Cleveland Carpenters Cleveland, OH

Worst Cleveland Contractors of 2011

Urban Active Fitness | Westlake, Ohio

Urban Active Fitness, with two locations in the Cleveland area, faced the prospect of two class action lawsuits at press time after at least 15 customers filed complaints against the company when they tried to cancel their memberships.

The lawsuits, filed in April in Franklin and Cuyahoga counties against the Lexington, Ky.-based fitness center chain, allege violations of the Ohio Deceptive Trade Practices Act, breach of contract and unfair and deceptive business practices.

The suits claim Urban Active's 30-day cancellation policy is "unfair and abusive" because it obligates a member to a two-month contract, even though UAF markets month-to-month contracts.

Angie's List member Mike Minotti of Bay Village says he canceled his membership at the Westlake facility because he didn't like the management's aggressive sales tactics. "They had trainers just scouring the floor, coming up to you and making high-pressure sales pitches while you were working out," he says.

Minotti also says he tried calling the corporate office to cancel, but an automated phone system directs you back to the local gym, and gym staff say they can't process refunds. "Don't give them a dime," he says. "There is no customer service." The Westlake facility has a C with nine reports, but the Lyndhurst location is not yet rated.

Urban Active views customers' accounts "as their personal piggy banks," says James DeRoche, an attorney representing six plaintiffs in the Cuyahoga County case. "I've had clients whose accounts have been tapped six months after they cancel," he says.

Coby DeVary, the company's chief operating officer, says Urban Active takes the lawsuits seriously. "Everyone has the right to dispute signed agreements but using the terms "unfair and deceptive practices" loosely without proper factual basis is simply wrong," he says.

Thomas McCormick, an attorney representing nine plaintiffs in the Franklin County lawsuit, says Urban Active attorneys filed a motion for partial judgment in August to dismiss all charges except breach of contract.

In addition to the lawsuits, the Ohio attorney general's office recorded 214 complaints against the fitness center, including 15 at the Westlake location.

Shawn Fleming Roofing | Mentor

Painesville member Lois Fabian says the second time she hired Shawn Fleming for a roofing job, he took her $1,750 and never performed any work. "He did my house the year before, and my house was fine," she says.

But the second project, which involved installing a roof on her barn, was a completely different story. "He didn't show up when he said he was going to show up; he said it was going to take a day, and it took a week."

Despite winning a $1,900 civil judgment against Fleming in Painesville Municipal Court, Fabian says she's yet to see any money and she took Fleming back to court in October.

"He took that money knowing full well he was never going to do the job," says the homeowner, who filed a D report. "I never got a dime, and then he pulled out of the parking lot in his Lexus. I was fuming."

Fabian's not the only homeowner allegedly wronged by Fleming, a Northeast Ohio Worst Contractor for the second year in a row. Cuyahoga County authorities filed felony theft charges against the 42-year-old roofing contractor last January after Sheldon Tucker of South Euclid accused him of failing to complete a $5,925 roofing job.

Fleming pleaded guilty to the charges in May, and a judge ordered him to pay restitution to Tucker. Court documents indicate he paid the restitution prior to sentencing.

Fabian says she's not been so lucky with getting her money back. "He hasn't done anything he said he was going to do," she says. "Whenever you call him and it has to do with giving him money, he's right there. He's a smooth talker."

The Ohio attorney general won a default judgment against Fleming in January after he failed to appear for a court hearing related to a previous lawsuit, in which 33 residents complained that Fleming repeatedly violated the state's consumer laws. He's banned from doing any roofing or snowplowing in the state until he pays restitution to those residents.

Angie's List members describe work done by the D-rated company as shoddy. A notice on his AL profile alerts members to the felony charges, the legal action by the attorney general and for being out of business.

Fleming didn't return calls. Criminal attorney Joel Nash says he was unaware of the AG judgment, but he didn't defend Fleming's actions.

The Snowplow Guys/Empire Snow Removal | Solon, Ohio

It didn't take long for Angie's List member Kimberlee Ullner of Chagrin Falls to fire The Snowplow Guys. "They came a couple of times, but they were so late, my kids were late to school," she says of the D-rated company owned by Randy Woolfork. "Then they stopped coming."

That incident landed the company in the Penalty Box. A notice on its AL profile alerts members.

Twelve consumers, including eight in the last year, also filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, alleging they paid The Snowplow Guys, which also uses the name, Empire Snow Removal, for undelivered services.

In November, Ullner says she finally received a refund and Woolfork offered free snowplowing services this winter. He says he's extending the same offer to others who paid for services, but he's doing no other residential jobs. Woolfork has prior misdemeanor theft and passing bad checks convictions.

Northeast Electronics | Cleveland

Member Char Racicki of Maple Heights says Northeast Electronics owner Carl Chuppa never returned a TV she hired him to repair. She sued Chuppa in Garfield Heights Municipal Court and won a $900 judgment in January, but says she still hasn't received any refund or her TV.

"He seemed like a really nice guy," Racicki says. "I understand lots of businesses are suffering, but come on. Get my TV back and my money back."

In June, the Cleveland BBB issued a warning against the company that it had received 63 complaints from consumers who have paid in advance for televisions or for repairs only to receive empty promises of delivery dates, refunds and repaired merchandise. Northeast has an F on Angie's List and the BBB. The Ohio attorney general's office reports it fielded 45 complaints.

Calls to Chuppa and Northeast Electronics weren't returned.

- by Adam Wire

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