Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/04/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Back in Fall of 2022, we hired CertaPro to paint the exterior of our house. We have a signed contract (included, pg 3) that indicates they will do proper prep before painting, with language including 'sanding' 'scraping' 'priming'. The job commenced, and it was clear that CertaPro's Boulder area manager was pushing the painters hard to finish the job in 2 days. There was extremely minimal prep beyond a pressure wash. The paint went on and you could still see the marks of peeled paint, areas where paint did not adhere, and within a week we had paint flaking off. When I complained about the work, the manager tried to intimidate me to accept the poor quality work. I have an email describing the lying and pressure, attached. So then I am passed to the Northern ******** lead for CertaPro, C******. It is clear what the CertaPro person says to the client verses what the CertaPro person is texting/telling the independent painting contractors to do are different things. C****** assured us that things would be done well and they would fix the issues. A different crew was sent May 1. May 2nd, the crew were supposed to prep the areas to be redone. Instead, I hear the compressor firing up and they are painting one side of the house without doing proper prep and having it checked. On May 3rd, the crew is supposed to complete prep on the rest of the house and have it checked. C****** and I have a discussion over the two days that proper priming was necessary in order to not have a repeat of issues (emails included). I even gave the crew on May 3rd an unopened can of bonding primer, and it was my expectation, from what C****** told me and interacting with the crew, that there was going to be proper prep including priming. Then they start to set up papering as if they are going to skip on the prep again and just lay down paint. I call C****** to stop it. The crew moves to 'prep' but does no priming and instead blobs or smears caulk as 'prep', pix included.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/08/2023

  We have been working closely with this customer on the project. We did paint the home in 2022 as she stated, and after reviewing the project with her we did agree that there were items that needed to be corrected, so we agreed to go back out to her home to make those adjustments to make corrections and satisfy her. The specific items were largely centered around more caulking and more areas that needed a peel bonding primer applied before being touched up with paint or an area fully repainted after the additional prep work. We did go back and had different painters (at the customer's request) complete additional preparation agreed upon. We have attached multiple photos of some of the preparation work we did on this visit, which was thorough and completed by experienced painters. It is evident from the photos that the specific peel bonding type of primer used is more of a clear primer (you can see the areas with slight shading in multiple photos...it is not a traditional white or gray latex primer, so it does not stand out visually). This is a higher grade and more expensive primer than most traditional multi-purpose latex primers. We even included a photo of the primer being applied by hand. We also did a lot of additional caulking which is shown in some of the photos as well. The customer is making false claims about some items. There was additional work and touch-*** needed, which we agreed to. She is claiming we didn't prime things as part of the preparation and the caulking was insufficient - that is not true as shown in the photos. We were attempting to continue to work with the customer to rectify any reasonable areas that needed additional work, and there may still be some select areas that reasonably could get even more attention,but we were not allowed to finish the job as the customer would not let us move on to painting some of the areas prepped, or even have the painters back to her home again, because the customer didn't agree that we had primed things for example (which we did). We would want to have a direct conversation with the customer about the work and coming to a reasonable conclusion/outcome for both parties.Given all of the work we did and our time, money, and effort spent trying to satisfy the customer and going back for touch-*** or other corrections requested, the customer paying $0 for the entire project is not a reasonable outcome. The customer has also made false claims about the conduct of an employee trying to intimidate her, which is very untrue and disparaging towards our company and the employee. We stand behind our work and if something reasonable needed adjustment we were willing to do it, and in most cases have already completed that extra work. The customer is also starting to use words such as the damage done to the home, and there has been no damage to the home. All of this combined gives the impression that the customer is now attempting to get out of any payment for the project.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/14/2023

  
  Complaint: 20019524
  Way under what should be expected of a good job - CertaPro production manager May 8 2023 in video at the following link: *******************************************
  We dispute every point the respondent made.  It is incorrect that items largely centered around more caulking. The ** of N ******** email of Thu, Nov 10 22 10:54 AM Closing Out acknowledges the job done in Fall 22 had many significant issues: All trim needs to be properly sanded, cleaned, prepped with primer and caulk before painting is to happen, Any areas on any part of the house that are showing remnants of the rain storm need to be corrected (This was all of the wood pergola and all of the lapped siding areas) those areas are going to require to be re-painted.  Need to be repainted due to..extreme flashing that we observed, The metal work will also need to be corrected as there is much debris on them.  As of 5/12/2023, this list of issues has not been corrected, and the prep promised is not what the paint crew did on May 2nd or 3rd of 2023.  It is incorrect any work done May 2nd and 3rd was thorough.  Much of it was terrible. See picture links below for less cherry picked current state of our job.  May 2nd, the painters applied top coat without doing the prep promised in Closing Out  to one side of the house, and only caulked over it when informed the ** was coming. May 3rd, the painters were about to do the same thing until I escalated yet again to the **.  Respondent praises use of some clear product - reality is that area was smooth untextured concrete fiber siding that now has visible textured brush marks. After the Closing Out email, we agreed to give CertaPro another chance.  The work done May 2nd and 3rd and in Fall 22 is way under what should be expected of a good job and so we refuse to have the company touch our house again.  It is incorrect that we made false claims about an employee. I emailed the CertaPro Office Manager and Salesman a complaint on  Fri, Nov 4, 2022 10:56 AM including the details in written memo of how the Boulder Production Manager intimidated me because the experience was so inappropriate.  It is incorrect you have already completed that extra work, as outlined above.  It is incorrect that there is no damage to the home.  We have chunky debris painted into our metal work, drooling paint and stain on the pergola and house, terrible caulking, scratches on our flashing from scraping ladders against it, your Boulder ** shoved job debris into our deck drainage documented in email Fri, Nov 4 22 10:55 AM, and much poor quality work that cannot just be painted over.  The respondent accuses us of trying to get out of payment.  The reality is the bad quality work CertaPro performed in both May 23 and Nov 22 will have to be removed by a different contractor and then the job started from the beginning again.

  Picture links:
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  Business Response

  Date: 05/22/2023

  Hi *******, we have reviewed your latest response and position on the situation. We still respectfully disagree with several of your statements. Having said that, we would be open to and willing to have a direct conversation with you to figure out an amicable solution that allows you and us to move forward from this. We did try calling you on Friday. If you could, please send a couple day/time options that you would be available for a direct call and we can get it scheduled/coordinated. You can also just call me (*******) directly any time. 

  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/25/2023

   
  Complaint: 20019524
  
  After all of the issues we have had with you claiming we are lying and then we have to pull out video or pictures to show you are incorrect, we are unwilling to have a discussion with you that does not have the content recorded. We would prefer to keep the communications in the BBB channel, but if you have something to say as a sidebar, then send a detailed email or leave a detailed phone message.
  

  In response to the recorded phone message you last left, this is the information I can give you about possible resolution w/ regards to BBB complaint content.  From the BBB resolution specialist:

  A complaint cannot be removed once it is filed and processed through our complaint guidelines. You may request to close the complaint as Resolved. We will then close it and it will be published to the business profile as Resolved with no negative effect to the business rating with the BBB.

  I was in the hospital this week and am quite ill.  Responses may be delayed.
  

   

  Business Response

  Date: 06/01/2023

  First off, I am sorry to hear you were ill / in the hospital and hope you are recovering and well at this point.

  We are in communication with BBB on options for how to move forward within their system. We have always agreed that there were touchups needed and went back to work on it, but I do want to make clear that yes we still are in disagreement about some of your complaints / accusations around things like priming. We provided photos that include multiple primed areas and a painter applying it mid-brushing and you still are saying we didn't prime. At no point did we walk away from the job, and we have done far more work than you are saying or suggesting. The website for the category of bonding primer used says directly "goes on milky white for ease of application and dries clear", so yes you are correct that it does not look like traditional white latex primer - this is a far better and more expensive class of product. (website here: ********************************************************************************).

  Regardless, we would like to find a resolution and move forward, so I would expect you will be contacted relatively soon by BBB (per your request to communicate via BBB) and they can help us all work to find a reasonable next step / solution.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/12/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  We have reviewed the response made by CertaPro in reference to complaint ID .********, and find that Mediation is necessary.

  We strenuously reject CertaPro's continued statements that the job just needs some 'touchups'.  We have had independent evaluation of what CertaPro did to our house and it has been deemed "far below industry standard" and that significant remediation will be necessary.
  

  We sent email to the BBB on Thursday 6/8 and again on Sunday 6/11 asking questions about the mediation process.  We would appreciate a response to our inquiry, so we better understand what to expect.
  
  Below are the details on our availability for a Mediation Hearing:
  
  Please Place list any dates you are specifically NOT available in the next 6 weeks: 
  
  June 15, June 22, June *****, July 3-4
  
  Please Place an "X" next to the Day of the Week you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  ____Mon. ____Tue. ____Wed ____ Thurs. ____ Fri.
  

  With advanced notice, we can rearrange to make any day work.
   
   Please Place an "X" next to the Time  you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  __X__ Morning ____Afternoon 

  Mornings would be preferred.
  
  I understand that BBB will do its best to accommodation the information I have selected.  I understand that mediations are scheduled to start between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm, and must conclude by 5 pm.
  
  Thank You.

  Regards,

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