Tulsa homeowners express concerns over local remodeling contractor

Thursday, October 7th 2004, 10:03 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa woman left in a lurch says she is upset over what she claims are ratty repairs. Debbie Gibbs and two other Tulsa residents, hired the same contractor to do home remodeling work and paid him money up front. Now, they are left with unfinished rooms that are nothing short of a mess.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright investigates. "Tell me what he was supposed to do in here?" Debbie Gibbs: "He was supposed to do tiling, all new cabinets, building some cabinets."

Debbie Gibbs' house is a mess, after she paid a contractor $3,100 to remodel and bought $1,500 in supplies. In addition to her kitchen being left in disarray, her master bathroom is also a mess with the floor pulled up, part of the tiling done and other jobs left undone. The same holds true for her second bathroom down the hall. Fullbright: "This bathroom is totally unuseable?"

Debbie Gibbs: "Totally unusable and he even destroyed the flooring and said it would be more money, but, I knew from experience that wasn't necessary." Debbie had been saving for three years for this remodel project. She thought because she had a contract, everything would be okay. She hasn't been able to get a hold of Ronald Wilkins for three weeks and now she's worried. "He had a truck parked outside with tools and when he moved that, I realized he was skipping out on me."

We went to the address on the contract signed by Ronald D Wilkins, it's the same address listed on a current felony warrant I found for Wilkins' on a 1991 bogus check charge. I also called the phone number on the contract, several times. I learned it's a Cricket phone with no voice mail, he never answered.

So now, Debbie's groceries are in boxes in the living room, she has unfinished work everywhere, supplies stacked up and a mess outside her house, with no relief in sight.

Gibbs' has talked to Tulsa Police's fraud squad who plans to file a police report in addition to getting a reputable contractor to examine her home.

Police say it's important to make sure a contractor is bonded, not to pay money up front and check out the contractor through groups like the Better Business Bureau and the Homebuilders Association.