Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This past August it has been a year since the construction at our house began and we are still very far from being done with this project. The first two months of the project started off fine, but when the cold weather in November started the contractors stopped showing up and it turned into a daily routine of calling and texting Bruno S to find out if his workers were coming to the house or not. Often Bruno did not answer his phone or reply to our texts, but if he would, he would tell us the same excuses that, their truck broke down, or they will be there tomorrow, but the next day would come, and nobody would be here. These excuses went on for the next ten months! During the winter our house was left completely exposed to the cold. The contractors didn't show up for 3 months and all we were left with was the framing and plastic to keep us from the cold. My 3-year-old son, 7-year-old daughter, my husband, and myself all slept in the living room next to our fireplace for warmth during this time. We were burning through oil to keep warm with an average of $2,000 a month to fill our oil tank. During a conversation on the phone with Bruno, he told us he would reimburse us for our oil bill, but that never happened. Also, because our house was left exposed during the winter, we had multiple frozen and bursts pipes. The worst pipe burst was the day after Christmas when a pipe burst on our second floor and it poured water all the way to our basement, two floors down. Water and large pieces of the ceiling fell and damaged our furniture, my laptop, and toys/gifts our children just received the day before on Christmas. When we called Bruno to tell him what happened all we were told was sorry and that someone would be by to fix it, which nobody came by for weeks after that. Another issue we had during the winter was constant roof leaks. Every time it rained or snowed our roof leaked from the second floor in our sons bedroom, into our dining room, and all the way into the basement. Due to the several leaks, we have extensive water damage in the walls, ceilings, electrical wires, and hardwood floors. Finally, after 2 1/2  months of leaks and bursts pipes Bruno told us his guys were going to come in and install the insulation and that we needed to be out of the house for 24 hours during this time. We were told that on Monday, January 23rd they would insulate the house and we would be OK to return the following day so we got a hotel locally Sunday night, January 22nd so that we wouldn't be rushing to get out of the house Monday morning all while getting the kids ready for school and us for work. On Monday afternoon on the 23rd my husband drove past the house to see how things were going and nobody was there. When we contacted Bruno, he told us the guys truck broke down (again) and he would be there the following day. This went on all week while we were stuck in the hotel. Bruno told us he would reimburse us for the hotel but that never happened, and we ended up having to staying in the hotel for a week. After the insulation was done in January we went through several months of back and forth with Bruno and the same scenario of asking him when his guys were coming back, and we were given excuse after excuse or not even getting a response at all from him. We even had three sit downs with Bruno to try and speak with him to understand why no work was being done or why he was constantly lying to us saying the workers were coming but weren't showing up. All we were told was sorry from Bruno* and he will try to get his guys here. The months of February, March, April, and May there was no work done and we contact Bruno at least every other day trying to find out when his workers would be back. And on May 30, 2023, after several months of us being frustrated with him and his excuses my husband and I were upset, and we told him how unhappy we were with him and his work and that's when Bruno texted us telling us he no longer wish to continue doing the work. At this point we had paid Bruno 78,936.00 and all we had was the framing, insulation, and part of the siding complete. The work that still needed to be complete was the bathroom demolition, the rest of the siding, plumbing, electrical, my stairs, floors, drywall, doors installed on the rooms and closets, and painting, but we only had $20,000 left out of the money we had to complete this project, Bruno had taken everything from us. At this point we didn't know what to do. We had spent all our money we had, and we were left with a home that was not livable. We reached out to Thumbtack, the platform we had found Bruno on, to see if there was anything they could do, which they did try reaching out to Bruno to try and get him to finish the work, but Bruno never responded to them. ********* does guarantee all their workers, however because I had signed the contact with him in March of 2022 and it was now over a year since the contract was signed their policy only holds in place up to 6 months after the signed contract, so getting my money back wasn't possible. The only good thing that came out of me contacting ********* was that they did lock down his account with them and Bruno is no longer allowed to post his business through them again. During the time frame of June 2023 through August 2023 we did try to consistently reach out to Bruno to try and get some of the work complete that we had already paid him for, and we have been successful with getting the plumbing done and a portion of the electrical, but we are still missing about half of the lights to be installed as well as the smoke detectors. With the $20,000 we had left we found another contractor to help put our house back together and our new contractor was amazing. They finished the demolition work that Bruno never completed, installed stairs that was also missed by Bruno, installed all the drywall, painted the walls, and installed the new vinyl floors in the addition. They also noticed parts of the framing that was not level or secure that Brunos guys installed and fixed that as well. Unfortunately all our funds to complete our project have been given to Bruno, therefore I am left with several incomplete or damaged items that still need to be completed, such as doors to be installed in all the rooms and closets, extensive damage to my hardwood floors because of water damage and cuts made in the floors during demolition, the siding on the addition is missing gutters and lattice, and the rest of the electrical installed. Most recently on September 25, 2023, I received a call from a phone number I didn't recognize and when I answered it, it was a man named David who received my contact information from Bruno's electrician. He informed me that I am not the only person that Bruno had scammed out of money and David had also found 5 other clients of Bruno's that he had taken advantage of during their construction as well. I was also informed of Bruno's ******** account that showed several pictures of him traveling to ***** and **********, driving around in fancy expensive cars, flying in helicopters, and wearing top name brand clothing and watches. Since finding all this information out I am now in contact with the other 5 victims of Bruno's scamming, and it is apparent to me and my family now that we have been scammed. Meeting Bruno and signing a contract with him was the worst decision I've ever made, and I feel sad and guilty that I put my family through this stress and gave Bruno all our family's money. We are reaching out to you today because I firmly believe this man is a scam artist and I don't want him to continue to do this to other families.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We hired Celite (*********************) to redo our house that was burned by fire. We gave him ********** by his contract. Once the last payment was made ***** stopped showing up. For months he didnt show **, in January he started the 3 bathrooms and finished tiling them in June. Since then he has been saying he will be there and hasnt showed up. He left the entire, house without electricity, no water, no electrical outlets, no lighting, no toilets, no bathroom cabinets, no kitchen cabinets, no flooring or sub flooring, no window frames, no hvac units, no water tanks, no interior doors, no closet doors, He left the yard full of trash, the outdoor toilet was there for 7 months. We called the company to have it removed. We have a missing window. He has done this to three or four other people.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Bruno S owner of Celite Home Construction took on my project which is a 3 family gut renovation in ******. The contract was for $274000. Bruno has misrepresented himself as a construction company with numerous employees and the ability to handle large jobs and new construction. He has limited to no knowledge of construction or city code. He makes promises and goals that not only does he never make on time but they seem to be completely out of reach for him at all times. I had one man framing a 3 family house when he is supposed to have a successful construction company. Bruno did complete the Demolition then had the mechanical technicians like HVAC, electrician and plumber come in. Seeing that the work was being done we met with each of the trade techs and gave Bruno checks for each (plumbing, electrical and hvac) also gave him $8000 toward the installation of the sprinkler system. This is where Bruno slowly started to get lax on the project before disappearing and having two different heart attacks. the electrician worked one day, the hvac guy worked two days and the plumber never showed at all. I was able to get in contact with the electrician who was supposed to be doing the job from another victim of Bruno's and he stated that he is still willing to complete my job but he was never paid by Bruno, that Bruno just gave him some cash to come by and start running some wires to make the job look like it was progressing. There are at least 5 other people (families) that have been victims of this individual and his company to the tune of over $350000 combined. As soon as you leave a negative review he pops back up out of nowhere and promises to complete the work if you remove the negative review. Avoid this guy at all costs, I also heard he has changed the name of his company at least once before.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  May 15, 2023 Dear BBB coordinator I am writing to file a formal complaint against Celite Home Improvement Corp regarding a home addition project for which I entered into a contract with them on January 21, 2023. I am deeply dissatisfied with the conduct and actions of the company and its representative, Bruno, throughout the course of this project. As per the agreed-upon contract, I issued a check for the amount of $9800 as an initial payment to commence the work. The contract explicitly stated that Celite Home Improvement Corp was responsible for obtaining the necessary building permit within a timeframe of 10 to 31 days. Additionally, it was agreed that if they failed to secure the permit, they would deduct the cost of the engineer's work (approximately $4000) and refund the remaining amount. Despite my generous patience and willingness to cooperate, there has been a severe lack of proper communication from Celite Home Improvement Corp. For three months, I received no updates or progress reports regarding the project. Finally, on April 6, 2023, Bruno shared a draft plan, which we reviewed together. However, it was not until April 17, 2023, that he informed me that he had applied for the building permit that afternoon. Concerned about the status of the permit, I sent several follow-up messages inquiring about its progress. Bruno consistently reassured me that the approval would take approximately 10 days. However, on April 25, 2023, I personally visited the ************* town office to verify the status of the permit and discovered that it had not been applied for at all. In an effort to salvage the project, I proposed that I would submit the permit on behalf of the homeowner and requested Celite Home Improvement Corp to continue with the work. Bruno agreed to this arrangement, and on April 28, 2023, we both visited the ******************* town office to file the building permit. To my surprise, it became evident that Bruno was unfamiliar with the permit process in **********. When I asked him about these discrepancies, he resorted to threatening behavior. Concerned for my own safety, I recorded a selfie video as a precautionary measure. Since April 28, 2023, I have exhausted all possible avenues to retrieve my funds from Celite Home Improvement Corp. However, Bruno has been uncooperative and consistently resorts to intimidation and threats whenever I attempt to contact him. Therefore, I am left with no choice but to reach out to you to file this complaint against Bruno and his company, Celite Home Improvements. I will share all necessary documents, including a copy of the signed contract, for your reference. I trust that you will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and take appropriate action to address the breach of contract and unprofessional conduct displayed by Celite Home Improvement Corp. I appreciate your prompt attention to this issue and eagerly await your response. Should you require any further information or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me if any questions. Thank you for your cooperation. Yours sincerely,

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Back in December 2022 I thought of adding additional room to my house (****************************************************************************) I looked for help online. Through ************ Celite construction (Bruno) reached out to me He visited my place to understand the requirements and on Jan 17th 2023 we are entered into contract. The agreement says. "The construction would cost between $75K - $80K, the final number would be determined once the drawings are ready. There will be five payments, each installment will be paid as we progress with the work. Engineer work will be done in 10-31 days, and Permission from City Hall will be secured in 5-30 days "As a first installment on 1/17/23 I have paid $15,000 to Bruno through a bank check, It has been four months I paid the first installment, as of now the contractor did not submit the Permit request to Town. He either doing the work or returning my money back I need help to mediate and resolve the issue.