Contractor who owes money to clients says his company is now bankrupt

A London, Ont., contractor being pursued by former clients who claim he took their deposits without completing renovation work now says his company is in the process of declaring bankruptcy.

A group of former clients who found each other on social media say they're waiting for compensation from Andrew Fraser, owner of AJF Construction, which also operates under the company name AJF Exteriors. 

The group has written a letter to the London Police Services Board (LPSB) expressing disappointment at the lack of action taken by police to investigate and hold the contractor accountable. 

"I think we're in a large and busy enough city that residents should feel like they have support when they're wronged and some options for prompt service when they reach out to local police," said Jeremy McCall, who co-wrote the letter which is signed by seven other families.

In an interview with CBC News on Tuesday, Fraser said he intended to complete work for clients but said a challenging labour market coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible for him to finish the renovation jobs. 

"We got ourselves caught to where we weren't able to hire the right amount of people that we needed to complete jobs," he said. "And jobs were taking longer than they were originally estimated."

The group of former clients told CBC News they are collectively owed more than $100,000.

Fraser told CBC News he's managed to pay back $30,000 in total to about a half-dozen clients but that any further claims will have to go through the lawyers dealing with the bankruptcy process. Fraser said he's not yet filed for bankruptcy but plans to.

CBC News has confirmed that no insolvency has been filed by Fraser. The company's website was shut down on Tuesday but its Instagram page was still active. 

Fraser said he couldn't confirm the $100,000 figure former clients say he owes them.

"They'll receive what we believe is owed through our accounting and if it is different than what they believe, then they'll have the opportunity to tell us why," he said. 

Fraser said he's in the process of setting up a new email address where his former clients can correspond with lawyers handling the bankruptcy process. 

Meanwhile, in their letter to the London Police Services Board, the group of former clients is asking why police aren't investigating the case as fraud. 

"We are all coming up on our one year anniversary of filing these police reports," the letter reads. "We were all told at the time of filing after spending large amounts of time doing investigative legwork; that we would hear from an investigating officer once the cases were assigned. Since then there has been silence."

In a statement in response to questions from CBC News, police said they aware of this complaints about the company and will be "reaching out to Mr. McCall to discuss this matter with him further."

Families out more than $100K

In an email exchange with CBC News, Savanna Deacon said she paid Fraser a $20,000 deposit to remove and replace old siding on her house. When the work stopped and Fraser didn't respond to phone calls, Deacon had to hire another company to finish the job. By then the house had water damage and raccoons in the attic. She said including the money paid to Fraser, the ordeal set her back $70,000.

Provincial mediator involved

The group of former clients is in touch with Consumer Protection Ontario — an awareness program from the province's Ontario's Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and other public organizations, that enforces consumer protection and investigates alleged violations.

While McCall said he doesn't expect to be reimbursed, he's hoping the police can make do on their promises to follow up and provide answers.

Fraser told CBC News that some former clients have come to his house and spoken to his wife, who is not involved in the business. He's asking them to be patient and wait for updates through the bankruptcy process.

The letter from Fraser's former clients is on the agenda of the LPSB's Sept. 21 meeting.