KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A home improvement contractor received a check last summer but says he doesn’t remember getting it. However, the man who wrote the check remembers giving it to the contractor who never returned to do the work.
The contractor was given payment in advance to buy materials and then gave excuses as to why the job was being held up. The customer who hired the contractor called WATE after finding his name in a story from 2018 .
Tom Caldwell’s sister bought a home six months before she unexpectedly passed away last year. Caldwell put it up for sale, but the sunroom needed repairs first.
“All the siding and the aluminum paneling and the shielding up there, it was tattered and broken. It had a lot of years on it. I just wanted to improve the look of the home,” said Caldwell.
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So he hired remodeling contractor Daniel Bradfield in August 2023. The cost to make the improvements is $2,800. Bradfield required $1,000 down, so Caldwell wrote a check and Bradfield cashed it. The bank required personal information on the reverse side of the check.