East TN man receives refund nearly a year after contractor never started work

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Knoxville-area home improvement contractor has finally refunded a deposit for work he never started.

In early May, Contractor Daniel Bradfield said he couldn’t remember receiving a check from Tom Caldwell, even though Bradfield’s personal information was on the back of a check he had endorsed. For nearly two months, he kept on delaying his repayment until law enforcement became involved.

Caldwell doubted he’d ever see his refund.

“A $1,000 in cash to pay me back for the money they took. I didn’t think I would ever get it. I am sure a lot of people just give up and don’t pursue it,” said Caldwell.

The money came from Bradfield, a home improvement contractor who Caldwell had hired in August 2023. He wanted Bradfield to make some repairs on his sister’s home. She bought it six months before she unexpectedly passed away last year. Caldwell put it up for sale, but the sunroom needed repairs first.

The cost to make the improvements was $2,800. Bradfield required $1,000 down, Caldwell wrote a check and Bradfield cashed it. The bank required personal information on the reverse side of the check.

“Yeah, his thumbprint is on it and there is his driver’s license number,” said Caldwell.

Bradfield also included his date of birth. After waiting months, the work on the home never started. Caldwell discovered Bradfield on our website from a story we did years ago , that’s why he called us. We first heard of Bradfield in the winter of 2018 when Shirley hired him to remove stucco from around the door frame of her front porch in September 2017. But the work never even started.

After speaking to Bradfield on the phone, he agreed to return her down payment. While we were there, he showed up at Shirley’s home and he returned $800 in cash. In May, while we were with Caldwell we called Bradfield and he talked with Caldwell .

At the time, he said, “I will get a hold of you tomorrow and we will get this dealt with. I did not know. Had I known, we would have dealt with this a long time ago.”

Nearly six weeks later, Bradfield had not dealt with the issue. Caldwell was still waiting for his refund. Frustrated, he talked with detectives in late June.

“Well, I went to the sheriff’s department and found out if he didn’t touch the work at all they could serve a warrant on him for theft. The detective called him, that got his attention and he called me the next day. One of his workers brought the money. I was surprised at the haste, which was good. I figured with the detective talking to him might poke him a little bit,” said Caldwell.

Bradfield sent a text to Caldwell, it came with no apology though.

“He says ‘You have it now, so we are good.’ So, I am whole, that’s all I can ask for. I am very thankful,” said Caldwell.

It was the personal information left on that check that directed detectives to Bradfield.

“It allowed the sheriff to hone in on him and pursue him, contact him and resolve the case,” said Caldwell.

The case is resolved after nearly a year and Caldwell has his deposit back.

It shouldn’t have taken 11 months for Caldwell to receive his money, just like it should haven’t taken half a year for Shirley to get her deposit returned. If this happens to you, here is the process. Under state law, if a contractor fails to start a job within three months, you need to write a “demand letter” to the contractor saying you want the job to get underway, or your money back. If there is no response from the contractor, that’s when you go to authorities requesting a charge of theft be made.

Bradfield was apparently aware of the law, and wisely returned the money before charges were filed.

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