ComplaintsforJimmy Barreto Painting

• Initial Complaint

  10/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Jimmy was contracted to do painting work at a new home purchase. He did a walkthrough first, and confirmed painting includes walls and trim. He then provided a quote broken down by room. We hired Jimmy to paint all the rooms quoted -- including closets. Jimmy stated several times we should not be moving things and his crew would move things as necessary. After the first day of painting (it was a two day job) there were several red flags: 1) None of the trim was painted. 2) The bedroom was painted, but neither of the two closets in there When contacted about these Jimmy claimed trim was never included (not what he said verbally and the quote is non-specific beyond rooms) and that the closets weren't painted because we had clothes in there. This was never mentioned to us (we were home) if they didn't want to move clothes, we would have. But he would take the closets "off the bill". After the second day the issues continued: 1) Closets in the kitchen were not painted (and they never went in the bedroom again) 2) the walls that were painted were streaky and, according to painters who had to come by later, did not have enough coats 3) Jimmy never completed the ceiling work he quoted on After painting was completed Jimmy was very rushed/frantic to make sure we paid "right away" which should have been a big red flag, especially because he said he would come back to finish the items. We got some off for the unfinished work, but nowhere near what it would take to have someone else complete it. We paid expecting Jimmy to be honest and complete the work, but he has not and refuses any form of contact with us. Only much later did we find out he is working without a license (GA law requires all residential contractors who accept jobs in excess of $2,500 to have a residential contractor license).

  Business response

  10/26/2022

  SEE ATTACHED:

  Customer response

  10/26/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because:

  The business response has several parts which, much like services rendered, are flawed:

   

  • The estimate not including trim: While in person Jimmy was asked "Does that include trim (baseboards)" to which the answer was "yes, yes of course we do that". If he later changed the definition from what he says in person, he needs to be clear on that. That being said if this were the only issue with the business, I would understand a literal interpretation of what is in writing. However, given the rest of the dishonest business practices this seems intentional rather than a miscommunication.
  • Price reduction: If the business believes this price reduction accounts for the value not provided, then they are welcome to come finish all three closets and I will pay an additional $60. If they are not willing to do the work for $60, then we know they are not acting in good faith and intentionally not doing work so they can effectively overcharge for the rest.
  • Fixing the ceiling: We were not charged for that, nor did I claim we were. However the business's response that "we were not able to do the work at that time" is incorrect. That implies scheduling issues prevented it. However they are unwilling to speak communicate with us in any fashion after they got their payment. We even asked our real estate agent (whom recommended him in the first place) for help and he told her he never plans to communicate with us. So it isn't a scheduling conflict, the business cut ties as soon as they got money. This BBB response is the first reply the business has provided to numerous contact attempts since he received his payment.
  • Streaking walls: As for communication, as stated previously the business cut off all contact avenues. We never had the chance to discuss the quality of work. I have attached a couple images showing the quality. Also notice in the screenshots provided by the business, a request at verifying the quality during the time the work was being done was ignored by the business.
  • Payment: Payment was made with the understanding Jimmy would be completing the work and the trust we (apparently incorrectly) placed in our realtor to recommend trustworthy people.
  • Practicing as a contractor without a license: Notice the business's response deflects, but never actually refutes he's incorrectly practicing without proper licensure. If business is licensed, he's welcome to provide proof of that to dispel this portion of the claim. 

   

  Regards,

  Devin Greene

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