Get Gephardt helps Holladay woman who says contractor left her with an unusable bathroom

HOLLADAY, Utah — If a contractor did bad work, you wouldn’t be satisfied with the job. A Holladay woman said a restoration company left her with an unusable bathroom, but when they told her she was satisfied, she decided it was time to Get Gephardt.

“The toilet was not working,” said homeowner Nikki Zito. “The toilet was overflowing.”

Zito’s leaking toilet waterlogged the bathroom floor, causing mold and structural damage. Through her insurance company, she hired a restoration company to fix the damage.

Zito said the new subfloor they put in was not level and made of suitable material for a bathroom floor. The plumber refused to reinstall the toilet and other fixtures without any warranty.

Are Sandy woman was told to sign a piece of paper saying that she was satisfied with the contractor’s job before the job was completed. So what is she supposed to do now that work has stopped and she is NOT satisfied? #GepGephardt @KSL5TV

— Matt Gephardt KSL-TV (@KSLGephardt) November 16, 2022

When she called the restoration company to complain, she said they presented her with a signed certificate of satisfaction, saying the work was completed to her satisfaction.

But Zito said she was told she needed to sign the form on the first day of the job.

“He said this is giving us permission to do the work,” she said.

Because of the signed form, she said the restoration company demanded that she authorize the insurance checks. She refused.

“They just walked out and have not come back,” Zito said.

Two months of an unusable bathroom left Zito flushed with exasperation, so she contacted Get Gephardt.

“I’d like a bathroom back,” she expressed.

So this time, we reached out to the contractor — Five Point Restoration — on her behalf.

A company owner declined an on-camera interview, but in a statement, wrote, “We definitely don’t want a repair certificate of satisfaction signed prior to the completion of the project. It was a mistake and misunderstanding to obtain this prior to receiving confirmation from the entire Zito family that they were satisfied.”

As for the work, Five Point Restoration wrote, “Throughout this process, we offered multiple solutions for a complex issue.”

In the end, Five Point Restoration walked away — receiving zero compensation for the work.

Zito is now hiring a different contractor. She said she plans to be more careful the next time, reading before she signs.

“Shame on me,” she said. “I know better than that.”

The standard practice is to sign satisfaction certificates at the end of a job or when work is nearly complete. Many lenders and finance companies require them before they approve final funding. And contractors often rely on the certificates after the job if a customer claims they’re unhappy with the work.