TEMPLE, Texas — Thomas Rorie purchased his Temple home with his wife less that two years ago. After the rainfall Temple has endured over the last year, Rorie noticed that his home needed to be leveled.
"There are cracks in my walls and there are dips in the floors," Rorie explained.
So the search began for a local company to level his home and he decided to use Angi's (formally Angi's List) to find what company worked best for the project. He had the choice between Ground Up GC, based out of Austin, and one other company. After meeting with the company owner, Raymond Lynwood, Rorie ended up choosing Ground Up GC to level his home in August 2024.
"This company actually contacted me to do the house level," Rorie said. "The guy came out here on the 13th of August and did an estimate. A lot of these businesses are wanting to have the payment upfront, which we did."
Lynwood agreed to begin the leveling project August 22 and paid Lynwood $1,825 as the first deposit for the project.
Problem is when that day came, nobody ever showed up.
"I texted [the owner] and the response I got was that they were two houses away, literally up under a house at the moment," Rorie continued. "They said they would come on the 26th, which was on a Monday. The 26th came around, and nothing."
After a while, Rorie said he would text and call Lynwood asking for his money back. As of Sept. 15, he has not received a response.
“I figured since they were a part of Angi's that they were legit and I have found out that that's not the case."
6 News got in contact with Angi's and informed their representatives about Rorie's negative experience using their website. Here's what they told us:
"We were disheartened to learn about this homeowner’s experience. Upon learning of this, we immediately investigated the incident and have blocked this provider from interacting with any homeowners on our platform. We are in touch with the homeowner and working diligently to resolve this matter for them as quickly and smoothly as possible." - Emily Do, Angi's Director of Media Relations.
6 News also attempted to reach Raymond Lynwood via cell phone call, text message, email, and website message. We asked if his company had any plans to either level Rorie's home like they were contractually required to do or give Rorie a refund. As of Sept. 15, he has yet to respond back to us.
Rorie has filed a report with the Temple Police Department and is prepared to take Lynwood to small claims court.
“I just want my money back because even if they offered to do the service now, I would not trust them to do it," Rorie said.
He also added that he's learned not to give any company money up front before they do any sort of work. This is something else Do with Angi's reiterated in her response to 6 News. Here are those tips:
Before inviting any service professional into your home, Angi recommends you:
- Thoroughly research reviews and vet referrals
- Obtain multiple quotes
- Verify insurance, necessary licensure and business credentials
- Receive a project proposal that includes scope and payment terms
- Do not pay more than 20% of the total project value upfront or as a deposit
- Do not pay cash
- Keep receipts and documentation of all forms of payment
6 News will continue following this story to learn how it plays out moving forward.