Don Allen

Review: In the spring of 2015, Mr. Don Allen performed general yearly maintenance on my riding lawn mower. Previously, his father-in-law, Mr. [redacted], had done the work but has since retired; therefore, Mr. Allen worked on it. In mid-August 2015, the lawn mower broke while I was mowing. The mower would not go forward or backward. Mr. Allen came to my house and repaired it on August 17, 2015, but said it might need a new drive belt. I paid him $50.00 (check) for the work. Less than an hour after he left, I mowed, and the same problem happened --- the mower broke and would not move forward or backward. I called Mr. Allen and he advised me to purchase a new drive belt which I did from [redacted] in Christiansburg for $19.95 + tax. He was to come to my house on August 21, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. and meet my fiance ([redacted]) to put the new drive belt on. I called him the night before to remind him that we had the appointment and he said, He wasnt sure if he could be up that early to be at my house by 9:30. I asked him to please call if he would be late and that I had to work and my finance had a 12:00 appointment. He called at 10:00 to say he was on his way because he had a hard time getting up. He put the new drive belt on and I paid him another $50.00 (check). The following week, the mower broke again with the same problem. Mr. Allen was supposed to come to my house on August 31, 2015, and bring a new drive belt that he had purchased. He was a no call/no show. I called him at approximately 7:30 p.m. that evening to ask why he had not done the work or at least called. He first told me he was at a job all day, then he said he forgot. My fiance also called him about not showing up and Mr. Allen told him that he forgot. Mr. Allen assured both of us that he would come to my house on September 1, 2015, and put the drive belt on by 5:30 p.m. I arrived home from work and he, again, had been a no call/no show. My fianc and I both made contact with him and he arrived around 6:30 p.m. At 8:15 p.m. I asked him to please stop and come back the next day or later in the week since it was getting dark. He told me he was almost done. At 9:05 p.m. it was completely dark and I told him he needed to come back. He stalled and said no, hed stay until it was done. I told him that was unacceptable as it was dark, he had a mini flashlight trying to work in the dark, plus he would need to run the mower and cut some grass to see if he had fixed it. I told him that he needed to leave then. He got up and told me to, lose his phone number. At this point, the battery was out of the mower, screws and bolts were on the ground, and the mower deck was completely removed from the unit. I told Mr. Allen he needed to get the mower and all parts in my garage and Id be happy to help him push it or do whatever was needed. He said he did not need any help. It took him about 10 minutes to wrap up and the whole time he was talking to himself and also telling me he had a mental condition, his wife had left him, he couldnt keep a schedule and he didnt know when he could come back and fix the mower. On September 2, 2015, my fianc called Mr. Allen to talk with him about him being unreliable the previous three times he had committed to do work for me and he asked that he refund the $50.00 that I paid him on August 21, 2015. Unfortunately, my finance misunderstood that I wanted the $100.00 refunded for the alleged repairs on August 17 & 21 , 2015, because he had not completed either job and now I have a disassembled mower that I am going to have to have hauled to a repair facility and returned to my house. Originally, Mr. Allen agreed to refund $50.00 cash but after I spoke with him, texted him, and left him a voice mail that I wanted the $100.00 refunded, he hung up on me and refused to reimburse any of the money. I am requesting a refund of $100.00 cash from Mr. Allen for the work that he did not complete in addition to $19.95+ tax for a new drive belt. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Allen resides at the following address:[redacted]Allen are both aware of what has happened. My fianc and I have been in touch with them asking them to have Don reimburse the $100.00; however, apparently no one has been able to talk him into doing the right thing. I believe Mr. Allen is taking money under the table for repair work he is performing on autos, mowers, and household appliances and is probably not filing taxes on this money. I also do not know if he has the appropriate business license(s) to perform the work. Again, I was introduced to Mr. Allen through Mr. [redacted] when he used to work for Mr. [redacted].Desired Settlement: Refund of $100.00 in the form of a money order mailed to my post office box (address provided in this complaint). To my knowledge, Mr. Allen does not have a checking account and I do not want to come into contact with him to receive cash. He frightened me the night I asked him to leave on September 2, 2015, and I am afraid to be in his presence.