A Perfect Finish

Review: [redacted] and I contracted with Mr. [redacted] to perform the following trade functions at [redacted]. Interior Carpentry - $1,600Tile Installation (2 bathrooms) - $1,300Interior Painting - $3,200Exterior Painting - $4,700 Total - $10,800On May 2, 2014 we paid Mr. [redacted] $5,400. On May 21, 2014 he walked off the job having worked 8 days since he was paid May 2, 2014. He has paid for 10 gallons of paint, we have purchased all other supplies.We have texted him on his cell phone, [redacted], emailed him, and left voicemail messages with no response. We emailed him the followinng letter May 28, 2014:Dear Sir:This letter shall serve as official notice that you are in default of our agreement for the renovation of [redacted] On May 2, we provided you $5,400 in advance for your services. You indicated the job would be completed within two and a half weeks. Listed below are the trade functions you were contracted to perform, the price of each service, percent of work completed, and calculated value performed. Based on the calculated value of work performed to date, you owe us $3,860.00.Interior carpentry(including window replacement) - $1,600 - 40% completed $640.00 value performedTile installation (2 bathrooms) - $1,300 - 20% completed - $260 value performedInterior Painting - $3,200 - 20% completed - $640 value performedExterior Painting - $4,700 - 0% completed - $0 value performedWe would like to propose the following solution. If you will complete all carpentry and interior carpentry work, including the installation of windows, we will consider your debt to us paid in full. We will then contract out the other work to other contractors. If you agree to the proposal, the work will need to be completed within 2 weeks.Please advise us of your intention before the end of the day, Friday, May 30th. If we do not receive a response from you, we will proceed with legal and professional options to resolve this matterDesired Settlement: Completing the contracted work is no longer an option. We request a refund on advance payment for work not completed in the amount of $3,860 ($5400 minus $1,540 value performed).We also request the return of our electrical cords,power strip and any other items removed from the property. We also request he return the key to the property.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

We were never presented with, nor refused to sign, a written contract.

There are 2 owners of the property, [redacted] being the primary contact, who would consult with myself when questions arose and [redacted] would provide a decision the following day. The "project manager" Mr. [redacted] refers to is in fact my brother, [redacted], who we asked to speak on our behalf. We did this because Mr. [redacted] screamed at us, hung up the phone on us, and refused to listen to our concerns-this particular concern was an improperly installed bathroom sub-floor which dipped, and once tiled, would have cracked with any pressure placed on it. Our thoughts were that Mr. [redacted] would feel more comfortable and less condescending if speaking with a male, but instead he walked up close to my brother's face and yelled at him to leave the property, our property.

Mr [redacted] with his "30 years of experience" felt abused and berated by "the customer". Really? Does this point, which is absolutely untrue, really justify his behavior?

Mr. [redacted]'s assertion that materials "weren't ordered by the customer" is curious because Mr [redacted] asked for the $5400 up front so that he could buy materials as he went along and then provide receipts at job completion. What instead transpired was that Mr [redacted] ordered materials for delivery which resulted in days where no work was being done and then had us pay for them. Further, he ordered pre-fab closet casing/track units. These simple units were expensive, delivered by his Slidell supplier, and should have been fabricated by him, as the carpenter.

The scheduling to refinish the floors was made in advance with Mr. [redacted]'s approval. There are 2 entrances to our 1200 sq ft house, not 1, and he was provided with keys for both entrances.

I was astounded to read that Mr. [redacted] informed us that the advance money had been exhausted and to look for someone else to complete the work. A worker was present when he repeatedly reassured Jane that he would be returning. [redacted] asked him directly because he loaded up his tools unexpectantly. Further, he never returned our keys and he ceased communication with us when we attempted to contact him about the unfinished work.

Mr. [redacted] worked 6 days and had a worker work alone for an additional 2 days. He paid for 10 gallons of paint. Mr. [redacted] was provided $5400 in advance because of his request to have money on hand for supplies until he could be reimbursed. We paid for all other supplies/deliveries. When he was asked to pay for supplies on delivery he would ask us to pay since we were present on those days. During our previous renovations, we've always worked with carpenters/workers to negotiate pay increases for any add ons which are inherent in any house renovation.

I'm not sure why Mr. [redacted] has written of any of these issues when he believes he has earned the $5400. It sounds as though he is either rationalizing, or trying to convince himself, that it is acceptable to have unearned $5400.

It's very unfortunate that we're having to go through this time consuming and unpleasant complaint process, but Mr. [redacted]'s poor quality of work, his unprofessional behavior to myself and family, and his deserting the job with advance payment entrusted to him makes this a necessity.

Our desired outcome remains the same, $3800 for work not completed which was paid for in advance.

Business

Response:

I HAVE PREVIOUSLY ADDRESSED ALL THE ISSURES STATED IN THE FIRST COMPLAINT.

THE SECOND COMPLAINT CLEARLY CONTRADICTS THE FIRST. THAT RESPONSE STATES THAT THE $5,400.00 PAID AT THE JOB START WAS FOR SUPPLIES. THE FIRST COMPLAINT STATED IT WAS FOR SERVICES!!!

AGAIN, I HAVE THREE DIFFERENT WORKERS TO CONFIRM MY STATEMENTS - NUMBER OF DAYS WORKED, LABOR PAID, DIFFICULTIES ON THE JOB, PERCENTAGE OF WORK COMPLETED, AND CHANGES MADE. IN ADDITION, I HAVE TEXT MESSAGES AND EMAILS TO SUPPORT MY STATEMENTS.

I ALSO KNOW THERE WERE 6 TO 7 CARPENTERS PRIOR TO MY EMPLOYMENT WHO WERE EITHER FIRED OR WALKED OFF THE JOB DO TO THE SAME PROBLEMS I ENCOUNTERED.

I CONSIDER THIS MATTER CLOSED.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Regards,

Our complaint stands. We do not consider this matter settled. Mr [redacted] makes a lot of excuses but the bottom line is that we paid, in good faith, for services that were not rendered. Further, we incurred additional costs to correct inferior quality work performed by Mr [redacted].