HOUSTON – A business owner is sharing her story after she paid a celebrity interior designer over $100,000 to remodel and renovate her salon but says the company never completed the work.
“I’m angry, I’m frustrated. We thought we had trusted someone. We are small business owners, and we just felt like we were ripped off. We have been ripped off, and we have been scammed,” Maury Dent said.
Shakena Dent owns K One Salon on Westheimer Road and says it all started back in June. She says Christal Clear Designs told her they would have everything completed by November, but the designer pushed the opening date back to December and then January.
Dent says the company needs to be fair and pay her back. Other victims are also speaking out and sharing their stories.
“They left the place a mess,” Shakena said.
Shakena and her husband Maury paid Christal Clear Designs about $120,000 to renovate her salon.
“They demoed, they put up walls on the left side of the salon, and that was it,” Maury said.
The couple got tired of the owner’s excuses and fired Christal Clear Designs in January. They re-hired a different contractor and already paid over $70,000 to remodel the salon.
“They’ve done more in one month than that company Christal Clear Designs did in seven months,” Shakena said.
Attorney Lakisha Alomaja says the owners of Christal Clear Designs blocked her and says the mess puts Shakena in a rough spot.
“The salon is in disarray. This is now going to open us up for liability. Someone could come in and get hurt. Now we have insurance claims that are on the line,” she said.
KPRC’s Re’Chelle Turner went by the Christal Clear Designs showroom on Old Katy Road for answers.
The doors were locked, and a notice was placed on the door about a failure to pay rent.
According to the Secretary of State, Christal Clear Designs was involuntarily dissolved in January of 2022. The state no longer considers them in existence.
Lucreshia Jackson is also another angry customer. She paid the company $5,000 for a home décor consultation last year.
“However, I never got the consultation to even meet with her to know the things that I actually had needed. It was only by text message,” Jackson said.
Jasmine Sarpy says she has always been inspired by Christal Clear Designs work and paid her $330,000 in fees and two home renovations.
“This is my first home, and it’s very stressful,” Sarpy said.
Jasmine says contractors demoed her second home and after a week only two contracts showed up and work was slow.
“I talked to the contractor myself. I said, ‘What’s going on? Why is no one here?’ He was like, ‘We are not getting paid,’” Sarpy said.
Ebonie Walker paid $85,000 and says the company ruined her home. She hired Christal Clear in March of last year and says renovations were supposed to be done in June.
“I’m coming home now to dust, cement floors and things of that sort and no furniture. It’s very devastating,” she said.
The Better Business Bureau says it’s important to have a trusted and vetted contractor when hiring someone for a job.
- Research and gather information
- Ask for references
- Ask for multiple quotes
- Get it in writing
- Verify license and insurance
- Arrange a payment schedule
- Get a receipt
- Keep your contract
For more tips from the BBB, click here.
“I feel violated because I trusted her with my money and believed her from her word of mouth and the statute that she actually has and holds,” Jackson said.
“Be mindful of who you give your money to. As we move forward, we are only paying for services that are being delivered,” Dent said.
KPRC 2 reached out to Christal Clear Designs via phone, text and email and are still awaiting a response.