A man said a contractor stripped his deck and left without finishing the work.

“This is the deck I wanted to have refinished,” Vincent Deorio said.

But Deorio said all his contractor did was strip down his deck to bare wood in one small section, and left it.

“Well, it looks terrible,” he said. “I mean, it’s a disgrace.”

Five months ago, Deorio said he paid Carolina Color Solutions half of the $1,200 contract price to refinish the deck and do other work.

But after that, Deorio said, owner Todd Engel disappeared.

“Never showed up and after a while, he just didn't answer my phone calls and went to voice mail,” Deorio said.

Action 9 discovered Deorio isn't the only one who's had trouble with Carolina Color Solutions.

The BBB said the contractor has 12 unanswered complaints and an F rating.

BBB President Tom Bartholomy said Todd Engel, who has no physical address, routinely takes deposits and then doesn't do the work.

“And we've seen this with contractors before, that they've tried to play this game, and here's another one that's trying to get away with it,” Bartholomy said.

Action 9 reached Engle on the phone, and he told us his business went sour after merging with another painting company. But he promised he'd refund Deorio's $600 within two days and resolve his other complaints.

Deorio now tells others when hiring contractors, don't just rely on a reference like he did, but also check with the BBB.

“Oh yes, check them out, absolutely,” he said.