Complaint Review: Mark Van Dop

I write this report in the hopes that another person will not be taken in by this dishonest man. We hired him and Urban Renovations to renovate our home.  After 6 months, our cosmetic renovation (which we were later advised should have been completed in 6 - 8 weeks) was about half done and the money was blown.  Our money was being taken and used for Mr. VDs personal pleasure. It was not being used to purchase things for our renovation. The bill had been padded with many things that were never purchased (i.e. a complete set of new appliances billed and 4 months later found never to have been purchased). A builders lien was placed on our home, as Mr. VD wrote a bum cheque to a carpet supplier, and despite many calls from the supplier (and promises from Mr. Van Dop to make it right) never reappeared to pay the supplier.

I read the other complaints about this shyster with great agreement. Mr. Van Dop was rarely on site, but when he gave you a bill - he would be in your face for immediate payment. The workmanship was very poor wall paper partially removed and lumps painted over; hardwood floor that didnt properly meet baseboards, and incorrectly installed around the bottom of stairs; charges that were out of this world for tiling (when costs were examined, he was billing about 3 hours labor to install one floor tile). As others have reported the bathroom tiling wasnt sloped to the drain, so had to all be redone. So not only is Mr. VD very dishonest, his workmanship is of terrible quality.

I could go on, but the whole thing was a nightmare, and as reported by others this man has no conscience. He somehow feels entitled to just take and use your money for his own interests, without any feelings of guilt or obligation to meet commitments. So please beware and try to find a responsible honest worker to meet your demands. If you decide to use Mr. Van Dop, you do so at your own risk - prepare to be ripped-off!