Menu
D & G Design

D & G Design review: Scam and cheating 1

Author of the review
5:51 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

My wife and I excited to build a new deck contacted Chris Kick at D&G Design. After coming out to give an estimate we agreed to the terms and happily gave Chris half the money down, $2250 for materials. The other half, per the signed agreement, due at the completion of the project. The project was expected to be completed within 3 weeks +/-. I began checking in with Chris to find out when he thought he was going to come out to do the work. Week after week I called and got the same story. 'Oh we are coming next week, for sure!', Chris would excitedly exclaim. Week after week I was sorely disappointed when Chris failed to show.

As the weeks rolled by so did the excuses. At one point he had the wood but then after 4 weeks had past the story changed to he couldn't get the wood at a decent price. However i would still get the same story, next week we will be there. Finally next week arrived. Chris actually showed up to build my deck. Now my deck was/is going to be made of IPE. The IPE itself makes up $2000 of the $4500 estimate, so clearly the most expensive part. While he did show up to build the deck he informed me he was only going to build the base. Next week he would put on the IPE. Starting to sound like a broken record.

Chris's crew put in the base, rough estimate of $600 worth of the project. I finally felt like we were getting somewhere. However when I called Chris the following week to check on when he was going to finish he started getting shorter with me. This time instead of having a conversation he simply answered my phone call by telling me 'I don't have an answer to your question, got to go'.

Two weeks after installing the base I finally got work Chris was getting the material and would be installing the following Monday. Later that week Chris called again to tell me I needed to purchase the wood because he was unable to. WHAT? I simply told Chris I was not comfortable with that as I had already put down half and our deal was half down the rest at completion. It was his responsibility to take care of the rest.

He was ok with that or seemed to be, until I called back the following week. Chris informed he could not get the wood, I needed to buy it. Once again I tried to reiterate i was not comfortable with this. At this time Chris got irate with me and told me he was not comfortable building a deck for me if i would not buy the materials. Wait wasn't that what I gave half down for?

At any rate I told Chris OK we clearly need to go separate ways, and I need some money back. At which point i received a dial tone. I tried calling him back at which he told me he would not build my deck.

Chris will no longer work with me on getting back my money.

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

1 comments
W
W
William F. Fisher, MD
Seabrook, US
Sep 02, 2008 7:15 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Company information:
Chris Kick, Knute Chris Kick, Houston Marine Construction, D & G Design, Deck and Gazebo Design, Inc., Houston Boathouse Construction, Shoreline Construction Services
P.O. Box 183
Houston, Seabrook, etc., Texas
United States
Phone: [protected]
houstonmarineconstruction.com
deckandgazebodesign.com
houstonmarineconstruction.com/boathouse
houstonmarineconstruction.com/piers

Houston Marine Construction, aka Chris Kick, aka Knute Chris Kick, aka Houston Boathouse Construction, aka D & G Design, aka Deck and Gazebo Design, aka Shoreline Construction Services, was paid $20, 000.00 advance to perform construction of a bulkhead and boathouse on my property in Seabrook, TX. The total cost of the job was to be $53, 500.00. Specifically he was to remove an old bulkhead and boathouse, then construct a new bulkhead, dock, and boathouse based on my plans. There was a signed contract, and the money was transferred to him in a notarized transaction in the presence of a Chase Bank Vice-President.

His workers came to my property for several days in June. They performed a partial demolition of my old boathouse, but left the pilings from the old structure in place ("We'll get out them later."). He drove some pilings for the new structure amid the old pilings. Some of the boathouse pilings he drove were crooked, and the pilings for the planned dock were driven in the wrong locations. Chris Kick said, "Don't worry, this is how we do it. You're going to love it." No work was done on removing the old bulkhead, or installing a new one.

Then Chris and his workers disappeared. Chris never answered my phone calls, so I finally went to a local Home Depot store and called him from their number. Chris answered at once, and told me that he was not going to return to the worksite, and that I should get another company to finish the job. He said that the work he had completed had consumed my entire $20, 000.00. He said he would not return any money to me, that he did not have to talk to me anymore, and that he was going to hang up, which he did.

Debris from the old boathouse and his workers litters my yard and driveway. Loose scaffolding and other wood debris are scattered among the few pilings he did place, and will break loose with the next storm. It will cost a significant amount of money to repair Chris's poor work, remove the rest of the old boathouse, and clean up the piles of debris. Then I will still have to build the new dock and boathouse, as well as remove and replace my bulkhead. Of course, I have extensive photographic and video documentation of all this.

The dialogue that I have read in the previous [redacted]s from Jeremy, "Texasmom", and Karl, sounds identical to the things Chris told me ([redacted] #s 339263, 355392, 349922, and 349529). I suspect there are multiple other victims of this individual in the greater Houston area, and I am in the process of pursuing both civil and criminal actions against Knute Chris Kick.

The bottom line is, Knute Chris Kick has a signed contract with me, was given $20, 000.00 in advance, has done little work and a lot of damage, refuses to return to the worksite, and says all my money has been spent.

A couple of suggestions to other victims of Knute Chris Kick:

1.) Notify the Better Business Bureau of Houston about this individual and his multiple company names. This would help to protect future potential customers. Notify other marine and general contractors about what happened to you.

2.) File a police report in your area, and then take that case number to your District Attorney. Explain to them that this is not an isolated situation, and give them a printout of this [redacted]. While one case is a civil matter, multiple cases can constitute fraud and deceptive trade practices.

3.) Notify your local TV Stations. They love investigative stories on businesses that defraud the public, and if enough people are involved, they will respond.

Please contact me anytime for additional information of Chris Kick. The information will be used in his prosecution for criminal fraud. Other useful information is found below.

Chris Kick's other addresses include:

Houston Marine Construction
6128 Countryside Drive
League City, Texas [protected]

Mr. Knute Chris Kick
3600 Jeanetta St., #2708
Houston, TX 77063

Mr. Knute Chris Kick
Shoreline Construction Services
2813 Hickory Limb
League City, TX 77573

Mr. Knute Chris Kick
Houston Marine Construction
P.O. Box 183
Seabrook, Texas 77586

Mr. Knute Chris Kick
D & G Design
2215 Gulf Freeway
La Marque, TX 77568

Mr. Knute Chris Kick
D & G Design
4501 NASA Road 1
Apartment #309
Seabrook, TX 77586

Chris Kick's wife is an attorney who cashes his checkes:

Chris Kick's wife is an attorney named Kim Elaine Conkey. Chris usually has his victims make out their checks to her, and she cashes or deposits them. She is also listed with the County Clerk of Harris County, Texas, as one of the owners of the parent company, D & G Design, Inc. The other owner is listed as Knute Chris Kick. D & G Design, Inc. is listed as the parent company of Houston Marine Construction, Shoreline Construction Services, etc. (The County Clerk of Harris County has a website, www.cclerk.hctx.net. Click on PERSONAL RECORDS, click on SEARCH DATABASES, click on ASSUMED NAMES, then enter Houston Marine Construction, D & G Design, etc.)

Kim Elaine Conkey is a relatively new attorney, who just began working for the Houston Law Firm Fowler, Rodriguez, Valdes-Fauli in January, 2008. She can be located at the following address, telephone, etc:

Kim E. Conkey, Associate
Four Houston Center
1331 Lamar Street, Suite 1560
Houston, Texas 77010

Telephone: [protected]
Fax: [protected]
E-Mail: kconkey@frvf-law.com

Better Business Bureau:

The Better Business Bureau in Houston, TX has now changed the rating for Houston Marine Construction (aka Chris Kick, aka Knute Chris Kick) to UNSATISFACTORY. Houston Marine Construction has closed its only address (P.O. Box 183, Seabrook, TX 77586), and has not responded to the BBB letters or telephone calls.

They are also in the process of giving the same UNSATISFACTORY rating to all the other companies owned by Chris Kick (Deck and Gazebo Design, Inc., D & G Design, and Shoreline Construction Services). In addition, Chris Kick is falsely claiming to be a member of the Better Business Bureau. On the website deckandgazebodesign.com, Chris Kick states that this company is a member of the BBB, and displays the BBB logo and BBB Torch. This company is not, and according to BBB has never been, a member of the Better Business Bureau.

Filing additional complaints with the BBB would also be beneficial. Complaint case ID numbers to the BBB Houston are as follows:

Houston Marine Construction - ID #6687800
D & G Design - ID #6688050
Deck and Gazebo Design, Inc. - ID #6701956
Shoreline Construction Services - ID #6687928

BBB of Metropolitan Houston
1333 W. Loop South
Ste. 1200
Houston, TX 77027
[protected] (Phone)
[protected] (Fax)
bbbinfo@bbbhou.org (Email)
http://www.bbbhou.org (Web)

Sincerely,

William F. Fisher, MD
Seabrook, TX 77586