GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kay Edwards found the perfect spot to call home. The house is in Greensboro but when you sit on the wood deck, it feels like you’re in the woods.
“It’s therapeutic to me; it’s quiet and I enjoy the wildlife,” Edwards said.
The home sits on more than an acre of land. The tree-filled property also serves as an animal sanctuary. When Edwards bought the house more than 25 years ago, the land on both sides was also packed with trees. The land on one side is clear-cut and developed several years ago. Now, the same is happening to the ground on the other side.
“(They) bulldozed it down; created havoc with trees, and cut trees on my property line,” Edwards shared.
It’s unclear how many of her trees were cut down by the new landowner but Edwards decided enough is enough. She put up no trespassing signs and decided to put up a fence to make sure her property was safe and secure.
“I decided to (find a contractor) on Angie,” Edwards said.
After Edwards went on the website and filled out the online form, a list of several contractors came up. Edwards decided to go with a company called Wolfmaster Fence Builders. Derek Wolford is the owner.
“I showed him what needed to be done. He took measurements and everything,” Edwards said.
The job was tentatively scheduled to start a couple of weeks later. Edwards wrote a $3,600 check for the down payment.
“He said he needed it for materials; he cashed it the next day,” Edwards said.
A couple of weeks went by, and Edwards didn’t hear from Wolford. Calls would go to voicemail or when Wolford did answer, Edwards said he had an excuse for the delay. Eventually, she couldn’t reach Wolford. A couple of months later, Edwards knew there was a problem.
“I was scammed,” Edwards said.
Edwards started to do some of her own investigating into Derek Wolford and Wolfmaster Fence Builders. Edwards soon discovered Wolford had multiple names for the company.
“(His name) appears on a government watch list,” Edwards said.
Edwards reached out to Angi and asked them to reimburse her the $3,600.
“I feel Angi did not do their job of properly investigating the background of a person before they (listed him),” Edwards said.
At this point, Edwards decided to contact WFMY News 2 and see if we could help. After we spoke with Edwards, we contacted a representative at Angi. Only a few days went by before the representative told us it was investigating the matter.
A couple of weeks later, Angi sent Edwards and us an email alerting us that Wolfmaster Fence Builders had been removed from their website and the company would refund the $3,600 deposit.
“I was so relieved I can’t tell you how much I appreciated your help,” Edwards said.
Angi sent Edwards a check a week later. Edwards is now in the process of finding a new company to come out and build her fence.