Palmers Custom Painting

November 29, *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** P: *** Dear *** ***, In response to our phone conversation regarding the Letter of Complaint filed by Mr***I thank you for this opportunity to hear my side of the
story so you have a clear understanding of the situationAfter which, I feel you will understand my dismay at receiving this letter I contacted Mr*** on October 1, via text messageMr*** stated that he may need my servicesHe proceeded to ask if I would take on work which would be paid out of escrow as property would be closingI agreed, with the understanding that Mr*** would provide me with the initial deposit prior to serviceAs a small, one-man business owner, in order to be able to purchase the supplies, paint, and other tolls of the trade necessary to do the job, I require a deposit I meet with Mr*** at the property in question, located in *** *** ** on Wednesday, October The original agreed upon time was actually 8am, however, Mr*** contacted me while I was half way to the property and he changed the time we were to meet to 1pm! The work requested was to paint exterior of two patio’s, five window wooden frames, one custom back door, and one wooden rail At the property, the current owner was present, so I meet with Mrs*** *** and Mr***, they are divorced, he was assisting her with the sale of propertyI quoted Mrs*** a price of $and I requested a deposit of $for materialsMrs*** agreed upon the priceThat same evening, Mr*** contacted me again to confirm that they would like for me to do the workFollowing this, we made arrangements to meet on October at the same property at 10am to sign the agreementBoth parties read and signed the agreementWe agreed that I would begin the work on property on Saturday, October at 8am. Mr*** contacted me again on Friday, October at approximately 4:30pm to cancel the work which we had agreed upon the day beforeMr***, alleged that Mrs*** had stated that ‘A’ family member would now be doing the workAgain, both parties signed the agreementI had already purchased the materials and put gasoline in my van, loaded up my equipment in anticipation of beginning the job that Saturday morningWhen Mr*** called to cancel, I had explained to him that I had already made purchases necessary for the workI could not return these materials At that time, Mr*** apologized about Mrs***’s cancelling the workHe appeared understanding and stated that whatever I thought would be fair, would be satisfactory to him, because he felt that I was professional and provided excellent customer serviceI informed Mr*** that I would contact him the following week, as I was on the road at the timeAlso, told Mr*** that I would refund whatever was the balance available after deducting the charges for materials, gasoline, and time lost within days from the 6th, when he cancelled the agreementMr*** appeared understandingAs promised, I contacted Mr***, October 11, and asked Mr*** for his mailing address and he provided me with his business address so I could mail him the $Mr*** seemed fine with thisTo my surprise, shortly after the fact, Mr*** began texting me horrible messages and demanding the entire balanceI had every intention of sending him the monies agreed upon, however, when Mr*** changed his story and began demanding, harassing, and sending threatening text messages, and a Certified Letter of Demand, and refused to accept the $200, which he previously agreed upon, and stated he would rather take me to court, my hands were than tied All text messages were saved, I also have copies of the signed agreements by both parties, and all receipts of purchase for materials on handI will gladly email you anything you needThank for your time and attentionI pride myself for going above and beyond customer serviceAs a small business owner, I can’t afford to have my reputation destroyed in this mannerYour assistance is greatly appreciated Sincerely, *** *** *** *** ** *** P*** E: ***

I am rejecting this response because:Mr*** did not inform me, either vocally or in writing, prior to paying him a $deposit, that all or even part of the deposit was non-refundableI understand that Mr*** is a small business operator with no employees, however, I negotiated in good faith on the behalf of my clientAlthough I do not recall the time in which Mr*** and I agreed to meet and sign for the work to be done, had he insisted on meeting at whatever agreed to time we could have done soFurthermore, once we did meet and worked out an agreement suitable to each other, upon introducing Mr*** to my client, he initially told her that he was going to charge her $As that was not the price he and I had just discussed, I was quite surprisedOnce he realized that what must have been meant to be a joke, although ill timed, was not very funny to the client, he then told her the agreed upon price and termsAlso, Mr*** originally agreed to start on Friday, not SaturdayWhen I called him to confirm, at the request of my client, he changed the start date to SaturdayThese two unprofessional incidents, initiated by Mr***'s lacking skill of customer service, are what caused my client to ask me to cancelShe found his flip flopping unsettling because of previous contractors she had recently dealt with who had not kept their wordMr*** told me, when I informed him of the cancellation, that he had purchased paint and had it mixed, which is why he could not return itAs no special WHITE PAINT was ever requested, I don't understand why his statement concerning the "mixing of paint" and gas in his vehicle makes him feel that he can charge me an unfair and inflated rate for what was basically one free estimate and a trip to collect $for work he never startedEveryone has to put gas in their vehicle in order to get to workMr*** also told me that he would not return the paint, or give it to me because he intended to use it on some other jobUnprofessionalI did initially allow Mr*** to consider what type of refund he would be willing to give me over the weekendAlthough I felt his initial offer of a $was ridiculous, I agreed, for the time being to accept at least thatWhen I called him the following week, looking for the deposit return, he came up with this "day refund policy", that had never been referred to either vocally or contractually prior to our agreementI think Mr*** spent my money on his bills and did not want to return any of it to meHe became extremely arrogant about the subject over the phone when I called him asking about the refund, and I have yet to receive a return of any my deposit from Mr***Although I do want all of my money back from Mr***, I never refused to accept the $I never harassed Mr***, I merely stated the facts of my case, as well as my intentions. I trusted Mr*** to email me a copy of the hand written contract to me, which he has not doneI demand a full refund of my money.Sincerely, *** ***