Ivan, on active duty with the Marine Corp, had been ordered to Yuma, Arizona, so the Normans rented out their home in Beaumont, California and moved. However, when their renters quit paying their rent, they had to move back home the end of last year.

“We couldn’t afford the trip home so my husband and I both had to cash in our retirement plans so we could move,” Giovanda explains. “When we returned home, we found our yard and garden had been destroyed by the former renters. We didn’t have extra money, but we hired a landscaping company to repair the yard. He told us he needed money to purchase materials so we wrote out a check.”

The Normans became suspicious after the landscaping contractor kept making excuses for not completing the job. Repeated phone calls and emails were ignored.

“We were desperate and started Googling and then we found BuildZoom,” Giovanda says.

Giovanda posted a fair yet critical perspective of the company. When the landscaping company was unable to land a major contract, he contacted the Normans and offered to refund their money in full with interest if they removed their rating and comment.

“We are so grateful,” Giovanda says. “I don’t think we would have ever gotten our money back if it hadn’t been for BuildZoom.”