TOLEDO, Ohio — Sometimes, even when a consumer does research and carefully picks someone to work on their home, they still end up with a problem. That's what happened to Jeraldine Stewart of Toledo.
Stewart told Call 11 for Action that she did her homework when she wanted to get some work done on her fireplace.
She looked online and saw Tiny Tom's Chimney Sweep and Repair had several five-star reviews, so she reached out.
"The next day somebody called, a guy name John called and said, 'Hey, I understand you want some work done," Stewart said.
Stewart believed the man who called her, John Konecki, was an employee or subcontractor for Tiny Tom's because she reached him when she called the business.
Stewart said Konecki came to her house on Nov. 21, 2023. He quoted her a price of $189 to clean her fireplace and she paid with a check that Konecki told Stewart to make out to him.
She said she also wanted to get a gas insert installed and Konecki quoted her $1,600 for that job. He required one-third of the total, $533, on that day, again to be paid with a check made out to him, not Tiny Tom's.
Six days later, Stewart said she was surprised when Konecki called her to say he would be returning the $533.
"He said, 'You don't need to spend $1,600 with me because you don't really need the work so I'm gonna give you that check back and you can put that back toward your new insert.' I said, 'I appreciate you telling me that.'"
Stewart was grateful to Konecki for letting her know she didn't need the work and thought he was being honest for returning the money.
"He said, 'Yeah, I'll get that check back to you in a couple days, and then a couple days went by and I said, 'Let me give him a call.'"
That was on Dec. 6, when Stewart said Konecki told her he had a cold. She called again on Dec. 13, when she said Konecki told her he was at a job in Genoa and would bring the check when he was finished. He never showed and she gave it another week.
On Dec. 21, Stewart said Konecki said he was going through a lot, but he had her refund and would return it before Christmas.
Konecki told her the same stories on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 -- that he would be right over with the check. He never showed.
So, on Dec. 27, Stewart called Tom Best, the owner of Tiny Tom's.
"'Yeah, sometimes John just goes rogue, and I can't control him.' Those were his exact words, 'I can't control him,' and then he tells me a bunch of other stuff about John," Stewart said. "Even John's family doesn't trust him. It's like, well, so basically, he threw John under the bus and washed his hands completely of it. This doesn't seem right. 'I contacted your company. Somehow this person got my information. If you don't trust him, then why did you send him to my house?' And now he's taken money, and he won't return it."
On Jan. 2, 2024, Stewart filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which gives Tiny Tom an "A" rating on its website.
On Jan. 8, Stewart filed a lawsuit against Konecki and Best.
Call 11 for Action went to Tiny Tom's location on Williamson Avenue. Best pulled into the driveway and agreed to talk.
We really couldn't figure out Best's arrangement with Konecki. At one point he called him a crew leader, then said he's a franchise owner.
"They can become what I consider, 'rogue,'" Best said about franchise owners. Best said Konecki's franchise is called JAK.
Call 11 for Action asked Best, why, if Konecki is a franchise owner, Best is not responsible if Konecki goes rogue.
"Because I'm a marketing division," Best said.
Best said he has been in contact with Konecki almost daily and has urged him more than once to return Stewart's money but has not given him any leads since Dec. 6.
He even called Konecki on the phone to talk to Call 11 for Action.
Best said to Konecki, "I've got Channel 11 here, Call for Action, which is a real good group, probably stronger than the Business Bureau asking about the Jeraldine Stewart situation."
When asked why he has not returned Stewart's money, Konecki said, "The client would only like it in full. I have offered to make payments."
Call 11 for Action asked Best if he is willing to pay Stewart the money. He said, "I don't have $500 right now."
After a lot of back and forth, Best told Call 11 for Action he would pay Stewart back if Konecki doesn't, within 30 days.
Call 11 for Action will check back with Stewart to see if she has been paid.
More on WTOL: