Kelowna contractor's multiple lies about reno cost homeowner $1M
A Kelowna contractor who repeatedly lied to a client, demolished half their property and left them with $1-million repair bill has been ordered to pay $740,000.
BC Supreme Court Justice Warren Millman found Rene Bertrand and his company Elite Life & Home Painting & Renovations had lied to their client on multiple occasions and kept asking for money for work they didn't do.
"(Bertrand) made a series of fraudulent misrepresentations that induced Ms. Wanklyn to pay them amounts that she would not otherwise have paid," the Justice said in a Dec. 20, BC Supreme Court decision.
The case involves Dr. Beverly Jill Wanklyn who was introduced to Bertrand through a mutual friend in 2017.
The decision said Wanklyn was impressed by Bertrand’s demeanour and found out he lived on the lakefront Kelowna street and owned a company called Elite Life & Home Painting & Renovations. She hired him to do some cleaning and then to do a renovation of her guest house.
The reno was done through Bertrand's business and spousal partner Justin Sturby and his company Elite Lifestyle Services.
She paid Bertrand $76,000 and she was happy with the renovations to the guest suite.
After that, she began talking about having more a comprehensive renovation of the main house which was built in 1924 and was poorly insulated.
She was planning to go to Europe for a month in the spring of 2017 and Bertrand said he could do all the work while she was away.
He gave her an estimate of $379,000 for extensive work that included reconfiguring the master bedroom and bathroom, the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room and guest suite. He would also replace a deck, install air conditioning and put in new plumbing and many more significant renovations including painting the entire house.
Wanklyn paid the money and a month later when she returned from Europe, Bertrand arranged for a limousine to pick her up from the airport.
"She was expecting to arrive home to a newly-renovated house. Instead, she was shocked to find that the house had been gutted and progress halted," the Justice said.
She asked for her money back, but Bertrand refused saying the money had been spent purchasing the materials needed for the renovation.
"This appears to be untrue," the Justice said. "When Ms. Wanklyn demanded an explanation, Mr. Bertrand told her that he had discovered some rotting wood in some of the support beams. He had withheld that information from her until then, he said, because he had not wanted to spoil her holiday."
Bertrand said he needed another $50,000 to replace the rotting wood, but after that, he could continue as planned.
"Despite that promise, the work did not progress. Instead, in July 2017, Mr. Bertrand informed Ms. Wanklyn that all of the support beams in the house were rotten and in need of replacement," the decision read.
He then hit her up for another $125,000 and said he would have to rebuild part of the house from scratch, which would involve pouring new foundations, installing new exterior stucco and a new porch.
READ MORE: Penticton fraudster convinced everyone she had cancer — including her husband
Then the excuses started.
Bertrand lied and said he was awaiting municipal permits, then he said the house contained asbestos, while the solarium windows, the house’s footings and the garage all needed to be replaced.
He asked her for another $100,000.
The asbestos was removed but then the pipes froze because they had been left exposed without insulation.
By April 2018, nothing was happening and Bertrand said he was waiting for a structural engineer to prepare plans before work could continue.
He then lied again telling her that the city had concluded that the house was structurally unsound and now had to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch in its entirety.
He gave her another quote for $1.2 million.
She agreed but could only get $223,000 from her bank until the work was completed.
More excuses followed, with Bertrand saying he was waiting for an environmental consulting report, and the city had wanted designs modified.
"Ms. Wanklyn, now justifiably suspicious about everything Mr. Bertrand had been telling her, demanded to see (his) receipts for the work done to that point," the decision read.
However, he refused to hand them over.
In total, she'd paid him more than $771,000.
Once legal proceedings started she obtained the receipts that showed that he'd only spent $17,000 on her home. Some of the money had been spent doing renovations to his own house.
She demanded a refund but he refused.
Another contractor finished off the work at the cost of $995,000.
READ MORE: Vernon Paralympian suing housing charity over $60,000 debt
The decision said Bertrand didn't take part in the court process.
Justice Millman said the contractor lied on multiple occasions to keep Wanklyn committed to the work being done.
"I have also found that (Bertrand) made a series of fraudulent misrepresentations that induced Ms. Wanklyn to pay them amounts that she would not otherwise have paid," the Justice said.
The Justice ordered Bertrand to pay Wanklyn $732,362, deducting for some of the work done.
Wanklyn also argued for $50,000 in punitive damages to punish the contractor for their "reprehensible" conduct.
"Wanklyn argues that the defendants also need to be deterred because they have acted in a similar manner with other clients," the decision read.
However, the Justice said that was hearsay and ultimately ordered Bertrand to pay $10,000 in punitive damages.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
