TOLEDO, Ohio — Juanvetrice Thompson has been without a toilet, a bath and a sink for several months. The Toledo woman told Call 11 for Action that she hasn't even seen her contractor since March 15.
Thompson said she has to leave her house if she wants to wash or use the restroom.
"Luckily, my son lets me use his car," she said. "So I have to go down the street over to my son's house or one of my family member's houses if they're home."
Thompson said her toilet started leaking in January, so she hired family friend Billy Frazier to fix it and then decided to remodel her bathroom.
"It was flooding from the bottom and the stack that he cut which was hooked up to this, it was full of poop," Thompson said, showing a large pipe that had been cut in the bathroom.
She said she and Frazier set up a payment plan for the $2,600 job and she has paid $1,500 of that amount thus far, yet her bathroom remains torn apart.
"I only have like $900 to pay him and this is what I get," Thompson said.
She said she tried to get other contractors to take over the job when it became apparent that Frazier was not reliable, but those contractors refused once they looked at it.
"I had called a lot of people, tried to get some help. Junction Coalition. I called independent plumbers. I called professional plumbers," Thompson said. "Everybody, when they came over and saw this part right here, they never come back. They said, 'This is wrong, this plumbing that they did down here is wrong.'"
Thompson said she was unaware of whether Frazier applied for any permits with the city to do the work.
"I didn't even know I needed a permit," she said. "This is my first home and it's truly a learning experience, that's for sure."
Thompson also showed Call 11 for Action text messages between her and Frazier about why the work was not getting done in a timely manner.
In one text, Frazier said, "I didn't pull a permit and you know why that is," though Thompson said she does not know why that is.
In another text, Frazier said, "I'm not trying to screw you over. I'm your family, I was trying to help you."
With no money to have anyone else fix it, Thompson feels hopeless.
"To my knowledge, he's not a bad guy, it's just that I don't know if this job was too big for him," Thompson said. "I'm hoping if I can get just a little nudge, a little help, I can get back up on my feet."
Call 11 for Action tried calling Frazier but was unable to leave voicemails.
