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Hi fellow renomates Our story was published on 27 January 2012 by The New Paper. We have not hear from Mr Kenny Cheng and Mr Dennis Ng since the last email Mr Kenny Cheng sent on 17 January 2012. 5.56pm, requesting for payment from us. We were told by Mr Dennis Ng when we approached him on 23 November 2011 that "if you are not satisfied, don't pay" repeatedly. Since then, they did not ask for payment until the recent saga where the subcontractor asked a payment of $10k and Mr Kenny Cheng last email for payment. The following is the extract of Mr Dennis Ng response. We were told by the reporters that Mr Kenny Cheng could not be reached for comments. Renovation Nightmare as published by TNP THE NEW PAPER Friday, 27 January 2012 Living in 'warehouse', after contractor dispute MR DENNIS NG, 50, OWNER OF DMX CONSTRUCTIONS, SAYS: “Based on the contract, she is supposed to pay a certain amount. It is not paid up, so it is a no go. “She still owes us about $8,000, excluding a retention fee of 10 per cent which she has to pay only when the job is complete. In total, she owes us $12,000. “She moved in before renovations were completed. The remaining work is mostly carpentry jobs. She did not tell us about any defects within two weeks of moving in. But when I visited her, she started complaining. “I sent her a list of defects and am waiting for her approval to continue the works. But up till now, she has yet to acknowledge the list. “We have approached a lawyer and were given advice to send Madam Tan a letter stating that if she doesn’t pay, we won’t complete the job. We want it to be black and white this time. “I think that Mr Cheng and Madam Tan are both in a dilemma right now. “Madam Tan is probably worried that even if she pays up, Mr Cheng wouldn’t want to complete the job. “The two of them need to clear their ‘mental block’ first. We are educated people. We have done nothing wrong. It is the customer who didn’t follow the agreement. If they want, they can cut their losses and find another contractor.”

Hi superuser Thanks for your reply. Mr Kenny Cheng and Mr Dennis Ng (the owner of DMX Constructions) looked honest and kept reassuring us that they have been in this business for many years. I guess I didn't realise it until it was too late. Hope that people who engaged this firm will not be in the same situation as us.

Hi GHCY Yes I agree that it is important to know the person whom I will be handing my house to for the renovations. This is what DMX Constructions claims on their website: However, it is not what we experienced. Prior to deciding which firm to engage, Mr Kenny Cheng kept calling my property agent to ask him about our decision. My property agent, in turn, kept pestering me (indirectly) to engage DMX Constructions. Mr Kenny Cheng appeared to be a very nice person in the beginning. He was quiet with few comments and he was a 'CAN' man (everything we said, he replied "Can!" but after that, everything became what we deemed as "cannot" as those are not what we agreed on in the first place). However, there is another side of him which began to surface after we delayed payment due to the many defects and incomplete works which we had repeatedly requested them to complete first (which they promised to do so before we moved back). The designer, Mr Kelvin, would call me and tell me that Mr Kenny's boss chided him about the delay in our payment and if I do not make payment, the subcontractors would not want to come down to rectify and complete the works. I empathized Mr Kenny Cheng and made payment the very next day. Once payment was made, he SMS to express his thanks. And then the next SMS would be asking me for payment again. I can't help but began to have my doubts as there was an increase in unexpected disappearance acts such as overseas trips and overseas guests/clients (which he remained uncontactable for days). I wondered how they were going to complete everything (works not completed, serious defects not rectify, unable to extend rental anymore as the place had been rented out) within such a short time frame (2 weeks) for us to move back? Thanks for your concern. We had actually thought of a place-by-place plan to allow commencement of rectification and completion of our house. We had shared this plan with Mr Kenny Cheng but this plan never commence at all. Personally, my family and I felt that DMX Constructions' subcontractors who did our house are not up to standard at all. In fact, nothing was done correctly and nothing was done properly. Can you PM me the contacts of your contractors? Many thanks in advance!

Hi cruise Thank you for sharing your experience and letting us know our rights. At first, Mr Kenny Cheng claimed that I was the one who created such stains on the tiles. Then a month later, he said that it was neither his fault nor mine and we should not pursue this matter anymore as it had already past. On that same day, before he left, my daughter overheard him telling his worker that it was the carpenter who stained my tiles. He proposed 2 solutions with regards to the stained floor tiles: 1) polish the tiles again which will not 100% remove the stains 2) hack away and replace with new tiles I settled on hacking away and replacing the tiles. Mr Kenny Cheng word of advice is that we should listen and follow to his schedule as he is an experienced contractor. A question was posed to him which he was unable to answer. "The process of hacking and replacing the tiles meant that we will be trapped inside our room for a few days as the process of laying and letting the tiles settle requires a few days whereby nobody should step on the tiles. Does it mean that my kids do not need to attend school and I do not need to work? The only place we have assess to is the walk-in wardrobe. So we do not need to attend to our daily needs such as food and the nature call for that few days?" Isn't this ridiculous?

Hi AngryOwner I was wondering if we used the same contractor? My family and I never had the intention to go through the legal ways. We wanted them to finish up the remaining works, pay them and then we can begin a new chapter in a new house. However, DMX Constructions seemed not willing to do so. Our Christmas, New Year and now our Chinese Lunar New Year are ruined by them. Apparently, they don't seemed to be apologetic about it. Hmmm did your contractor contact you again for payment? By the way, based on your perception of 'livable state': - having approximately 79 boxes in the living room, - no shelving units for the built-in bookshelf in the study room, - shelves and drawers in the walk-in wardrobe are either missing or unstable, - boxes and bags of clothing lying all around in both the bedroom and walk-in wardrobe area, - 8 missing kitchen cabinet doors is this considered 'livable'? Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.

Hi joshdes Thanks for your reply. The firm is DMX Constructions. According to ROC, it is formerly known as Decor-Max Constructions. The firm's website is http://192dmx.com/ Hope that no one will be in the same situation as us.

Hi SzeHui Thanks for your reply. I agree that it is important to engage a HDB licensed contractor. Should we engaged a contractor that is HDB approved in the first place, we wouldn't be facing so much difficulties now ; living in and celebrating festive seasons including Chinese Lunar New Year in a warehouse-like condition. After-service is important too. I personally believe that the person-in-charge must be responsible, efficient and reliable too. I do not know how long this matter is going to drag. No matter how hard we try to solve this matter amicably (not by legal ways), my contractor and his company simply can't be bothered. During the last meeting when the carpenter came to dismantle some carpentry works, he requested for a payment of $10k from me. The carpenter said that he was told by my contractor that when he dismantle the carpentry works that day, I will pass him a payment of $10k. I was shocked as my contractor had never mention anything about it and I wasn't informed at all. I have exhausted all means of communication. Chinese Lunar New Year is just 1 more day later. I seriously do not know how my reunion dinner is going to happen at this point.

Hi fellow renomates As stated on his name card, Mr Kenny Cheng, a project coordinator who claims to be a contractor too. P.S. He is incapable of delivering what he promises, guarantees and assures. Beware. After one month of MIA, my contractor finally replied me informing me that his works would resume on 29 December 2011. As he did not mention what he is going to do, I arranged for a discussion on that day instead, together with my property agent. On that day, he turned up at my place with one of his workers. Upon the beginning of our discussion, he walked away to answer a call. I asked his worker who will be the in-charge this time, will it be my contractor himself or the worker himself. His worker answered that my contractor is the person-in-charge and will be around. He appeared hostile and kept raising his voice at my family and myself. We were talking to him nicely all the while. He threatened to seek his lawyer's and Singapore Contractor Association Limited for advice to deal with us. After some time, he calmed down and we went through the list of work to be completed. He sort of kept ignoring us and I overheard him telling his worker to take note all the things as he (my contractor) will not be coming to my house. Even before we end our discussion, he had already stepped out of the house and when my daughter told him that the discussion was not completed yet, he still refused to enter my house. For the rest of the discussion, we stood outside of the corridor and he simply was too busy playing on his mobile to continue the discussion with us. Before he left, he promised that he will send us the work schedule by Saturday 31 December 2011. On 31 December 2011, he was supposed to arrange for the carpenter, floor lamination maker and door maker to come to my house to let me know what are they going to do and if I am agreeable with what they are going to do. They made an appointment with me at 330pm but they turned up at 4pm instead. And only the carpenter appeared. Previously, the carpenter had the intention to remove the entire built-in bookshelf and re-make for us. But he was stopped by my contractor and designer. That day, the carpenter still wanted to remove it and my contractor still stopped him. My contractor only wanted him to paste another piece of lamination on top of the damages. In the end as the damages to the bookshelf is beyond what I can accept, the carpenter agreed to remove it. Throughout the whole discussion, my contractor kept mum and did not utter a single word. After they left, my family and I decided to go for dinner and we found them drinking beer at a coffeeshop near my house. I seriously do not know what kind of game my contractor is playing now. It is 20 days away from CNY and I doubt that my house can be completed by then. Furthermore, I have yet to receive the work schedule which he promised (again) to send me by 31 December 2011. When I emailed him yesterday requesting for the work schedule as my family and myself need to make arrangements too, his reply was that we agreed that day to wait until the carpenter dismantle the bookshelf before he send us the work schedule. As he did not speak to me that day, I never agreed with him on anything at all.

Hi Donathon Thanks for your reply. Hope everything is alright for you now! My case has dragged for 2 months already and this caused distress and inconvenience to my family and myself because we have already moved in. By the way, what do you mean by to hold my property agent responsible to a certain extend? An officer from HDB came yesterday but he said that HDB can do nothing. He will try to help me contact my contractor instead. Extracted from 'Renovation Guide for your HDB Flat', The flat owner shall at all times settle his disputes with the contractor without reference to HDB. It is until recently then I realised that my contractor is not HDB-approved. As this contractor is recommended by my property agent and the contractor said that they are HDB-approved. Since my permit has to be done manually by the permit holder, my contractor said that his boss will be going down to obtain the permit with him. So I assumed that his company is HDB-approved as he constantly claimed so. I hope that everyone can learn from my lesson. !! It is important to have HDB-approved contractors doing your house so please check with HDB before engaging any kinds of contractor for any jobs. This will protect your interests and rights.

Hi AngryOwner Sorry to hear about what had happened. I am glad that no one is injured during the process. There are so many businesses operating with no ethnics. I learnt from my lesson that it is important to obtain black and white, but sometimes it is not so easy to do so. I hope that you can resolve your matter soon.

Hi Renosotong Thanks for your reply. Sorry for the delay, I was trying to figure out how to post some pictures. I am not a tech-savvy person, hopefully the pictures do appear later. We actually overheard them saying softly among themselves that somebody poured acid onto the tiles. However, my contractor still has the cheek to ask me "what you use to clean your tiles?". The boss dropped by my house in early December and was shocked to see the stains on the tiles. He even commented "what can you all possibly have to stain the tiles in this manner!". A few days later, the boss emailed us claiming that my contractor said that the tiles weren't like that before we move in. Hence my contractor do not understand why are there stains after we move in. The boss suggested for the tile supplier to come and take a look. I wasn't around when the tile supplier came. I supposed she assumed that my kids do not understand dialect and said "Die la! Die la! It's chemical." However, she told my kids that it is a kind of chemical that stained the tiles and it can be easily remove by using another chemical to wash the floor again. These are some pictures: I don't think this can be easily solved. With all my boxes around my tiny house, there is hardly any space to move around freely. I could not even clean the floor at all. The floor is still in the original state when my contractor left. Everyone uses almost the same kind of household cleaning agents which are available in the market. If the household cleaning agent can stain my tiles in this manner, then won't everyone be facing the same problem? The boss agreed with me in this aspect (Although I don't understand why he changed his stand so quickly). I believe that my contractor and his boss jolly well know who is responsible for these stains. Honestly speaking, I don't think my contractor carry out cleaning and chemical washing before I moved in. The entire floor was sticky and covered with white powdery substance which water cannot remove. The cabinets and shelving units have a layer of white powdery substance on them. To add on, I do not understand why my stainless steel items show signs of rusting. I have already begin taking photos after my contractor repeatedly did not turn up during the scheduled appointments with me. He even switched off his mobile. I have to take leave to meet him at his convenient timing even though I am his client. He is rude and even raised his voice at me. This is his evil side which appeared only after I decided to hold back the last payment (due to incomplete works, poor workmanship and too many defects yet to rectify). In fact, his boss also agreed (I know that the boss might be just pacifying me). This makes me even more certain that my contractor is unreliable, irresponsible and a frequent liar.

Hi Alvin82sg I did encountered some difficult time from HDB officers previously. I was unable to begin my renovation works due to transfer of ownership (the whole process takes a few months to complete). What I did was to look for the person-in-charge of such issues and I explained my predicament to her nicely. She is a very nice lady who helped me to expedite the whole process. Maybe you can look for the direct department or the person-in-charge and talk to them to save time (usually they will transfer the calls or put you on hold which takes quite a bit of time). I believe that the correct person will help to solve the problem as soon as possible. I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more help. I will try my best to help you.

Hi Realmplanet Thanks for your concern. I didn't know that the country where the workers come from will determine the outcome of the renovation work. For the rest, I am not sure. From what I know, - the workers are from Bangladesh hired by the company (they did almost everything from electrician to plumber to painter etc.) - the carpenters are from Malaysia - the tilers are from China (I happen to find out as the boss stated in 1 of the emails that tilers are 'China man') Thank you, I hope that justice will be done for me!

Hi AngryOwner Thanks for your reply. I have already approached CASE and provided the CSO with all information required. I had already delivered the letter to my contractor's company but until now, I have yet to hear from them. I have not paid in full yet. Glad that I am still holding on to the last payment. But it seemed to me that my contractor might be forgoing the last payment as he refused to respond to me. This contractor is recommended to me by my property agent. He complained to my property agent that he is unhappy with me as I did not give him 'face' when I went to look for his boss and that he did not receive my email with regards to the defect list. I email him according to the email address stated on his name card. Any advice on what to do next?

Hi Renosotong I understand your concerns as I am facing the same issue too. There are stain marks on the tiles in my living room and my contractor blamed me for 'creating' those stains. I told my contractor about the uneven tiles and grouting problems (some tiles have no grouting at all and some groutings are coming out due to the shaky tiles) and he said there is nothing he can do. The grouting in my toilets is yellow in colour. When I asked, the reply I received was that they were experimenting with the colour of the grouting. Why must they experiment in my toilet? Anyway, I agree with the rest of the renomates. I believed that your contractor should bear full responsibility. He should rectify them at no cost. Hope everything goes well for you. Is it possible for you to update us on the status?