An Ontario couple is trying to get their money back after they paid $35,000 in upfront costs for a home renovation that never even started because the owner of the business hired to complete the work sold it to another buyer.

Stephanie and Dan Greenwood told CTV Toronto’s Consumer Reporter Pat Foran that they decided to renovate the kitchen, floors and living room of their home in Burlington, Ont. about 10 months ago.

“The project was $53,000. We were asked to give $35,000 up front. We did and we really didn’t think much of it,” Stephanie said.

The couple paid the $35,000 to Carm Giudice from the Ridgeway Design Centre in Mississauga, Ont. They claim that as soon as they handed over the money, the project came to a halt.

“We came back, tried tracking them down, another delay, another delay, and then we started second-guessing what was happening,” Dan said.

“We were given three start dates and nobody ever showed up,” Stephanie added.

Despite their repeated calls, Giudice never returned to the home to start the renovation work, the couple said.

Even more surprising, the business remains open today, albeit under a new owner.

The Greenwoods said they didn’t realize at the time that Giudice had sold the renovation store and name to a new owner shortly after they paid for the project.

“It doesn’t seem fair because we haven’t done anything wrong,” Dan said. “We know there is money there because they are still operating today.”

However, the new owner of the store, John Jalovec, told CTV Toronto that he has no knowledge of the Greenwoods’ deal and he never received any money from it.

“They [former owners] didn’t give it to me and they didn’t give it to my company,” Jalovec said. “If they had, they wouldn’t have an issue.”

Giudice is still working for the store under the new owner. He didn’t return phone calls from CTV Toronto.

The Greenwoods said they have hired a lawyer to see if there’s any way they can recover their money.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Pat Foran