GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – AJ Zawisza has a warning for others after he hired a contractor and gave him $4,200 in May and has never seen since.
Zawisa and his wife hired Jerry Wayne Walter Thompson Jr. in May to tear out his old deck and build a new one in the backyard of their Grain Valley home.
“We wanted a covered deck with a screen,” said Zawisza who thought he’d hired the perfect person for the job.
Thompson had gone to school with one of Zawisza’s children, and his reviews on Home Advisor looked good. Thompson promised Zawisza he could start the job in June and would have the deck built in a week.
Thompson said he’d need to paid $4,200 in advance to pay for materials for the job. Although Zawisza had never paid a contractor in advance before, he thought he could trust Thompson and wrote him a check.
You guessed it: That’s the last time Zawisza ever saw his money or Thompson.
“His phone has stopped taking messages,” Zawisza said. “I text him, no response. Last response I got was July 6.”
And that was just another excuse as to why Thompson had yet to start the job. By that time, Zawisza had heard so many excuses he started keeping track.
There was time Thompson couldn’t work because he was too emotional over the one-year anniversary of his mom’s death.
Or the time he didn’t show up because he said his credit card had been compromised and he couldn’t get the dumpster delivered.
“He just kept pushing us off,” Zawisza said.
Finally he demanded his money back. He hasn’t heard from Thompson since.
FOX4 Problem Solvers discovered that this isn’t Jerry Walter Wayne Thompson’s first complaint. The Better Business Bureau has given him an F rating after failing to respond to customer complaints.
Home Advisor now has a warning on his page about his business and will no longer refer his business to customers because of his failure to resolve complaints.
There’s the one from a Dale D who wrote of Thompson: “He’s a no show. He took my money and has not done any work.”
Scott B. wrote “Jerry has quit answering my calls and will not return my deposit.”
Sound familiar?
We paid a visit to Thompson’s Blue Springs home to get his side of this story. A woman named Misty answered the door, the same Misty whose email is listed on Thompson’s sales receipts for customers who need to contact him. (Zawisza tried, but his emails also went unanswered).
Misty told us Thompson wasn’t at home. We asked about Zawisza’s $4,200, but didn’t get an answer.
So we tried calling Thompson, but his phone doesn’t take messages. So we texted. We have yet to hear back.
We suggested Zawisza report Thompson to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office consumer fraud division.
All of which is why Jerry Wayne Walter Thompson has earned a special spot in the FOX4 Problem Solvers Hall of Shame.
