Fans stolen, house unpainted: Flat owner left in limbo after renovation contractor abandons project, Singapore News
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May 17, 2023 published at 4:09 PMByMelissa Teo
Wong Noorina May and her family had anticipated moving into their newly-bought four-room resale HDB flat at Choa Chu Kang this weekend.
But that won't be possible now thanks to an unreliable contractor.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (May 16), Ayda Ayn, a relative of Wong, shared how the renovation company had allegedly abandoned the project midway.
The last update from the contractor was on May 2, she wrote.
"The family with special care kids [were] supposed to move in by this weekend," Ayda shared.
In total, they've already paid $45,000 out of the $55,000 quoted price for the renovations, said Wong to AsiaOne.
But as of now, only 10 to 20 per cent of the renovation works have been completed and the contractors started work back in March.
For instance, there's no paintwork down and works have not even started for the kitchen and bedrooms.
"Rewiring was removed by the electrician as it was not being paid by the contractor," shared Ayda.
To add salt to the family's wound, the ceiling fans and air-con units from the previous owners, which were still in good condition, had been stolen, allegedly by the contractors.
Currently, the family is looking for contractors to help complete the works.
And while they will be moving their belongings to the house in its current state, they won't be able to live in their flat for now.
"At the moment, we are quite unsure [about where we will reside in the meantime] and would probably move from house to house between family and relatives," Wong told AsiaOne.
Ayda said that the family has since made a police report. AsiaOne has reached out to the police for more details.
In the first half of 2022, there were a total of 807 complaints lodged against renovation contractors with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), reported The Straits Times last July.
About two-thirds of these pertain to renovation contractors failing to complete projects on schedule and unsatisfactory workmanship.
"Case will continue to keep a lookout for unfair practices against consumers. In the meantime, we are working with the authorities to further strengthen consumer protection legislation in Singapore," said Melvin Yong, the president of Case.
AsiaOne has reached out to the renovation company for more details.
In a separate incident last October, one woman called the police after her contractor didn't turn up on the auspicious date set for her kitchen revamp.
After signing the contract with the renovation company, the boss passed on her project to a young employee, who the woman claimed was less experienced.
The night before her renovations were to start, the contractor allegedly contacted her and said they couldn't proceed as the team did not know which materials were to be used for the cabinets.
To get some clarification, she went down to the contractor's company the next day but was turned away by employees. She reportedly made a police report then.
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