CertaPro Painters

Review: We had several rooms painted with this company. We also had the ceiling in the bathroom scraped and painted. Ceiling started to peel and notified owner that the ceiling was peeling. Owner came out and looked at the ceiling and assured me he would take care of it. After he left I have not heard from him or seen anyone from his company at my home. I have attempted many times to contact him and have left messages on his cell phone which he doesn't reply to. Received a notice that my warranty was due to expire in May of 2014 attempted to make contact with him again no luck.Desired Settlement: I would like a partial refund for the work that needs to be done because I will now have to hire someone else to come in to fix the work that he won't do that was suppose to be covered under warranty.

Business

Response:

Contacted by customer and stopped out to review issues.

Review: We originally hired CertaPro Painters in [redacted]h 2013 to paint our house. We signed the contract and the sub-contractor that the company sent to perform the work was problematic. He did a poor job power-washing the house and then primed half of the house before demanding more money to finish the job. He refused to do any additional work and was fired by [redacted], the owner of the CertaPro franchise. As the sub-contractor left our property he caused deliberate damage to the gardens (which [redacted] reimbursed us for after the fact). After extensive delays, [redacted] finally had another crew come and paint the house. When they painted, they did not use the [redacted] paint that was outlined in the contract; they instead used a discount paint. The paint almost completely peeled off the house within 90 days of our final payment. CertaPro has a 2 year warranty for the completed work so when we alerted [redacted] to the peeling paint, he vowed to come and correct the problem. After multiple missed meetings and promises to appear to correct the work, [redacted] finally got a crew to our house to honor the warranty in August/Sept. 2014. The crew did not do a complete job and, once again, the paint is peeling off of the house. [redacted] had given his word that he would send a crew back to complete the work but has not been responsive since late-Sept.

The problems with the company were three-fold. First, there was inadequate vetting of the sub-contractor that was sent to our house. I had safety concerns for my family that required me to re-arrange work schedules because the contractor was acting erratically and I did not trust him being at my house without my being there. Secondly, the workmanship was sub-par as the paint that was applied has twice peeled off. Finally, the lack of responsiveness of the firm and their unwillingness to live up to their contractual warranty (and use discount paint rather than what was agreed/paid for) has been completely unacceptable.Desired Settlement: We had to obtain another quote from a reputable painter since CertaPro had been unresponsive and had not honored their warranty. We either want the work completed or a refund to hire an reputable company to come and correct the damage that CertaPro has done. The next step will be to pursue legal action for breach of contract.

Business

Response:

There is a moisture issue with the house that caused staining and peeling with the house.

The areas of concern were corrected washing the staining by scrapping, priming and repainting the peeling.

Review: I hired CertaPro to paint my home. I was given a quote after the owner inspected the house. After the house was painted, I noticed the trim wasn't completely covered. The painters told me I would have to pay extra for complete coverage. After speaking to the owner, he told me the second coat would cost an extra $500. He said that I should have taken a sample of the paint and used that sample to gauge how many coats I would need. He also claimed that there was no way for him to know how much paint they would need to paint my house. The reason I hired what I thought was a professional painting company is so that they would know how much paint it would take to cover my house completely. I've never painted a house and have no painting skills. I feel that I was purposely given a lower quote using an inadequate amount of paint so that he could charge me more in the end.Desired Settlement: I would like the second coat of paint, at the owner's expense, because he gave me a quote using an inadequate amount of paint. I also want other consumers to be aware of my situation, so they don't have the same awful experience with the owner that I did.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted]’s claims against CertaPro Painters are

unfounded and true. During the estimate

I asked her what colors they were going

to use. She was unsure at the time and

was still in the stages of choosing. At

any estimate I always explain to customers that if they change the color there

is a chance that a 2nd coat of paint will be needed to cover the

existing color. I had no control over

the color choice. Ultimately, Ms.

[redacted] chose a white color to cover over a dark trim color. As will be noted beneath I went out of my way

to help her and explain to her the importance of knowing what the color choice

will look like and how it will cover prior to painting.

First, not only was this explained in person to Ms.

[redacted], it is written on the contract that is attached in 2 places. The contract was fully reviewed line item by

line item by me in front of her and her husband. You will note that in the Special Notes

section at the top of my proposal it states that we will provide 2 quarts of

paint so she could test her new colors to “ensure proper coverage with the

color change”. Well, after Ms. [redacted] begain to complain

to us that her color choice of a white over a dark trim didn’t cover in one

coat and expected us to paint a 2nd coat at no cost, I reminded her

that I provided her with 2 quarts of paint as stated at the top of the proposal

for this very purpose. Her response to

me was that she chose not to test the trim color. So, that was her own fault in not doing.

Second, CertaPro Painters goes the extra mile just so

customers can know exactly what to expect before we paint with how their color

choice will be look at cover. In

addition you will note under the title of Finish Coats that it states in

writing we are only doing One coat of paint on the trim that is in

question. So, again she knew this and

was informed.

Third, under the Notes/Misc section of the proposal it

clearly states in writing that once colors are confirmed and chosen by the

customer, if they do not cover fully then they will be billed the additional

amount it will take for another coat.

This also was reviewed in person together.

Fourth, I hired a professional color consultant at my

expense to help Ms. [redacted] pick colors.

My color consultant will testify in writing if need be that Renee was

very unprofessional in the way she treated her.

In addition, Ms. [redacted] made comments via text messaging to our color

consultant that she was so angry at her Home Owners Association for not letting

her paint her garage doors red that she would put some form of junk or

something in her front yard just to spit them.

I state this point only to build the case of the type of

person and character Ms. [redacted] represents.

Ms. [redacted] called me and demanded that we do a 2nd

coat on her trim. I explained over the

course of 45 min via the phone that she signed a contract that stated we will

do one coat of paint on the trim and that it was her responsibility as noted in

numerous places to test her colors first to ensure that it covered and that if

it didn’t she would have to pay additional.

She would not accept these facts and began crying hysterically and hung

up on me.

I called her back to calm her down and explain that we need

to work this out and that I felt for her making this choice but that it wasn’t

my responsibility nor should I bear the financial burden of her decision. I quoted her a price of $500 to do a 2nd

coat on all the trim which was a fair price for a $3600 job (that is 1/7 the

total cost for an entire 2ndcoat on the trim labor/paint. She refused and threatened not to pay for the

entire job until she was happy. I note

this about her being happy, because as you will see in the comment card that

she provided for us that I attached she argues that I don’t care about her

happiness. I find that amusing given

that this is a business and she made a wrong choice and was not willing to

compromise at any level with me or work anything out. CertaPro Painters is in the business of

customer service not peoples personal happiness at our financial expense.

At this point we were not getting anywhere so I made the

ultimate that she must pay or I would have to purse legal recourse. At this point she agreed to pay, and did

pay in full.

I am not shocked to see this complaint because after my

dealings with Ms. [redacted] I can tell this is the way she does business.

If you have any further questions or comments please call.

Sincerely,

CertaPro Painters

Owner

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Business

Response:

Hi [redacted] here is my response

This is one of those cases where no matter what I say, show or prove the customer will never accept reality. The story is cut and dry. I contracted to do one coat of paint on the trim and house and 2 coats where there was going to be a red color. At the time of the estimate she was not going to do a big color change on the trim. Later in the process after she was rude and inconsistent with our color professional, she ended up picking a white to go over a dark trim color. The proposal says in 3 places to always test your colors because if you pick a color that doesn’t cover than a 2nd coat of paint will be required. Nothing can be more plain. We offered 2 quarts of paint free for her to test and she chose not test the trim color which is obvious that a white will not cover a dark color. The proposal sates this clear in numerous spots and this was verbalized to her in person. The statements she is making about our painters are heresy and completely fabricated. But this is expected for this type of customer. She refused to pay, cried and hung the phone up on me. I had to call back and speak with her for a long time to try and remedy the situation which did end in her saying she would not pay unless we did a free 2nd coat. At this point I told her then a lien or other form of litigation would be necessary because she would not accept the “discounted” rate I offered to paint. Contrary to what she thinks customer service means it does not mean capitulate to false and incorrect demands.

thx,

Consumer

Response:

May 10, 2013