M’sian Woman Loses RM200K After Contractor Runs Away With Money Before Renovation Completed

Renovation, be it at your house or your workplace will ALWAYS involve a large sum of money. It’s heartbreaking to spend all the money and eventually not like the outcome, but imagine spending all the money only to end up with your renovation halfway done.

In a Facebook post by Jeanne JY, she shared an experience of her friend who got scammed by a contractor who ran away before the renovation was even completed. The pain was unbearable because Jeanne’s friend paid a total of RM200,000 to the contractor. 

Jeanne’s friend regretted her decision to not hire the contractor that Jeanne introduced to her and after keeping the matter to herself, she reached out to Jeanne for help.

“I feel so sorry for what she’s going through… even I can’t sleep well”, Jeanne said.

Jeanne, who works in the insurance field shared some tips with her friends, and the public on how to handle the matter.

“I told her to collect all the payment records and receipts, including quotations, and make a police report.”

Some tips that may come in handy

In case you have, or are experiencing a similar situation and want to bring the matter to the Tribunal or Civil Court, keep in mind that you can only do so if the scammed amount does not exceed RM50,000.

Of course, if you have the budget, you can always hire a lawyer to help you through the case. Here are the places where you can bring your matters to, according to Jeanne:

• National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC)
• Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
• Malaysian Bar Council

In her FB post, Jeanne also provided a link that will allow users to check the background of contractors and see if they are registered under the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

We cannot imagine being in the shoes of Jeanne’s friend, with all that hard-earned money gone with the wind. It’s wise to be selective in the group of people who will handle the renovation at your place to avoid consequences.

Also read: Scammers Try to Dupe M’sian Auntie into Paying Ransom Money For “Kidnapped Daughter”, Get Ignored