Courtesy: Marnie Ulrich

By Dylana Kneeshaw

BOTCHED RENOVATIONS

Buyer beware: Kamloops homeowners warn of renovation contracting scam

Oct 2, 2025 | 4:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — People looking to renovate their homes in the Kamloops area are being given a ‘buyer beware’ warning.

CFJC recently spoke to three homeowners – Meridee Hlokoff, Marnie Ulrich and Tanya Materi – who claim to have been scammed by the same contractor.

Having spent thousands of dollars to fix botched work or incomplete jobs, the homeowners say the experience was an eye-opener – and they still haven’t gotten their money back.

The aggrieved trio says it is a calculated renovation scam.

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“And the manipulation in it is pretty wild,” Hlokoff said.

Earlier this summer, Hlokoff and Ulrich hired a local contractor to redo their respective kitchens. The demolition work was done, but the rest of the renovations were not finished.

“We gave our deposits and that’s when everything started to fall apart,” Hlokoff said.

The pair notes in each case the contractor blamed late shipments and delays from other trades, and cited having a serious medical issue.

“I was angry and said, ‘Look what you’ve done to me’, and he’s like, ‘I know. I’m so devastated. I’m so sorry’,” recalls Ulrich. “And then you think, wait a second, I’m the one who should be devastated. Like, just give me my money back so I can move on with my life.”

Eventually, the women hired elsewhere to have the renovation work finished and demanded their money back from the initial contractor. The problems were reported to police, but Hlokoff said they were told it is a civil matter.

“I’m out $16,000 alone,” Hlokoff said of the multiple jobs she hired the company to complete. “I then post this on Facebook because I don’t want someone else to experience what I experienced and my girlfriend who I involved in this is now out $7,000, as well.”

They say they quickly found others with similar experiences after posting online.

Tanya Materi is one of those people. She told CFJC she used the same contractor more than two years ago for a $160,000 home renovation that was not completed properly.

“I’ve had to re-mortgage my house and take money out of my retirement funds,” Materi said. “So, on top of this happening, most of the work that he did we’ve had to redo.”

CFJC reached out to the contractor to ask him what happened with the jobs and why he hasn’t returned deposits he was paid for work he has not completed. He did not respond to the request for comment.

Ryan Kurzac is the Canadian Home Builders’ Association Central Interior’s first vice-president and said generally speaking, there is a consumer checklist to consider when hiring for a renovation job.

“You know, when people always ask for a cash deal off to the side, that’s probably the number one flag right off the hop,” Kurzac said, noting that sending an unusually large deposit or the entire billed amount before work has progressed isn’t recommended.

He said asking for a large up-front deposit isn’t common practice among legitimate contractors.

Kurzac advised homeowners to ask contractors for references and pictures of previous projects, and to access trade association member lists.

“Make sure that they’ve got proper insurance,” he said. “Between liability insurance and workers compensation insurance, the last thing you want is one of their workers coming on to the job site [and] all of a sudden they get hurt and you’re going to be on the hook for the insurance possibilities there.

“Make sure you’ve got a signed contract. Make sure everything is stipulated in that contract. You want to have what the scope of the job looks like, what the materials are. Even things as far as warranty, whether labour is covered or just materials only. ”

After publicly sharing what happened, Ulrich said the contractor sent her and Hlokoff $1,000. When they received that money, they say they were sent what they have identified as falsified e-transfer screenshots. They say the rest of their money has not been returned.

“We’ve reported it to the police,” Ulrich said. “We’re going to take him to small claims (court). We’re trying to do everything properly, legally and properly, so that he can finally get caught.”