WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Columbia man wants justice against contractor

Columbia man wants justice against contractor

By Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield - bio | email

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – It doesn’t happen very often, but three WIS News 10 viewers called us with the exact same story.

The three viewers said their homes were left in disarray by a man they hired to be their contractor. Richard Witakowski was one of those viewers.

Witakowski and his wife left their old house in Buffalo, New York in search of warmer days and a house near the lake. They say they hired David Mathias, III to build it.  Early on, he says, there were problems.

“From day one when he kept asking for fictitious charges he couldn't substantiate,” said Witakowski.

Witakowski says there were dents in his floor, an unfinished fireplace, cracks in the cabinets and amenities he did not want.

"I said, 'Blue prints don't show a door there.' He said, 'Oh, I'll take care of it.' Which he never did. I had to pay someone to take care of it,” said Witakowski.

Witakowski took Mathias to small claims court. Documents he showed us say the judge ruled in his favor, saying Mathias owes him $7,000 -- money Witakowski says he has not seen.

We contacted the state board to see if there were complaints against Mathias. They sent us an email saying in December 2008, Mathias was fined for engaging in the unlicensed practice of specialty contracting and that he is not or never has been a licensed contractor in South Carolina. We also found a rap sheet dating back to 1990 citing a charge of assault and battery with a conviction on a lesser charge and a conviction for using fraudulent checks.

We tried to contact Mathias for a statement. We called him and stopped by his business, but there was no sign of him. 

Witakowski says he's made all of his repairs, but at the cost of $19,711 just to correct it. He and his wife are settled in to the place and they’re not expecting a refund. They’re just hoping to stand their ground. 

"If I can stop him from doing this to other people, I'd be happy with that,” said Witakowski.

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