‘I think about it every night’: Fifth person complains to Action 9 about Food Truck Queen

A local man with big plans for his food truck business is upset with a woman Action 9 has reported on before.

Damien Goines says he runs a food truck business, Fat Daddy’s Chicken and Grill.

“The truck we had at first was like real long and couldn’t really get into tight spaces so we want something smaller,” he told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.

Goines says he sold the big truck and bought a smaller one for $7,500 then hired Charlene Steele to turn it into a “food” truck. Steele has used a few business names, including the Food Truck Queen.

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“She was just going to do the walls and the window and the sink,” he said.

Goines says he gave Steele the truck last summer and paid her the full cost of $6,000.

He says he isn’t sure if she did any of the work because he hasn’t seen the truck and he’s been waiting more than a year. He says Steele keeps giving him the runaround, but not the truck back.

“I would like the money back, but I know the money is a hope and a prayer. But I just want the truck back so I can take it to somebody else and try to get them to finish it,” he said. “Emotionally, it’s a lot. I think about it every night. Not a day [goes] by that I don’t think about it.”

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Action 9 tried to get in touch with Steele four ways but didn’t hear back in time for this report.

If you hire anyone to help get your business off the ground:

- Always have a written contract and make sure it’s specific, especially when it comes to what’s going to be done and by what date.

- Pay as little as you can upfront. In fact, you may want to pay in phases, as each step is accomplished.

- If you can, use a credit card. It’s usually easier to dispute charges that way.

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