BUYER BEWARE - I was looking for a reference for a business that does piling repair and called Decks and Docks Hudson, FL 17438 US Hwy 19 Unit 5 Hudson, FL 34667 Phone: 727-755-8100 to ask if they knew anyone? I got an enthusiastic referral to Fear No Fish Underwater Marine Services, Springhill Fl (727) 271-0722. I called Fear No Fish Underwater Marine Services and explained that I was looking for repairs to stilts on a stilt home. I figured a piling repair company would be the next best thing. June of 2022 after multiple delays in making the trip to our place to give us an estimate, Nick Herring arrived. We showed him the stilts and explained we wanted to repair rotted pilings. He felt that the snap jackets he used on boat docks was the solution. He gave us an estimate. It was not cheap. However, we liked Nick's candor. We also liked supporting small businesses (especially since Covid had challenged so many) and agreed on the plan to add snap jackets to the pilings. Nick explained that it would take a week or two to do all. We were not in a rush, but eager to get started. I did a search for Fear No Fish reviews and found only listings and no real reviews on Facebook, Google, or Yelp. I asked for their business information and got their Sunbiz.org Limited Liability company information from Krista, his wife, the company CEO. We gave the requested hefty deposit. The next week Nick was to start -- once he got his supplies. The week came and we were told the machine that makes the snap jackets broke down. I was suspicious since I got the referral from Decks and Docks. So, I called Decks and Docks and they said they had supplies. So, I called Nick, and he said the person I was talking to doesn't have all he needs. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. MY MISTAKE. I should have sought a full refund from my credit card company and moved on. However, the property is remote where few hired hands are available and since I'd worked with lots of home improvement contractors over the years for my day job, I understood cash flow challenges and was unusually sympathetic to a small business owner and his family. We wanted this to work. July I was fretting about what to do as we waited for the supplies to come in. Finally in AUGUST Nick had supplies and came with a crew of two and worked a whole week. I was feeling better. I met Krista on one of those trips. I was feeling good about a week's work. We had paid a deposit equal to 10 piling repairs. He had 4 completed that week. Nick asked for an additional infusion of cash to pay his employees that week. I felt that we were moving forward and agreed. I even said jokingly, "I have money in the bank of Nick." I chalked his issues up to procrastination. He was traveling an hour and a half to our place to work. I was understanding. Nick made some observations that week in August 2022 about the differences in the dock piling work and this stilt work. I respected that. I called a friend in construction and asked his opinion. We paused, hired a Structural Engineer. The new plan: repair the remaining pilings including the old rotting concrete with strong ties. Nick wanted to do the work and gave a new estimate. We approved. Repairs were to resume in October. November no work happened. December Nick revealed he ordered the wrong size strong ties. January, we ordered strong ties and got them in 10 days. We cancelled our work with FEAR NO FISH UNDERWATER MARINE SERVICES in January and requested a refund of the monies they were holding. We got some back from our credit card for the infusion of extra cash, but we still have money due and wanted to settle on the balance from the remaining unfinished repairs. As of June 2023, one year from the start of this agreement, we still have not received the balance of the money due us. Fear No Fish is no longer communicating with us. We're reasonable people. We gave every chance for this to work. Please do not make the same mistakes we did. read more