ComplaintsforMr. Handyman of Central St. Louis County

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On March 11, 2022 we contracted with Mr ********************** to replace the faucet and sink in our bathroom. The service man came out one time to take a template of the sink and then we didn't hear anything from them. The old faucet start dripping. I contacted them. A serviceman came out and replaced the faucet but didn't put the stopper in. The serviceman came back a second time and took a template of the sink and we decided to go with the Onyx sink, because they were having problems with the other company getting the sink. I have called them several times and contacted them by email one time to at least come and replace the sink stopper and the supply valve but have not heard back from anyone. We paid $879.62 at the time of the contract. The reason we went with this company is because they had done work for us previously and we were satisfied with that work at that time.

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business came to install my vinyl flooring and a sliding door at my residence in November 2021 - December 2021. The total price for the job as discussed was $1150, however, when the worker arrived and began the work he added more money to the overall cost ($60), this included gas and labor/commute, this brought the total to $1268. I left my son at home and went to urgent care where the worker came to collect half of the money $634. The worker was supposed to finish the job but he noted that it was going to rain that day and he does not want to mess up the floor with water. He came back for the installation of the sliding door. This installation involved taking the old door out and there was rotten wood on the frame of the door which implied a problem. To fix this problem, the worker presented me with two options: If I want the rotting side of the door frame cut off and the down wood to be replaced ($100 extra) or if I wanted the whole side wood removed with the down wood ($324 extra). I told the workers to go ahead and do the $324 option (taking all wood out). So I then went to **** ***** to buy the wood which is just a couple of minutes from my residence. When I came back it was a whole different story. They completely aborted the option to take all the wood out and said that they are just going to replace the bottom and cut off the rotten wood from the side ($100 extra option). When the job was finished, I was left with a high balance instead of just paying the $100 difference. I was frustrated and confused so they said to contact the owner and speak with him regarding my payment and the job. I ended up paying the balance, writing another check for $958. I called the owner regarding the charges and the completion of the job I had. He noted that he sent two men out and they spent "too much time at the job." I told him I do not have control over how his workers do their job and that the work I needed to be done was a bid, not an hourly rate job. I told him that the sliding door was not done properly because cold air was still coming in. He said he will send somebody out regarding the leak. Since December, I have been trying to reach them to send somebody out to fix the air leak on the door and to retrieve my receipt as both requests have not been fulfilled up until this date. I was set up for an appointment (3/9/22) for somebody to come out but nobody did. I called on 3/11/22 and spoke with the owner and he said he will see where they are as far as their schedule and call me back but he never did. I called again on 3/16/22 and the secretary told me that I did not "pay enough" for somebody to be sent out to fix the leak and that I can do whatever I want. I paid $624 to insulate the side, I paid them more than **** ***** and ****** charges for slide door installation. I am very disappointed in the service and all the gimmicks I have experienced working with this company Mr. Handyman. I was completely overcharged for the job I needed to be done. They are not keeping to their company mission which states that "satisfaction is guaranteed." I demand that they come to finish their work and reimburse me for being overcharged $324. In addition, they mailed me a receipt for $324 with a signature page. I never signed anything for $234. They forged my initial signature when I signed for the job in the beginning. I wrote two checks: one for $634 and the other for $958. I do not give them a check for $324 and saying it is for 3 hours of work. I demanded all my receipts as result; however, they refused to give me my receipts for two checks I wrote. I do not understand what he (the owner of the company) is doing or saying. If he cannot come back to finish his work and fix the leak on the door, he should refund me $624 that I paid for the slide door insulation so I can find somebody else to do the job right.

  Business response

  04/27/2022

  We originally contracted with Ms. ****** (the client) to repair her exterior deck, install vinyl flooring and sliding door. The total price agreed to by the client was $3,648.76 for total work.  The technician had been scheduled.  He traveled and arrived ready to work, however the client had changed her mind and did not want to proceed with the deck repairs, so a new agreement was formulated to move forward with the remaining work.

  
  We revised the estimate to include the flooring and the sliding door installation only, wrote everything we talked about in a revised estimate, and the client signed our estimate creating a service agreement for $1,278.98. (Exhibit A)

  
  During the process of establishing the price, the client preferred to provide her own materials to save money and had stated that her grown son would be available to help move the sliding patio door and help hold it in place while the technician fastened it to the structure. This is against our normal practice; however, the technician made this verbal agreement with the customer. The technician’s intent was to help the customer save money on the installation.

  
  On November 23, 2021, the technician completed the flooring work inside.  However, he could not work on the sliding glass door due to rain. We rescheduled for the following week. When we called to confirm the appointment, we verified that the customer would be providing her son’s help in placing the door properly. The client said her son was not available now for the technician. We advised that if her son was not available, we needed to add an additional technician to the cost to provide this help. The customer acknowledged that the extra help was necessary.

  
  When 2 technicians arrived on December 3, 2021, it was estimated that the extra technician cost would be a total of $492. (4 hours and service call charge), and this was presented to the client for her approval before starting work. During the install it was discovered there were wood rot issues that had to be corrected to frame in the new door, and the client was notified again. She was told that there would be an additional labor charges for the labor needed to replace / repair the rotted wood area(s) to frame in the door.  This came out to be $648. for 6 additional man hours.

  
  When it came time for payment the client was asked to settle the balance of the work. This was the original price quoted of $1,278.98 plus $492. for the extra technician, which the client had verbally agreed to start work. Additionally, she agreed to and allowed us to do the work of removing and replacing the rotted wood for which there was an additional labor charge of $648., bringing the grand total of work to $2,418.98.  A down payment of $634. was received when the flooring was completed, leaving a final balance of $1784.98. 

  
  It was not until the work was completed and the money was asked for that the client became hostile. She then stated she didn’t agree to the extra costs. The technician had her verbal agreements discussed during the day. She became adamant that she would not pay more than $324. on top of the original estimate of $1278.98 for the extra work that had been completed (meaning she refused to pay the additional 6 man hours spent completing the wood rot repairs of $648. plus shorted us the remaining $168. agreed extra technician balance of $492.). The client paid $968.98 and refused to pay any more. Which meant we lost $816.

  
  The client was in no way “overcharged” for the services that were rendered. We settled for 3 hours additional labor time of $324. which did not cover our additional incurred expenses for work that was supplied. She provided her digital initials and signature on the form that day as services completed. The signatures are captured by a system called “Service Titan” and we cannot alter or insert signatures onto documents within the system.  (Exhibit B)

  
  We tried to work with the client, but it became apparent that she did not want to pay for any additional time no matter what caused the issue.  Rotted wood cannot always be discovered during the original estimate inspection, and our service agreement terms clearly explain there being extra costs involving time, materials, and expenses for such, including extra service technicians.

  
  We have USPS mailed the client her paid invoice receipts as she requested. Of course, we want to help Ms. ****** out, however we feel uncomfortable because we feel we can’t guarantee satisfaction to customers who don’t want to provide us a fair payment for our services. As such, we cannot return to the property and work with Ms. ****** until she agrees and pays us for the services already rendered.

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

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