Innovation Remodeling

"I'm not the type of person to complain, retaliate or speak poorly about another. Yet, if I do not respond to the member's false claims then "Angie's list" automatically puts my company in the "penalty box". So, I will start by saying that in the 7 years that Platinum Remodeling has been registered with Albany County, this is the first documented complaint. In this business there are unfortunately a very small, but intrinsically unhappy & manipulative percentage of people that are never satisfied. Historically, I have gone out of my way to keep all my customers happy, even if it meant losing money. The longevity of my business depends on referrals and customer satisfaction. But I draw the line at unreasonable demands, manipulative lies and verbal disrespect. This story fast forwards to her husband apologizing for his wife's unjustified verbal out bursts and disrespectful behavior towards me and explained that "she often behaves like this" and has "servere memory recall deficiencies". She seemed normal at first and I accepted his apology (on her behalf) and felt sorry for him. I then agreed to return to work contingent upon this not happening again & a past due payment made current. When a delay in an agreed payment schedule occurred again on September 9th , I explained to her husband that I would no longer be able to work for free (especially under the hostile work environment). As he became honest with me about losing his management position at Subway, and falling behind financially, it was clear that they did not have the available funds to continue to pay for the agreed work. The reason for her displaced anger then became obvious to me. He also at this time had apologized for her second unstable outburst and misdirected inappropriate behavior. At this point the agreed work was completed and I discussed discontinuing future work and demanded that the past due payment be made. I was not paid. The only reason I returned to work on Tues Sept 12th (to start a small flooring job) was because I was promised the $150 past due balance would be paid that morning before I continued work and I would only deal with her husband from then on. Once again Tuesday morning I was not paid and he promised that I would be paid when his wife arrived from work. I had already hired a paid assistant (by the way he's 27) and didn't want to lose another day's work so I reluctantly began the floor job fearing that I would not get paid. Unfortunately, after a full work day (2 men), she once again refused to pay the past due amount. I completed the work to the point of floor removal and flooring cut to specified dimensions. All that was left was approximately an hour to lay 2 pieces of ply wood and screw them down (after the electrician repaired the wire that was damaged earlier that day). Most importantly, I immediately arranged for and paid to have the damage corrected and I offered to complete the 1 hours work that remained, when I received the past due amount owed. Under normal circumstances I probably would have just done it for free because of the minor electrical inconvenience. But I had already done enough favors evidenced by under fair market pricing and patience during her dehumanizing behavior. Yes, it's true that my assistant accidentally cut through wire during floor removal (causing loss of power of kitchen lights). Do errors of this nature occur during renovations involving demolition? Yes. I never asked her to pay for my damage! Only what was past due. Did I pay an independent electrician $250 to repair the damage? Yes. Did I try to do the right thing and basically complete the job even though it was unpaid work? Yes. PS If I quoted $250 for floor removal and replacement (in a laundry closet)...how is it that she "allegedly paid" someone $400 to screw in 2 pieces of already pre-cut plywood? You be the judge."