Renovation Contractor Taken To Court For $560k In Claims — Also Received 33 CASE Complaints

Carpentry Design Works Isn’t Working

Buying a home can be an arduous process by itself, and the last thing homeowners want to do is to run into a plethora of problems when redesigning their homes.

If you want hassle-free renovation for your home, you would probably want to avoid patronising Carpentry Design Works.

The company has an awful rating of 1.5/10 on the popular Interior Design website Hometrust, and has had 33 complaints levelled against it to consumer watchdog CASE.

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An article by The Straits Times has also reported that clients have taken the company to court on claims adding up to $560,000.

Here are some of the reasons why homeowners have complained:

1. Leaving Halfway

Many complaints were about the company suddenly abandoning work at their customers’ homes, which had to be completely removed and redesigned.

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An interior design company posted photos of a flat in Compassvale Crescent that was left in a mess by Carpentry Design Works despite the owner making more than 90% payment.

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2. Ghosting After Payments

Many other reviewers found it ludicrous that the company had disappeared on them after receiving payment, or simply went “gangster” on them.

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Here’s a What’sApp exchange sent over by someone who alleged that he had to chase the company to start work after paying them, only to hear excuses galore:

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3. Identity Theft

Not only have the people behind Carpentry Design Works been taking money from customers and vanishing, they have allegedly been dabbling in identity theft as well.

The company’s director is listed on Acra as one Mr Muhammad Nirzam Azmi, 32.

However, this information was found to be a hoax when The Straits Times visited his home. He claimed that his name had been used without his consent and that he had brought the matter up to the police.

Furthermore, they had previously listed its director as Ms Christina Wong, who also turned out to be another alleged victim of identity theft.

Ms Wong cried foul and claimed that her identity had been “rented” by an unknown woman named Husiniyati for $3000 per month. She notified the authorities after being ambushed by debt collectors.

4. Empty Offices

A trip down to the company’s offices will surprise you as its branch at Telok Kurau is allegedly abandoned and its other branch at Yishun is operating as another firm altogether.

Wow, this place is more dramatic than the corrupt companies we see on Crimewatch.

Case Report

The issue has also been reported to the Consumers Association Of Singapore (CASE), which handles cases of errant companies.

The association has even warned of this company in a post on its Facebook page.

Blind Consumerism

With companies like this lurking in the shadows of Singapore’s highly regarded trade practice, it’s absolutely neccessary to do proper research before getting into a contract with a firm.

We hope that more people are now aware of this scam and take this as a lesson when considering future purchases.

Featured image from Hometrust and Facebook