Local contractor faces charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — UPDATE Jan. 4, 2016: Pruitt is facing charges of obtaining property by false pretense.

BBB reports local contractor to state

A local contractor is coming under fire from multiple directions.

Scott Pruitt owns Gastonia Landscaping. He's also used the company name Charlotte Custom Decks.

Customer: 'He kept lying'

Customers said Pruitt didn't do work they paid for. Joanne Roy was looking for a contractor to make her porch bigger and better. She said she hired Pruitt in April and that he was supposed to be done by the end of May, but by the end of July, she said, the project still wasn't finished.

She said she gave Pruitt about $8,000 and that he only did about half the work. So she demanded about $5,000 back. She said she waited four months, never got it, and is suing.

"He just lied, and he kept lying, and he kept lying, and changing things," she said.

Customer: ‘Excuse after excuse’

Another customer asked not to share his identity. He said he gave Pruitt's team $1,300 in June to build a fence, but that Pruitt never started the project. Two months later, he said he asked for a refund. Three months after that, he said he was still waiting.

"I called, I called, and kept getting excuse after excuse," he said.

He said he finally got a check from Pruitt about a week-and-a-half ago, but that it bounced.

BBB:  Strong concern

BBB president Tom Bartholomy said, "In this case, there's strong concern."

He said the BBB has received 11 complaints about Pruitt since July. The four latest all involve delays.

"We don't see that -- 11 complaints in five months -- on one company on the same type of thing," he said.

The BBB also believes Pruitt is doing projects over $30,000 and calling himself a "landscape" contractor.  In both cases, he'd need a license and may not have one. The BBB doesn't think he does and reported him to the state. Action 9 is checking to find out for sure.

Pruitt's response

Action 9 asked Pruitt to respond to these allegations.

His lawyer emailed, "Gastonia Landscaping is aware of the accusations leveled against its business, and we view these allegations as both unfounded and defamatory. We will consider legal action against those who continue to perpetuate a false narrative that Gastonia Landscaping produces anything but a quality service and product. Neither Mr. Pruitt nor Gastonia Landscaping will provide any comment to the media.  Instead, we would ask that you speak to the host of satisfied customers who have shared their positive experiences online."

Advice

When you hire a contractor, make sure you know if he or she needs a license.

He or she does if it 1) the project is over $30,000, 2) the project involves irrigation or plumbing, or 3) the contractor calls himself/herself a "landscape" contractor.

If that person doesn't have a license, he or she may not be allowed to pull permits for bigger projects.

And, in that case, he or she may ask a contractor friend to pull it for him or her, or ask you to serve as the "general contractor" and pull it yourself.  In either case, the BBB said, "Run away."

WSOC