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Contractor making progress repaying customers

Posted at 7:26 PM, Feb 08, 2013
and last updated 2013-02-08 19:26:43-05

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WTVR) -- David Isom is the common thread among a group of angry customers from Henrico to Louisa to Chesterfield.

Homeowners like Jeffrey May and Chris Dolan, who first talked to CBS 6 News a few months ago, say they hired Isom's company, Old Richmond Exteriors, LLC, to do home improvement work.

The men say they paid thousands of dollars up front to Isom, but that the work was never completed.

Since then, Isom surrendered his contractor's license a few months before it was revoked by Virginia's Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and the company shut down. [RELATED: BBB has warning about area contractor]

Isom acknowledges complaints about him have led to civil and criminal cases.

Last fall he told CBS 6 the bad economy ruined his business and vowed to repay customers in 45 days.

However, May and Dolan said they have still not been repaid.

Isom confirmed this to us in a Friday afternoon phone call. He declined again to go on camera, but did tell us he is making progress repaying customers. He says he already repaid thousands of dollars to nearly ten other customers.

Deborah Gallant found herself in a tough spot after hiring Isom and his crew to work at her Walton Park home in Chesterfield.

"Very polite. They did a fabulous job and even did the doors they weren't supposed to do at no extra cost. They found rotten wood and replaced that and I didn't have to pay for that" Gallant explained.

She says Isom went above and beyond in her case, so she referred him to friends on a neighborhood chat group that reaches hundreds of people.

Gallant says she regretted that about a month later when she got a phone call from an upset homeowner.

"He said, 'You're giving this guy good reviews and you need to stop now. Here's what's happening.' I was floored. I think he got overwhelmed and just took on too much. I don't think he had the capital to get the materials and he couldn't keep up and this happened,"  Gallant said.

Gallant says she knows of at least one person who received some money back from Isom.  Gallant urges those in the market for a contractor to do their homework before shelling out their hard-earned cash.

Isom says he plans to make a court appearance for a criminal case on Feb. 12 in Louisa Circuit Court.

In the meantime, he says he will continue to work at his new job to repay his former customers.

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