Mark Dalton Technique Construction Services kept pushing my fathers job back so long that I couldn't wait for him anymore. I had to return home to AZ (i am doing this for my 93 year old father). He took a deposit of $5755. Mark saw a vulnerable old man and took advantage of him. It is now September and my father worries he will never see his money. He is distressed and feels helpless. bountiful utah

MY FATHER GENE SILOTTI (93) asked me to take on the project of designing the landscape in his front yard, so once I had the new yard designed, I flew to SLC (I live in Arizona) to meet with prospective landscapers. This was about the second week of May.  When we interviewed, I had the design painted on the grass as well as a grid blueprint.  We hired MARK DALTON, of  TECHNIQUE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES.  He did inform us he was having a hard time getting parts and that it wouldn't be until mid July before he could get to us.  

He emailed me a contract and on 6/1 I signed it.  The total price was $10,410.00.  He then called me and told me that we would need to pay  half up front to prove we were serious in hiring him and to reserve a place on his calendar.  Because I had returned to AZ I told Mark that he would have to go by my fathers house and pick up a check. That was on 6/7, he also had my dad sign another contract and its price was $11510.00 it was the second and last time we ever saw Mark Dalton. 

He received a check for $5755.00 from my dad.  We were fine with the July timing because I was able to be back in Utah for all of July to help them  understand my design, my vision. and monitor their work or answer any questions.  My father is 93, he's hard of hearing, it's hard for him to talk to people and understand what they are saying, he cannot hear on the phone, he doesn't have an idea of how his yard should look or how to make it easier to care for, or what plants to use.  This is why he asked me to take it over. 

I called Mark on 7/2, he did not answer. On 7/8 I left a message asking how his schedule was looking and if he could approximate where we were on the calendar, that I was here in SLC just for this job and needed to go over the design to be more thorough, and to please call me back. HE DID NOT RESPOND. I then asked my sister to take over the contacting of Mark because I had personal reasons that were more pressing than trying to pin him down.  She called him on 7/12, he did not answer. She got ahold of him on the 14th.  He told her we were scheduled for the end of July and he was extremely rude to her.  

I  called him on the 29th and left a message telling him I needed to return to Arizona, that it was urgent that we talk, and if he didn't get a hold of me we would not be moving forward with the job.   My sister got a hold of him on the 31st, he told her he was just waiting for some pipe for our job and that we were next. Now it's August and I haven't heard a word from Mark.  I stayed in SLC way longer than I was supposed to, and now I HAVE to go to Oregon.  Because I did not feel confident or comfortable leaving the job to Mark  and his crew, (having only spoken to him one time in the beginning of May) I called him to inform him we were pulling the job.

I did not feel he remembered my particular job, the things we talked about or  the design I had drafted.  FINALLY on Monday morning 8/16 he answered my call.  This is when I told him my dad wanted to cancel the job and get my his deposit back.  My dad did not want to nor could he deal with the landscape by himself, and since I was leaving for Oregon the next Wednesday and not returning until February he wanted his deposit bac.  He was willing to call and rehire Mark in the spring when things settled down for him, when he was caught up, when supplies were not so hard to get and his tractor wasn't broken.

All the excuses he told me as to why my job had not started. He told me that he had already spent our deposit on supplies specifically for my dad's job, but it would be helpful to go pick out the rock, that we were next on his list and that we would be starting the next Monday if not earlier.  He told me he would come by later that day or the next morning to talk with me and go over all the things we talked about in May so I would be confident to leave and have  them start the job. 

MARK DID NOT SHOW UP THAT NIGHT NOR THE NEXT MORNING, OR ANYTIME THE NEXT DAY, nor did he call.  AROUND 6:50 ON TUESDAY IT STARTED TO RAIN, so he can not use that as an excuse.  On Wednesday morning I left for Portland. I called Mark on 8/20, when he answered and I told him I had left and was not returning.  Because he didn't show up to go over things with me or even attempt to meet with me when he said he would, that it was impossible for him to do the job without me, and that my 93 year old father needed his money back. He said he'd get back with me and let me know what he could figure out. I called him on the 20th, 25th, and the 27th.

I have left messages each time, and he has yet to get back to me.  Mark saw a vulnerable elderly man (and a woman) and thought that we were easy targets.  I feel that he has predatory behaviors, that he is an opportunist and dishonest. When he saw my father, he saw  a 93 year old who would not fight back.  I am hoping you can help my father get his money back from this horrible man who can steal hard earned money from senior citizen,  and inform the public to avoid doing any kind of business with him  THANK YOU.