ComplaintsforCMC Custom Carpentry

• Initial Complaint

  02/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In our experience, *************************** is not a reputable business person. On 12/6/2022, ***** gave us a quote to do $4,800 worth of new crown molding work on our house. He said he needed a down payment of $2,000 for the materials and would only take it on Zelle. Due to the fact that I have never used Zelle, the payment did not go through quickly and so he said he would take a check for $2,000 but that he was going straight to the bank. After he had deposited the check, the Zelle payment was made so ***** at that point had received $4,000 for a total $4,800 job. He bought the lumber and had it delivered and then showed up on the beginning day of the job and worked about 2 hours and just left. He showed up a second day and after about an hour of work said he had stepped off his ladder wrong and needed to go see a doctor. His injury went from a minor sprain to a bad sprain needing 3-4 weeks to mend to a fractured leg. I sent him an email on February 4th to ask when he was going to finish and he said that he had a fractured leg and threatened to *** my painter who was working at my house because he had slipped on some of the plastic that was in the room he was doing crown molding (which was the first time he had ever mentioned that). At this point, ***** was already advertising to get new business on *********** I am 60 years old and I now have paid a man $4,000 of $4,800 for a stack of lumber to sit in my garage and he is obviously able to do the job because he is advertising and has been advertising for new business since the January 25th. My husband has even offered to help him do the job since he has no additional helpers to hold the crown molding up while he nails it to the wall. ***** has beautiful pictures in his ads but I believe that while he may have done those at one time, it appears he is not willing, or able to do that type of work now.

  Business response

  02/25/2023

  On 12-6-2022 I met with ***** and *** at the house at ************************************************************ to discuss adding crown molding to the house. I left and messaged them later with a free quote for the work they wanted done. They decided to not to do some of the rooms so I revised the quote for *******. and we agreed to start the job. I told them I needed $2000.00 deposit to cover materials and expenses and as soon as the deposit cleared I could start. I told them that they could do cash, check or Zelle. I gave them 3 options to pay and that is documented in the screenshot of the emails Ive attached to this response. ***** said she had never used ***** and I told her that's the primary way Ive been handling payments with my customers and its been a good experience so far. At this time they were in ******* and she said she would get a hold me when she got back to house in ******. When she contacted me we decided she would Zelle me the deposit. That was a very stressful situation, she was having difficulties and getting upset. Even almost crying about it. The deposit from ***** didn't go through as quick as the others. I explained that I was still waiting on the Zelle payment clear. She said that they couldn't wait anymore. I told her that If she wanted to write me a check I can pick it up and order the crown molding immediately. She agreed to this so I meet her at the house to get the check. When I got there she had been crying she told me that her and *** were getting divorced over this situation with *****. I felt bad for her. She seemed to be a very emotional person. I got the check from ***** and ordered the crown molding. That night the other Zelle payment went through. I told her that I can give to other $2000 back until the jobs completed and she said no, its ok because they would have to go through another payment process just to turn around and it give it back to me when the jobs completed. The crown molding was scheduled to be delivered the first part of the day. I arrived early to set up and start making measurements. Around the noon the molding had still not been delivered. I called my supplier to see when they were going to arrive with the molding and they said the delivery would be at the end of the day now. I told this to ***** and she became very upset and stated accusing of not ever even ordering the crown molding. She almost started crying and was raising her voice at me saying that she has 40 years of experience in construction and that my little 30 years is nothing compared to her 40 years experience. It was humiliating and completely uncalled for. She called me a thief and a liar and she wouldn't let me respond and threatened to pull the job from me. I couldn't say anything so I walked outside and to my surprise the delivery truck was parked on the street. I told her the molding had arrived on time after all and she did became very happy and was a completely different person. So I continued setting up and measuring and worked the rest of the day. In the review shes says I left. That is not true. She told me the painters would be there the next day to start painting. I explained to her that I cant have painters working all around me while I'm trying climb up and down ladders and that they weren't allowed to be in my way while I'm working. I asked her if the painters could work in the rooms I wasn't working in so we will be out of each others way. She said "well try". I arrived the next morning and 2 painters were there. I started cutting and nailing up the bedrooms by the garage first. When I was in the second bedroom the painters came in and started putting plastic tarps down right in the room Im working in. Now this is a big custom home in ****** with nothing in it at this point. They had an entire house to set up in and she told them to set up in the room I was working in. I went to the garage to cut some more of the crown molding. When I came back to the room I moved my ladder to the corner I was working on. In the process of moving the ladder, it and my air-hose for my nail gun had gotten tangled up on the plastic tarp. When I sat my ladder down I began to climb up. But the plastic had wrapped around the bottom of the leg of the ladder pulling the leg of the ladder back. This made the ladder start wobbling from side to side. The ladder fell over, I fell and my right back heal landed on the folded out part of the ladder pushing my heal up into my ankle causing a severe sprain. So I got up, untangled my ladder from the plastic and threw the plastic out in hall. At this point I realized I was injured and not going to be able to climb back up the ladder that day. I told ***** what happened. She knows I fell because of the of the working conditions in the room. I went to the doctor and they said it was a sprain and to stay of it for 3 to 4 weeks. So this is what I told ***** and Tex. They said they couldn't wait and they had other people coming over to give them a quote on finishing. After a week I went back and I loaded up all my tools with a boot on for my sprain by myself while they watched. ***** made a comment saying at least my upper half of my body wasn't week like the lower half. I went back to the doctor on 1-11-2022. I told the doctor I was still having a lot of pain and they did more x-rays and scans and said that I had a distal tibial fracture. They had missed it the first time. ***** sent me an email on 2-4-22 asking when I was going to finish. I told her that I had fractured my leg. I told her that I need the number to the painters who where in my way putting plastic down that day. I never said anything about suing anybody. I will attach a screenshot of that email too. She never responded. I haven't heard from her since and just got released to walk around again last week. I don't know anybody that does crown molding anymore besides me. She volunteered her 63 year old husband to help me finish installing the crown molding but some of the ceilings at the house are 25 ft. You have to have a lot of experience cutting and nailing crown. I cant participate in sending an elderly man 20 plus feet up a ladder with a 16 ft piece of crown molding in one hand and a nail-gun in the other. That is very unsafe and unprofessional. I had another Doctors appointment on 2-13-22. The doctor said I can start walking around again. So I started running adds on ********** again to try to recover from this mess. I also do a lot of door installs and have a helper I use on the weekends for that, and it doesn't involve ladders. *** had calls come that *** had to turn down because they involve ladders and working up high. She does not know what I do. She doesn't know if subcontract out work. She has no clue how I run my business. Shes online speculating about what Im doing like she knows for a fact. My savings is gone now and half my stuffs in **** because of this. Not only did she cripple me physically shes now crippling my business reputation too claiming that all the sudden I'm not willing to work and trying to steal money from my customers. She says in here review that's shes a 60 year old lady. Well I already knew that because she told me that the day she was yelling at me about all her 40 years experience in construction.

  Customer response

  02/27/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  ******************** has offered no resolution for me to accept or decline.  He has written three pages of information but there is nothing that states what he wants to do to try to resolve the matter.  To me personally, ***** stated in a text that if I didn't remove my Yelp review that day and that since I had contacted the BBB, all I was doing was giving more ammunition to his lawyer to go to court.  His only resolution appears to be a lawsuit, but he did not state that in the letter to the BBB. 

  I will continue to say to *****, the BBB, and to any judge, that all I have done since the crown molding arrived at my house two months ago is to try to get ***** to do the job that we paid for him to do.  We have waited for him to get well, and he just will not do the job and he only sends emotional outbursts in the form of text messages to my phone, and to other peoples phones.  My resolution is that he either complete the job or return the money to me for the labor costs that he was unable or unwilling to provide.

  Regards,

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

   

  Business response

  03/12/2024

  This is an unusual situation. ***** and ********************* are not who they say they are. Theyre real name is ***** and ******************* as in ******* custom homes. The BBB gave up on the investigation. The BBB never inquired about identification. That should be part of the process because some people will try to ruin someones life. Did you know that when you go to the BBB to file a complaint and you enter the Better Business Bureau in the search bar that they're name doesn't come up. I tried to file a complaint against the BBB for not thoroughly investigating the situation before they posted lies and slander about me. This has had a very negative impact on my life. So the Kessells aren't who they say they are and i am asking that the negative review be removed. I think the reason they used an alias when hiring me because ******* custom homes has ripped a lot of contractors and they were trying to get work done on there personnel home. Look up ******* custom homes on the BBBs website. They have a lot of negative reviews and then they have the nerve to come villianize me. Sounds like they are used to having confrontation with contractors. I will not be issuing any type of refund. My medical bills were more than that deposit. And Its Cathys fault I got injured. They did not care one bit I injured myself in there home. Very shady, sneaky foul people.

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