to do with the work and the job was not complete. He was also trying to buy inferior building supplies under the misdirection that he could choose the finishings we wanted. After speaking with an attorney, we determined that we do not have a contract and simply have an invoice for a deposit of $4,000. I sued and have been granted a judgement. I also filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Iowa Attorney General and the Social Security Administration to ensure he is following all applicable state and federal laws. As a side note, Mr. Hanke threatened the sub he had hired and his family, has accused me of sleeping with the sub, and has indicated to a cashier at a local Casey?s that he and his girlfriend bought their engagement rings from the money they took from us. Mr. Hanke also called drug enforcement to indicate my husband and I, as well as the sub are distributing drugs. The team was allowed to search both homes with nothing found. His girlfriend also called my office to indicate I stole money from her. Now that I have gotten a judgement, I am comfortable stating that anyone wanting to hire Keith Hanke in any capacity should go to the Better Business Bureau web site, as well as Iowa Courts Online. You will notice two separate but similar names on the BBB site and a plethora of court cases in Iowa along with multiple fines and judgements. Always be an informed consumer. I made a huge mistake in not researching before hire.