INDIANAPOLIS — Relying on an online referral service for your next home repair project might not provide the peace of mind you were expecting.
India Anderson learned that the hard way.
“The guy they sent to my house took my money and never came back, and then I find out about his criminal past,” Anderson told 13 Investigates. “It’s really scary that something like this can happen.”
Anderson’s experience is not unique.
A 13News investigation found popular online referral services that offer to match homeowners with “certified” or “pro” contractors who have passed background checks have instead connected some of their unsuspecting customers with individuals who have significant criminal histories or questionable credentials.
Never completed the job
Anderson said she and her husband have relied on Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor for many years to find contractors. The two companies merged a few years ago and now fall under the corporate name Angi, which boasts helping “more than 150 million people maintain, repair, renovate and improve their homes.”
“We had pretty good results. I thought it was a good way of getting vendors that hopefully had some credibility,” she said. “I thought they did some sort of vetting process.”
That’s why Anderson contacted Angi in November, when her refrigerator was struggling to keep food cold.
“Food was spoiling, and there was no cold temperature at all,” she explained. “That's when I reached out to Angi to get a contractor.”
After answering a few online questions about her problem, Anderson received the names of three “certified” contractors from Angi. She contacted the first company on the list – Riteway Appliance Pros, which had the highest rating of the three options – to fix her fridge. A repairman showed up later that same day.
“Guy shows up and said, 'I'm here to fix your dryer.' And I'm like, ‘That's not the issue. It's the refrigerator.’ He didn’t know how to fix the refrigerator, and that should have been my first red flag,” Anderson explained.
She said the owner of Riteway Appliance Pros was apologetic and came to her house the next day to inspect her refrigerator.
“He said, ‘It's three parts that you need. In order to get these parts, I have to get the money up front — $614 for those parts — and I don't take a credit card,’” Anderson recalled of her conversation. In dire need of a working refrigerator, she wrote the contractor a check so he could purchase the needed parts and return to complete the job.
Anderson said that’s the last time she saw the contractor Angi referred to her.
“He never came back. Unbelievable,” she told 13News, shaking her head.
Contractor’s criminal history
Raymond Begley is the refrigerator repairman who visited Anderson’s Carmel home in November. His name is on the top of the Riteway Appliance Pros invoice that he gave India Anderson when he took her $614 check.
In the days that followed, Begley responded to several text messages from Anderson and her husband, promising to come back to finish the job. But each time he failed to show up.
Anderson then looked online to see what she could learn about the contractor. That’s when she discovered his criminal past.
Court records show Begley has more than a dozen felony convictions between 1994 and 2015 including battery, burglary, theft, receiving stolen property, drug-related charges and escape.
During her research, Anderson also discovered a photo of Begley that the Indiana State Department of Corrections published in 2021 while he was on a state list of Indiana fugitives. According to an IDOC spokesman, Begley was placed on that list because he had absconded on his parole after being released from prison for convictions related to dealing methamphetamine and battery of a police officer.
“That’s the guy. Absolutely,” Anderson said, looking at the poster published by the IDOC. “That is the Raymond Begley that came to my home … They sent a convicted felon with a violent past.”
The Anderson family said Begley stopped answering their texts and calls months ago.
He did answer a call from 13 Investigates. During that phone conversation, Begley said he was willing to meet for an interview to share his side of the story, but he later changed his mind. He instead communicated with 13News by text.
During the initial phone call, 13 Investigates asked about the job he never finished for Anderson.
"I thought I completed that job. I have no idea why it wasn't taken care of. I will take care of that immediately," he said.
In text messages, Begley later claimed he did replace broken parts on the Anderson’s refrigerator, stating, “I went out there several times and she wasn’t satisfied so I didn’t go back.” (India Anderson said that statement is not true because Begley only visited her home once and never returned with the parts she paid for.)
A few hours later, Begley appeared to walk back the claim.
“If I offended anyone I’m truly sorry I just want to get in things in order, [sic]” he wrote in a text to 13News. “Please tell them I’m very sorry and I will [make] it rite I’m no longer in the business but I will do what’s rite”
Begley also said he had not been in trouble with the law in many years and was trying to put his past behind him.
Asked about his offer to “immediately” take care of the Andersons for the money he took without providing any service, Begley said he had reached an agreement with the family to repay $100 per week for six weeks starting in early March.
More than a month later, Anderson said Begley has not made any payments, and she has not heard from him since he made the offer.
While Anderson is frustrated about losing $614 to Raymond Begley — she said her greatest disappointment is with Angi.
“Mr. Begley is going to be Mr. Begley, but Angi basically invited this man into my home by identifying him as a potential contractor. That's not OK. That's unacceptable,” she said. “What about the criminal background check? What happened to the vetting process?”
Why felonies can be missed
An Angi spokesman told 13 News the company does vet contractors before they are referred to customers. She said contractors who are part of the Angi Certified Pro network must be properly licensed, maintain at least a 3-star rating on their reviews and pass a background check that looks for felony convictions within the past seven years.
But Angi also acknowledges the limitations of its background checks. The company’s website warns consumers, "Unfortunately, we are unable to perform a background check on every employee of a business — the background checks are performed only on the owner or principal."
In the case of Riteway Appliance, Angi told 13 Investigates the company was subject to its certification protocols, but those protocols were not able to detect Raymond Begley’s criminal past because his most recent felony conviction was in 2015.
“They passed the certification process because their background issues were outside the standard seven-year lookback that is performed. We have now removed this company from our platform, and they will not be able to rejoin,” wrote Angi media relations director Emily Do.
That explanation is not reassuring to India Anderson.
She wrote multiple emails and letters to the company to explain that an Angi-recommended contractor took her money and never returned to perform the promised service. In response to her complaints, Anderson said a customer service representative told her Angi had no record of Begley or his company in its system.
“All they’d tell me is: ‘He’s not on our platform, so Angi can’t help you,’” Anderson said.
She showed 13 Investigates the email she received from Angi with a subject line that read “India, here are the pros for your Appliances (All types) Repair or Service Project.” The message included a referral for Riteway Appliance Pros and Ray Begley’s cell phone number, and it encouraged Anderson to “call or message your matched pros.”
Despite not offering any resolution to Anderson’s emails and letters, Angi took immediate action after it received inquiries from 13 Investigates.
"We are always disheartened to hear when a homeowner has an issue with a pro, however, this is an extremely rare situation that we work hard to avoid. This pro is no longer in the network. We are working with the Andersons to make it right,” the company said in a statement.
Several days later, Angi sent Anderson a check for $614 — the full amount she paid for parts that Begley did not install in her broken refrigerator.
Her confidence in the company is still shaken.
“It's really scary something like this could happen,” Anderson told 13News. “I suspect this is not an isolated incident.
How to do your own vetting
Angi and HomeAdvisor have made headlines across the country for recommending contractors who were either not licensed or who had criminal backgrounds, according to some of their customers.
A review of public records shows, over the past decade, Indiana’s Attorney General has received at least 124 complaints involving the companies.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission issued an order requiring HomeAdvisor (also doing business as Angi Leads and HomeAdvisor Powered by Angi) to pay millions of dollars for using deceptive and misleading tactics in selling home improvement project leads to service providers. A proposed settlement in the case includes $7.2 million for refunds.
While Angi points out it has served millions of customers and reported problems are “extremely rare,” consumer advocates say the personal stories, complaints and administrative actions should serve as a red flag.
“You can't just have some referral service sending out God knows who to your home without knowing who the individual is and who the company is,” said Teresa Murray, who serves as consumer watchdog director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Murray told 13 Investigates online referral sites can be helpful but are no substitute for you doing your own homework. She said there are many questions consumers should ask — and answers they should get — before hiring someone to perform services or make repairs around their home. Those questions include:
- Is the contractor properly licensed in your city, county and/or state?
- Are they bonded to protect you if something were to go wrong?
- Do they have legitimate references?
- How are their online reviews?
- Are they named in any lawsuits?
Murray suggests anyone looking for repairs or services ask these questions each time they interview a prospective contractor — even if they are already recommended by an online referral service.
“Nobody can do all of that except for you,” she explained. “If you get any pushback on those kinds of questions, then you cross them off your list.”
The consumer advocate said certain contractors may be promoted by online referral services based on the subscription they purchase rather than their credentials and ratings. For that reason, Murray said consumers should never rely solely on an online reference.
“There's nothing necessarily wrong with using an online referral service as a starting point. It can't be the only thing you rely on,” Murray said. “So a place like Angi or HomeAdvisor or a referral service, they can be a great place to start. And that's when you get on the horn, and you call your city to make sure they are licensed, and you check their references. You can't just rely on the website for everything from start to finish. You just can't do that. It doesn't end well.”
Why check these things yourself rather than simply relying on the online referral service?
When it comes to licensing, 13 Investigates found Angi relies on contractors to self-report accurate information.
“When a pro becomes certified, they check a box to affirmatively agree to our terms and conditions, which includes attesting that they are and will remain properly licensed for their trade,” Angi senior corporate communications coordinator Jordan Long explained in an email. Angi said contractors are investigated more thoroughly if there is a specific complaint, if their background or licensure is questioned, or if their online rating falls below its minimum standards.
In other words, in most situations, Angi does not check directly with a licensing agency to see if contractors are telling the truth.
A 13News investigation found many online reviews across the internet are fake or can be manipulated.
That’s why Murray encourages talking to friends, co-workers, neighbors, and members of your church, mosque or synagogue to find recommendations from someone you know and trust.
She also recommends getting estimates from several contractors before hiring someone for a big project. The estimates should be in writing and include the scope of work and timeframe to complete the job.
Murray suggests avoiding contractors who require a large or full payment before the job is started and, when possible, payments should be made by credit card — not cash or debit card — to protect yourself if the job is not completed or goes poorly.
India Anderson eventually hired a different contractor. Her refrigerator is once again cold, but she's still hot about the referral and will no longer be using Angi.
“Oh no. No. That's a done deal. No more Angi,” she told 13News. “I’m going back to the old fashioned way: word of mouth and do my own vetting process.”
Contractor faces more complaints
Ray Begley requested that 13News not report on his criminal past and current business practices because he said a news report would have a negative impact on his future.
“Look. I’m starting college and … I’m trying to get my life on order it’s hard for people out of prison because the door is clammed in our face [sic]” he texted, adding “I have a daughter and I’m not the same person I was 7 or 8 years ago.”
Convicted felons do face discrimination when it comes to future employment, according to Nancy Cotterill, executive vice president of 2nd Chance Indiana, a program that helps find employment and job training for people who have criminal records.
“There are so many people who do something stupid and get in trouble for it, but they are gentle souls who want to get their lives and families back together, and they make wonderful employees,” Cotterill told 13News. “Just because someone has a criminal record doesn’t mean they cannot be a good worker. They still need jobs and need to eat.”
Begley’s claims that he is now a reformed felon who is trying to stay out of trouble and no longer in the business of appliance repair generate no sympathy from people who say they are among his recent victims.
Donna Mull said she connected with Begley through a toll free number she found online. She said she and her fiancé paid Begley $300 last week to repair their refrigerator. Despite Begley installing a new part, Mull told 13 Investigates her refrigerator is still broken.
“It still don’t work at all,” she said Thursday morning — ten days after paying for the repair service. “I called him and told him I wanted a refund, and he said he’d try to get me another refrigerator, but he never did. I’ve been calling him and texting him but there’s no answer. He doesn’t call back.”
Another 13News viewer contacted 13 Investigates to report Begley and someone he referred to as a business partner sold her a defective dishwasher and stove.
Since his initial conversations with 13 Investigates, Begley has stopped communicating with 13News, and his phone number is no longer working.
“Again, if it’s important to you to not have somebody untrustworthy or with a pretty serious criminal history in your home, then you need to check them out yourself,” Murray said. “Anybody who thinks they can just call a toll free number or use one of these online referral services and think it’s all butterflies and lollipops and that the referral company is going to do all the work for them, you see what can happen, and it’s unfortunate.”
Resources to help you check a contractor
To check to see if someone has a criminal background in Indiana, you can check the state’s MyCase database. This includes only Indiana convictions and will not show convictions in other states.
Many — but not all — contractors, professionals and service providers are required to have a state and/or local license to legally perform their work. The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency maintains a list of state regulated professions.
Rules for licensing vary by each type of contractor and by the city and county where work is being performed. Licensing in Marion County is controlled by the City of Indianapolis Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, which requires general contractors, electricians, HVAC and many other contractors to maintain licenses. A DBNS spokesperson told 13News that contractors who offer appliance repair do not need a license to perform work legally in Marion County.
You can check this list to see which professions in Indiana require applicants to pass a background check to get their license.