Case issues alert on renovation company Reka Bina
$101,000 paid to Reka Bina, which has gone silent
With Hari Raya coming up, Mr Fathurrahman Said, 53, put down a deposit of $6,700 to renovate his kitchen.
His cabinets and kitchen countertop were demolished on April 30. Then, Reka Bina, the renovation company he had contracted, went silent.
Mr Fathurrahman was later contacted by a Malaysian contractor who told him his cabinets were ready but that he had not been paid by the renovation company to install them.
Mr Fathurrahman said: "What could I do? I had to meet the contractor halfway. It's fasting month and Hari Raya is just around the corner. I need my kitchen to be ready."
He paid an additional $4,500 to the carpenter to install the cabinets.
His total renovation cost went up to $15,000 and he has yet to get back his deposit from Reka Bina.
Yesterday, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) issued a company alert on Reka Bina.
It said it had received 10 complaints from customers whose renovation works were left incomplete or had been delayed for months. According to Case, these customers had paid Reka Bina up to $101,000 for renovation works.
Reka Bina owner Mansoor Abu Bakar, 52, told Berita Minggu on Sunday that his financial troubles began after investors began pulling out of his four-year-old business.
He said he could not pay the contractors he had hired, which is why projects went undone.
He said he had no intention of cheating his customers but also has no money to repay them.
When TNP contacted Mr Mansoor, he declined to comment on individual customers' cases. But he said he has applied to become a taxi driver.
Sales administrator Siti Kamisah, 43, was also left in the lurch. She paid $7,500 - half the bill - in March to renovate her new flat but no work has been started. She was also unable to contact Mr Mansoor.
She said: "I found out from a friend only three weeks ago that the company had closed down."
Ms Siti, who had to engage another contractor to do her renovation, said: "I'm a single mother of two and really need the deposit back."
"I wanted to be able to celebrate my new home this festive season but now I can only renovate the kitchen cabinets, wardrobe and flooring."
Reka Bina customers who have not got their deposits back have started a WhatsApp group, to connect with one another, hoping to solve their problems.
Mr Fathurrahman, who is on the group chat, said: "We just want our money back. It is not our problem than Reka Bina's investors have pulled out. We need our money."
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