Handyman agrees to pay back family after leaving job unfinished

A handyman who took thousands from a family and didn’t do the work will pay that money back.

Linh Tran is happy there is some justice after months of stress. She hopes the handyman pays what he owes.

The Tran family sued Dwayne Staron of Dwayne’s Handyman Services in June, and Tuesday, on the day of the trial, he agreed to repay the money he took from them for upgrades, legal and court fees. It comes out to $9,330.

“I put my foot forward to hopefully brought some justice or some, hoping to bring some consequences to them,” Tran said. “I could have just gave up and just, you know, lost that money.”

We first reported about this in August. The Trans paid Dwayne’s Handyman Services to remodel their kitchen, re-pipe the whole house and change out some doors and windows.

But according to Cape Coral Police Department, Staron is a handyman, not a licensed contractor. CCPD says only licensed contractors can move electrical, plumbing, or knock down a wall not handymen.

Tran took Staron to court because he didn’t do the job. Staron told Tran he’s now having trouble getting work.

“He said, ‘Here is the thing. You know, ever since you put me on WINK News, and put me on social media, I couldn’t find any job. Nobody has hired me. I got kicked out of the job. People did not want to work with me,’” Tran explained. “And I just I did not say anything. I’m like, ‘This is not my problem. How would you expect it to turn out when you went around and scam people?’”

The Trans told us the justice doesn’t feel complete.

“He doesn’t have the skillset; he doesn’t have the license,’” Tran said. “I don’t know how he can get the job. I stated he doesn’t have assets either.”

We emailed Dwayne Staron for comment about this, but as of Wednesday, he hasn’t replied back to us.

We also reached out to CCPD, and we were told police are still working on this case.

If you are thinking about hiring a contractor or handyman, make sure they are properly licensed.

To check for licensing, visit the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

You can also verify a company’s registration through Sunbiz.