MAYES COUNTY — After her husband suffered several strokes, Eva Myrick vowed to do everything and anything to help him recover.
Fighting back tears, Myrick told 2 News, "He's not even supposed to be able to walk, but he's defied all the odds, and he's lost his eyesight, hearing in these strokes, and I have to be able to take care of him."
But she admits she needs help. So they bought a large shed for $21,000 and moved it to their daughter's place in Mayes County, with plans to turn it into a humble home. After finding an ad on Facebook, they hired two brothers to finish the project.
Myrick said "They said everything we discussed, the plumbing, the electrical outlets, the lights, the sheetrock, hooking up the septic tank, putting the flooring in, everything, it will be move-in ready when we walk out of here."
She said they settled on paying the brothers $9200 cash, as well as giving them a new $800 gun safe. During the project though, she said the contractors supposedly needed another $4,000 of materials, which maxed out their daughter's credit card. After eight days, Myrick said the contractors told them they were done, and Eva and Julian never saw them again.
They were left to live, Myrick said, in a disaster zone.
"Nothing works," she told us.
Not the electrical outlets, not the lights, not even the plumbing, especially the plumbing.
"When we turned on the water, it blew out and soaked the house," she told us, as she pointed out all the water damage.
Myrick did get a hold of one of the brothers before they changed their phone numbers, she said. They denied doing anything wrong, even denied ever doing the project. And with nothing in writing and paying in cash, there was little they could do.
Their meager bank account, now empty. Their trusting spirit, now broken.
Myrick recounted what she said the two brothers told them. "When somebody comes in and tells me that they're Christian and they're going to do everything, make it right because they have to answer to God when they get to heaven, you kind of take them for their word, excuse me, and they're not."
After hearing their s story, the 2 News Oklahoma Problem solvers started trying to get in touch with the contractors. But in the meanwhile, Myrick warns others, don't trust anyone, she says, no matter what their story, and get every detail of a project in writing.
Before hiring a contractor, the Better Business Bureau recommends:
- Always ask for references.
- Ask for multiple quotes.
- As Eva learned, get everything in writing.
- Verify license and insurance.
- Confirm any required building permits.
- Inquire about a lien waiver.
- Arrange a payment schedule.
- Never pay in full up-front.
- Get a receipt and keep your contract.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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