ComplaintsforHandyMatt Trades Ltd.

• Initial Complaint

  06/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  HandyMatt Trade’s LTD has refused to commit to its promised Spring 2024 rebuild of the Master Bath Shower Knee Wall that he did not square up properly. Mr. *******’s business provided both a verbal and Word.doc letter (Dated 07-20-23) committing to a “No Charge” rebuild prior to the 2024 Summer season at our 2nd property condo in Sandusky, OH. I gave this contractor the benefit of the doubt many times during the 7-month period to finish off the two bathrooms, loft rail and a few minor add-ons. On more than a few occasions I expressed my concern regarding his dedication to our projects and the contractor error on the Master Bath knee wall was discussed numerous times during the completion of the balance of the projects. Upon completion I unfortunately did provide him with the final payment based upon both his verbal and a written Word.doc from HandyMatt Trades that he would return in the Spring of 2024 to fulfill his commitment. HandyMatt never sent any proactive communications concerning the rebuild in the early Spring of 2024. On March 15th, I sent my first of many requests for a start date on the rebuild. Three requests later on April 21st he responds with “I will reply tomorrow…….I’ll get back with you ASAP”. He then finally responded the same day on May 6th that “As soon as he could get to it, I will make the cosmetic repair”. My final communication, after returning from vacation with him was on May 29th with no contractor returned response as of June 18th, 2024. A few options were discussed, and a simple cosmetic repair was never agreed upon between the parties. I did have an option I wanted to review with him but the opportunity to present this to him never occurred due to his poor return communications. My recommendation is to never use this contractor, especially if it is not at a primary location. His often-used line of “His Word Is As Good As Gold” should be taken with extreme caution!!

  Business response

  07/24/2024

  The company has agreed to return and repair the wall where it slightly was moved out of plumb during the tiling process. The company is behind on schedule by almost 6 months and already told the homeowner that they would be put in the mix of the schedule to repair the wall. In the mean time the shower is gorgeous and operates perfectly. No leaks or other defects so the client is able to use the shower til we return. The contractor and homeowner spoke about a cosmetic repair so that the waterproofing isn’t disrupted so that there is no possibility of ruining the integrity of the shower considering the shower is perfect other that the slight out of plumb knee wall. 

  Customer response

  08/01/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  HandyMatt Trades Promissory Letter dated 07/20/23 clearly states that that he would complete this repair before the start of the Spring/Summer season of calendar year 2024.  That gave him 8 to 10-months to schedule this repair.  I have ZERO confidence that he will ever schedule a repair and that he will force me to take small claims court action.
  

  HandyMatt keeps referencing a “Cosmetic Repair”.  We have never finalized the repair methodology.  The knee wall to be repaired is out of square and out of plum by at least 1/2” and the sink is out of level by at least 3/8” on its 48” length.  There are potential options on this repair, and I have requested HandyMatt to follow up with me on 2 or 3 occasions to discuss.  Not once did he call or text to these specific text requests.
  

  HandyMatt’s proactive communication concerning this repair has been abysmal.
  1) No response was ever received to my last email on 08-10-23 discussing the out of plum knee wall and out of level sink.
  2) My follow up text message request 3/15/24, 4/2/24 and 4/15/24 were not responded to until 4-21-24.  It stated he just return from an event, and he would get back next day and/or ASAP………Nothing!!!  He did finally return a text on 5/6/24 same day but it only provided the same delay tactic of “I am behind, I will schedule and get back to you when I catch up".
  3) Punch List Repair Items - No text message was ever received after 06-27-23 to return and fix this list of 6+ items noticed after the final walk through.

  Clearly, this is a "Take The Money And Run" approach despite his providing a "Promissory Letter" for a "No Charge Repair" for an incorrectly performed installation.

  Sincerely,
  

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

• Initial Complaint

  12/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Entered by BBB staff LO Consumer states the business was supposed to install sliding doors with a tracking system which she has already paid $720 for via check. The consumer was told the business would be out when the doors came in, she was advised they came in on 11/10/23. No one ever came to install the doors so she tried to contact the business multiple times to find out when the doors would be installed but she was never given a date. The consumer contacted the business again on 12/15/23 nd was advised by the owner that he was busy with his kids but she has not heard back and whenever she calls it goes to voicemail.

  Business response

  01/10/2024

  Homeowner has been contacted she had missed 2 voicemails that I had left relaying that I was leaving town for a family emergency and her door was being rescheduled and while out of town the business phone was left off until the emergency was handled so the client was confused and thought I wasnt answering. We have discussed the new schedule day and she has stated that once its installed she will be contacting BBB to remove this complaint since it was just a miscommunication between client and contractor. Client is a regular customer of mine that we have a really good relationship but its understandable why she would be confused and worried but its being taken care of.

  Customer response

  01/29/2024

  [BBB Transcription via Phone]

  Consumer was told that doors would be done later in the week last week. He never showed up or returning our calls. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hired to refinish hardwood floors. Terrible results

  Business response

  10/14/2023

  The company has tried multiple times to help this client. The client had recently purchased this home as a vacation 3rd home. When the job was signed on August 11 it was stated to the clients that the floors were heavily damaged due to neglect and severe animal waste damage. The company was able to sand a lot of the damage out of the floors August ***** but showed the clients that it couldn't all be removed and they replied with they figured that would be the case. Within an hour of applying the clear coats to the floors against curing recommendations the clients began moving furniture on fresh coated floors causing quite a bit of dust, dirt, and debris build up. The company attempted to remove the dust and thought that it was fixed upon completion. on August 20 the client informed the company of a small dust swirl which was scheduled for repair on September ****. during the repair that was attempted of sanding the clear coat and removing the swirl then blending the clear coat the company wasn't happy with the results and recommended to the client that we resand and recoat the living room floor that week of the 11th and their reply was don't worry about it and moved in furniture to cover up the 2 sander spots that happened. On September 13 the client sent a photo of a new spot that appeared to look like a spill occurred and was scrubbed with paper towels that was nonexistent in photos from sept 10 and demanded that we repair the floor now. When we couldn't schedule the floor right away because another job was in progress the client began to become irate, disrespectful and extremely hostile threatening the company even while keeping an open line of communication with the client. The client was asked to sign a waiver that stated that if any traffic was on the floor prior to curing recommendation timing then the company would no longer be liable for the results since these began the issues due to the original furniture being moved in. The client decided not to agree with this waiver. The company had done hard wood refinishing on multiple rooms in the home that they were happy with, and installed vinyl plank flooring in their kitchen and bathroom that they were happy with. The company has tried to help this client and would still help this client but the company can't be held liable for damage that is occurring due to not allowing the floors to properly cure and moving furniture and appliances over them. 

  Customer response

  10/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 20624228
  
        I am rejecting this response because: I'm not sure where **** got his information about me owning 3 properties or why that would matter. The only property I own is 620 ********. **** has never even seen the floor since his wife finished the work. I have a driveway camera and a porch camera and I would have seen him on the property. The flooring in the house is 75 years old and i suspect it may now be damaged beyond repair. We have a court date December 5th and I will present all of my findings to the Judge. I will follow up with his findings after that. I never received his waiver. He claimed he mailed it and after a week when I notified him that I hadn't rec'd it he  blamed it on the local mail.He never responded to my texts after that until I filed with the court and then he claimed it was returned to sender. His other claims about spillage and moving furniture will be presented in court not here.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  10/17/2023

  Client stated that they owned a home in ********* (property 1) and that they purchased the home on ******************** as a vacation home (property 2) and they lived on a boat (property 3) that was docked in ******** during the flooring refinish and while the client remodels his own kitchen and whatever else they were doing. The owner took photos of the floor on September 10 at 2:30 while evaluating the floor so if the client would like to go to that time stamp h*** see my truck in his drive way for over and hour while I looked over the entire job that had been done while attempting to repair the floor. When I seen the floor wasnt correct I advised this employee which is also the office manager to contact the client and advise then that I wasnt happy with the repair results that I strongly recommend that we completely sand the floor down and refinish the floor and the client responded with and I quote "don't worry about it, we'll deal with it". Before the response the schedule had been shifted to begin September 11 on the floor, when the client refused scheduling was carried out. The company has done nothing but keep an open line of communication with this client despite the negative comments, disrespect, and hostility that they have caused. When the waived contract was sent via **** since the client refused to provide an email address after days of begging for one when the letter was returned to sender the company went ahead and delivered the contract file via text message before any acknowledgement of a court filing. Of course when the facts don't align with someones false narrative they reject the response. Come December 4 the truth will be laid out on the table and it will be proved that the company bent over backwards to right their mistake but since it wasnt right when the client demanded the company was punished with complaints and bad reviews until the company did what the client wanted. there is a reason why I prefer to have these types of conversations via text message because everything is in black and white on a screen.

• Initial Complaint

  08/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Everyone please beware of HANDY MATT TRADES LTD in ******** ****. **** ******* is the owner. He literally has $2000 that I gave him as a deposit on a job and refuses to give it back with NO work completed. He was supposed to start my flooring on Tuesday, I spoke to him Monday night and he stated that he couldn't make it the next day because he had court. He also demanded that I pay him $2700 more dollars by the end of the week, "because he had overhead to pay" even though he had not started my flooring, and the money wasn't due for 2 more weeks. At this point I don't want him to do my flooring, I just want my deposit back. He's telling me that he won't give my $2000 back because of the planning of measuring and talking with me about different flooring options. In the contract, it states that I had to pay a deposit, but I doesn't say anything about him keeping it! I'm a single mom. This is gonna hurt. My house flooded and this contractor stole the money I had to get it fixed! BUYER BEWARE!! This contractor will take your money and run!

  Business response

  08/22/2022

  [BBB Transcription via Email]

  
  **** ******* <**************************>
  Attachments
  7:17 AM (41 minutes ago)
  to *******
  
  This client had contacted our company seeking assistance with doing repairs to her walls that was caused by a flood she had due to failed sump pumps. Upon looking at the project I noticed another contractor had began the job but did not finish and was told they were fired due to lack of performance. That was discovered later to not be an honest interpretation. While our company repaired the drywall, installed interior doors, and replaced the sump pumps the client asked for a proposal to install tile floors to her concrete padded home in the basement area of her tri-level. The initial quote was too expensive she had advised and asked if we could alter some details to accommodate her budget. After shifting materials and installation processes we were able to discount the project effectively to where the client believed she could afford the job. The client was responsible for all materials and received a quote for labor. Upon accepting the proposal the client made a partial deposit and asked our company to schedule the job 3 weeks from that date so she had time to get her finances together to afford the project. One day before the start date the client was contacted and asked if she had the materials ready to begin the project and she advised us she had not purchased anything yet. She asked if we could meet her to purchase materials after we advised her specifically what she needed to purchase. At that same time she asked our company to push her project back another week because her finances were not together to pay for the project upon completion of which would be at the end of that week of start. We agreed to reschedule her project for the following week. The client contacted our company the next day and wanted to cancel the project and demanded her deposit to be returned in full. The deposit was notified to her that it was nonrefundable after 72 hours but offered to invoice her for all of the development processes for her project that started after she made her deposit and then refund the remaining balance of the deposit. She at that time became irate and began threatening our company and the owner personally. That moment she then commenced to begin reviewing our company negatively on the internet and stating false statements. The client began messaging the owner threatening “to ruin him personally and the company’s reputation”. These deposit regulations are standard to schedule projects, to provide transportation, design development, material searching, and labor. We attempted to help this woman as much as we possibly could. Not only did we discount her project to assist with her home being returned to normality for her family we searched for cheaper discontinued or clearances materials to make her project more affordable. We wish the best for the client and did not want any problems or issues. We attempted to make it right for everyone where our company was paid for our time and she was returned a portion of her deposit so that she could move forward with hiring another company. The client made it impossible to communicate with her by acting nonprofessional and blocking contact with her
  

  
  

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