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Better Business Bureau® (BBB®) St. Louis advises consumers to use caution if doing business with STL Concrete Contractors, a Creve Coeur-based contractor. Consumers reported to BBB that the company failed to start projects, provide refunds, contact customers, and provide poor customer service.
Due to recent unanswered and unresolved complaints, STL Concrete Contractors has an “F” rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale.
“If someone pays you to do a job for them, you either do the work or give them their money back,” said Michelle L. Corey, BBB St. Louis president and CEO.
A man from Bridgeton, Missouri, told BBB he paid STL Concrete Contractors a deposit of just over $1,500 in June 2023 to replace a driveway at his residence. The project was to have started in July, but the work was never started. The man told BBB the company quit communicating with him after he requested a refund.
“It just never worked out,” the man told BBB. “He never stepped up, which is really disappointing.”
A woman from St. Louis told BBB she paid STL Concrete Contractors a deposit of $1,785 to do concrete work at her residence in June 2023. The woman told BBB no work was done on her project and that the company denied her request for a refund.
“They made a lot of promises, but never came through,” the woman told BBB.
A St. Louis man told BBB he paid STL Concrete Contractors a $3,375 deposit in July 2023 for concrete work. The man said the business never set a start date for the work. He said an estimator showed up once to review the quote and told him a crew would be at the work site later that day. The man told BBB no one showed up and the work was never started.
A different St. Louis man had a similar experience. He told BBB he paid STL Concrete Contractors a deposit of nearly $2,500 in July 2023 for a concrete project. He was never given a start date and requests for a refund of his deposit were not responded to by the business.
STL Concrete Contractors was registered with the Missouri secretary of state as a fictitious entity in September 2021. Its parent company is OR Consulting LLC, which registered with the state in April 2021. Derrick Reeves is named as the organizer.
BBB attempts to reach the business for comment failed, and it did not respond to a BBB letter regarding how it plans to address its pattern of customer complaints.
According to Missouri CaseNet, Reeves has lost several judgments in 2023, including one for more than $13,000 to a vendor and another for more than $14,000 to his landlord. Two small claims cases brought against STL Concrete Contractors in St. Louis County Circuit Court were closed as default judgments for the plaintiffs for more than $3,000.
BBB offers these tips on hiring a contractor:
- Research any business and its owners carefully before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at BBB.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
- Ask for references and contact them.
- Before paying, make sure you have a signed contract outlining what work is to be done, a timetable for completion, and an explanation of what happens if the business or consumer reneges on the agreement.
- Ask the contractor for proof that he or she is bonded and insured.
- Pay by credit card whenever possible in case you need to challenge the payment.
- Do not pay everything in advance. It is a good rule to pay a portion when you sign the contract and the final payment only after you are satisfied with the work.
- When work is completed and the contractor has been paid, request lien waivers showing subcontractors and material suppliers have been paid for the job.
- If you feel like you have been wronged, file complaints with BBB and the state’s attorney general’s office.
