Mr. Gogowich is not a good contractor. The work that was done for me was under another company's name, but this is the same person. Initially I made cheque payments to him personally because he had asked for money up-front. I later found out that companies need to be registered as pre-paid contractors through Service Alberta in order to ask for money up-front. I can't believe this guy is still trying rip people off... he's been doing it apparently for 35 years.
I hired him to do a fairly large job for my first home (turning a semi-bungalow into a 2-storey with dormers and a bathroom install) and once he was paid he was done, but the work was nowhere near done. He even tried to get me to pull permits because he couldn't get the work approved. I was left with huge bills to properly finish all of the work. I had to take him and his company to court and won a ~$25,000 settlement but he dissolved his company and claimed personal bankruptcy so that he didn't have to pay anything back. He put a lien on my property and said he had completed the work which was clearly not the case. I was left with no siding, eavestroughs, or downspouts on the exterior and the roof still leaks. On the inside, I had no insulation, vapour barrier, plumbing, flooring, etc... you get the picture. He cut 2-3 inch holes through my 2 x 8 floor joists that I had to get an engineer to design supports for... ultimately I ended up with 700 lbs. of angle iron installed. All because he didn't know what he was doing.
For those nay-sayers who think I should have done my homework... I did. I talked to 3 of his previous customers who were glowing at the time, but the reality was that they were less than honest about their experience with him. I actually knew of one reference from a mutual contact and found out after the fact that he wasn't as great as she originally made him out to be, but she felt pressured to help him out because of his "health problems". My condolences to anyone who actually hires this person who claims to be a general contractor. There are far better contractors out there... please don't use this guy.... regardless of how sorry you feel for him. He will rip you off. Even though this was 12 years ago, I am still dealing with things that were poorly done... by the work that he did do.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $85,000.00
