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Chanse DiGiovanni - Cardinal Custom Furniture's A SCAM

Update by user Apr 25, 2012

I made a trip to the Morrison County Courthouse (Little Falls, MN) yesterday (4/24/2012), 962 miles roundtrip. As expected Chanse DiGiovanni was a no show, but the judge ruled in my favor to the tune of $1075. I understand I’ll most likely never see a dime of it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t continue to pursue it. If anyone has any advice as to how to proceed collecting it, I’m all ears.

I noticed the number of folks looking at the posts regarding Cardinal Custom Furniture is growing, hopefully people are getting the message before they send any unanticipated “donations” his way. I also see he has moved his hosting site to officelive.com because custommade.com gave him the boot. I may have to place a call with our Microsoft rep and find out who I need to contact have his site taken down, as I know they will remove it if it can be proved it’s being used to scam and steal money from consumers.

As for those that have fallen victim to Chanse DiGiovanni and his scams; I highly recommend taking action using the small claims court process. The more people that let him get away with it, the more he will do it. Chanse DiGiovanni is a scam artist, fraud, thief and most of all a coward! What kind of “man” doesn’t show up to his own court hearing, minutes from his house to defend himself? That pretty much tells you all you need to know.

Original review posted by user Mar 24, 2012
On 10/11/2011 I sent Chanse a $600 deposit to build me a TV stand that was to be finished within three weeks. Three weeks led to months when he told me he'd refund my deposit because he didn't have money to buy the rest of the materials. After dozens of unanswered calls and emails he finally told me he'd send my deposit back on January 5. Still waiting. I started a small claims case and because of that he told me i would not be receiving my deposit back at all. BUYER BE VERY AWARE.
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14 comments
#1059671

THIS GUYS THIS THE BIGGEST LOSER. CANT PAYS HIS BILLS LET ALONE BUILD FURNITURE . DON NOT TRUST THIS MAN

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1 0
#909712

Somebody does have a vendetta against you! Everyone you've ripped off!

For being an attorney, you'd think you could at least spell attorney right in your posts...

A real attorney wouldn't threaten with claims of defamation.

It is not defamation, when its true. Just people getting facts out in the open so nobody falls victim to this coward again.

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#864260

Attorney in Minnesota...

Please...any good attorney would do his homework before he publicly defended anyone. And this thief, Chanse would probably need a public defender because he likely doesn't have any of his stolen money left.

If you're truly an attorney use the tools at your disposal to see the judgments against him...by the way just because I say I live in the white house doesn't make it so.

Man up, right your wrongs!

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#848040

And for those of you curious his phone number is 320241**** and he has moved to bemidji mn. He has changed his business name to lumberjack custom furniture and I fully agree that any and all who have been taken advantage of, should pursue and let's figure out a way to get him.locked away for fraud and theft!!

His specail needs child is a very bright boy who was supposedly diagnosed with fas. (According to the liar,chanse) I know the boys mother, she is a mother of two other little boys and she is an amazing mom. Chanse pulled many strings and told many lies to alot of people to get that boy in his custody, but only uses the poor child for a paycheck for disability because chanse cant keep a real job.

He has no drivers license, but continues to drive, he has three or four other children that clearly dont want to be woth him when they are in public, and who knows...

maybe all this money he is stealing is paying for his child support?

Clearly this man cant pay any bills, he cant pay for day care, his public record has many evictions and unlawful detainers, along with people wanting their money back.

I hope that somewhere, Someone sees all this and will put him to a stop.

Somehwere along the line this has to be illegal. And he shpuld be doing jail time

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#851710
@PissedConsumer848040

Yeah this guy is a real peach. I'm not sure how someone can be such a dispicible human being.

I feel for his kids and hope they can somehow grow up avoiding the same path of their so called parent. Hopefully some day he is rewarded with a wakeup call and tries to right his wrongs, but I highly doubt it.

His picture is right next to the definition of loser in the dictionary.

I see he pissed someone off so bad thet registered his name as a domain (ChanseDiGiovanni.com) tonwarn others about.

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#864145
@PissedConsumer848040

I was recommend to the owner of this company from a dear friend of mine, who recently purchased a custom bed bed, and has nothing but praise about this company. Of course, when I conducted a web search, I was astonished to see this headline in the search engine results.

To make it clear, I am an Attorney in Minneapolis, MN.

Clearly Mary, you are not familiar with Minnesota Laws, are you aware by posting these allegations with no merit of proof, you are undoubtedly creating a libel statement. Thus, I am considering to contact and represent the owner of this business, as I see no clear evidence of anything you have written to be truthful, nor does anything you state have any little significance regards the business. Nowhere in your review of this company have you stated whether you have made purchases from this company; however, it would appear to me,

you are only attempting to defame the owner of this company.

Furthermore, Minnesota Statutes 609.765 CRIMINAL DEFAMATION states:

Subdivision 1.Definition.

Defamatory matter is anything which exposes a person or a group, class or association to hatred, contempt, ridicule, degradation or disgrace in society, or injury to business or occupation.

Subd. 2.Acts constituting. Whoever with knowledge of its defamatory character orally, in writing or by any other means, communicates any defamatory matter to a third person without the consent of the person defamed is guilty of criminal defamation and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both. Subd.

3.Justification. Violation of subdivision 2 is justified if: (1) the defamatory matter is true and is communicated with good motives and for justifiable ends; or (2) the communication is absolutely privileged; or (3) the communication consists of fair comment made in good faith with respect to persons participating in matters of public concern; or (4) the communication consists of a fair and true report or a fair summary of any judicial, legislative or other public or official proceedings; or (5) the communication is between persons each having an interest or duty with respect to the subject matter of the communication and is made with intent to further such interest or duty. Subd. 4.Testimony required.

No person shall be convicted on the basis of an oral communication of defamatory matter except upon the testimony of at least two other persons that they heard and understood the oral statement as defamatory or upon a plea of guilty. History: 1963 c 753 art 1 s 609.765; 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1986 c 444

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#864191
@Dora

A good attorney would suggest to this thief of a business owner to pay the judgments against him. But we know this is Chanse and he is so FOS its getting funny.

You're a crook and a coward. You're new "business" is a scam and anyone considering doing business is going to lose their money.

Chanse cannot hold a job, most likely doesn't know a thing about woodworking and will STEAL your money.

BUYER BEWARE!

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2 0
#864241
@PissedConsumer864191

Chanse is a THIEF,

I assure you I am not Chanse, as "Mary" stated, "he has moved to Bemidji, MN". The business website also indicates the owner lives in Bemidji, MN.

If you did not notice, I live in Minneapolis, MN.

Judging by his website, and recent completions, I see no evidence that he is scamming anyone. Both his website, and my dear friend whom recommended this business, both show he is cable of producing a high quality product, those are talents I know I do not have, which would suggest this individual knows the art of woodworking.

Again, because I know someone who has made a purchase and received goods from this business, I believe you need to look up the definition of a scam. It seems clear to me that someone has a personal vendetta against the owner of this business, and considering there is a comment from "ex gf of his", I should think this is coming after a recent breakup or falling out of some sort.

I am a attorney, whom happens to take cases primarily in Personal Injury, which this case falls under.

I cannot answer as to why someone would have a judgment. However, it is a known fact the at least 1/3 of Americans have a below average credit score, and it is not uncommon in today's society for someone in the middle to lower class to have at least one judgment. I would also like to inform you that when a person sues for Defamation of Character under Minnesota Statues 609.765, the Plaintiff is entitled to damages, which include: punitive damages, compensatory damages, emotional and mental distress. As an attorney, in cases such as these, I charge a standard flat fee of 25%.

If the owner of this business elects to file a claim, utilizing my services, I will be sure to suggest he uses a portion, if not all monetary gain, to repay any outstanding judgments he may have.

Good day

#899851
@PissedConsumer848040

how does one get ahold of you..?? I need to speak to this childs mother ASAP..!! kris_mor26@***.com

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#848037

He has now changed his business to lumberjack custom furniture... how is this legal??!!

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ID
#307382 Review #307382 is a subjective opinion of poster.
Location
Columbus, Ohio

Over promise and under deliver

I was a customer of the company, "Chanse Digiovanni's Custom Furniture" which is now "Cardinal Custom Furniture" and I just wanted to let anyone who involves themselves in this business, that he has quality furniture. However, I was told I would get my furniture in 6 weeks, but 4 months later, 17 weeks and 3 days to be exact, is when I recieved my furniture. I will not sit here and say that the quality sucks. the quality was wonderful. HOWEVER.... I was told it would get done in 5-6 weeks AT THE MOST. I've never heard so many excuses in my life for failing to deliver on time. For example, his dad was in the hospital, his personal vehicle broke down, his wife was sick and in the hospital, a tool broke down, his email dont work, his phone was shut off, his phone is broken. The list goes on and on. All I ever wanted was for him to be honest. However I don't feel this man is capable of telling the truth. If he would have just told me what was going on, I would have done my best to understand. I want this furniture to last a long time, and I know that it will based on the quality I've seen. I was willing to give it time... HE signed a contract telling me it would be done in 6 weeks.... and he lied.... if he would have just told me, "I need to take my time, I have issues" I would have understood. While the quality of the furniture is great, I would never place another order with this person because of his over promising and under delivering experience he put me through as a customer.
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7 comments
#465749

Lies, all lies. Chanse DiGiovanni tells nothing but lies.

He promised me the money he owes me and I don't have it. He said that I voided the contract, he did. Stearns County Small Claims Court agrees with me. PAY ME MY MONEY BACK!

ps. A Stearns County Sheriff Officer will be stopping by soon to collect my money for me, you crook.

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0 0
#455138

I can't believe he has the guts to post stuff here as Anonymous. This guy is such a bad human being, such a coward! Man up and face the music. If you’re reading this and you haven’t sent him $ to complete a project for you, don’t. Not only will he not complete it, he won’t even start it. It amazes me that he has the balls to post stuff like this on his website…

Yes, my father was a carpenter too!

19Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

21In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

22In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

Chanse, you are a loser, plain and simple.

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0 0
#451831

My business has been attacked by a person who never purchased an piece of furniture or any other item from me, in fact she was the person whom kidnapped my son in May of 2010, and published the first complaint. I have supporting evidence that would suggest that it is my EX as I have never sold an Item to "Everett, WA" and in fact that is in the location as to where authorities (Kirkland, WA Police) arrested her on June 9, 2011, (3 days after the posting), and relocated my son.

Comment # 4

Thank you S.J., you have been a great customer, and were very supportive in giving me time to complete your order under the giving circumstances.

Comment #3 & #2

Tim S.,

You paid $300.00 down on a "Customized" Bunk bed, and retracted your order, when I requested an extension of time, because A. I was still behind from relocating my son. B. Had a family member whom had passed, and needed to take time away from my business. I am reluctant to refund your full $300.00 deposit as you were made aware on several occasions prior to your purchase including the "Contract" you signed that refunds of the deposit are not allowed after the scope of work has begun. To appease you, I will refund your deposit.

Comment #1

Rachael M.,

Copied are e-mails that you had sent:

Chanse,

First: I think I would like to confirm/clarify what it is that we ordered. We had ordered a twin over full, with stairs. Drawers to be in the stairs and under the full bed. So I was a little confused when you talked about a captain's bed since our original order included drawers under the bed that are "built in" like a captain's bed.

Second: do you still have a connection for the mattresses so we could purchase those to be delivered by you all at once?

Third: it looks like we will not need the beds until the weekend of April 17th (anytime after the 15th). I hope that helps.

Rachael

I then received an email on February 16,

Chanse,

I really need to know what's happening here. The contract was for a Jan 15th delivery date and it's now Feb 16th. And I don't have anything.

I can't wait 10, 15, 20 weeks to get this furniture. My twins are sleeping on the floor with underwear and socks in a laundry hamper because there is no furniture in their bedroom. Furniture that was supposed to arrive last month.

I understand you are ill. But that doesn't explain that last 4 1/2 weeks.

I need to know when I will have this furniture.

Thank you,

Rachael

My Response was:

Rachael,

Maybe I miss read your email, I was under the understanding that you wanted the set delivered tomorrow when you had wrote "I would like to find a way for delivery of my order by the end of the day, Friday, Feb 17th.". When I first took your order I thought I had explained that because of the size of your order it would take some time to build, and the January 15th date was an estimated date, as I had other orders in front of yours. I also notified you and explained that the main bearing in my surface planer went out, the surface planer is the heart of my shop as every board that is turned into a piece of furniture must pass through it, and then through my table saw. I basically had to shut my shop down for two and half weeks due to something that was beyond my control. I also explained that I was having an issue with making the unit sturdy and later realized I miss understood that you wanted a twin on full, and was confused because of your mention of a different model bed so I started out making a twin on twin, once we had discussed the matter of stability, and I realized the error I had to rebuild the lower unit of the bed, that alone is better then a week loss of time and I also thought I explained that because I was redesigning your set to have stairs that takes extra time because there is no way to draw it out on paper and know how structurally sound the unit will be. I have pushed two other orders of with permission from my customers in order to get your order completed. The bunk bed and stairs are 100% complete, dyed, and finished. The dresser, and under bed storage are assembled, and the drawers are being built, and the pieces of the side table are cut awaiting assembly. I have made your order a top priority especially after I found out your situation, and I wanted to make sure the beds were there for your children. I couldn't possible have planned for my son or I to be Ill. I do completely understand your frustrations, and I am working diligently to resolve this issue and get the beds to you as well as complete your order.

Getting back you your last email, hiring someone to deliver the order is only an issue because of set up, If something was not set up right and someone was injured I would not only feel guilty, I would also have to assume liability, and that is something I am not willing to risk.

Again I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have placed you and your children in.

Sincerely,

Chanse DiGiovanni

Ironically even after posting your comment on this website On Feb 17 you sent me:

Chanse,

I have to check to see if someone can be home in the middle of the afternoon today. I know I can not.

So, at this point, let's plan on a delivery date for the entire order. Do you deliver on the weekend? So the weekend of the 25/26th? Or would it need to wait until Monday the 27th?

If it turns out that you can deliver on Friday, the 24th, that would be perfect but I am building in the expectation that something will happen to delay a Friday delivery. So if Friday ends up working, fantastic and a pleasant surprise. But if not, I'll have the expectation of the weekend or Monday.

For pictures, my cell is XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you.

Rachael

With all this, you still felt it was necessary to post a negative comment on this website?

Custom Quality Handcrafted Furniture is an art and a skill, and in order to insure that my custom get's every penny out of his or her order, sometimes projects (especially large projects) take more time then that of which is written on a piece of paper, which is also mentioned on my company website. I ALWAYS inform the customer of delays and because of these complaints, I have completely removed the section giving a date of completion from my contract.

I hope viewers can understand that there are always two sides to a story, and a website like this allows a consumer to complain, but is unfair in a business standpoint, in that it took almost a full year that I was slandered in the initial posting by a consumer who doesn't exist.

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#431027

I am currently in the fight to receive my furniture from Cardinal. My children are currently sleeping on mattresses on the floor because of a divorce and the owner of Cardinal couldn't deliver on time. He couldn't even deliver 6 weeks late! As for the contract: the situations beyond his control are WORK related per the contract. Supply issues, etc. The contract does NOT cover issues of a personal nature that would impact a delivery date. Professionals have ways for personal situations to not interfere with work.

The owner of Cardinal is not a professional businessman. Like other posts have stated, he is full of excuses. Right and left.

I want my furniture and I'm not getting it. Correction: I NEED my furniture and I'm not getting it. I'd love to be able to comment on the quality of it. But, I have NOTHING in my house to judge.

I am beyond frustrated, angry, and tired of dealing with this.

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#413354

His son was abducted? That's a new one, and one of the best "excuses" to date. Here is the list of excuses that Chanse has given me:

-His uncle died and he was stuck in northern MN for two weeks because he rode to the funeral with his parents. While in northern MN he did not have any cell phone reception.

-His son has special needs and his daycare provider has quit.

-Earlier he told a customer that his wife was sick. Well now he must not have a wife because he told me that he is a single dad.

-He didn't want to deliver the product to me because the traffic would be too bad due to the opening of deer season.

-His truck is still broken down.

This guy spends more time thinking up excuses than actually working on the products. I just hope that nobody else will have to do business with him ever again and have to deal what we have gone through.

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#413120

Never do business with this guy! He has has my money and will not return it to me.

I placed an order with this Chanse DiGiovanni from Cardinal Custom Furniture for bunk beds. After MANY excuses about why he hadn't completed this I finally had to give up. My kids were actually outgrowing their beds and I had to buy them from somewhere else. I couldn't wait around for who knows when.

I am currently in the process of taking this man to conciliation (small claims) court in one final, desperate attempt to get the money back from him that I put down on this project. Please don't make the mistake that I did by giving him your cash.

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#353203

It seems to me the poster of this original comment is indecisive if they are pissed or not! I myself have placed several orders with Cardinal Custom Furniture and I too was one of his customers during a two month span in which my order was delayed to to some personal struggles the owner was going through.

Be he always maintained contact with me, as it sounds like he did with you. In his contract article 11 clearly states he can not be held accountable for delays beyond his control. I do not know what it is you ordered yet you yourself admit that the quality is superior, so I fail to understand your complaint. Life happens, you were also probably unaware that his son was abducted during the middle part of April?

Yet the owner continued to push to fulfill orders, including mine. You say he is incapable of telling the truth, yet I fail to see where you feel he was dishonest?

I will continue to do business with Cardinal Custom Furniture, the price is exceptional and the craftsmanship is far more superior then anything I've found at any furniture store!

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ID
#241372 Review #241372 is a subjective opinion of poster.
Location
Everett, Washington
Loss
$1

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For an individual, one of a kind unique piece of furniture, CARDINALS own custom woodworking is for you. From Hutches to Fireplaces our shop will ...

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