Remodeling ‘nightmare’ for some customers of Bonita Springs Floor Covering

One month after a WINK News Call for Action investigation exposes remodeling nightmares, more customers come forward complaining about the same company.

More Customers Complain

Since our story on Bonita Springs Floor Covering aired, five more people came forward to complain about the company and one more person filed a lawsuit.

“I wouldn’t recommend them (Bonita Springs Floor Covering) to anybody and if anybody asks us, don’t go near them,” Tom Campbell said after hiring the company to remodel his kitchen.

Campbell said there were months when he thought the renovation project would never end. It took almost a year for the company to finish. Campbell is one of 20 people who filed complaints with our Call for Action office, the Better Business Bureau or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation against Bonita Springs Floor Covering and its president, Chris Pascale.

Why can’t anything be done?

“Under Florida law if you take money with the intent not to perform or under false pretenses and that would be fraud to induce someone into a contract by falsely representing,” explained attorney Kevin Jursinki.

But proving fraud versus bad business practices is difficult. A lot of times, “…At best thats a breach of contract,” said Jursinki.

However, if you are acting as a general contractor and you are hiring subcontractors to do the work, you need a license through the DBPR. When we checked, Chris Pascale does not have a license and has gotten in trouble with the state for doing work that required one.

“If you’re not a general contractor you can’t subcontract and supervise work being done by other licensed contractors or subcontractors,” explaiend Jursinki.

Conducting work that needs a license is illegal. As for why Pascale isn’t behind bars, Jursinki said it may be because no one has filed a criminal complaint against him. We checked with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for any complaint and they have not gotten back to WINK.

To check the status of a contractor’s license, click here.