EAST COAST SIDING & GUTTER

. I asked Mr,. Trigger to give me an estimate for siding installation. I wanted to pay for the materials and get a bid for labor only. He agreed to meet me at the construction site, about a 45 minute drive from my house. I was sick that day but I showed up and waited hours with no word from him. He never showed up and never called. I called him and he said he had had trouble with another job. I should have ended it right there, but I needed siding on my home before winter. He gave me a really low quote on the phone. Then he changed his mind and said because of the height of the house, he would have to charge more. So I waited for his next estimate. He then insisted that I order materials from him because he got such good rates from a wholesale siding place and he could save me a lot of money..Then he gave me a written estimate that obviously had the materials marked up so he made a profit on the materials as well as his labor. When I brought this to his attention, he claimed he had told me he marks up material ( a handling fee.) He never said this In fact, he first tried to explain the high prices by saying it was sales tax. I knew sales tax as 5%. This did not explain his markups. I called a local building supply store and their everyday prices were lower the Mr. Trigger's wholesale price. I have no trouble if contractors mark up materials and tell you they do. I do have a problem with a contractor telling me they can save me money and then inflate the cost of materials. And the inflation was not minor. Approximately $2,000 more for a very small job. To add insult to injury, after waiting for weeks for him to make up his mind on an estimate and catching him trying to deceive me on material costs, he was rude and insulting to me. I have had contractors make mistakes and contractors do a poor job and I have let it go. But I can't deal with dishonesty. Mr. Trigger said he was a licensed contractor, but I cannot find him on the list maintained by the state. I would avoid this man at all costs.