A Bethel Park homeowner says he’s out thousands of dollars after hiring a contractor to replace his front porch. 

Jeffrey Markoff says he hired Quaker State Construction and Supply for an $8,500 porch replacement project and paid a $2,833 deposit to secure a spot on the company’s schedule. According to paperwork reviewed by KDKA Investigates, the contract listed an approximate start date in the spring with an estimated completion time of two weeks.

Months later, Markoff says no construction crew ever arrived. He then tried to contact the owner, Gabe Clouse.

“I call the company number, and there’s no answer. The number had been disconnected, called the designer, and he gave me the cell number for the owner,” said Markoff.

When asked if he ever heard back, Markoff responded: “Never heard back and called that number twice.”

Markoff says losing the money has been frustrating.

“It’s money out of your pocket you feel somebody stole from you,” said Markoff.

KDKA Investigates took Markoff’s concerns to attorney Mike Fiffik of the Fiffik Law Group, a LegalShield provider firm, to find out what consumers can do in situations like this.

“In this situation, he has a couple of different options available to him,” said Fiffik. “If he paid the deposit with his credit card, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act will permit him to submit a dispute.”

That process is known as a chargeback and is generally most effective when initiated within 60 days of receiving the statement. However, Markoff paid by check, meaning that the option was unavailable to him.

Instead, Fiffik recommends several other steps consumers can take:

• Contact local police and report the incident as a theft
• File a complaint with the local magistrate if the amount lost is under $12,000
• File a complaint with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

When asked where homeowners should file if the contractor lives elsewhere, Fiffik said, “I would file with the magistrate where the homeowner lives.”

KDKA Investigates also attempted to contact Clouse multiple times, but our messages were not returned.

KDKA Investigates learned Clouse recently took over Quaker State and Supply as the new owner. The previous owner told KDKA he sold the business to Clouse in 2024, when the company still held an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau. The business is now listed as closed.

Gas prices continue to sit near the $5 mark for the better part of the Pittsburgh region. Not only is it impacting people’s wallets, but it’s also hitting the bottom lines of first responders’ operations. 

While gas prices are not impacting day-to-day operations, budgets are always tight, and if prices stay high, it could have some long-term impacts. First responders say they’ll still come when you call 911, so there’s no need to panic, but there is some concern behind the scenes. 

“We can’t charge more for our services. The only way to weather the storm is to become more efficient,” Regional Emergency Support Quick Response Service director Mike Gallagher said.

RESQRS said gas is normally about $2,500 to $3,000 a month. From March to April, it was $5,500. The ambulance they wanted to get this year is now on hold as costs go up.

“It definitely has affected other parts of the business and how we operate,” Gallagher said over Zoom.

It’s the same for volunteer firefighters. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services had its bill go from $300 to $400, up to $1,000 last month. This price spike was, of course, never anticipated when making the budget last year.

“It absolutely wasn’t. We just have to take money from other things and reprioritize,” SAVES fire chief Mike Daniher said.

Medic Rescue in Bridgewater, Beaver County, covers that county and takes patients to Wexford and Pittsburgh hospitals. They easily rack up hundreds of miles a day driving. Insurance doesn’t cover gas spikes, and fuel reimbursements are set from the prior year.

“I don’t see how it would be sustainable in the long term without some changes in financing,” Medic Rescue director of operations Bill Pasquale said.

An immediate impact for many services is putting new equipment on the back burner. While grants can be used for that, there’s no guarantee it’s accepted.