Clear Bay Contracting

This was a nightmare experience! He initially as everyone else mentioned in the reviews is very pleasant, pretends he's going above and beyond. The quality of his work is awful!

Thats not even the worst part- he bought material on my credit card that wasn't for my property. When caught he completely denied it.

He was way over budget and was slowing down on the work. He would say he's working but not show up to the property. My dog passed away during the time of the renovation and I was dealing with that and he completely took advantage and kept asking me for more money. He makes up lies and stories about family members getting sick. He left the work incomplete and everything he did needs to be redone. He then just disappeared and has blocked all calls and messages from me. He stole over 30k and the work is no where close to being done. He is nice till you keep transferring him money and the moment you stop with him demanding money he makes up lies. He claimed there was mould in the air of the property to delay work and he was getting sick. I asked him to stop all work and did my due diligence getting it tested. The report came back negative there was never an issue. He does all sorts of things to delay the work. He would call screaming and yelling getting all emotional one moment and then the next moment he would call to apologize and ask for more money. He's not an honest person and comes across very sweet initially but thats how he scams people!

Upon further investigation we found out he keeps changing his company name when people catch on.

We are going to be reporting him for fraud and are discussing with our lawyer on suing for the money!

If anyone else is dealing with this situation and wants to contact me, feel free to 416-809-6272.

Also check out the other company names he worked under and you'll see the other reviews people left. Circa 1982 is another name hes using.

I am probably the latest victim of Richard Harasti, and most probably his last one. He is now a con artist in the Niagara Region. Same modus operandi as described above.

Richard Haraszti of Clear Bay Contracting ended up being a compete disappointment unfortunately. His work ethic is quite poor.

He also asks for cash advsnces when hes alresdy paid in full. There is definitely an issue with him being irresponsible with his finances. He even asked if I could give him a thousands in cash so he can have on hand to pick up materials if need be (which I never did, thank God). I dint believe he has any credit whatsoever, so that alone says allot about him. You have to babysit him to make sure he's working and actually at your home completing work, or he'll charge you for time spent in your home when he wasn't there. I paid him by the hour and he was very good at stretching out a job by working very slow or taking off frequently throughout the day.

At first he's reliable but then quickly changes to showing up late, suddenly disappears, is chatting on his cell phone frequently throughout the day, doesn't show up at all when he states he will, leaves early, works very very slow. Trust me, you don't want to find out the hard way like I did. I had other trades people in my house and watched them compared to him, it's night and day.

There's also the issue of him starting many projects in your home but then is unable to finish anything off. His behaviour changed dramatically towards the end and his work and was very sloppy, where I now have to pay someone else to redo his work that I already paid for.

I also noticed if he picks up supplies for you, he'll purchase things for himself on the same receipt and try to get you to reimburse him for the entire receipt. It wasn't until I questioned him, that he gave an excuse. You'll come to notice the number of excuses he gives, he's got one for just about everything.

He sells himself well but buyer beware, he claims he can do everything but this far from the truth. I'm not even sure if he has insurance enforced for itself.

On another very important note, you can not leave him unattended in your home for the safety of your contents. I had to get the police involved but because I don't have video surveillance or witnesses to prove what was stolen while he was the only person in my house at the time, the police couldn't do anything unfortunately.

Plus, if you try to talk to him about your concerns, he gets very verbally abusive.

Since the police were involved, he has been very vindictive.

Don't waste your time with your hard earned dollars or peace of mind with this guy, you'll be sorry just like I was and the previously client who also reported his issues with Richard.

We paid Richard in full for our bathroom and he never finished the project and he left us with half a kitchen. His work was sloppy and rushed and he was very unreliable regarding time line.

He has never returned, kept the money and at the time of this review, remains unavailable via call or text. Working in Southern Ontario.

The pictures below are just a few examples of his craftsmanship.