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Regulators crack down on home improver

Last update: August 29, 2008 - 9:13 PM

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Renaissance Exteriors Inc., a Maple Grove home improvement company, has been banned from accepting new work while it finishes commitments to about 100 area homeowners.

Letters are going out now to customers after some complained to the State Department of Labor and Industry that Renaissance took their money but did no work. The letter says Renaissance will be contacting affected customers within a few weeks to explain how it will complete their contracts.

The case is unusually big, regulators said. Typically complaints involve just two or three customers. A consent order indefinitely suspends the contracting license of Renaissance, which blames its problems on the bad building economy.

On its website, www. homebetterment.com, the company bills itself as the "Twin Cities leading home improvement company -- and one of the fastest growing in the Midwest." It also lists numerous awards and associations, including the Better Business Bureau. Renaissance did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Mark Rissmiller of Richfield is one customer who still is not satisfied. Rissmiller said he paid Renaissance $15,000 in June, half the price to install new windows, siding and gutters on his house. The company cashed his check the next day, but has done no work and returned none of his phone calls.

"And I'm supposed to sit back and wait for them to contact me?" Rissmiller said. "Nothing is happening now, and I'm enraged at the company."

Department spokesman James Honerman said homeowners are also eligible to apply for money from a state Contractor's Recovery Fund. However, the total available is $150,000 per company.

H.J. CUMMINS

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