Why does nobody talk about how much you can waste on a bad contractor deposit?

I put $2,000 down on a kitchen reno in Etobicoke last spring and the guy ghosted after demoing one wall. Turns out he didn't have a valid license and I couldn't get a cent back. Has anyone else lost money to a contractor who just took off with the deposit?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_charles28d ago

Oh man, that's brutal. I mean, it's not just the deposit thing though, it's that people don't check the contractor's bond before they hand over any money. In Ontario, you can look up their ministry of labour records online for free. A lot of guys will take a deposit and then drag their feet for weeks before even starting. A friend of mine in Mississauga put $1,500 down for a bathroom tile job and the guy showed up once, did a quarter of the work, then never answered his phone again. Idk, maybe it's just me, but I'd never put more than $500 down now unless I've seen their insurance papers and references from the last year.

kai_bennett28d ago

I only pay in materials up front now, tells you everything you need to know about a contractor.