Protect Yourself from Contractor Fraud: What I Learned the Hard Way

In October 2023, I hired Nicholas Laskowski (Pictured) and his father for a home improvement project that involved installing new flooring, designing an entirely new master suite, putting in kitchen cabinets, and constructing a perimeter fence. I adhered to the agreed-upon payment schedule, even though very little work was completed in November.

By the agreed end date of December 22, 2023, the home improvement project, which included new flooring design, was far from finished. However, I trusted Nick Laskowski's word that he would return after Christmas to complete the work—and unfortunately made nearly the entire final payment.

Nicholas left the state and moved to Tennessee. I later learned he never even purchased the materials for the master bathroom design, despite having been paid for them with the initial $21,000+ installment. 

Received promise after promise from Nick Laskowski that the home improvement work, including the design and flooring, would be completed. Nick finally stopped responding in mid-2024.

Up until July 2025, I had no way to contact Nicholas and no idea where he was, other than knowing he had relocated to Tennessee. Low and behold, he had started another nearly identical flooring business, Volunteer Flooring and Design—all while never finishing the project he had already been paid over $64,000 for. 

When I left an honest review about this, I was immediately threatened via text message by Nicholas, demanding that I delete the review within ten minutes or he and his family would post fake negative reviews to ruin my own business. I refused to remove it. Later, he sent another text—this time begging me to take it down (without apologizing for the first threatening message)—claiming that his business partners wouldn’t appreciate the review. 

I told him I would consider removing it if he followed through on purchasing the bathroom tile that was never ordered and began taking steps to finish the job. I understood there was only so much he could do from Tennessee, but he could have financed the completion of the project.

For months, I have asked Nicholas to hire a plumber for our home improvement project, but have received nothing but excuses—claims that “no plumber would come to my house.” I eventually arranged my own plumber, who quoted $8,000–$8,500 to complete the plumbing and ensure everything was up to design standards. Nicholas rejected the quote and instead claimed he would “hire” another plumber. His version of hiring a plumber was to pay someone $500 to teach his dad how to finish the plumbing job. 

The only result since that “lesson” has been a new leak in my bathroom, requiring the father to come twice just to run drying fans and attempt a patch repair. As of November 2025, absolutely no progress has been made in the master bathroom, which is now affecting the flooring as well.