JEFFERSON CO., Mo. — A contractor paid thousands to build a dock ended up walking off the job and left a Jefferson County family with his "blessings" instead.
After looking into that contractor, the I-Team took action to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else.
Life is tranquil in the small community of Lake Timberline, located near Bon Terre in St. Francois County.
"There's a lot of fish. It's a spring fed lake," said Byron Bach, a homeowner in this community for the past seven years.
The Bach family has made some of their best memories there.
"The kids have caught their first fish here. We just wanted to have more space," said Karri Bach, Byron's wife.
So, they hired contractor David Lindke Jr. to build a new deck.
It was a $25, 000 project, and they said Lindke wanted $15,000 up front.
The Bach's did their homework.
"We looked at the better business bureau. We got a reference. It was a good trustworthy reference," said Karri.
But within the first week of construction, a collision. Lindke told the Bach's his small bulldozer had damaged their shed and destroyed their landscaping.
"How do you ram your bob cat into [a shed]? He says he slipped," said Byron.
"He said 'I'm going to own my responsibilities, I'm going to bless you with a new shed'," said Karri.
But before that could happen, they got another so-called "blessing" from the contractor: he notified them via email that he was quitting.
"He said basically, 'I'm walking off the project and I’m blessing you with this,'" said Karri.
I-Team: Did he give you a new shed?
"No."
I-Team: What was he blessing you with?
"I'm not sure," said Karri. "Disaster," said Byron.
So, what did that $15,000 get the Bach's? A half-finished, unusable deck which they say will cost thousands to repair.
"He didn't even leave us enough lumber to complete it. Another contractor told us this was about $5,000 worth of materials," said Karri.
"The boards are warped. It's dangerous walking across here," said Byron.
Dangerous. That's how another former Lindke customer describes the work he did for her.
"The railing right there, was not even attached. These screws should all be set in. The roof vents, the pipes are crooked. The shingles on the roof are crooked," said Stacy Nixon Boyer.
Boyer paid Lindke $8,000 to repair her trailer after a hail storm in 2016. That included installing two doors.
But Nixon-Boyer said one day she found those doors dumped on her front lawn.
"Both of which were the wrong size of the house. Dave wanted to put it in with 2x4's shimming it in," said Nixon Boyer.
But that never happened.
"I think he took advantage of me because I’m disabled," said Nixon-Boyer.
Both families have filed complaints against Lindke with the attorney general and Better Business Bureau.
Now they're warning others.
"We don't want this to happen to anyone else. It's a nightmare," said Byron.
The I-Team contacted David Lindke Jr., and he declined to go on camera.
But he did tell the I-Team he used the Bach's $15, 000 to pay for materials, and to pay his workers. He said he didn't profit from that job.
Finally, after our investigation, the St Louis Better Business Bureau revoked Lindke's accreditation.
