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:05/29/2024

  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.

  We received a quote from the company in mid-April. We sent our deposit in on 4/17/24 and the work has yet to be completed or scheduled. I have left multiple voicemails and have not heard back from the company since 5/11/24.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/04/2024

  The Craftsman that was working with **** left our company, with the understanding that he was still under obligation to complete any signed contracts and existing jobs. He assured us he understood. We have had limited contact, but ***** project was specifically discussed, as he had called, and we were told that everything was under control and on track.  Until this, we had no idea that it was anything other than that. Our apologies are many and sincere, and we are changing the way that we handle final contracts when a relationship is severed between us and a Craftsman. We are absolutely going to be refunding ****'s down payment, and returning that to him. Losing the confidence of a customer is very hard for us. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/04/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/28/2023

  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.

  7/14/23 proposal signed for kitchen countertop & sink tear out & replacement. $1,200.00 paid for 1/2 partial down payment. The assigned contractor (****) gave false misleading information stating he would be able to order & install a solid surface countertop. It was discovered after shopping for countertops & communicated back to **** that the customer would be required for solid surface quartz counter top that the store measure, install & do tear out of kitchen sink, countertop. Our check was deposited on the same day it was written 7/14/23.After requesting a refund I was told that no refund was allowed after 30 days. Instead I was told by **** that **** **, President at A Fresh New Look *********************************************** would allow us to INSTEAD use our $1,200 for other home handyman services. Further after submitting my written journal of calls & attempts to reach **** with multiple no shows & excuses for failure to appear at the job site. When I requested a refund on our money deposited in July I received a written letter denying the request for refund and instead told me that I was required to contact the contractor to do a Change Order!!!! Their employee, **** was informed early in August of the above information described as not able to perform the work contracted to do.From July 2023 through November 2023 the assigned employee (****) from *********************************************** was unable to perform the work requested & contracted to do. On 11/20/23 I finally called & spoke to ********* to complain about their employee ****; at that time I demanded a full refund & submitted call logs, text messages and journals from July through November. On 12/4/23 I received a letter dated 11/28/23 signed by ***********************, President stating that I did a breach of contracted & was not eligible to receive a refund. No work was performed that was contracted to be done. I have copies of our check cashed, documentation submitted to the contractor & a letter received

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2024

  RE: ******************** BBB Complaint
  On Wednesday, July 12th 2023, A Fresh New Look Home Improvements (AFNL) was contacted by ******************************. She requested an appointment for a free estimate with one of our craftsmen to discuss installing a new sink, faucet, and countertop. 
  Craftsman ************ was assigned this customer, and the appointment was made for Friday, July 14, 2023 at 9am. At that appointment ***************** contracted with A Fresh New Look Home Improvements to do the requested work, with the knowledge that possible rough plumbing may be needed. The full contract price was $2400.  AFNLs contracts are for labor only, unless otherwise specified. This is stated on the contract. On July 14, 2023 AFNL was given a $1200 down payment by check. She was encouraged at that time to choose a design, because of possible delivery delays with supplies.  
  Craftsman T.W. did not receive the first communication regarding countertop selection-a picture texted to him-until August 14th, 2023. On August 22, 2023 he was asked, by text, to go to ********** to collect countertop samples.  He went with his family to do so, and drove to Mrs. ******* house to drop them off. This would not fall under a labor only contract, and was done with Craftsman T.W.s good ****** At this time ********** was not discussed as the final supplier.  If it was, there are certain rules that ********** requires purchasers of quartz and granite countertops to follow. ********** requires their own installers.  AFNL IS a ********** Pro, and a company that is on **********s list of installers. The samples that Craftsman T.W. dropped off were for idea purposes only.  There are other suppliers of countertops in the greater Milwaukee area that do not have such a stringent control of their products installation. Craftsman T.W. told ***************** of Floor and ***** and *****. He is able to get a discount of 10% at those locations, and was going to pass that discount on to her.  He advised her that there would be more steps involved with a purchase from **********. Furthermore, ***************** remarked in a log provided to AFNL that Craftsman T.W. is not able to install quartz and granite countertops. Craftsman T.W. has been in this industry for over 27 years, and is certainly able to do so.
  On September 6th, 2023 ***************** contacted AFNL to request a refund, advising that she ordered her countertops from ********** instead, and no longer needed Craftsman T.W. to do that part. She was told by office assistant ***************************************** that is not something we are able to do, as there was a contract in place. 
  The next communication from ***************** to Craftsman T.W. was a text on September 19th, 2023 stating that the countertops had been ordered, and were going to be installed by ********** on September 26th, 2023. It has been said by ***************** in her log to the office that a sink and faucet were also purchased, and were to be installed on September 26th, 2023 by the same company that installed the countertops. If ***************** wanted a specific countertop from **********, AFNL could have ordered it, had Craftsman **** or the office been notified before ***************** placed her order and scheduled her installation. We would have then been the company on record with ********** to make the installation. Again, to reiterate, AFNL is a ********** Pro. In that communication ***************** again requested a refund from AFNL. Craftsman T.W. contacted AFNLs owner, ***********************, to discuss the possible refund of Mrs. ******* $1200 down payment from July 19th, 2023.  
  After reviewing the situation at that time:
  *****************, by law, had 3 days from the date of signing her contract to cancel to receive her down payment back. This is stated clearly in the contract, and her requests came on September 6th and 19th, 2023. That is well outside of any 3-day time window. ***************** mentions a 30-day time frame. Nowhere in our contract does this exist. (The only 30-Day window of time we have is listed on our estimates. And that says an estimate is good for 30 days. And if said estimate is not accepted within 30 days, it is subject to change.)  She does not meet any qualification for refund by that standard.
  And by circumventing Craftsman T.W. and going to ********** directly, ***************** triggered a system that AFNL qualifies for, is part of, and can handle if given the chance, but was not. This decision to place the order for the countertops and use a different company would have required a change order to make her initial contract with AFNL invalid and make her eligible for any amount of money to be refunded back to her. A change order-by loose definition in the construction world-is making an amendment to a customers contract that changes the scope of work. This would be a change by either the contractor OR the customer.  When ***************** decided to order the countertops from ********** herself, it completely changed Craftsman T.W.s scope of work. Any changes require a new, formal document, with the new scope of work, new agreed upon price, and it needed to be signed by both ***************** and Craftsman T.W.  This is a standard practice. By not doing that, ***************** forfeited her $1200 down payment.  ***************** is claiming that Craftsman T.W. was told about the changes to the scope of work in early August.  In her thorough documentation of call and text messages logs, nowhere does she show proof of this communication.  In AFNLs documents, there is absolutely no evidence of that contact, either.  If that had been true, Craftsman T.W. would have discussed changes with *****************, adjusted the price, notified the office, and created a formal change-order. By not following a standard procedure, ***************** breached the contract that she signed in July of 2023, which makes her ineligible to receive even a portion of a refund of her downpayment.
  At no time did *************** advise Craftsman T.W. to allow ***************** to use the down payment towards other handyman work. Craftsman T.W. decided to move forward with ***************** and install a backsplash in the kitchen, to compensate for some of the payment that was received. He was not asked to do this or required to do this.  He offered to do this. 
  Our (AFNL) response will continue, because it is fair to respond to all accusations made by *****************, even though by the end of September 2023 AFNL and Craftsman T.W. were no longer legally obligated to continue to perform work.
  Craftsman T.W. received a text on October 7, 2023, informing him that the countertop and sink and ****** had been installed. This was followed by texts of photos on October 17th and 18th, 2023. He then received a text on October 19th stating that the tile for a backsplash had been ordered, and would be delivered on October 27th, 2023. In her documentation to the office ***************** also states that these events happened on October 19th and 27th, 2023. 
  When Craftsman T.W. went to Mrs. ******* home to start the backsplash installation, **************** began to dictate how Craftsman T.W. would be doing the work. **************** told Craftsman T.W. to do some patching on the wall before any backsplash work could begin. Craftsman T.W. arrived at Mrs. ******* home with all of the proper tools and supplies needed to complete the job. **************** would not allow Craftsman T.W. the use of his own personal, professional tools, and demanded that Mr. ******* tools be used instead. **************** insisted that Craftsman T.W. use mud that he owned, which was found to be inferior, as it had chunks in it.  Craftsman T.W. is a professional, and he would not have brought a product onto a jobsite that had that appearance. There was a gap at the side of the counter that Craftsman T.W. advised would need to be taped before it was mudded, because the mud would slip down. **************** demanded that Craftsman T.W. NOT tape the area, and apply the mud directly. **************** then insisted that Craftsman T.W. return the same day, later on, to continue work on a patched area that clearly would not be completely dry. Craftsman T.W. negotiated a later date with ****************, and agreed to return on Saturday, November 11th, 2023 in the morning.  When Craftsman T.W. arrived Saturday, November 11th, 2023 he was informed by **************** that the mud had slipped down behind the counter and that Craftsman T.W. must not know what he is doing.  
  After Craftsman T.W. had been told a number of times that he was doing things incorrectly, he kindly advised **************** that he could do the preparing of the walls himself, and then they would be the way he wanted them. This included an unnecessary step of priming a wall with a white primer, when it would have a white grout put on top of it. Craftsman T.W. would then return when the walls were prepped to Mr. ******* personal satisfaction.
   **************** insisted on controlling the backsplash project, and he did not allow Craftsman T.W. the time or space to use his own tools, supplies, experience, and knowledge to provide a professional result. At one point **************** was attempting to show Craftsman T.W. how to hold a tool.
  Craftsman T.W. experienced a major malfunction on his vehicle. ***************** makes note of that in her documentation, with a sarcastic implication. And during this span of time, he frustratingly had a problem with his phone network, as did others. Craftsman T.W. didnt know he was missing calls that were not making it to his phone.  Once he made this realization, he contacted all parties he anticipated needing to communicate with. 
  Before he was able to return to Mrs. ******* home, she contacted AFNLs office on November 20th, **** and spoke with office assistant S.M. This call was partially overheard by AFNL owner *************** as well, as she walked in when S.M. was speaking with ******************  In that call ***************** lodged complaints, questioning Craftsman T.W.s work ethic, experience, character, and integrity.  She subjected S.M. to foul language during this phone call. She said that she would not have Craftsman T.W. back in her home. And once again, ***************** demanded a refund of her downpayment. During that call S.M. suggested to ***************** that she create a log of her communications with Craftsman T.W.  She was then provided a cell phone number to text it to. When the logs were received, comments such as zero integrity and stupid excuses'' were also included. 
  After this phone call, and the receipt of Mrs. ******* logs, further internal investigation was done. Craftsman T.W. was asked to produce his own document with information regarding Mrs. ******* claims.  It was once again determined that ***************** did not qualify for a refund of her down payment, citing the same reasons as earlier in the year.  On November 11, 2023 AFNL owner *************** drafted a letter to *****************, formally advising her of this decision. 
  *To make something very clear, and to respond to something very specific in Mrs. ******* complaint. The dates are very important in this, which is why so much attention has been drawn to them. ***************** contracted with AFNL in the middle of July 2023. The delays in this project, when Craftsman T.W. encouraged a speedy response, were significant.  ***************** was not the only customer Craftsman T.W. was working with, and the longer it took for decisions to be made, the more time it would take to adjust his schedule. After Mrs. ******* breach of contract, Craftsman T.W.s scope of work changed. This changed his entire schedule for Mrs. ******* job, and affected every other job he was working on and every other customer he was working with.  By November of 2023 Craftsman T.W. was trying to work with his own schedule, Mrs. and Mr. ******* schedule, and AFNLs schedule. On one of Mrs. ******* logs she provided to the office she remarked that it was a one day job.  This is simply untrue. That being said, there was not the anticipation that Mrs. ******* job would be 5 months long. This affected Craftsman T.W.s ability to be on site when it was demanded. 

  Currently, Craftsman T.W.'s tools remain at ********************* home, and he has in his possession the tools **************** demanded he use.  If either of the Reidel's would like to make a switch, this can be done at our office. 

  Copies of contracts, logs, documents and emails can be provided if necessary. As is fairly clear, that is all available. 
  Thank you.
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/04/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  On June 7th of 2022 I contracted with A Fresh New Look to remove and rebuild a deck on my home. At the time of the contract I paid the company 1/2 of the total cost of the removal and rebuild- $4200.00. In October of 2022 the materials the contractor asked that I order for the deck were delivered to my home at the direction of the contractor. The contractor did not fulfill ANY obligation to the contract signed other than removing a small portion of the deck from my home, leaving all of the material spread throughout my yard. The materials for the new deck were delivered and left laying around the house as well for the entire winter of 2022/23. I was in continual contact with the representative of this company who continually put me off, telling me that the construction would, "begin next week" or "being soon". I am now out $4,200 plus the damage that the materials delivered to my house in the fall of 2023 experienced due to exposure to the winter weather. In April of ***************************************************** she needed 60 days to get me a "refund". It is now 60 days past that time. I paid $4,200 for literally nothing. I had to hire another contractor to build the deck. Both the contractor and the owner of the company have literally blown me off and run off with my money.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2023

  I am sorry for a delayed response. I just had a death in my family and was away from the office. It is my understanding Craftsmam **** is working this out with this client at this time. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/27/2023

  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, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  The owner of this business, to whom the check for the deposit was written continues to push this request for reimbursement off on an employee.   I wrote a check on June 8th of 2022 to the business, not the employee.  The business cashed my check.  Save for a small amount of work to remove just a portion of my deck from the house after other contractors contacted the business due to their delay holding up the completion of a siding project, I literally paid for $4200.00 for nothing.

  I contacted the employee multiple times and finally got in touch with the owner of the business through a letter written in March of 2023 to which she responded by telephone.  At the time of our discussion in April I was told it would be 60 days for a reimbursement; that would have been June 20, 2023.  To date I have had no reimbursement.

  Please find attached a picture of the contract signed on June 8th 2022 as well as several images of my yard following the "work" this company supposedly did on my property. There is also an image of the carbon of the check.  These pictures were taken in March 2023, five months after work was to have been completed.

  After asking me to have more than $10,000 in decking material delivered to my house in October of 2022 for a delayed start date of October 27th, the material delivered sat in my driveway and on my yard for the better part of seven months before a new contractor could be hired to complete the deck project.  Some of the material was ruined by the winter weather including 19 bags of cement at a cost of $7.11 each and a fascia board that was replaced at a cost of $96.88.  This doesn't include the damage to the lawn and the cost of seeding/sodding the dead areas or the inconvenience of having materials laying on my driveway and around my house all winter long.

  For the owner of this company to blame an employee rather than taking responsibility to solve this issue is ridiculous.   The company cashed check #**** on June 13th, 2022 for $4,200.00.  To date (Aug 26, 2023) I have received no reimbursement and literally no acceptable services.  

  I want a refund of my $4,200.00 as well as $135.09 for cement, $96.88 for the fascia board that was required due to weather damage on materials left laying outside.  at this point $4,432.00. 

  I cannot even imagine running a business this poorly, treating customers with such obvious disregard and quite frankly taking money for not doing the work you were hired for.  This is literally theft.

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/10/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  Nov 2021 Contractors employee took a month to demo a 5x10 bathroom area, and he assembled the floor joists to the structure incorrectly. Failed to properly support floor, follow code guidelines. Then I find out said employee had supposedly stolen her letterhead and was hiring customers falsely with no licenses from the city. Then employee files legal documents with the courts to extort more money when I refused the work. **** out he's on probation and when I asked him to correct his work he proceeded to break my sewer stack, steals tools and I find myself dealing with his probation officer to get him arrested. Owner then promises to *** said damaged work by sending another employee who also has little experience in bathroom remodeling. All of his work had to be done so owner promised to return $3000 out of $3700.When I get to town to pick up check she has me sign a release form for check and then there's no check in envelope, it's a bill for $3000 then owner locks front door. Police contacted, report filed for theft and criminal damage to property. Employer claims employee stole her contract paperwork.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/13/2023

  The customer we met with regarding a scope of work. I then had to meet with the city who was providing a loan to the customer to have the work done and I had to sign paperwork for this to happen. Work began March 21,2022. The customer made it very diffcult to work in his property. He was not leaving the craftsmen alone. He was trying to tell them how to do their job. Unfortunately we do work to code and are required to. The customer didn't care about code the customer wanted it done the way he wanted it. He decided to cancel the contract which was illegal for him to do so. It was past the customers right to cancel. At the time he cancelled the contract he still owes money for outstanding labor costs. There is no refund for this customer and we are sorry that the understanding wasn't present in the mind of the customer that this work needed to be done to code. There were no advertizing issues as I could not control the theft of my documents being taking and I followed through by reporting this to the police and having the thief arrested. I was not aware of him using my belongings to presue work from others until this customer.

   

  Here is information from my Craftsman who was the lead on this customer's project per the city.

   

  Early spring of 2022, I began work at ***************** house. There was considerable degradation in the rear corner, from the second floor closet through the first floor powder rooms floor. By the time I had arrived, exterior walls and interior floor joists had been replaced. (Shoddy in my opinion, but acceptable)
  
  When I first began, I made sure to set up an appointment with a licensed plumber 3 weeks out (earliest) and rebuild the walls and floors. When the appointment day came, ******* failed to inform me that he cancelled the appointment. We were forced to wait another 2 weeks for a rescheduled appointment.
  
  In the meantime, ******* changed his mind about the bathrooms new layout constantly; wanting to install a shower in a room too small, fighting the concept of expanding the bathroom footage for the shower, and even trying to remove the sink from the bathroom!
  
  When the plumbing appointment came around again, the plumber had much to say about what the code requires for the bathroom and drainage in the basement. (As the stack wasnt connected properly) However, ******* chose to move forward with a cheaper plumber.
  
  The bathroom was a mess to work with, but I corrected as many issues as I could.
  -The window wasnt sealed up correctly when it was installed, but I attempted to finish it.
  -The first floor was sunk by a matter of inches within a few feet from the outer wall, but I installed floor joist shims underneath to level the bathroom floor so the tiles would be smooth as well.
  -I had to remove every inch of rotted lumber and sister several new studs to the house walls for the new bathroom walls.
  (In short, I did everything I could to accommodate the customer and solve the house issues that I encountered)
  
  We were finally at a point where the construction would move forward much quicker and smoother when ******* decided to terminate our contract without legal grounds.
  He was simply not happy with the work and speed of the project. (We werent done and he never established a finish date)
  He demanded the refund of the deposit of $3000, but our company had EASILY performed over $5000 work of the most difficult portions of the reconstruction.
  
  Our office called him to the office to sign a document saying that he wouldnt slander us publicly and finish up the legal paperwork
  In front of three witnesses he signed the documents forging someone elses name, then complimented the owner and saying that he couldnt have done this without her help. Im sure I can do the rest myself, which made our owner realize that he was using our services for free. At that point, she locked the office and pursued legal means. ******* violated the legal document less than a week later by posted several videos on ******* slandering our company.
  

   

  There is no refund for this customer. This customer still has a balance due. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/15/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  First transaction date: 9/2/22 - $3500 Second transaction date: 12/20/22 - $3500 Agreed upon work: Build full bath and closet on 2nd floor Include dry wall, mud, tape Trim Finishes except paint, texture Door installs Build in new hall with linen closet Include demo and install of luxury vinyl floor Include shoe throughout 2nd floor Include basic electrical Plumbing to be contracted by customer Include tile of new shower walls Start date 12/5, finish date March 1st Documentation presents multiple different business addresses for company.Contractor breached contract by asking homeowner to request building permit - provided no drawings, measurements, etc. Stalled in providing licensing numbers. Actual existence of business questionable as address listed on permit issued by city is a PO Box, and not one of the multiple physical addresses listed across paperwork, website, online listing, etc.Contractor failed to be present to work with multiple varied excuses to span 2.5 months which limited actual work hours to roughly 12 hours over 2 months, then roughly 6 hours in the subsequent two weeks. Minimal work quality is highly questionable.Phone calls to business supervisor have not been returned at all. Demands for Unconditional lien have not been met despite our consumer right to demand one. Documentation available upon request.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/20/2023

  This has been worked out with *****************