Complaint Review: Tavakul Kaekul dba Tav Design - Internet

We were introduced to Tavakul Kaekul dba Tav Design, Los Angeles, CA (“Tav Kaekul”) in late 2014 through a long time, trusted friend of the family; she apparently previously worked with Tav Kaekul and knew him well. She was a very close friend of the family and her experience and recommendation was the pivotal reason we felt comfortable moving forward with Tav Kaekul. 

In January 2015, we hired Tav Kaekul to conduct a complete kitchen renovation that, in addition to new custom cabinetry, new walls and tile floors, included reframing two existing walls and the installation of new glass panel doors. Tav Kaekul sub-contracted the construction of the kitchen to Juan “Charlie” Ramirez, Los Angeles, CA.  Construction began in February 2015.

From January 2015 to May 2015, we paid Tav Kaekul $XX,XXX to procure three spans of Fleetwood sliding glass doors, $XX,XXX to procure new custom cabinetry, and $X,XXX to procure tile/backsplash/counter and island tops.  In addition, from February 2015 through May 2015 we paid Tav Kaekul and Juan “Charlie” Ramirez a total of $XX,XXX for construction work.

Construction work progressed until it was time for the Fleetwood doors to be delivered in [April 2015].  Without going into frustrating detail, this is where the delays began, followed by excuses, followed by more delays, followed by more excuses… and so on.  

By June 2015, nearly five months after the project began, we were growing increasingly concerned and very frustrated by the excessive delays and constant claims that things would be delivered this Wednesday, next Monday, this Thursday, and so on. Feeling vulnerable after having paid Tav Kaekul so much money, we requested proof of purchase from him for the various deliverables mentioned.

Despite a seemingly easy request to accommodate, delays and excuses followed here as well. After numerous requests that turned into demands, Tav Kaekul e-mailed us three “receipts” on June 15, 2015. Of the three “receipts”, two were falsified and the third left unpaid.  This was confirmed by the respective third-party vendors that we contacted. The three “receipts” included:

1. One invoice for $XX,XXX purporting to confirm the purchase of custom cabinetry from an upholstery vendor that doesn’t even make cabinets. Despite the invoice containing their company letterhead, this vendor confirmed the invoice was not theirs and reiterated the fact that they do not even manufacture cabinets.
2. One “sales contract” for $XX,XXX purporting to confirm the purchase of Fleetwood sliding glass doors from one third-party vendor to another third-party, and Tav Kaekul was listed as the contact person for the purchaser.
   1. Upon contacting the listed seller of the doors, seller confirmed the sales contract was not theirs and that no such transaction had ever been made. Instead, they provided a “quotation contract” they issued Tav Kaekul in mid-June (Tav Kaekul told us he order the Fleetwood doors in February).  The quotation contract was altered to reflect “sales contract”, and was back-dated among other fabrications.
   2. Tav Kaekul also signed the “sales contract” on behalf of another third-party listed as the purchaser. Upon contacting this “purchaser”, we learned they don’t even sell residential doors and that the “sales contract” is not theirs.
3. An unpaid invoice for $X,XXX for quartz slabs. This invoice was actually real, and the slabs were ordered and available for delivery, however no money had been tendered.  Later, this vendor contacted us seeking information on Tav Kaekul. Apparently, Tav Kaekul issued him a bounced check for the slabs.

Prior to the inception of the project, in late 2014, we made it clear to Tav Kaekul that we wanted the work done in accordance with city codes, including obtaining the appropriate drawings, permits and inspections. However, after learning of the falsified and unpaid invoices mentioned above, we came to understand that, Tav Kaekul and Juan “Charlie” Ramirez demoed, reframed, wired, plumbed and drywalled our kitchen without city approved drawings, permits or inspections. Furthermore, neither Tav Kaekul nor Juan “Charlie” Ramirez were licensed with the Contractors State License Board as required by California law.

Upon demanding proof of their California contractor’s licenses as well as proof the appropriate permits were secured for the project, we haven’t heard from Tav Kaekul or Juan “Charlie” Ramirez again.

So after investing $XX,XXX for a complete kitchen renovation with Tav Kaekul, we are left with:

1. A demoed kitchen that needs to be completely re-built to satisfy city codes and ordnances,
2. three invoices/receipts purporting to demonstrate the purchase of $XX,XXX worth of kitchen deliverables, of which two were falsified and one left unpaid,
3. A dining room that has been converted to a makeshift kitchen since February 2015, that has no dishwasher, no sink or garbage disposal, no oven/stove; a dining room that is cluttered with pot and pans on the floor, pantry food scattered across two folding tables, a hot plate, a rice cooker, a microwave and a refrigerator that towers over the entire mess.

Looking back, Tav Kaekul made absolute fools of us.  He came to us through a close and trusted friend of the family, which in hindsight gave us comfort we should have never relied on. He saw an opportunity to steal hard earned money from us, and took it; all the while smiling at us, shaking our hands when he came over, teasing our kids, petting our dogs; he even had dinner at our table before the project started.  Tav Kaekul even used his family to build trust in us, often referring to his kids and his fiancé.  

This was the behavior of an individual managing the host of lies right in front of our eyes in order to usurp our home equity line and savings account.  We even gave Tav Kaekul a set of keys to access the house when we were at work making honest money.  Upon learning the truth about Tav Kaekul, we had to change all the locks in the house, not to mention the way we look at our world in the wake of what we believe to be criminal activity committed against us by Tav Kaekul.