Prior to hiring Richard, I checked him out on the BBB website-he had no complaints filed against him and had an A+ rating, plus was accredited by them. Sounded good so far. I checked out Angie's List, saw there were 2 bad complaints and 4 glowing reports. When questioned about this, he had a plausible story, involving a troublesome client who would never be happy, no matter what he did. One report was from a good friend of mine-he did a great job on her kitchen and she was very happy-I found out later that the original estimate was $50,000 and it ended up over $80,000. We also discussed having him build me a greenhouse, completed by June 1st. The greenhouse kit was around $1000 from Spenard Builders Supply and the total cost would be around $2,600. NO WRITTEN ESTIMATE WAS GIVEN, but he started within the week on the greenhouse. We also discussed removing existing back deck and building me a new l arger one (12'x12'). He told me that all 3 projects would bring my cost to $40,000. Again, I did not receive a written estimate for this new deck. In fact, I did not have a contract with The Renovation Company at this time or at any time in the future. Richard and I met at Home Depot in mid-April here in Anchorage to pick out the cabinets, countertops, backsplash, flooring, and hardware . He told me they would take about 6 weeks to arrive when ordered and that he would order them. Work proceeded on the greenhouse and I was out looking at appliances at various stores in Anchorage. On Wednesday 5/16/12 Richard asked for an additional $5,000, without specifying exactly what it was for. NO INVOICE for or RECEIPT for this $5,000 was presented at this time. or any other later time. I wrote the the check to the Renovation Company. He was finishing up the greenhouse on Monday 5/21/12 when a neighbor came over to take photos of my old appliances prior to posting them for sale on craigslist. Then, my 49 year son Jeff stopped by later that afternoon on his way home from work to meet Richard for the first time. The next morning I asked Richard when I should start cleaning out my cabinets prior to the Kitchen demo-he ADMITTED to me that he had NOT ORDERED THE CABINETS like he told me he would a month previously. The reason he gave was he DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY-when pressed, he indicated he had SPENT my DEPOSIT MONEY elsewhere. I was floored, stunned, furious. I could not believe my ears. He said he was hoping that a $20,000 final payment from another job would come in before he had to admit to me that he had RUN OUT OF MONEY. He continued to finish up the greenhouse for the rest of the day. After he left, I called my son who was equally stunned and furious. At this point, my son Jeff took over control of this project; i.e., he would be making all the decisions and would do all the talking to Richard. There was a confrontational meeting about a week later between Richard, my son, and a neighbor who is an ex-cop. This neighbor had looked up Richard's court record on Courtview's website and was seriously concerned about what he found. It appears that Richard was being SUED by two different parties in TWO separate cases in CIVIL DISTRICT COURT and that the judgements went against him on 5/8/12 and 5/10/12. It appears that he lost his $10,000 CONTRACTOR'S BOND at that time, which means he lost his insurance and probably his contractor's license too. Remember, he asked for that additional $5,000 on 5/16/12. It means he was probably working in my house without license, bond, or insurance from 5/8/12 until I fired him on 6/4/12. During the week of 5/28/12 Richard was supposed to come by and retrieve his ladders in my backyard but he did not show or even call on the 3 days I was waiting for him. He did call and leave a rambling message on my landline when I had told him I would be out in the yard and to only call on my cell. He had left town for his cabin and would talk to me on Monday, June 4th. He admitted he had no Bond or Insurance but was willing to come work for me as a friend, not as a contractor. He didn't want me to "panic or fret"-and "that's my main concern is for no threat for you and of course for me to do my job without problems". These are his exact words taken from his message on my answering machine at 3:09 pm Thursday, May 31, 2012. He did not call on Monday 6/4/12 so my son called him and fired him over the phone for misusing my deposit and basically lying to us. He had told my son that he was expecting "inheritance money" from his father's estate, but that he had no money to pay me back the balance of my deposit. We do not trust this man anymore and do not believe anything he says. When I examine the dates that the lawsuits against him were filed and settled, and then compare them with the dates of my first interview with Richard and the subsequent hiring date and check writing dates, a disturbing picture emerges. He was robbing from Peter to pay Paul and it caught up to him. He had also mentioned that mine was his last job, that he was getting out of the business partly because of the lawsuit brought by that never satisfied customer. That comment was a BIG WARNING SIGN but I continued to hope that everything was okay, even though I was starting to have some doubts. He was busy doing my greenhouse and evidently appearing in front of judges in two (2) different court cases at the same time. Busy man.. The l awsuit filed by J&D Interiors on 4/3/12 here in Anchorage against the Renovation Company and his Bond Company, Northland Casualty Co. out of St. Paul, MN, was filed a week before I hired Richard on 4/10/12 and paid him $14,750. No wonder he wanted so much money up front. After my son fired him by phone, I followed up with a Certified Letter on Wednesday, June 6th, sent to both his home and business addresses, reiterating what my son had told him on Monday, June 4th. I also asked for a final invoice for all labor and materials for the greenhouse kit, all paperwork and warranty paperwork for the greenhouse. I asked for the balance of my deposit to be returned to me by a certain date and I requested that he contact my son about setting up a time for him to retrieve his three ladders and the construction trash from my property. I gave him to the end of the month for that. I have since put a lock on my gate so that I can't be blamed if the ladders "mysteriously" disappear when I am not home. I am filing this complaint to warn people about Richard Humphrey and the Renovation Company. If he is working for you now or since 5/8/12, there's a good chance he is operating without Bond or Insurance-he admitted that he didn't have them anymore due because of "some kind of problems" (his words from the phone message of 5/31/12). He can be fined $1000/day if caught, if I read the Alaska Statutes/regulations on Contractors correctly. My advice? Run away from this guy-he may do quality work but has no trouble spending money that is not his to spend. Before hiring any one for anything, go to the BBB website ( read the fine print-if someone like Richard can slip through, be warned), then go to Angie's List, and then for sure check out the License, Bond, and I nsurance certificates like they all say-I had asked Richard and he said he had everything required-he did not tell me that there were two (2) current la wsuits against him. It's probably still painted on the side of his white company truck that he is Licensed, Bonded, and Insured. Then, go to Courtview and check out the person's/company's record. I hope this review helps someone out there before it's too late. Richard told my son that he never does contracts- BIG RED FLAG. With $40,000 on the line, you need to dot every "i" and cross every "t". Sure, I made mistakes but this guy abused my trust and took advantage of my willingness to give him a second and third chance. I believe he owes me about $16,000, give or take. I won't know until he submits a final invoice, if ever. If he has no Bond and no money, he has no reason to come finish my job when he can be out there getting more up front deposits from unsuspecting little old ladies like me.