A family in Regina says they are out thousands of dollars after putting their trust into a company that they say never delivered their products or returned their money upon request.
Back in April 2022, Cathy Cuddington and her husband say they placed a substantial deposit of $28,000 with Integrity Door and Window Ltd. by ordering interior and exterior doors, trim and a few sealed window units to complete their home renovations.
As the months went on, she says the products never did arrive. As the Cuddingtons questioned the owner, they say they started to get suspicious as they claim they heard “excuses” from owner Ross Petz. She claims they have kept a record of the “excuses” on their cellphones.
“We underwent about three or four months of failed promises with many excuses why it couldn’t happen,” she said. “It eventually became evident that these excuses were so (far-fetched) … we asked to see purchase orders or product, when in fact nothing had been ordered.”
Petz said there were three separate purchase orders but two of the purchase orders were partially at the office building.
“There was some outstanding remaining product, but I simply don’t know what’s been followed up with the new company,” said Petz. “As I was told by both parties, that they were getting the rest of the issues resolved. I know some of it was there and the rest of the time of my presence being there wasn’t.”
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Cuddington said he texted a photo of a flat tire as a reason why he was unable to show up to install the product. She claims that Petz admitted through a phone conversation in September 2022 that he did not place their order.
In response, Petz said he does not recall the phone call.
“Some of their inventory was there so I wouldn’t have said that,” said Petz. “I don’t know how to further reiterate that. Their inventory for two of the three orders was physically at the location. Furthermore, I simply wouldn’t recall.”
Integrity Door and Window Ltd.
Ross Petz was the sole owner of Integrity Door and Window; a business based in Emerald Park and was established in May 2020. The business started off as a door manufacturer where the doors were physically made in a warehouse in White City, which is east of Regina. The business moved into window wholesaling and then finally, moved into installation.
His business first started through word of mouth and people started to take notice through the business Facebook page gained a lot of traction quickly, according to Petz. But from the get-go, Petz admits there were some hiccups as he kicked off his business as he started his business during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There were longer lead times, prices fluctuated to see what seemed like daily,” said Petz. “The other part was keeping a healthy staff and not only a healthy staff, having healthy customers as well. It’s very hard to deliver product to people if they have COVID. So, we always had some things to work around, but for the most part, our business definitely did start off well.”
As time went on, business wasn’t doing so well for Petz. In August 2022, Petz was already looking for different partnerships or new ownership for Integrity Door and Window as he said he ran into some collection issues. The first person Petz contacted was Tim Probe, the owner of PR Investments, who also invested in Integrity Door and Window Ltd.
“At that point, he was interested. He actually went as far as to register a business called Integrity Door and Window 2022 in case he decided to move forward with the deal,” said Petz. “He knew that other parties would be interested in the deal, so it made sense for him to register that business.”
Through public information obtained on the Information Services Corporation website, it’s confirmed that Probe did register the company under “Integrity Doors and Windows 2022” on August 22, 2022. At the end, Petz said he met with Kunal Malik and his partners and said he was a “better suitor.”
Malik and partners took over the leasing space on October 1, 2022 and Petz says they entered into an agreement. However, there is no documentation available of what the alleged agreement entailed.
“I was actively working with my landlord because I knew our business wasn’t operating efficiently,” said Petz. “So, I (made) a deal with Kunal and his group for them to come in and operate efficiently and not only benefited myself but a benefit of my landlord as well.”
Landlord Dwayne Walbaum, who is the All-Right Properties president, said he leased the space to Petz and gave him several warnings as Petz was late on rental payments.
“He owes several months of back rent, like thousands … it was more than $50,000 in back rent twice,” said Walbaum. “He was extended the courtesy from almost three quarters of the year where we allowed him to try to fix his issues. At some point, you just have to close the door.”
In response, Petz said at the end, the company had a large number of receivables where he alleges one customer “stiffed” his company close to $100,000.
“We did unfortunately, fall behind on rent to that circumstance,” said Petz. “I was open with my landlord with all that’s taken place. I understood that my company was failing, and I did the right thing by finding a tenant to move into his space and (to) pay rent and start to operate efficiently.”
Petz forfeited his lease and allowed Malik and his partners to take over the space. The confusion from many clients is not knowing if their business with Petz would continue with Malik and his partners. According to Petz, the agreement between both parties was not documented.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t really have a paper agreement. This is again where I have to take responsibility and understand the things that I’ve done,” said Petz. “(It) should have been fact checked a little bit more.”
Malik’s partnering company that took over the lease space is called CBS Doors and Windows. Malik claims Petz misrepresented the business assets when Malik was initially looking into the business. He claims Petz said he owned assets inside the building including equipment, furniture and inventory. Malik says he later discovered the assets were owned by the landlord.
In response, Petz said all of the assets, the machinery and equipment were included in the lease that Malik and partners took over.
“No matter (who) paid for them, whose assets they were at the time of their takeover, they were included in the lease,” said Petz. “I was never after money in exchange for assets that was never my intention. I was never selling them … I was letting them take over my lease with my assets included in that lease and that I was simply an employee at that point.”
“We, CBS Doors and Windows, are a new start up corporation and do not have any association with Integrity Door and Window,” said Malik. “However, we leased the space to run Doors and Windows business from the same location by entering into a new lease agreement with the property owner. We are exploring various avenues to serve customers in the best possible manner.”
Malik says he did not assume any of Integrity Door and Window’s liabilities but said he wants to make things right by helping customers that are still owed money or product by Petz’s company.
Facebook Post
A few weeks ago, a Facebook post was made about Integrity Door and Window Ltd. on the Regina Rant and Rave page where many people came forward with similar experiences. Kevin Schubert was one of them.
Schubert says he started dealing with Petz on May 2, 2022, by ordering a new front door and front window for his home with a 6-to-8-week delivery date. Schubert left a large enough deposit to cover. However, in August Schubert was told that Petz needed an additional $2,500. In total, Schubert paid $4,300 to Petz for a new door and window that never did come, he says.
“We had set up a date to air test my home before install. (At) three separate dates, they never showed,” he said in an email statement. “Then Ross said he would deduct $600 from the bill which would leave $4,600 owing.”
Not long after, Schubert found out that Integrity Door and Window was no longer operating. Schubert said Malik informed him that the $4,300 he had paid to Petz was gone. Schubert confirms that no product was ordered, and he never received a refund of his money. Global News asked Petz where the $4,300 went and Petz said the money would have gone to inventory and assets.
“At that point, our business, that’s when we were starting to have a lot of liabilities go south where customers were not paying us anymore,” said Petz. “And unfortunately, sometimes to pay rent or that kind of thing, we did have to just take money out of the account to make sure our business still stayed open.”
Schubert said he is working with Malik and partners on receiving the products he ordered under Petz at Integrity Door and Window Ltd. He will be required to pay an additional $500-$1,000 for his order but Schubert says he is OK with that, but he hopes they will follow through with their word.
“(Malik) said he would honor the contract at cost, but I still have to cover anything below,” stated Schubert. “At this point I could live with that, but I shouldn’t have to pay anything other than what I had left owing.”
The Cuddingtons say they are currently taking Petz to small claims court over the money that is lost. While they wait for any outcome, they are shopping around for another company to complete the repairs.
“We were unable to move in, essentially for an extra three months,” said Cuddington. “It’s certainly made us leery to deal with anybody and put a deposit down.“
Better Business Bureau Investigation
Karen Smith, who is the CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), said they have been investigating Integrity Door and Window Ltd. since 2021.
“We’ve had a series of complaints that they did not respond to,” said Smith. “Some of them had a fairly significant amount of down payment with no service or goods provided.“
Smith said in their investigation so far, they have discovered Petz has not had a proper corporate licensing since 2020 and that they missed some of their filings.
Petz responded saying his company was always up to date with Workers Compensation Board and Information Services Corporation (ISC).
“We were registered with ISC,” said Petz. “I don’t know what they could be alluding to, and I would have to look into it further, but that doesn’t make sense.”
“We have found through our investigation that they apparently have filed for bankruptcy,” said Smith. “We have that as an indicator now on our website and urged people to seek additional legal advice if they have an undisputed claim that they’re wanting to deal with.”
When Global News asked Petz about the bankruptcy claim, he said that he never declared bankruptcy but that his business was closed and that he was looking into bankruptcy.
“I’ve been in constant contact with Cameron Okolita between October 1st and as recently as the 20th and was advised that based on the fact that I’ve given my assets an inventory and anything with a positive value to that new company, there would be nothing to liquidate or bankrupt,” said Petz. “Essentially I’d be spending $500 to $10000 to declare a business bankruptcy, but there’d be nothing to gain or lose out of that scenario. There’s nothing left in the company as everything from that company has been taken to CBS door and window and then.”
When asked if he could have done something different, Petz said he would have kept looking for a different partner or investor.
“I would have never released my inventory or my assets or my lease to somebody without the proper paperwork,” he said.
Petz is actively seeking employment but is unsure of what his next move is.
“I have a couple offers in front of me that I will go through with my family. And at this point, I’m just trying to do what’s best for them,” he said.
Smith encourages consumers to do their research on businesses before making a business commitment. The BBB website is open for people to browse on the different companies as well as the Information Services Corporation where registries and information are easily obtainable.
“Use our site and take a look at the complaints or the any business alerts that we might have on it,” she said. “You can look at the business profile and check the investigation that we’ve done. Make that part of your decision-making.”
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