Catherine Armstrong knows that she may have made a mistake when she hired a man to build a fence around her home for her.

“It was a very bad decision,” she said.

The Lake Country woman said the decision involved an email transfer of $ 2,000 to a man she found on Facebook.

The two, who were connected on the phone, and Armstrong said that by that point they had reached an oral agreement on the fence project.

“Even though he doesn’t make wood, he makes vinyl, he was willing to give me a break and just help me out, and we agreed on $ 4,000 as a rough estimate,” said Armstrong.

Armstrong said the man asked for a 50 percent deposit, so she emailed him $ 2,000 in late September.

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“He was supposed to build it and I wanted to give him the other $ 2,000 but he changed it and wanted another $ 500 so I agreed, but I wanted him here when I gave him the $ 500 just to make me feel that something has started, “she said.

The work has not started yet. In fact, Armstrong said the man hadn’t even set foot on the property.

She said she now knew she shouldn’t transfer money to someone she hadn’t even met, but she blames a head injury she sustained in a serious car accident years ago for her mistake.

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“He should give me my money back,” said Armstrong.

The man Armstrong hired is Matthew Beal, who owns Post2Coast Vinyl Fencing.

While declining to be interviewed on camera, Beal agreed to speak to Global Okanagan over the phone.

“I don’t feel like I did anything wrong,” he told us.

Beal said he would not return the $ 2,000 because he had already spent it on materials for Armstrong’s fence. He also said he would like Armstrong to prove she can pay the full amount first before he starts the job.

“I won’t start the job until she’s fully paid,” said Beal. “I’m not ready to do this until you can show me you have $ 4,000 until you can pay me at the end of the job.”

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Since he is not refunding the cash deposit, Global News asked Beal why he shouldn’t give Armstrong the material he bought.

He replied, “Why is a reporter calling like she (Catherine) has my number.”

According to their Facebook page, the address for Post2Coast Vinyl Fencing is 3500 Carrington Road in West Kelowna, but when Global Okanagan visited the site there was no such store in that location.

Beal admitted on the phone that this isn’t the actual address for his business, but said there was a good reason for it.

“I run my business from home,” he said.

When asked why he would put the wrong address on the Facebook page, Beal replied, “So people don’t know where I live.”

As Armstrong ponders her next step to get their money back, she advises others to learn from their mistake.

“Never trust anyone,” she said.

The post Okanagan girl says she realized onerous lesson hiring a fence builder first appeared on DECKSAND FENCES DAILY.