Safe Guard Fence-Mike Cummings unauthorized charge on my Credit Card to line his own pockets Jacksonville Florida

On March 11, 2008, I contracted with Mike Cummings of Safe Guard Fence to install an aluminum fence as soon as I closed on my new house. The total price was $4,079.91. Mr. Cummings asked for half the money that day. I authorized him to charge $2039.95 to my credit card. Mr. Cummings insisted that he would take care of the permiting with the developer, Mary McGarvy. He said he'd dealt with her before and knew exactly how the proceedure worked.

A day later, the fraud department of my credit card company called me asking about the charge. I found out that Cummings had charged $2,452.01 to my card. I called him and without an apology, he stated that he had charged extra to pay the homeowner's association for fees and permits for the fence. He stated that when the fence was up and approved, I would be refunded $250.00. He said he would send me the paper work immediately. I was unhappy that he had put a charge on my card without my permission, but he had over $2,000 of my money so I let it go. My repeated requests for the paperwork were ignored.

In May, when my house was completed, the fence finally was erected dispite some foot dragging on Cummings' part. He said his secretary had failed to get the permits and I might have to come up with more money in order to have the fence built. I reminded him of my many unanswered calls concerning this very subject and that I wasn't going to pay more. Several days later his workers built the fence. He wanted the balance immediately which I gave him only in a check this time. After getting moved in and not receiving the return of my $250.00 deposit, I called Mary McGarvy who knew nothing about the fence and had never received any money from Mike Cummings. I called an told him this and asked for the return of the $412.06 that he had charged to my account. No response. Apparently, Cummings needed extra cash and stole it from me. He also cheated Mary McGarvy out of her fee. I am a seventy two year old woman on my own and I think Cummings figured he could cheat me and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Roseann
St. Augustine, Florida
U.S.A.