Complete Affordable Home Repair

Update: 1/20/11 The number associated with this company is now listed as out of New Jersey, not Ocala, FL Robert was one of several who responded to my craigslist ad to trade a scooter for kitchen work. On Friday, October 15, Robert and I agreed on the job to trade the scooter (valued at $800 per, a local scooter shop that had kept the scooter for sale through the summer months and had done repair work on it previously) plus $100 cash, and I buy all materials. Robert inspected the scooter at that time. I told him he should start it and take it for a ride, but he refused, and we made a verbal agreement. He claimed he could finish in 3 days and was anxious to start immediately; he assured me it would be done by the end of the weekend, which was essential as I had a major gathering at my home on October 23 and hadn?t planned to start the work until it was over. I met Robert with my trailer at Lowe's on Saturday, October 16 at 7 am to buy materials. He again assured me, as I was reticent, that the job would be done and I would be happy. I told him that I was hard to please, and he said that was his favorite kind of customer. Four days later, the job was not done, but I let him take the scooter as he seemed honest, had worked hard, and said he had a friend looking at it the next day. Originally he told me the scooter was for his wife and daughter, but then he said he didn?t really want it anyway, that they probably wouldn't ride it, and hinted that he did too much work for it. I became suspicious then, but a deal is a deal and he had made it. I last saw Robert on Tuesday, October 19 at about 10:30 pm. The work was not done, but he promised to call me the next day after work because my new faucet was faulty and I was going to try to find a replacement. He did not call or come over. He claims to be a 24-hour emergency service, and the next day I had trouble with my pump and called him. No return call. I found someone else to do the repair. Thereafter, I made several calls to him to arrange for materials, etc. for 10/30, as well as an email outlining the remaining work, and was ignored until I left a message saying I felt like I'd been scammed. This was only after I had called his house several times, with the last being told by his daughter that she would see if he was there. I waited and a couple of minutes later, the phone went dead. When I called back, there was no answer, only the machine and so I left the message. Within minutes, I received an email from Robert stating he was out of town with no phone (yet he got that message!) and that he was scammed by me (something about the scooter, which he inspected prior to the arrangement, not being mechanically sound), and that he was a man of his word so he'd be at my house at 9 am on 10/30. I responded to that email, assuring him I'd make it right if what he said was true, though it wasn't to my knowledge, and that I had intended to pay him for any work beyond what was agreed on originally. He never showed, nor contacted me in anyway. I have partially finished kitchen cabinets that he built from scratch with no shelves, and for two of those cabinets, on each side of the dishwasher, no walls at all; the doors do not close (apparently because he did not use the proper grade of plywood), the water to the fridge leaks, the microwave shelf does not fit the microwave, the floor he installed is not level, outlets are not replaced, the disposal was unsafely installed, etc. etc. and I've never heard from him. I have a full array of photographs, not only of the finished work, but the work in progress featuring Robert and the two different helpers he had working during the period from 10/16 to 10/19/10. In addition, my home was a mess from his work. He cut and sanded inside and out (on the carport, in the sunroom, and in the front yard), and he and his helpers left cigarette butts, screws and trash where they fell. My kitchen floor heating vent, screwed back into place, was filled with sawdust, insulation, wood scraps and even a broken saw blade and left that way. I had asked him if I should cover things, and he said no, but then dust filled my entire house, ruining much, and the repair from his work is going to be significant. He had convinced me he could build cupboards and to not use premade ones, including the sink base I had already purchased, which was a concern regarding matching additional cupboards later, but he said he?d be back to do more work. He misled me to believe he was solely in business for himself, but on Sunday night informed me that he had to go to his real job on Monday, but if he didn't have to, he'd call and work here. He did work for me on Monday; he did have to go to his regular job as a painter on Tuesday, and promised to return after work at 4:30 and finish. He did not return (nor call) until 8:30 PM on Tuesday, did not finish, but took the scooter at about 10:30 pm. I was exhausted and not thinking clearly. He asked me not to put his name or an amount on the title, and I did not. My home was a shambles. He has never even called, and certainly did not show up on 10/30. In addition, Robert convinced me to use a composite countertop he had on hand instead of the tile I wanted, but could not afford and was willing to wait for, living with just plywood for the duration. His installation work is dismal. He did not have me buy matching caulk, so he hurriedly put in white caulk - it's a mess. There is no way to match his counter, though he assured me he would (for additional money) build me a bank of matching cupboards on the other side of the kitchen, and that the counter he put in could be tiled over. Since the seams are off, I doubt this is true, and certainly there are no cupboards to match those he installed. Since Robert did not provide me with any business cards, I offered to design some for him, which I did, he proofed, but since he never returned, did not get. He did not give me an address, but I found it doing a reverse phone check for his telephone number. It is not listed in his name. He does drive a white older van with roof racks and the name of his company painted on the side claiming he has been serving Florida for 20 years, and advertising 24-hour emergency service. He promised me a full invoice, said he'd sign anything, but he did not return to do so. I do have a check he signed for $100 that I cashed after the first day's work during which the 10x10 kitchen subfloor was removed and replaced. Prior to the cash payment, he hit me up for gas money, and I gave him $7 for that. Robert told me that he got a 10% discount at Lowe's but that was also a lie. He did get a discount when he claimed he was former military and forgot his card, but not otherwise. The materials list was to be acquired in one trip using a discount card I had, but it took three because Robert is not professional. These were not trips for to fetch incidentals, as I bought those as needed from a more local store since Lowe's is over 20 miles from me, but rather for large purchases for lumber, etc. His original estimate for materials was off by double. All in all, this was a terrible experience. Robert got the scooter, $100 cash, an electric chain saw and a heavy duty drill for his work, approximately $1000 total. I also provided lunch for three days. I got a messed up kitchen and spent nearly $500 on materials that are mostly wasted as the work will largely need to be redone. It looked good at the outset, but now it's worse than the no-kitchen I started with. I'm considering legal action and certainly a report to the BBB as I do have all the emails, the ad he responded to, photographs and a copy of the scooter title.