Nu Design

Stay away!! Danger! Danger!

If you haven't yet hired Nu-Design to do any work, then congratulations -- you just dodged a bullet. For those unlucky folks (like me) who didn't read all the better business bureau warnings and negative online reviews until AFTER we gave Nu-Design our money, here's some helpful advice. ( I only wish I could have read this post before we gave them thousands of dollars for a down payment on a project that never got started.) And hey, this advice is free! Unlike ME, you don't have to hire a lawyer at $225/hr for these few jewels of wisdom.

1. When they say they've bought materials for the project, make sure to see the receipt to verify they actually bought materials for YOUR project with the cash you gave them.

2. Don't take their word that they actually paid. Call the vendor to make sure. Also, make sure that your contract states that you won't be responsible for bounced check fees when Nu-Design bounces checks to the vendor.

2. Request an architect that can actually draw plans. When Nu-design's drawings come back from the county building permit office with notes like "unreadable" and "unusable" in all over them, demand they use a new architect, instead of the one that does most of their work.

4. Make sure the contract has an end date. They may say that a project will take 3 months, but you (and your lawyer) will want some sort of coverage in case they take your down payment and then don't break ground or even produce building permits or materials within nine months.

5. I have found these statements to be completely false every time they are said to me. If you actually hired Nu-Design, they'll all sound really familiar. Believe them at your own risk.

a. We have building permits.

b. Um, we will have permits as soon as one tiny problem is fixed.

c. I've ordered the *fill-in-the-blank* and they'll be in soon.

d. I took care of the bounced check as soon as I found out about it.

e. The parts are stuck in customs.

f. I'll just walk the plans through the planning department tomorrow.

g. I won't charge you extra for that (Get that in writing!)

h I can't give you an itemized receipt for how I just spent your money; that's "company confidential.'

I hope that someone out there googling the phrase "nu-design complaint lawsuit" will find this review helpful.