A neighbor sent us this voicemail message from her former general contractor. He was overseeing a major renovation of her family’s kitchen and bathrooms and, half-way through, stopped showing up. No notice, no messages. For 7 weeks she and her husband unsuccessfully tried to reach him; they left 100s of messages, called all known contacts. Their house was in disarray -- kitchen and bathrooms like demolition sites. They had already already advanced the Contractor $50,000.

Then they received this 1 voicemail, after the 7 weeks.

______________________

Contractor: Hi, uh, Joan. I hear you left me a message. Sorry, my answering machine...um, it’s been shaky, you know. Uh, also I’ve gotten busy, it’s… [pauses, sounds of shattering of glass in background]

Contractor, cont: ...Uh, I think I told you, yea, I had some medical problems. Remember? I need to clear them…nothing big, not at all. No…I’m, uh, well, I’m in rehab, it’s OK, don’t worry. I’m sure I told you. [Pauses] …And, uh, I’ll be out in a day, maybe 2 at most and then I’ll come over and finish. [pauses, banging noises in back, a couple screams, then Contractor sounds like he’s spitting]

Contractor, cont: ...There’s not much left to do in the house, we’re done almost, which is good, so, uh, we can start painting, yea, end of week. Say hi to Dave for me [Joan’s husband.] Don’t worry, thanks for your concern, I’m gonna be OK.

This was the last Joan or her family heard from the Contractor. (And the first they heard of any “medical” or any other problems.) Turns out the Contractor was in Rehab – alcohol, drugs – and had been “booked in” for a 2 month stint. He fled after a few days. He had abandoned 4 or 5 other similar renovation projects. He owed sub-contractors, other creditors, huge money. He was deep in lawsuits and, several months after the phone call, Joan and Dave learned the Contractor had fled the country and was likely in Finland where he reportedly had distant relatives and, at least according to the Contractor’s wife (who, along with his 4 kids, he also abandoned) was now into gambling, specifically -- no joke -- on Finnish individual sports, like javelin throwing, etc. (Too much sharing?...The wife also mentioned to Joan that the Contractor had been an "acclaimed" javelin thrower in high school and had always wanted to coach in the sport.)

The Contractor's wife also indicated that the Contractor promised to be back "very" soon; and he had actually mentioned Joan and Dave's house. According to the wife, he regretted that, before leaving, he hadn't finished the "touch ups" on the house; but he was relieved that at least the house was virtually complete and was glad the clients (Joan & Dave) were satisfied. He also asked his wife to give them his regards. (The wife, it turns out, was in the middle of obtaining a divorce, choosing among a variety of bankruptcies to file for and contemplating hiring someone to "find" her husband to "explain" to him "concretely" the consequences of his actions.)

As for Joan and Dave…Joan says they’ve deferred their major home upgrades. They’ve found someone who will essentially put the house back together the way it was and, next time they consider a Contractor, they’ll make sure to do more appropriate due diligence -- e.g., taking comprehensive blood tests, obtaining a lien on the Contractor’s property and child support and alimony checks and chaining him to their property until he finishes the job. ...overhear more