A restaurant owner from Airdrie says he and his families lives have been turned upside down by a contractor who walked away from the development of his restaurant, leaving him out thousands of dollars and on the hook for thousands more.

Mahmoud Baroud, better known around Airdrie as Moody is the owner of Moody's Mediterranean, a business located in the Cooper's Crossing area of Airdrie.  Moody's specializes in food inspired by Greece, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, and other Mediterranean countries. 

Moody explains that his problems with the contractor started long before he opened his doors.  "We had a contractor that we thought that we trusted.  We went through the whole process of getting the contract signed properly and having whatever we needed in there.  We were taken by what he did.  He took most of the money that was part of the contract and ran away on us.  He didn't finish the job.  We ended up paying him 90 percent of the contract and he took the money and after he took the money he disappeared."  

Moody says the situation would have been bad enough if that's where it ended.  However, the contractor also hired several sub-contractors and ended up not paying them either.  "He left all the sub-contractors, the plumbers, the H-VAC people, the electricians were not paid most of their money.  We ended up having to spend close to $100,000 just to pay these sub-contractors," Moody says.  "Then, we probably spent about $120,000 on top of that just to finish the work he left behind."

Moody says they initially paid the contractor $300,000.  "So instead of this place costing us $350,000, we had to spend close to half a million dollars to get it open."

Moody says outlaying all that cash has left them financially strapped.  Since their business loan was already maxed out because of paying the contractor, they've been forced to take a line of credit against their home to keep going.

Moody is telling his story now in hopes of letting others know about avoiding some of the financial hardships that have befallen him.  He says he's learned a great deal from this experience.

"What I learned is you have to be more involved in the building process.  You have to be on site most of the time.  You have to actually make sure that your contractor is trustworthy, and don't give him the money.   Get someone who knows what they're doing to come and give you a second look at what he's done.  If he's done exactly what he says he's done, you can pay him out, but don't take their word for it.  Make sure everything you do, from contract through the work that is done, is done through a lawyer and the disbursement is done through a lawyer," he says.

Moody says what you have in the contract is also important.  "Make sure, in your contract, if they don't do what they're supposed to do, there are penalties.  You put penalties, you put deadlines, you make sure the contractor has a schedule and if they don't meet those schedules and deadlines, then there are penalties and they know exactly what they're in for.  You have to do your due diligence at every single point of the process."

The situation has added a level of stress to simply trying to get a new business off the ground.  According to Moody, they're still struggling because of what they had to do before getting the doors open.  The fact that his wife is expecting their first child has caused even more anxiety.  It's when he begins to talk about the baby that Moody starts to break down.

"I'm even more stressed because of what I have to provide for him," says Moody, his voice breaking.  "This guy really screwed us over so bad.  It's not just me that's hurting.  It's my whole family 'cause we're all so close together.  This has put a toll on us.  It hurts us so bad because this guy doesn't even realize what he's done.  Nobody can protect us from him.  Nobody can get us that money back.  We talked to a lawyer and he's protected by his corporation.  What he did is dissolve the company.  He'll do the same thing again to someone else.  How do I get my money back after all this that I went through?   It's very tough."

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