Parker County woman paid for work that wasn’t finished; contractor arrested on theft charge
A North Texas contractor was arrested on a theft charge Monday after they allegedly charged a woman $23,390 for an uncompleted job, according to a Parker County Sheriff’s Office news release.
A Parker County woman reported to authorities she hired Freedom Remodeling, LLC — based in Benbrook — to repair damages caused by a water leak in her home in May 2022.
A company representative quoted the woman a total of $23,390 for the job, according to the post.
The representative then took the woman’s initial payment of $18,000, but she did not hear from the company for several months after, the sheriff’s office says.
After numerous attempts to make contact, a representative finally started the job in August 2022, but minimal work was completed and no one returned to finish the repairs, according to the post.
After more attempts to reach the company, the woman requested a refund in September 2022 and the initial company representative responded three days later, stating they no longer worked there, according to the sheriff’s office. The woman was advised to contact the owner, Michael Eric Haefner.
The owner reassured the woman the job would be completed and would issue a refund, but also gave excuses as to why the job was not completed. He also became unreachable for months, the sheriff’s office says.
In February 2023, the woman was able to make contact with Haefner again, who said the issue was with the former employee and referred her back to him, ceasing contact again.
The sheriff’s office obtained a subpoena for company records, showing the business took the woman’s payment, did not complete the job, and was indebted to her $9,000.
