Largo homeowner loses thousands of dollars after home repair job never completed: 'I want my life back'
LARGO, Fla. - A Largo woman says she's lost thousands of dollars after a home repair job was never completed.
Adria Bernstein's home suffered damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. She hired Mister Window to replace her home's windows and doors last year, but she says the work was never done.
The backstory:
Bernstein says she applied for the My Safe Florida Home program to assist in replacing her windows and doors, and was approved last year in the second round of the program.
She says she started researching vendors on the program's website, where she found Mister Window, based out of Palmetto.
"It wasn't an eeny, meeny, miny, moe," Bernstein said. "It was, let me do a little what I thought was homework, in the right direction, reading reviews, and felt that I had picked the right company."
READ: My Safe Florida Home: Some insurance bills may go up after state-funded upgrades
In September, she put down a deposit of almost $12,000 and took out a loan to help complete the project, which was expected to cost a total of around $22,000.
"The timeline was going to be in a few weeks," she said.
However, Bernstein says the weeks passed without communication from the company about when the installation would be completed.
She says she heard from a new salesperson in November.
"He's telling me my windows and doors are ready to be installed ASAP," Bernstein said.
Bernstein says the company continued to push her installation date back, and she had no confirmation that the windows and doors had even been ordered.
Under the My Safe Florida Home program, there are timelines and requirements to ensure eligibility for reimbursement.
The indefinite delay on this work puts that financial assistance for Bernstein in jeopardy.
The other side:
In December, FOX 13 reached out to Mister Window.
We received an email back from the company, saying that it tried to schedule the installation on multiple occasions in October and November.
"We are more than willing to come to an agreement with Miss Bernstein to move forward with her project or cancel it, but she has stopped being responsive," the company said in the email. "As a side note, her agreement was signed on September 15th with a 12-week estimate for completion. We are still within this time period. We aren’t even delayed."
But Bernstein says the work was still never done, and she continued to have issues getting ahold of the project managers.
Her attorney says the company kept feeding her false promises.
"Then, they go ahead and threaten her with either a buyout or, to lien her property for these windows," Bernstein's attorney, Charles Gallagher said. "There's no indication her windows have been ordered. There's no indication they're in the pipeline."
Bernstein says she requested a full refund, but she was denied and was told she would have to pay a cancellation penalty.
"After filing complaints with different organizations within the government, there's been no attempt of any kind from them to try to help me," Bernstein said.
Dig deeper:
According to the Better Business Bureau, Mister Window is no longer BBB-accredited.
The website cites an accreditation suspension and a pattern of complaints.
On the BBB's website, it says Mister Window is believed to be out of business.
FOX 13 went to Mister Window's site in Palmetto and the gate was locked, and there was a notice addressed to Mister Window Hold Corp., saying it owed more than $27,000 in rent.
According to an online listing, the property was listed for sale for about $2.3 million in January.
FOX 13 called a phone number listed for two executives with Mister Window, but our calls did not go through. We also sent them multiple emails, but have not yet gotten a response.
We reached out to an attorney who's believed to be representing them and are waiting to hear back.
What's next:
"I want my life back," Bernstein said. "I want to have the windows and doors."
She doesn't know if she'll ever get her money back.
"Knowing that they took out a draw, I found that out earlier this year, on my loan, I was shocked," Bernstein said. "I'm like, how could they do this? They haven't even produced anything. They didn't install any windows or doors into my home, so how can they take a draw when I've already deposited 50% down."
Bernstein is waiting out the legal process now, but she shares her advice for others in her position.
"If you feel like something's not right, ask questions," she said.
The Source: Information came from interviews conducted with a customer of Mister Window and her attorney. Information also came from research gathered on the company.