Preferred Drywall, Inc.

Failed to start job on time. He said he would refund my deposit if I was dissatisfied if I would allow him to begin and did not approve work.Signed with [redacted] on January 21st to do extensive drywall taping and repair. Paid deposit of $2400, half of the cost of the job. Due to the severe weather, I asked him to start on Thursday, January 23, as temperatures were to get a little better. He called on Thursday and said he was going to postpone starting due to the weather (it was warmer, but I agreed). I asked him if he would be at work on Monday, January 27. He said YES.Monday, January 27, he was not there. January 28, he was not there again. I called him and told him I would meet with him January 29, and I was very unhappy that he had not shown up to work. We met and I was going to cancel the job. He insisted he would be at work the next 2 days and that if I was not happy with his work he would refund my entire payment.I went to the site on February 2, and I was surprised to see that he had done bits here and there, when I had asked him to do a specific room. The floors were not covered, so there are plaster spots and of course sanding dust. I thought he was a professional but he put plaster patch over painted wallpaper, which needs to be removed. I neglected to mention this, but he is supposed to be a professional. And I did not expect him to be working in this room. Tape is not well embedded in mud and there are lots of folds for lack of another way to put it: lumps. I know it is only the first coat, but I also know that if not laid properly it will bubble after sanding and priming. I have had other plaster people look at it and they agree it is not well done, Suffice it to say, I called him and said I wanted to meet with him Feb. 3 and not to do anything until we talked. I was not able to go in to meet Monday am due to my schedule, but I did try to talk with him on the phone about my concerns. He claimed he did not understand and wanted to meet. Since it had begun to snow, I said Tuesday am.He would not agree, so, I said I will come in at 4:30 and we can meet. He texted me "OK." When I arrived, his truck tracks were obvious, he was not there, and all his equipment and supplies were gone. My neighbor said he had left at 3:30. I have copies of all the texts.I called him and said that I wanted my check back. He did not respond until February 4. He wanted to set up a meeting. We had a meeting set up and he knew I wanted to meet with him on Monday. I already had 4 days' delay due to him changing the schedule and not showing up to work. Back and forth on him trying to set up a convenient meeting but NEVER a specific.I have nothing more to say to him. Later Feb. 4 he again texted me to say he'll "contact me at the end of the week."I have asked him 4 or 5 times for the money he said he would refund if I was not happy. He was at the house and left when he knew I was coming in for the meeting. I feel he has used postponing tactics. I gave him the opportunity to prove himself after he had already earned my distrust. Now he continues to be untrustworthy.He also has the key to my property.Desired SettlementAs described, he told me that he would refund my $2400 if I was not happy with the work (2 days - not full) drywall taping and some repair on drywall (minor).I think I need a cashier's check at this point,Business Response Preferred Drywall was contacted in the fall of 2013. I met Mrs [redacted] several times concerning her extensive rehab project of her newly purchased home at [redacted] in the Historic section of [redacted] In Springfield. I followed our normal protocol when meeting a new client,Mrs [redacted] walked me through the home and gave me an overview of the project. Being an abandoned house, there had several steps and items to be addressed before the drywall/plaster stage (ie: plumbing, electrical, new petitions for the stripped kitchen), l offered tips and areas of concern to be aware of seeing that I have (1) experience in historic homes, and (2) owning one myself. Mrs [redacted] complimented on how fast and punctual I was compared to various other contractors she had dealt with.was called back to Mrs [redacted]'s project in mid-January 2014 in order to give her an updated quote. The kitchen had now been framed with rough electrical and the plumbing near completion. However, by this time, sheetrock had been installed by a prior contractor and now wished for an estimate to continue and complete the work. She had informed me she had terminated the General Contractor for reasons of discontent, one of which was her opinion of inadequate installation of sheetrock amongst other things. My opinion of the prior work was that it was reasonable and acceptable but obviously incomplete.We signed the contract on January 21, 2014. The entirety of our work was to be done inside so when Mrs [redacted] asked to delay a few days due to the cold weather (which has no bearing on our interior work having running permanent heat). I realized that the customer had limited understanding and knowledge of this particular stage of construction and her fears were primarily based on failed relationships with prior contractors. Mrs [redacted] insisted so I began the following week.During that week, we repaired loose plaster, completed installing missing drywall, and patching plaster holes in order to begin the first coat. The only rooms that were not addressed were those specifically designated by the client: the second floor bedroom with adjacent bathroom and the kitchen with adjacent pantry. At weeks end, the wall & ceiling preparations and first coat was done. During the week, I would text Mrs [redacted] and give her an update of the progress. There was never a response. The client never called, texted, responded, or appeared at the property the entire week to share any of her said concerns or discontent.Sunday evening, Mrs [redacted] sends me a text message saying to stop all work because she "did not realize I'd be all over the house" and that "it wasn't going to work our. The following morning I went to gather all my equipment and called the client upon my arrival as per her request. During our conversation, I expressed the need to meet at a mutual convenient time for us to meet. A third party was present to substantiate my presence on the premise and our conversation.We have all documentations of our claims; log book, entire text conversations, pictures, and contract. Also, as previously stated, a third party was witness to the collection of the equipment on the day of termination. Lastly, the key of the property was sent and returned by certified mall. The tracking number can be offered if desired for verification.Consequently, it is Preferred Drywall position that services rendered were performed at or above Industry standards. Punctuality and professionalism was offered and demonstrated early and throughout the construction process. Therefore, any claim that there was a signs of untrustworthiness is unfounded. Work performed with subsequent materials far exceeds the signed contract agreement. Repair and preparation of surfaces for the first coat of compound on a 4200 sq ft home would hardly be considered "minor work".It is also noteworthy that this is the first such claim against Preferred Drywall since its founding In 2005.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Revdex.com needs to review the complaint and look at the direct responses. Basically, he did not respond to most of the issues I raised in my complaint.He makes vague references which misstate the truth, as I outline below.I want a refund of my $2400 per his promise. I do not know why you would think his response would be satisfactory in any way. Please read my complaint!The only relevant part of the response is his claims which are false (detailed below) and the fact he never disputes that he offered to do some work on an approval basis. If I was not happy with the work, he would refund $2400, the total I had paid down for this project.First of all, there is no "WE" there is only the business owner, per his own disclosure to me."Mrs. [redacted] insisted I begin the following week." As stated in my complaint, I asked him to delay TWO DAYS (signed contract on Monday). He was to work Thursday and Friday because the weather was to be warmer. In point of fact, my heating system was not working perfectly, and I did not want to have wet plaster get frozen should the system fail. He called me on Thursday and delayed start further. I specifically asked him if he was going to be there MONDAY, as I was not happy that he was adding another 2 days postponement. He ASSURED me he would be there on Monday, but he was NOT.His responses per above are totally untrue."DURING that week" he is implying he worked the whole week!He worked TWO days. "AT WEEKS END!!!) He did not work a week! He is implying he worked a full week.He did text me a couple of times. There was no real need to respond. Furthermore, he did not ASK me for anything requiring response."The client never called, texted, . .. . or appeared at the property the entire week." OF COURSE I APPEARED! I met with him in person on WEDNESDAY because I was going to not proceed. At which meeting he pleaded with me to let him go ahead and offered his satisfaction or money back.I did send the text message on Sunday: that it "wasn't going to work out." This was after going to see what he had done so I could let him continue the job. I NEVER SAID "STOP ALL WORK."Again, I have my texts.On MONDAY, I tried repeatedly to meet with him (he does not mention that), and he AGREED to meet at 4:30 p.m. He called me from the house because I asked him to in order to discuss the issues I had and he was not receptive to the discussion, an attempt I made because of the dangerous traveling conditions.There was no one there that day for him to be in the presence of to my knowledge. He went in by himself and took his things PRIOR to the 4:30 appointment.There was a big storm that day and no one came to the house to work. The storm was the reason I was trying to rearrange our meeting, to which he would not agree. Nor did he OFFER a time to meet as I was attempting to set up a time.Please ask him for his texts. I am happy to give you mine. "services rendered were performed at or above industry standards "(NO). . .. "Punctuality" (NO!!!!) and "professionalism "(NOOOOO)... He was NOT punctual. He delayed the job 5 days: 4 days he failed to show, and the 5th day, Wednesday (of the whole week he claims he worked!) we met, and he did not start until Thursday, Total time of the job: two days (not even full days).For $2400. Professional, trustworthy, I think not.And he was NOT hired to do 4200 square feet. Another untruth.I realize you only have his word and my word. But I have texts and I will print them out and send them to you. I have tried to download them to this doc but it will not work.This information is irrelevant, but, he again is making untrue statements: regarding the other people who did put up drywall, he said at first that it was just fine; the SECOND time he came, he stated that it was not. In fact, I have another crew working, and they took down much of the drywall because it had been installed incorrectly (the dipped edges were not butted to one another, which makes the taping job much more difficult).[redacted]Final Business Response Again, I stand bye my initial response. I stand behind the work,the language in the contract,and professionalism. We met last fall and returned when called upon. I tried to put Mrs [redacted] at ease and agreed to begin the following week. She was clearly frustrated and overwhelmed by the ongoing project. I believe this was due to her inexperience and/or having just fired her General Contractor. The fact that Mrs [redacted] was concerned about the weather had no bearing on the interior work being performed.The claim about the "fear of a faulty furnance" brings two points:(1)the heating system was always working. There was no noticable difference between the week I was scheduled to begin and to the week I did the work. Mrs [redacted] did not mention having work being done to the furnance but simply said she had to maintain the oil level.(2)Secondly, and more importantly, the temperature in the house were at or at least above recommended industry standards of 55F. Thus allowing all work to be done safely and correctly.Making all claims of frozen and wet mud mute. In addition,I disagree with Mrs [redacted]'s timeline. I have the material slip from the lumber yard to prove so. There was a third party that escorted me at [redacted] the day I retrieved my equipment. He can witness that; (1) the equipment was collected respectfully, and (2) the conversation on speaker phone, and there was NO scheduled meeting at 4:30pm, as alleged. Lastly, Mrs [redacted] is entitled to her opinions about me, however, she is not entitled to the facts. I have the entire history of texts,photos, log book, lumberyard slip, a clear written agreement, and a third party to substatiate my collection of my equipment. Sadly, Mrs [redacted]'s comments are leaning on being slanderous and any claim on the workmanship ought to be,at the very least, substiated by an accredited business in the trade. Consequentely, I believe(as explained in the initial response) the claim for a full refund is unfounded. All work was done professionally and done per the agreement. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)As usual, this response provides no information, nor does he respond to any of the complaints.First of all, he has no knowledge of my heating system. I am fairly sure that I did state to him that my concern over the extreme cold was because my system was having issues. How can he possibly say "the heating system was always working." Exactly how many times was he in my house? Two meetings, two days of work (if he in fact showed up two days because I am assuming that) and the day he removed the supplies and equipment. What possible relevance is it whether I told him I was having repairs or not? Or even if I did not mention my heater issues. At least he admits that I was concerned about the extreme weather and I did not want work to be damaged. Who makes sense here?He "disagee(s) with the timeline." Did he provide a timeline? Has he EVER provided any specifics on anything? No, he has not!I did give him a check for $2400 on January 21. Obviously, he could have purchased materials that day or any day after that.He REMOVED materials from my property which I had paid for, which I have been told is a violation of Massachusetts law. The purchase of the materials has nothing to do with WHEN he did the work. Again, he refers to "the week I did the work." He workedonly 2 days!I am very interested in who the third party is who escorted him, because there was ONE set of tire tracks - from his vehicle. There was a meeting scheduled at 4:30. I planned on meeting in the morning but I could not due to my responsibilities with my granddaughter. I suggested meeting Tuesday, he would not agree. I suggested around 11:00, and he said he was not available then.He knew full well that we needed to meet on MONDAY, so I told him I would come in at 4:30 so we could meet. He did NOT say he could not meet. Why would he come and get all the supplies and leave at 3:30, except to avoid meeting with me at 4:30: he has my money. He did NOT satisfy his obligations as to the contract.And somehow this leads to "she [redacted]) is not entitled to the facts." Exactly what does that mean?"All work was done professionally" is a purely false claim. Again, he is suggesting he did all the work! I note that in your instructions you say (Revdex.com) "you are representing that it is a truthful account of your experience with the business."Unfortunately, this does not seem to apply to the other party in this complaint. Repeatedly, he has misstated, misled, or otherwise fabricated statements, and he has never given any specifics in response to my specific dates and times and events.signed [redacted]