SAN ANTONIO — Ester Lockhart, 77, hired contractor Isaac Flores to do landscaping work in her yard on March 8. Flores was supposed to level out her front lawn and grind down a tree stump.
Lockhart was especially worried about slopes in her front lawn, because they made walking difficult. She paid $950 up front, which was half, and worked with the contractor to set up a date for the work. They postponed the job several times due to weather but once a date was set the landscaper failed to show up. In fact, Lockhart said he failed to show up twice.
Finally, on March 18 Flores said he was canceling the job due to a family emergency. The contractor said via text, “I'm sending your check back to you later today if not first thing tomorrow.”
The check didn't show up and Lockhart's texts started to go unanswered. After waiting for three weeks she decided to look for help.
"He never came back to refund me. I kept texting him and on my final text I said I need to take some kind of recourse," Lockhart said.
Finally, she called KENS 5.
"I kept seeing the stories about KENS 5 helping other residents," Lockhart said.
KENS 5 called Flores's business number but he hung up on us almost immediately and then refused to take our calls. He did, however, text Lockhart less than two hours later to apologize. Lockhart said he also called later to apologize.
Lockhart then told Flores she would like her money back by Thursday of the next week. The landscaper confirmed to KENS 5 via text that he would refund the money and had it delivered by Wednesday. Lockhart was relieved.
"I jumped and said 'thank you Jesus,'" Lockhart said. "I am truly thankful to KENS 5."
Lockhart will now be able to hire another contractor to fix her lawn.
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