Johnson County, Kansas contractor still breaking promises

SHAWNEE, Kan. – A Johnson County contractor, accused of never doing the work he was paid for, promised he’d start issuing refunds by September.

But his unhappy customers tell FOX4 Problem Solvers they’ve yet to see a dime.

The last time Problem Solvers spoke to Chris Edwards of Edwards Design is when we caught him outside of his Shawnee home with our camera rolling.

We wanted his response to the complaints we’d been hearing from his customers – two of whom couldn’t even get their phone calls returned even though they’d paid him thousands of dollars upfront.

Chris blamed the problems on his health.

“We had our business for four years and then last August I fell off a horse and broke my neck in five places and that really sent us under,” Chris said.

He claimed to have at least 60 happy customers. We asked to speak to one to them, but he told us he would have to first consult his attorney. We never heard from him again.

Other less-than-happy customers, like Guy Claudy and Shannon Brady, said Edwards’ medical problems aren’t a valid excuse for not doing the work he was paid for and then ghosting them when they demanded a refund. Brady is out about $3,000. Claudy said he’s out nearly $20,000.

Adding to their frustration is that Edwards Design collected more than $200,000 in federal COVID Payroll Protection Plan money. What happened to that money?

Edwards said he used the money to pay his 12 employees. That was news to Brady who never saw any employees at her home. Claudy said he only ever met one worker.

Both questioned why a company with supposedly 12 employees would’ve had to stop operating just because the owner was injured.

When this story first aired last summer, Edwards promised that he would repay the money by September. But it was a promise he didn’t keep. His customers haven’t seen a dime.

His customers filed complaints more than six months ago with the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office said it was still investigating.

Problem Solvers called Edwards to find out what the holdup was on repaying his customers. Two days later, we had yet to hear back.

That’s just one of the reasons why Chris Edwards — who has lied to customers, kept their cash and refused to take responsibility — is now an official member of the FOX4 Problem Solvers Hall of Shame.