Jim Bethinger wants his money back for roof and gutter repair work that was never started at his Garfield home.

Bill Lacek, of Senior Carpenters, promised to send it to him.

Mr. Bethinger, 88, a retired truck driver on a fixed income, is still waiting.

"I haven't heard or received anything from [Mr. Lacek]," he said.

I wrote about Mr. Bethinger's problem with Senior Carpenters on Jan. 8. Since then, I've been contacted by a number of readers who said they've experienced similar problems with that company.

Senior Carpenters, which promises "100 percent customer satisfaction," has an unsatisfactory rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Mr. Lacek and I have exchanged several voice mails. In his last voice mail, Mr. Lacek said he had "every intention" of completing Mr. Bethinger's job, but said he would refund the unused portion of the $4,500 down payment.

"I'm going to honor [Mr. Bethinger's] request as far as refunding his money and removing the shingles from his back yard," Mr. Lacek said in his voice mail.

"I'm going to refund his money over a 30- to 35-day period and [do so] in a series of payments. He'll receive a check every week until he gets all his money back. I want to see him get his money back. That's my intention."

He asked me to relay those promises to Mr. Bethinger.

Mr. Lacek also said he had encountered "some financial difficulties," but added:

"I need to get [Mr. Bethinger] taken care of, as well as some other customers, and that is my intention."

Jim Bernauer, of Crafton, said he is one of those "other customers."

Mr. Bernauer, a teacher, said he hired Senior Carpenters in July to replace several old concrete walkways around his house, build a concrete pad for his grill and an open-sided structure with a roof to protect the grill and himself during inclement weather.

"He said the job would cost $5,600," Mr. Bernauer said. "I gave him $2,600. He promised to start the work by the end of August. Well, August came and went, and so has every other month since then.

"I called him numerous times, but he never got back to me. He hasn't done any of the work I paid him to do.

"And then your column about Mr. Bethinger's problem with Senior Carpenters appeared on Jan. 8," Mr. Bernauer continued. "A day or two later, a guy who's doing some work at my house opened a door and a letter fell out. It was from [Mr.] Lacek and apparently had been stuck in the door. It said he is willing to pay me $3,000 to cover the $2,800 down payment and $200 in interest.

"I called him and left a message that I just wanted the $2,800 back. I told him I hoped whatever problems he has will work out for him. I told him I have no desire to take him to court, but I have filed complaints against him with the district attorney's office and the attorney general's office. I don't want him doing this to anyone else."

Mr. Bernauer added: "I never thought I'd get taken, but he's a real charmer. We really liked this guy. It's my own fault for not checking on him. You wonder how people like him think they can get away with stuff like this."

Nora Fagan, of Duquesne, said she also wonders how Mr. Lacek "gets away with all this."

Ms. Fagan, 61, a part-time caretaker, hired Senior Carpenters in April to remodel her kitchen and remove a wall in the living room. The work was to begin May 5, but didn't start until June 24. She declined to say how much of a down payment she made because "I feel so ashamed about how much I paid him."

"He was very charismatic when he came out to the house," she said. "He gave me a very low-ball figure for the work. He said he was doing the job as a favor for his employees so he could continue to employ them.

"He said I could pick out kitchen cabinets in his warehouse, but that never happened. He always had an excuse. He called to say this broke down or that broke down. Then he said he got sick.

"Well, the one who's really sick about all this is me," said Ms. Fagan, who is on Social Security Disability. She has lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease than can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood and kidneys.

"I should have known better," she said. "I called the Better Business Bureau, the district attorney's office, the [state] attorney general's office and a lawyer.

"Meanwhile, my kitchen is all torn up, the demolition debris is piled on my back porch and I've got kitchen items and other stuff piled up in the living room.

"The people he sent out to do the job have worked no more than 32 hours. I have it all documented. I was looking forward to a new kitchen and all I have is a mess. And I can't afford to pay anyone to do the job right."

Ms. Fagan said she sent Mr. Lacek a letter in which she asked him to work with her to see the job through to completion.

"I wasn't the least bit nasty, rude or crude, but he got upset because I was critical of one of his workers. I'm so stressed out by all this."

When I told Ms. Fagan that Mr. Lacek and I have exchanged voice mails, she said that is "typical" behavior on his part.

"He plays phone tag so he won't have to talk to anyone."