Fayetteville contractor accused of not completing paid jobs
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Police are searching for a Fayetteville contractor who reportedly takes on jobs without doing the work. David Alan Andrews is charged with obtaining property under false pretenses and failure to work after being paid.
Hope Mills homeowner Shirley Fields says she hired Andrews in July 2016. She paid Andrews' construction company, Carolina Builders INC, more than $5,000 to get started on the job. Shirley wanted Andrews to extend her current screened-in porch.
"We knew someone that had used him, we felt very safe about that," Shirley explained. "He was so kind and caring and I said 'oh my, we got the right one.'"
That sense of safety disappeared after Andrews began ignoring Shirley's phone calls. Shirley's husband is undergoing dialysis and the couple was hoping to have the porch completed in time for the summer.
"I called him and he said, 'well we're getting the materials together'. And I said 'OK, but we wanted to use it before the summer was gone.' So then the next time I called, nobody would answer. I left a message on the machine, 'this is Shirley Fields please call me back. I want to know where you are and what you're doing. Is there something else we need to do?' No answer. Now we're getting into late September, early October and I'm not getting any phone calls back," Shirley said.
Six months after signing the contract, there was still no sign of Andrews.
Carol Givens also says Andrews owes her money. She hired Carolina Builders INC back in 2015 and gave him an $8,258 deposit for a full kitchen remodel. She said Andrews did the demo, but that was about it. She said Andrews agreed to refund her $7,000 since the job never got done, she Givens said she never saw the money.
I reached out to Andrews via email, phone, and even went to his Fayetteville office, but there was no sign of him. After I emailed him, Shirley said Andrews did reach out to her and claimed he was going to refund her the money, but so far she's not gotten any refund.
The Fayetteville Police Department is looking for David Alan Andrews. They posted this on the Fayetteville/Cumberland County Crimestopper Twitter and Facebook page:
After my story aired, Andrews emailed me and said:
"I apologize for the delay on responding to your email, we just received it and don't usually check this email.
We have contacted Mrs. Fields and will be giving her a full refund with certified funds. We have not intentionally tried to not complete the work, We had an office employee who stole thousands of dollars and we are trying to recover from this incident.
We also have an attorney helping us through these issues and the court system.
again we Sincerely apologize to Mrs. Fields and will refund her funds in full.
Sincerely,
Carolina Builders. "
A representative with the Fayetteville Police Department said:
"We remind everyone if something sounds too good to be true, it normally is. We also caution people on putting down a large sum of money before any work has begun or before the work is completed. You should always check references before agreeing to have any work performed or signing a contract. Anyone with information concerning any crimes of David Andrews is encouraged to contact the Fayetteville Police Department at (910) 433-1885 or they may contact Fayetteville / Cumberland Crimestoppers anonymously by calling (910) 483-TIPS, or visiting fay-nccrimestoppers.org."
It is important to do your research before getting into business with anyone, regardless of how the person may appear.
