Gail Kalen is holding onto the blueprints for a project that was supposed to save her money, but instead cost her thousands of dollars.
“I’d like to know if there’s a way to get this money back,” Kalen said.
Her story started two years ago, when she decided she wanted to help the environment and lower her power bill.
“I always considered I live in Florida, why can’t I get solar panels?” she asked.
So in August of 2014, the retiree signed a contract with Mr-Solar LLC to have the company install solar panels and a solar water heater at her home. She gave the company a deposit of $13,300 – half the cost of the job. When her HOA finally approved the project months later, Kalen called the company.
“I was told that my job was next in the queue and it would be completed by the end of June 2015,” Kalen said. “That was the last I heard of them. I’ve called them, sent letters. No response at all and now when I went by their facility, no logos, nothing. They’re basically gone.”
State records show the company voluntarily relinquished its business license on August 31, 2014. The company cashed Kalen’s check on September 9, 2014 – more than a week later.
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“If the person relinquishes his license and is not licensed at the time, he knows he’s not licensed and he knows he’s not supposed to be continuing on this contract path,” said Daniel Vuelta, a supervisor for the Contractor Investigation Section of Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources.
Vuelta’s team of eight investigators looks into contractor complaints in Miami-Dade county. His department took on Kalen’s case, after she filed a complaint against the contractor in September 2016. Their investigation found that Mr-Solar’s owner, Brian Gillis, had deposited Kalen’s check into his personal bank account.
“That’s important because it shows that there was no corporate account anymore,” Vuelta said. “The monies are now going into a personal account and it leads the question that perhaps they’re just going to use it for themselves.”
We caught up with Gillis at his home in Southwest Miami-Dade and asked him about Kalen’s money. He had no comment for us, but Kalen says Gillis recently called her and offered to return the money.
“He would pay me over a three month period starting in December with $5,000, $5,000 in January and $3,300 in February,” Kalen said.
The county told us the case could lead to criminal charges. Kalen hopes Gillis keeps his word so they can both move on. She’s cautiously optimistic.
“I had no hope,” Kalen said. “But you all gave me a lot of hope and … hopefully have solved this problem.”
Vuelta says if you’re hiring a contractor, make sure you take the time to verify his license. You can do it online here.
He adds that you should never pay in cash – always use a check or credit card.
If you have a complaint against a contractor in Miami-Dade you’d like Vuelta’s team to investigate, you can dial 311 and ask to be connected to the county’s contractor investigation unit. You can also go here for more information on filing contractor complaints.
