ComplaintsforAmerican Wallworks

• Initial Complaint

  11/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  On Saturday, September 16th, *************************** with American Wallworks performed some minor drywall repair for a small wall dent and multiple small nail holes at my home. Instead of simply filling the nail holes with spackle, he applied large amounts of mud and sprayed texture all over the walls, creating significantly larger repair areas as well as getting texture overspray all over the surrounding areas. Many of the holes remained visible after the work was completed, and I ended up having to scrub most of the texture off so as not to have to completely repaint most of the walls.I placed a stop payment on the check I gave **************** for the $900 that he charged me and attempted to resolve the issues I had with his work via phone calls and text messages. He did offer to come out and fix the issues, but I declined, not wanting him in my home and causing further damage. I told him that I would send him a new check for what he thought the poor quality of his work was worth, andthat if I paid himI also reserved the right to leave him honest, online reviews of his business as a paying customer. At that point, communication from **************** ceased, and I never received an amount or mailing address from him for a replacement check.Today, November 3rd, **************** began suddenly texting me again with threats to take me to small-claims court, seeming to have no memory of my offer to send him a new check during our earlier conversation. I proffered the same resolution to him, and he asked that I pay him $600 for the work. I agreed and reminded him that, if I payed him, I still reserved the right to leave online reviews for his business. I paid the $600 to **************** via PayPal, who confirmed that he received the payment. Later in the day, **************** then sent another text message, threatening me with legal action if I posted any negative reviews for his business. After this final exchange, I changed my mind and would like to request a refund from American WallWorks.

  Business response

  11/28/2023

  from: '***************************' via Dispute Resolution <*****************************************>
  reply-to: *************************** <********************************>
  to: Better Business Bureau <*****************************************>
  date: Nov 27, 2023, 8:16 PM
  subject: *************************** Complaint and Request For A Refund

  To whom It May ********************************************** has grossly exaggerated and misled BBB as to what happened.  She acknowledged this job was done on a "best effort basis" (see Photo 6)
  with no guarantees at matching existing 20 year old texture.  Her story continues to change because she cannot keep track of her untruths.  I will note my contentions using numbered bullets which are not necessarily all encompassing nor in order of criticality:
  
  1.  ****************************** wrote:  "American Wallworks performed some minor drywall repair..." .  See Photo 1 Screen Shot of Original Estimate of $500-600.  Once I got to the house she was renting, she showed me multiple holes on almost every wall in house (ie. first floor rooms, 2nd floor rooms, basement rooms, hallways, stairways, utility room, etc).  And worse, often each room had a different texture (ie.  See photo 3 example of light orange peel, See photo 4 heavy orange peel, See photo 5 knockdown texture, utility room had smooth texture).  So this proves that this was no "minor drywall repair" and she grossly misrepresented the job.  I told her upfront it will be more material and labor, but since I was already at the job, a quoted a very reasonable new price $675.  She agreed and I proceeded to do the work.  Upon finishing she "gladly" paid me (See photo 2 Copy of check for $675).
  
  2.  ****************************** wrote:  "he applied large amounts of mud and sprayed texture all over the wall, creating significantly larger repair areas as well as getting texture overspray (spelling is over spray) all over the surrounding areas."  I explained to her before doing any work that my ******/compressor (unlike a paint sprayer) must shoot texture out in a circular pattern somewhat like a shotgun (6"-12" in circumference around each hole and I must be able to over spray each hole in order to feather in the new versus existing 20 year old texture.  I shot texture at one wall hole patch and she said looks great and had me proceed with the rest of the house using the same techniques.  Then she "gladly paid me".  If I had over sprayed "all over surrounding areas" as she claims why did she ask me to continue and then pay me in full?  It makes no sense what she is claiming.  Once again she is grossly exaggerating and misleading BBB.
  
  3.  M *************************** wrote: "...I ended up having to scrub most of the texture off so as not to have to completely repaint most of the walls...:.  Herein ies the root cause of the problem.  When she scrubbed off my texture using a wet rag it made the spackling lift off the holes.  Everyone should be aware that when water is applied to drywall compound (as in a water leak) it causes the glue to separate and come apart.  You can see this in her photos.  She damaged my work!  Also notice there are no photos or complaints about the other rooms that had knockdown texture or smooth walls and that is because she thought those matched.
  
  4.  ****************************** wrote:  "many of the holes remained visible after the work was completed."  If this were true why did she "gladly" pay me in full (See Photo 2 Copy of her check $675.  Her statement makes no sense.  The fact is there were some walls she showed me that had holes but she asked me not to repair those. The pics she sent are from that room!  Again, ****************************** is grossly exaggerating and misleading BBB.
  
  5.  ****************************** wrote:  "I placed a stop payment on the check (isn't this against the law?) I gave *************** (correct spelling is *****) for the $900 that he charged me..."  The fact is I charged her $675 (See photo 2 Copy of Check.  She is telling so many untruths that she no longer can keep her stories straight!
  
  6.  ****************************** wrote:  "He did offer to come out and fix the issues, but I declined..."  Please correct me if I am wrong but I remember reading in the ******** Statutes that a homeowner must give a contractor the opportunity to correct a problem which she refused to do thus breaking the law.  
  
  7.  Upfront I specifically told ****************************** I cannot guarantee an exact match to the existing texture because  matching texture is like trying to old match paint - if you don't know the name of the manufacture, you don't know what PSI it was shot at, you don't know how much water was mixed in, and the texture is over 20 years old - so many variables makes the odds poor of matching.  See Photo 7 Screenshot where she acknowledged my best effort was not good enough.  
  
  8.  Last month I took my complaint to small claims court in ******* but prior to actually filing that day ****************************** agreed to pay for my work at a reduced rate of $600 thru PayPal using friends and Family but instead she sent it so that Pay Pal charged my an approximate $17 transaction fee.  She did this even though she stated she wouldn't pay me "over my dead body".  Now she has changed her mind once again and demands a refund.  Everyday she changes her story.
  
  Please note when ********************************** pictures and statements cannot hold up to an honest debate she reverts to attacking me personally (not just my company) stain on social media "Sterling exhibits serious signs of senescence, both mentally and physically =, he only cares about getting paid as I got the impression that he's in dire financial straights."  Here are the facts:  I own my own house, pay all my bills, excellent credit rating, and I've been in business at same location for over 35 years.  In my younger days I was a Missile ************************ III with a Top Secret Clearance.  Does it make sense the military would hire me if I was showing signs of senescence?  I've never been arrested or been given a DUI.  Married over 45 years and raised 3 children.
  
  Ask yourself if ********************************** personal attacks against me on many social media sites are similar to what ******************************* recently said to the Muslim street vendor thaqt was posted on social media? Is ****************************** violating Federal hate crime laws?  I'm not a lawyer but I will be pursuing this.
  
  Thank you in advance for your cooperation in deleting her post and complaint.
   
          
  ***************************
  dba American Wallworks Drop Ceilings,Drywall,Frame,Painting,Stucco ************(c)
   6 Attachments

  Customer response

  11/28/2023

  Complaint: 20824430
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The business owners response is nonsensical and is representative of my claim that he does not possess the capacity to make sense of the situation or to provide a logical resolution for both parties, which is why Ive enlisted the help of the BBB to mediate this problem.

  Im still requesting a refund for the work.

  Thank you,

  ***************************

   

   

   

  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

  Customer response

  12/12/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  I would like my complaint ID ********, to be handled through an Arbitration hearing with BBB.

  Regards,

  ***************************

  Business response

  01/08/2024

  I'm confused by messages from ***** Look,

   

  What I received was "Agree to arbitration within 7 days..." and in another part of the page it says "There is no action for you to take at this time."    Which is it?  Please contact me directly by calling 90.402-8844 Please do not email or text.  Doing so may only delay and confuse things more.  I have no problem going thru arbitration.
  

  Business response

  01/12/2024

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have not made a decision as yet about this arbitration.  I have two questions:

   

  1.  who is the arbitrator?

  2. on the previous page you stated you received no info from me but that is not true I emailed you a lengthy response - why is it not showing up in your system.
  

  ***************************
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩