Yankee Painting Company

I met with Mr. [redacted] on August 5, 2013 for an estimate on exterior pinting after calling on his Craigslist AD advertising painting services. Later that day [redacted] emailed an outline of the work to be performed and started the following day. [redacted] arrived 11 am 8/6/13 and washed the overhang ceiling and scraped some loose paint on the porch. He also requested a deposit check for materials. I gave him a check for $200. The following day he came out again and did more porch scraping, helped cut back an overgrown bush and cashed the check. He left in the afternoon to pick up paint but returned without any paint. I left for about an hour and when I returned, [redacted] was applying left over primer to the porch that he brought from home. I stopped him to question the old primer, told him the porch was not prepped properly and not ready for paint and I was not satisfied with his quality of work. He demanded more money. I said no until the job was finished. [redacted] refused to complete his agreement and came out the following day to pick up his tools and told me he was an attorney also. His work had to be redone.Desired SettlementReturn of my $200 material deposit.Business Response Response to Consumer's Original Complaint:I started work for the client on a good faith basis for $1,000 even though the client rejected the term in Bid for plus or minus 10% the total. The client said that she was always charged the 10% plus (see landscaping below). The client told me that she wanted the house done as soon as possible so she could sell or rent it and to start on the porch first. I told her that for preparation, I would wash, scrape, and sand the sharp edges of the paint, but to sand the paint smooth was illegal. I never asked her to help or supply anything. In hindsight, I believe she was trying to lower the final total payment by doing some of the lighter work.At some point, the client said that she had trouble with workmen who had worked on her houses both in Florida and in Massachusetts. She said she was trying to get back a $300 down payment from a painter who was supposed to work at [redacted]. I suggested that she go to small claims court. I said that I felt that she might have trust issues and she could contact two of my references, a former college president and a former member of the Governor's council that nominates judges, who I have painted for numerous times over the past 20 years.On the first day that I worked, I loaded my van and I worked until about 7 pm with a twenty minute break. I worked not less than seven hours the first day, six the next, and one hour the day I quit. I worked a total of 14 hours not including packing my van with equipment for the job and later packing it up to leave. I washed the entire porch, basement windows, and all the wood on the first story. I loosened downspouts and on the second day I took them down and did a lot of scraping and sanding on the porch but did not complete it. After showing good faith by working for a day, I asked for a down payment of a third of the cost. The client gave me only $200.On the second day, the client presented me with her saws-all (she did not know how to use it) and asked me to cut down a small tree (which was not in the bid (offer). The client also asked me to use my 16 foot pruning polesaw to do landscaping around the house. It took about two hours. The client hauled away the wood and brush. This was never in my "bid" or "outline" or "agreement" and she refuses to pay for this. On the second day, I left to cash the $200 check and buy primer. I did not buy it because the Sherwin Williams store in Holyoke refused to give me the sale price or a reduced contractor's price. They said they were doing this because I was a painting contractor and not a home owner. I decided to get primer at a Benjamin Moore paint store in Northampton or North Amherst for ten to twenty dollars less a gallon the next day. When I got back, the client said that I was almost done with one of the two hardest parts of the scraping. The client left and said she would return. The prep work when painting a house takes about two thirds of the time. Once a house is prepped, the priming and painting go easily. After the client left, the sky was darkening and threatening rain. So I used some of my Benjamin Moore Fast dry oil primer with Penetral to prime the posts and horizontal surfaces that I had just finished preparing to prevent the rain from soaking the prepped bare wood and delaying the painting for a week or more. (It is a common business practice to use left- over primer). I primed all but the last post because the preparation on that post was not complete. The last post was behind a loosened downspout and small gutter which I had just day taken off that day. The client came back and began asking about the primer, sticking a thin sharp spackle knife between the wood and paint on the last post that I had not yet finished saying the scraping was not finished and the paint wasn't sanded smooth. I told her what I stated in the paragraph above. I then scraped the pillar, using an extremely sharp scraper where the downspout had partially blocked my scraping the day before. I also lightly sanded the pillar again. I said I was sorry to placate her. She later said my work was unprofessional and that she wanted the paint on the post sanded smooth. I told her that it would be illegal for me to sand the posts smooth because there was lead paint. The client said she would she would bring her sander the next day and do it. Toward the end of the day, I told her that calling someone's work unprofessional was a red flag and that I would like to be paid for work performed by the day to be sure that I was paid for my work. I had worked thirteen hours by the end of the first two days. She refused and said that I had not earned the $200 yet and that she wanted me to buy primer and paint with the money. At that point, I had already earned $325 in labor. As I was leaving, I said let's think about this tonight and I will bring another ladder to do more scraping higher on the porch's roof trim the next day. She agreed. I now believe that by her actions, the client did not have the money to pay a professional painter and needed the $200 to buy the primer and paint so she could finish the porch herself.I arrived the next day. I finished washing the first story. It took an hour. The client arrived and asked if I had brought my ladder. I told her that I had decided to work on the porch ceiling because it was supposed to rain. I asked the client if she had come to a decision about my working for her. She said, " you tell me your decision first". I said I was unwilling to work for her unless she paid me on a daily basis for work performed. She said that she had already found another painter. I told her that I would send her a bill for the rest of the money that she owed me. She said she wouldn't pay me. I said I would take her to small claims court if she did not. She said she was already thinking of suing me. I said I had pictures of the work I had done. She said that she also had pictures. These I can show Revdex.com upon request.I mailed her a bill. I received a demand letter for $200 in the mail. I later received my unopened bill in the mail. The fact that the client said that she would not pay me until the job was completed demonstrates that according to her, she was willing to keep an "unprofessional" artisan working on her house. The client added an illegal term in the "agreement", ie: sanding lead paint smooth with improper equipment. If she or the painter, she claimed to have found to replace me, sanded the paint in the manner she wanted, numerous state and federal laws and regulations have been violated. In the client's demand letter, complaint and conversations, she demonstrated a lack of knowledge of professional painting, such as the need to prime exposed surfaces that were ready to be primed to prevent rain from soaking them. I now believe the client wanted me to buy materials so she could finish the porch herself or if I had continued to work for her, would refuse to pay me the full $1,000 at the completion of the job or not pay me at all which is why I asked to be paid on a daily basis for work performed so that did not happen. According to her complaint, I was to do illegal acts, buy all the materials with $200, and continue to work for her, even though my work was worthless and unprofessional. The client stated in her demand letter that the bid was for $1,000. The client never filed a claim in court but instead has filed a complaint with the Revdex.com to harass me for quitting. Legally, there are penalties for filing a claim not well grounded in fact, in good faith, or to harass. In addition there are legal penalties for libel, and failing to reasonably negotiate a settlement which I have tried to do. Does Revdex.com have such penalties also? My lowest hourly charge is $25 an hour. I worked for the client for 14 hours. She has given me $200 and therefore owes me $160 for labor and as well as the cost of materials used.Sincerely, [redacted] C [redacted]Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Mr. [redacted]'s account is very lengthy and inaccurate on many points. I am responding to what is relevant only.We had a contract which Mr. [redacted] did not fulfill. He was not hired by the hour or by the day, nor was there any such discussion. If the work takes 3 days or 3 weeks depends on the contractor. Whatever Mr. [redacted] refers to as his "rate" is irrelevant as are the amount of hours.In our original agreement there was no mention of a deposit. After he began the first day, he asked for a deposit to purchase materials. I mentioned my bad fortune in hiring a previous contractor who took my deposit and never showed up. So I was hesitant but gave Mr. [redacted] $200 for materials and "fresh" paint. A complaint against the first contractor has been filed as well. Mr. [redacted] told me he was just starting his new painting company and was insured, but did not bring any documentation so we agreed to start on the porch until he could provide proof but he never brought it.There has been no communication or attempt to settle until now. I sent a demand letter approximately one week after he left and never received a response either by US mail or email. If a "bill" was sent, it was probably mailed to an incorrect address.The reason Mr. [redacted] started to prime the porch was to conceal the sloppy prep work in hopes that I would not notice. After I called him on it, he apologized saying he "missed" a spot. The rain would not have had a detrimental affect on the protected porch anyway. His priming created additional work because most of it had to be removed with the loose paint that was never scraped.Mr. [redacted] did not have the proper equipment such as pressure washer or pump sprayer to clean the first level. He did not do any difficult areas and worked with a household spray bottle which is why it took many hours. The basement windows were not done as he stated and many areas were missed. I did not receive anywhere near 20% completed work. Mr. [redacted] can change his mind about doing the job and I cannot force him to make good on our agreement either but he does not have a right to keep my deposit and delay the completion of my work. We were both inconvenienced. It cost me time and money to correct the work and in attempts to return my money. It is in Mr. [redacted]'s best interest to return my deposit and not rack up additional costs or complaints against him nor waste people's time. [redacted]