More people are coming forward to echo the experience of a mother and daughter who say they paid developers $162,000 for a home that was never completed.
Emerar Crummer, 93, and her daughter Jackie Brown have been forced to reach deep into their pockets to pay builders and sub-contractors to complete a home on family land in Turangi, overlooking the grave of Crummer’s father.
The builders had stopped work, saying project managers CM Contracting had stopped paying their bills.
For three months their lawyer was unable to pin down the co-founder of CM Contracting Sam Capper, as they tried to get their money back.
Lawyer David McNair said he was representing a second client with the same problem concerning CM Contractors, in a dispute that had not yet gone to court.
And another CM Contracting client Marise Temata came forward yesterday, to say she knew of a few customers unhappy with the company’s service, and called on others to speak out publicly.
She was left with “substandard and unfinished work” on their family home, by a building company working in partnership with CM Contracting.
She was taking legal proceedings and could not comment further.
Temata said she was deeply saddened by the experience in her own home of the Cook Islands, and was seeking answers.
Capper has returned home to New Zealand leaving his partner Teau McKenzie, the co-founder of CM Contracting and former Miss Cook Islands, to try to sort out the business.
Temata said she and others would forgive McKenzie if she could front up and help the people.
McKenzie’s father, Ron McKenzie, said last night that he too was a director of CM Contracting. He said he and his daughter would not comment on their dealings with Jacki Brown.
All Ron McKenzie would say is that Cook Islands News had done “the wrong thing” in reporting CM Contracting’s disputes with customers. The company is registered in both Cook Islands and New Zealand, but took down its website and Facebook page at the weekend.
Last night, Solid Construction director Robbie Daniels said CM Contracting was giving the whole industry a bad name.
“If the company is in more debt than they are making, they should be shut down,” Daniels said.
It was important for builders and building companies to be experienced with pricing and budgets, he added. “Smart builders know costs and budgets.”
