Robert Ouellet

Stay away from this contractor. He (1) initially tried to inflate the cost of the job, (2) changed the terms of the job, and (3) wanted me to pay for over half the cost of the job up-front. The following is a detailed discussion of what happened. I was in the process of purchasing a house. I wanted to install hardwood floors before moving-in. Once the closing date was set, I contacted three contractors to give them a two-week window between closing and when I planned to move-in to do the work. I discussed the job in detail with all three. One of the contractors was unavailable. One was interested but was not prompt in getting the bid back. The final firm, C & O Contracting, owned by Robert Ouellet was prompt in replying and said that he could do the job in the time frame that I needed. We further discussed the job, and Robert Ouellet’s estimate of square footage was way-off (he estimated the entire square footage of the house--I was only interested in covering the living/dinning room, bedrooms, bedroom closets and up-stair hallways). After settling on the square footage, we discussed the terms of the job. We both agreed that I would purchase the materials and he would start the work and then I would pay him for the work done. Thinking that we had an agreement, I ordered and paid for the materials. Approximately, one week before closing, I received an email requesting a deposit for doing the work. I attempted to call him to get clarification on why he needed a deposit, since that was not part of the original agreement. Finally, I sent him a text to informed him that I had already purchased the materials and would be willing to pay him day-by-day if he wanted. He never got back to me. I then contacted the material supplier to ask if arrangements had been made on material delivery. They said I need to contact the contractor. After calling him, he finally returned my call. He indicated that he didn’t know me and wanted an upfront deposit of approximately 40% of the labor cost. I indicated that this was not part of the original agreement, but that since this was a three-to-four-day job, I would be willing to pay him at the end of each day.