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:11/27/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  We hired Nelson Painting Service to paint several rooms for us, which included ceilings, walls, and trims. We told Harry that we will provide the paint. He put us on his schedule for September 26. He estimated to finish the job in about 8 days. We told him we had plans for the week of October 10. Harry did not start on September 26, but took a deposit of $916 on September 29 and left his ladder in the family room. He said that he will start that afternoon after he gets his materials from the house he was working in the day before. He said that he was locked outside and waiting to get in. Harry never showed up that afternoon and never called. On October 4, he emailed he was coming the next day, but did not come because his car broke. We divided the project into sections and emailed him. He said he will start the first section on October 7, but it was better not to, since he won't be back until October 17. We asked him to give the deposit back. If he had told us that he was not going to finish the work by October 7, we would not have given him a deposit or asked him to do any work. He refused to give the deposit back and sent an email to confirm that he would start on October 17: "..If for any reason on my own doing I do not make it to your house on October 17 I will refund your deposit." Harry worked for about 5 hours on October 17 and 2 hours on October 18. He painted the 18-foot ceiling along with 2 skylights and the part of the same ceiling that becomes 9 feet tall when it goes into a smaller area on the upper level. He did not come back to finish the room. We left 4 voicemails and sent 2 emails with no answer. We asked him to deduct the cost of labor for the ceiling and refund the rest of the money back. He replied saying: "Invoice...Your deposit amount $916. Final for ceiling $650. Refund amount $266 which will be refunded to you via mail within 14-21 business days." We sent him deadline reminders but have neither heard from him since nor gotten our money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2022

  I was hired by the party who submitted this complaint to paint a great room, kitchen, and upstairs hallway. On the dates listed in complaint I received a deposit in the amount of $916 (September 26th 2022). I had let the customer know that I was running behind schedule and asked if it were OK to start at a later date in which they agreed. Prior to receiving the deposit I submitted a qoute that explained all the work being done along with how payments were to be made. A week prior to starting on october 17th the wife of the customer who submitted complaint called and refused to have me do the work as outlined in the orginal qoute and wanted their deposit returned. I replied by phone call to the wife of complainant that the deposit is non refundable because she did not want to do the work in the order that was originally agreed upon but rather in 9 different phases. I was trying my best to work with the customer so I agreed to do the work the way they wanted it done. I arrived on October 17, 2022 to paint their 25 ft ceiling in great room and upstairs hallway which I did complete the following day. The customer WPULD NOT LET ME DO MY JOB by always complaining telling me I missed spots when in fact I did not. I told her that it was the first coat of paint and it was still drying and that's why it looked incomplete but she insisted that I go over the same spot 3-4 times when clearly my estimate stated TWO coats only (which is normal). I asked the customer more than ten times to just let me do my job. I told her that if after I painted the ceilings two coats that if she had any concerns to let me know then. Instead of this portion of the job only taking 4-6 hrs to complete it took me double the time to complete because she thought the shadows on ceiling were missed spots and demanded I go over them multiple times. Do to safety concerns I asked that the customers wife please stay out of the room I was working in until I was finished but she would not listen. Never in the 17 years I've been in business have I ever worked for such people who made it impossible for me to do my job in a timely manner. Because I had to be stern with her she got upset and did not want to continue the work. I tried everything to resolve the issue but to no avail. My employee who writes my emails mistakenly emailed the customer telling them we would refund a portion of the deposit. Once I found out I made numerous attempts to contact the customer about this mistake but they would not answer my phone calls. All deposits are non refundable as this is my only means to secure the scheduled time allotted to do the work. I made myself very clear about this multiple times while talking to the customer prior to starting this project. The amount of time and work I put into painting their ceiling more than twice was equal or greater than the deposited amount and is why no refund was to be issued. We had a contract signed by them issuing a deposit on September 26, 2022 in which the customer failed to go by. She then made changed to the original agreement after the deposit was made. This complaint is invalid and I ask that it be removed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/28/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  Harry asked my wife to hold some stool on the steps for him so he can paint the ceiling above the stairs.  He never asked her to leave the room. We never signed a contract, all was done through email. He asked to delay the project by 2 days, to start September 28 instead of the 26. All the emails prove that. However, he came on September 29 for the deposit and the bizarre story he told about being locked out of the other house. The next excuse was about his car breaking down. It seems there was another person who had a similar experience with him. Unfortunately, it was too late when we found that review online. Here is the link https://www.yellowpages.com/loveland-oh/mip/nelson-painting-service-459020216 We also attached a screen shot of the review. Whatever he said about working more hours than we stated is a lie. We have several witnesses to prove what we said in our complaint. Working a total of 7 hours is not worth $916.

  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *******
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/06/2022

  The customer was impossible to work with. They would not let me do my job as described in the original email quote. They did not follow through with the orginal agreement. I've been in business 17 years without a single complaint to BBB. They are upset they broke contract agreement and I won't refund the money. They made it impossible to do my job. End of story.