<Reader Contribution by Debbie>
I usually dun post much on fb but i feel i am obliged to post this incident to warn other new home owners. Pls help to share so more ppl will be aware of this id. So ard feb-march i went to seek ard for some id companies which offers in house loan. The reason why i didn’t go for bank loan is bcos i am working freelance (dun have cpf contribution) and due to some reason, in house loan is our only option.
And so we found this id “D’s Interior Designs Studio”. His fb page is v normal, i assumed maybe bcos he just started. So i just send an enquiry and he arrange for a meet up to view my house. After meeting with him he seems v confident and very knowledgeable abt what he is doing.
But still being v skeptical as i heard horror stories of home owners getting scam by id, i request to view his ongoing project not only pics. And he brought me to 4 of his ongoing projects with customers giving me positive feedback and one was even refered by her own family member as her house was also done up by him. This give me the confidence to procced with him. Plus his quotation wasn’t really the cheapest. But still before deciding to sign with him, i went to research alot abt him & his company but nth much. So i thought no news = good news?
The first deposit was 2k by cash and he even send me the ss of his conversation with his 3d designer. A few days later he sent me the 3d drawings. The next deposit was close to 6k when he brought me to select the tiles. He even act close with the salesgirl as if he was a regular. All i can say is his acting is really v convincing and good! Not only that he has existing projects to bring me for viewing. He even gave me a agreement contract drafted by the lawyer for the in house loan. He totally upped his scamming tricks!
Ok, so the nightmare finally begin. He said he will start the project on 12 april but it nv did. Every week he gave diff kind of excuses & he still lie abt the tiles will rch on a particular date but when i checked with the tiles shop, they told me he didn’t order at all. Until now he is totally uncontactable. He doesnt reply to my msges or ans my calls.
Out of desperation i went to one of his project to check with the owner, & the owner mentioned that her work has also been delayed but at least they have the cabinets. Their loss is abt 300 plus & they will file a police report. My total loss is close to 8k. I know i will not be getting back my money and i have to work hard again.
If not for personal reason that i have to move out asap i will not engage such id just bcos of his in house loan. All i can say is there is really a special place in hell for this kind of guy bcos before giving him all the deposits i told him that I am just working freelance & it really took me some time to save up these money. It’s really my hard earned money! Working & having to take care of my child at the same time is not easy.
And 1 last thing to add is, once u get scam there is nth u can do bcos police will just tk this as civil case. Ya it just sucks like this. Nowadays its hard to know which id will really fulfill their job. My advice is u can try to get referrals from family members or close friends or just go for big ids with good reviews. It is really not worth the heart pain and the mentally torture. I really hope my post will help home owners to avoid getting scam.
The company’s Facebook page has been taken down. Chicken out liao?