Chimney and Gutter King

In December 2011, contacted the company "Gutters R Us" (also known as "Gutters Are Us") listed in the online version of the Milwaukee Yellow Pages as one of several companies to check prices for having my house's gutters cleanedr. A man who identified himself as ?Tim? answered and indicated that his company had more than 30 years experience with gutters, that he owned his company along with his two sons, and that his son would be available to clean my house's gutters on December 21. He quoted me a price of $100-$150, depending on the size of the house. In late December 2011, two men from Gutters R Us arrived at my house. A man who identified himself as Michael Osborne said he was Timothy Ratcliff's partner . Osborne's associate reviewed the gutters, and then Osborne quoted me a price of $200. (I told him that I had been quoted a price of $100-$150, but Osborne indicated that the steepness of the house's roof meant that the job would be more expensive.) Osborne also informed me that the chimney on my house was badly deteriorated and in need of repair. Since I knew from a previous home inspection that this was true, I asked if he would provide me with a quote and time estimate. Osborne said that repair of the chimney would cost $1700, but that he would also throw in the gutter cleaning gratis. He indicated that they would start and complete the work the next day. As I reviewed the contract, Osborne called Timothy Ratcliff to confirm the arrangement and Ratcliff indicated that his ?other son,? Jonathan Caswell, would be by in the next day to fix the chimney. Approximately 45 minutes after Osborne left, I had second thoughts about the likely quality of Gutters R Us' work and the price they offered, so I called Timothy Ratcliff and cancelled my order. Since I called Ratcliff so soon after signing the contract, I asked Ratcliff to contact his partner to return my check. He said that Osborne was likely out purchasing supplies for Caswell and could not be reached. After calling Ratcliff, I contacted my bank and put stop order on my check. This was approximately an hour after I had written it. Several days later, a man identifying himself as "Steve" arrived at my house and told me he was there to repair my chimney. I told him that I had canceled the job 5 days prior. He said he had not been informed of that, and that he was really a "subcontractor" to Gutters R Us. After calling Ratcliff and confirming that the contract had been canceled, "Steve" told me that he was willing to do the chimney repair job himself, for less money than Gutters R Us was offering. I later learned that "Steve" is, in fact, Jonathan Caswell, Timothy Ratcliff's son. On January 2, 2012, Timothy Ratcliff returned my call and refused to discuss reimbursement until he ?inspected? my gutters to ?ensure? that no work had been done. He then became rude and abusive, and hung up the phone when I brought up details of repayment. Immediately thereafter, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. During the first week of January, I was informed by my bank that my check stop order had been executed too late and that Osborne had cashed my check (for cash) within approximately 15 minutes after leaving my house. Ratcliff has since refused to return my calls or discuss refunding my money.