ComplaintsforCertaPro Painters of St Charles, South County, & West County

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  5 months ago we hired certapro to paint our living room dining room and kitchen. Recently another company refaced our kitchen cabinets. When they removed the tape the paint easily pealed off ceiling... Certpro was called and they set time to come out to inspect. Upon further review we found several areas that was sub par and out right wrong and shotty work with the painting and taping errors in the dining room and family room. When they came out they said they would do touch ups in the kitchen. But the repairs in dining room and family room would be at a cost of $70.00 an hour. We disagree, these repairs were paid for once at a cost of $3,664.18. We feel we should not have to pay for the repairs we already paid for that they didn't fix properly the first time. Why would we pay for repairs twice? Certa pro says the house settled... no it didn't they just did not do a good job, several short cuts were taken at our expense and they should do the repairs for free.

  

  Business response

  08/17/2022

  We met with the client to address their concerns, and found out upon our visit that the damage to the ceilings was caused by another painter as the client explains in the complaint.  Despite this, we offered to come out and take care of some touch ups free of charge to their ceiling.  They then proceeded to point out some additional cracks and issues in some other areas where we had completed our work.  We reviewed these areas and let the client know that the areas that they were seeing cracks in were not covered under warranty (and in some cases might be new issues that weren't addressed by us originally).  We offered to do the repairs for an additional charge, no differently then when we originally did the repairs.  We were planning on going out to take care of the issues and see if they wanted to pay for the additional repairs, but it now appears that they would rather file a complaint on the BBB and ask us to fix someone else damage and do additional work for free.  We will reach out to the client to see why they decided to file a claim when we have already offered to do some touch ups for free, but simply refused to do additional repair work for no charge as well. 

  Customer response

  08/19/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Their work has issues.  I want them to fix it.  There are outstanding issues that need repair and we don't feel like we should have to pay for it twice. 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *******

• Initial Complaint

  11/16/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired Certapro to paint. Upon completion on September 15th, I noticed paint all over the floor as well as on our black stair railing. I called them immediately the day they finished to let them know we had paint everywhere. There were small speckles of paint as well as large drips that had been wiped with a dry cloth and smeared into the wood grain. They sent the crew out to clean it up as well as paint a wall they missed. Well they painted the wall they missed, removed the stain trying to get up several of the paint spots and left. I again called and told them that I was canceling the check that there was still paint all over the floor. They said they would send a supervisor so I taped every spot with green tape so it would be easy to see. We are talking probably 200 pieces of tape. Will, the supervisor didn't come out until Sept 28th. He tried to remove some of it and it wasn't coming up. He said he would have to talk to the owner and contact a flooring company. On October 7th, he came by with his SW paint rep and told me to call a flooring company and find out how much it would be to fix it. I called Ambassador and had them out on October 28th. They said that the paint is in the wood grain and the floors would have to be sanded and refinished to remove the paint. He also said that the first floor would have to be done because there aren't any transition pieces in between the rooms as a stopping point as the living room is connected to several other rooms in the house. The floors were sanded and finished onsite so you can't just order a couple pieces from a manufacturer to patch in. I sent the 16k bid over to Will on November 1st when I received it from. They offered me $400 and threatened me that if I don't accept that they will add late fees and turn me over to collections? I found another flooring company to just sand and refinish the top clear coat for 4k so told them I would settle on 1k but they keep offering $400 and continue to threaten me.

  

  Business response

  11/18/2021

  We have already been in contact with the client regarding this, and have accepted her recommended discount.  We have sent her an updated invoice and release, and are waiting for her to send the release and payment in.  Instead, it seems she has decided to go to the BBB for some reason, when again we have already communicated to her that if she pays the bill minus the requested discount we will consider the matter closed.  

• Initial Complaint

  06/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contracted Certapro for a exterior home paint job in February of 2021. From the beginning the communication process was very difficult but I mistakenly took the brand as a reputable company but not this specific franchise. There was not an accurate description on the quote so I hand wrote the verbal agreements and sent in a signed contract. Per their business model they sent a 3rd party painter that identified several areas he was concerned with that were overlooked and refused to do the job as quoted. They requested another $5,500 to do the work that their contractor wanted. I agreed to $2,500 if necessary and they assured me what he wanted was above standard and sent a new painting crew. New contractor raised same issue but after paint was on the home they told me it would be $3,500. Not their primary painter and the workmanship was very poor. After MANY MANY issues and prop damage - unwilling to respond - lot of photos - no responsibility - blaming it on color - evasive.

  

  Business response

  06/30/2021

  We were hired by the client to paint their rough cedar stained home.  They hired us to apply two coats of Zar Solid Stain to all siding, trim and decking.  Also included in the scope was applying one clear coat to the rear overhang, and two coats to the foundation.  All of this work has been completed, and in some places we applied third and fourth coats at no charge to the customer to help deliver the best possible finish.  After the contract was signed we did a pre-meeting with the client to review the scope, product and color selections.  It was at this time that we realized the client had selected a "white" color for the home, which would now require a full prime  coat to help make sure the light color was able to cover the existing dark cedar stain.  After reviewing our concerns, the customer agreed to pay up to $3500 for a full prime coat.  We also agreed that even if it took more time or material to get the full prime coat done we would not charge any more than the agreed upon amount.  The customer agreed to this change and the $3500 price.  To get the full prime coat applied it cost us an additional $506.80 over the $3500 which was NOT charged to the customer.  We then went on to apply the two coats of solid stain to the house, and it was at this time that the client requested us to pause the project, because they were not happy with the color.  Despite being just about done with the project, we agreed to postpone finishing the remaining loose ends, as the client wanted to see how the color looked once the new roof went on.  The project was paused for 1.5 weeks due to this request by the client.  At this time we requested a meeting to discuss the remaining loose ends so that we could wrap up those items that following week.  It was at this meeting that the tone of the client changed and they refused to discuss the outstanding punch list items to get the contracted work done, and instead they complained about the color selected and how they didn't like the look of it.  We eventually did a few of the outstanding punch list items, and once those were done we requested a final meeting to discuss any outstanding issues.  It was at this time that the client refused to meet and the list of concerns suddenly grew to include things that had not been previously discussed.  In the end, the job was completed as contracted minus a few hours of touch ups and loose ends, and now the customer is trying to avoid paying the invoice due to their dissatisfaction with the color they chose and the way the solid stain covers on their rough cedar siding.  As an example, they have complained that we spilled paint on their lawn, despite the fact that their lawn mowing company was called and confessed that there was paint all over their equipment as they had run over a can of paint, yet somehow we are now to blame for that and they feel they deserve a discount.

  Customer response

  07/08/2021

  I unfortunately cannot agree to the claims made by the business owner.  This include them sending a Certapro color consultant which had a copy of the signed contract and reference job number which was signed by both parties with the job scope and color choices. It was then incorporated into the digital rendering process which was sent to all parties before any on-site meeting.  Several areas highlighted in the consultation were also not completed and Certapro failed to review, inform or communicate with their 3rd party contractors and their customer about the details agreed upon.  The project was paused for a one day roof installation that was previously scheduled months before but due to the significant delays by Certapro we could not have both contractors on-site, again not a color choice issue.  They used this pause as an excuse not to return for another week and relocated to another job which lead to further delays.  I have photo evidence the contracted coats were not applied or at minimum 'thinly applied'.  At the referenced on-site meeting Certapro refused to acknowledge the several areas of property damage committed by the alternative contractor and moved to close the job or demand additional change orders and expenses to cover the poor workmanship which now has been verified by a 3rd party painting contractor.  The spilled paint was in the middle of a lawn which the mowing company did acknowledge a large pool of spilled paint was left in the yard at arrival with no cans present they unfortunately ran over it and was kind enough to not request damages for the paint all over their equipment.  This is one such example of the deceptive communication and lack of responsibility taken for their unfamiliar painting contractor and absent job foreman on the many other areas of property damage.         
  

  

  Business response

  07/08/2021

  The client has refused to meet, and at last communication told us that all future conversations would be handled by his attorney.  We have completed the work that was contracted, and due to his refusal to meet, we have issued a final invoice.  We issued the final invoice for the work done and included a discount for a few hours of final touch ups that he refused to let us complete, and the client is refusing to pay.  My crew, my production foreman, and my production manager have all been on site multiple times, and met with the client multiple times to address these concerns and unfortunately it appears as though the owner has decided that because he does not like the color that he selected that he feels he should not have to pay for the work.  We attempted many times to address the small remaining touch ups, but we will not do additional work for free.  And that is what it appears the client is trying to do, it appears he is trying to get out of paying for the work that was done and likely will find someone else to come and repaint his house a new different color.  We are by no means a perfect company, but our internal customer satisfaction ratings are in high 90s, and we have a great rating with the BBB because we take customer satisfaction very seriously.  But when a client expects us to pay for their mistakes, or do work for free, at some point as a small business we have to stand up for ourselves and say that the work was completed as contracted.  We have sent a final invoice per his instructions, and if he is unwilling to pay we will let the attorneys handle the issue just as he has already requested. 

  Customer response

  07/08/2021

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

  Despite claims of high customer satisfaction by the owner as highlighted in previous complaints on BBB website and other reputable review sites the owner often times uses "color dissatisfaction" as a excuse to perform.  Interestingly enough NONE of my previous complaints have noted any dissatisfaction with the color and once completed appropriately we love it!  The numerous attempts to gloss over the real issues and evasive finger pointing is simply why had to stop taking time off to hear the excuses and requests for additional fees to clean up the oversights on their initial quote.  The 3rd party contractors assigned to do the work were not capable or satisfied with how the scope of the job was assigned and Certapro has not taken responsibility.  The final invoice issued was not per my instructions as it did not include several items that were not completed as contracted and charge backs for the numerous areas of property damage outlined and requested including ones they previously agreed their contractor committed.  For this reason I did in fact consult with an attorney as when business expects to take advantage of a homeowner to compensate their inability to quote jobs properly and assignments of unqualified contractors I must stand up for myself including notifying the BBB as we worked very hard to communicate and document the concerns ahead of time.  I repeat we like the color once done appropriately :) !  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ****

  

  Business response

  07/09/2021

  I find it interesting that while the client claims the issue wasn't color, or coverage issues, he is showing a picture of what the house looks like with a fresh coat (or likely two more) of a new color.  If he would have paid us to apply two more coats the outcome would have been the same, however he was expecting us to apply additional coats for free.  As for the damage, many of these issues are not ours.  The spilled paint was caused by his lawn care company (already confirmed).  The wood that he shows damaged was rotted, but somehow he's trying to blame the rotting on us.  The globe was not damaged by us, and client said don't worry about it, even though we originally offered just to wrap the project up.  And the couple areas of overspray would have been cleaned up but we were not allowed back, so we discounted the final invoice to account for that.  He hired us and we were contracted to apply two coats, and an a prime coat.  His pictures of the side showing a different color and additional coats proves that what we have been saying is true.  To get the look he wanted it took more coats, and the fact that he changed colors proves that the color selection was an issue despite his attempts to imply otherwise.  It is unfortunate that some people think small businesses make so much money that we should just do work for free.  I will rest my reputation on the thousands of jobs we have done, and thousands of happy customers over just the past few years along with hardly a complaint.  It is time for the customer to pay for the work performed.

  Customer response

  07/09/2021

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Thank you for going on record noting a color difference as the attached photo shows the EXACT same color contracted SW7008 ALABASTER and date purchased 7/3 (after cancellation and before these claims) was applied to the home.  This is what the home should look like if the contracted 3 coats were actually applied.  This statement proves my claims in either regard which is they under bid the job in order to extract additional change orders as the contractor that walked off the job stated and the owner has requested “more coats” in the previous statement OR they did not apply the appropriate amount - either way case closed.  During the ‘final walkthrough’ both the painter and project manager apologized for the condition of the home but requested additional  dollars to fix.  While many damages are obvious with the photo evidence the owner of the lawn company agreed to go on record that his employees encountered a large spill at arrival.  It is unfortunate this business owner continues to claim being the victim when the chosen 3rd party contractor repeatedly damaged the home unsupervised while refusing to answer to our concerns brought up over the 5 week job that I eventually had to call an end to.  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ****

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