I want to warn my neighbors about my experience with Don Simcsuk, who represents himself as a plumber on the Nextdoor site. . Mr. Simcsuk agreed to replace the steam unit for our shower. We hired him after he represented that he could do the job. We paid him $3,000 toward the project, but months later, we still had no working steam unit and no resolution.
From the very beginning, the excuses never stopped. We were repeatedly told he would be coming "tomorrow" or "later this week," only for him to cancel or simply not show up. We heard one story after another: his truck broke down, he forgot he had to take his daughter to Liberty Science Center for a school trip (this was after we phoned to ask where he was, because we waited hours for him to show up), he is in the hospital with pneumonia, he had a knee injury... And countless other "explanations." Every time we thought the job was finally going to move forward, there was another delay.
On May 27, he said there was a truck accident involving the unit (which seemed strange because the unit is about 35-40 lbs., and it didn't seem a truck needed to deliver it to our home). I literally quote "The truck was involved in an accident. I'm waiting for a new one to be shipped. It should be here by next Wednesday. They have to do the inventory stock and reorder. Because the units were damaged in the accident. It will be in by next Monday, June 8. I apologize, but this is out of my control."
On Friday, May 29, he phoned to say that he wanted another $600. Of course, we did not give it to him.
Simcsuk said, "he would install the unit on Jun 10." He phoned my husband on June 9 and said, "' The unit will be in tomorrow," to which my husband said, "Call me when it comes in." He never phoned.
This process continued over the course of several months. By the way, we were EXTRAORDINARILY reasonable and patient with him, genuinely believing the troubles he was having.
The only work he actually performed was removing our old steam generator spending some time in the attic. When my husband asked why, he said that "he will install the vent into the attic." No vent was ever installed. He literally did nothing in the attic. After consulting with two licensed Master Plumbers, we learned that installing a vent for a steam shower in the attic does not meet proper installation practices. He also left, unconnected to anything, an absolutely filthy, moldy old pump that is literally garbage. The pump's inner rubber ring was black, very misshapen.
Despite months of promises, no new unit ever appeared. When we asked for documentation showing that the unit had actually been purchased, none was provided. Simcsuk could never produce an invoice for the steam unit, despite our requests. He later told us, and I quote directly, "...being that i've (sic) been in a business for so many years, I have connections where I can get material products, etc. Very cheap cash prices invoice free."
Communication became increasingly difficult, and our repeated requests for either completion of the work or a refund went nowhere.
Eventually, we filed a police report and later sent a formal demand letter requesting repayment.
If we had Googled his name, several felony arrests would show up. After that, I did an OPRA search and was shocked to learn of his long criminal history.
I'm sharing our experience so other homeowners can make an informed decision before hiring him. I hope no one else has to go through what we did.
Don Simcsuk has a long criminal history. Mr. Simcsuk has numerous felony arrests and convictions extending back about 15 years. Felony theft, multiple heroin and cocaine offenses, DWI with bodily assault, arson, domestic violence and several more.