I found his ad on craigslist advertising tub refurbishing.
On Monday November 3 I called Jimmy to refurbish a cracked fiberglass bathtub at one of my homes. The tub had two cracks; a smaller crack approximately 1"x3", and a larger crack approximately 1"x6". I explained I had tenants moving in on Saturday so it needed to be complete before then.
He scheduled an estimate for the same day for 3PM. He was 1 hour late. After looking at my tub he said he would call me with a quote.By the end of the day he had sent me 3 voicemails with a quote. $200 for a simple patch repair, $300 to refurbish the entire tub.
Thursday 11/6 @ 1:15 PM.
I called Jimmy regarding his quote. I explained I was on a budget because of all the expenses to fix the house for the new tenants (cleaning, gardening, paint, etc). We agreed on $100 for patch repair the same day. Again I reminded him the tenants were moving in Saturday morning.
@ 4:39 PM. I called to reschedule for the next day because the electricity had not been turned back on yet, so he wouldn't have any light to do the work. He scheduled the job for the next day at 9AM.
Friday 11/7.
Jimmy didn't arrive until 10:30AM - 1 1/2 hrs late. He brought another guy with him to do the work. The other guy spent approximately 30 minutes to patch the tub with a fiberglass resin only. He said the resin would take 8 hours to cure, so they need to return the next day to sand and paint the rest of the tub. While the guy was working on the tub, I was taking apart my computer desk for the new tenant. Jimmy was on the phone talking to a car dealer. I had the desk listed for sale for $150, so I asked Jimmy if he needed it. "As a matter of fact, I'm shopping for a desk right now, because I just opened a new office. This would match perfect!" Jimmy said.
Since I felt guilty about the low price for the tub, I told him he can have it for free. He gladly accepted and thanked me. I took apart the desk and put the pieces in the garage. Once his friend finished the tub, he and Jimmy put the desk into his car. He also told me he was going to offer me free A/C service for 1 year, so he removed my old air filter, and said he would replace it the next day when the return for the tub. Above the shower was some mildew and/or mold from the previous tenant that I couldn't clean. I asked them if they knew how to remove it. Jimmy's worker recommended a degreaser from Home Depot, so I asked if he could buy it for me when they return. He agreed.
Finally we agreed that I would pay pay $5 for a can of paint if he painted the entire tub, rather than the patches only based on the original agreement. I wrote him a check for $120 to cover the $100 tub repair, $10 degreaser, $5 paint for the tub, and $5 for the filter. I asked for a receipt.instead he input my address, phone number into his laptop and said he would email me the invoice (Big mistake on my part). Jimmy told me he would come back Saturday at 10AM to finish the tub, replace my air filter, and bring my degreaser. I informed him that the electricity will be on Saturday morning. He asked me to call him Saturday morning to verify this. Again, I reminded him the tenants will be moving in the morning.
Saturday 11/8.
Called Jimmy at 8:48AM to tell him electricity was on. He told me he had an A/C repair to go to so he will be late to our 10AM appointment by 30 minutes. I asked him to call me before he left so I can meet him there, because the tenants would be moving at the time.
10:00 AM - no sign of Jimmy
10:30 AM - still nothing
11:00 AM - still nothing
12:00 PM - still nothing
12:30 PM - I called Jimmy but he didn't answer. This was the first time not answering my call.
1:00 PM - 2nd call, still no answer. I left a message "Jim its Andrew, I haven't heard from you. You said 10:30 and it's already 1PM. Give me a call and let me know whats going on. Thanks"
1:30 PM. - 3rd call, no answer.
1:58 PM. - 4th call, no answer.
2:00 PM - Received a voicemail from Jimmys wife. "Andrew this is Mrs. Beech. Jimmy is fixing a gas leak and he has no reception at the house. Also, there's kids in the house so it's real loud. He wanted me to call and let you know that he will be there once hes done"
I immediately called her back and she told me the same thing. I told her he was suppose to be there at 10-10:30 and its now 2PM. She said "Yeah there's no reception in the house and there's kids there so it's real loud, so he told me to call you"
2:05 PM - I went through the phone book calling 3 other tub refinish companies to finish Jimmy's job. I scheduled an appointment with another company for Sunday at 9AM. They charged me extra since it was on Sunday.
Sunday 11/9
The second company arrived at 9AM and finished the tub by 10AM. The man told me Jimmy's worker only put in 15 minutes of work. I called Jimmy at 10:30AM to demand a refund, but he didn't answer.
Monday 11/10
I called Jimmy at 8:03 to demand a refund. He answered then frantically rambled about what happened. "Sorry Andrew, there was a gas leak and there were kids involved, so I had to take care of that. But I'll be going to fix your tub this week." I told him I already paid someone else to finish his job. "Really? Why?" He asked. I told him he was very unprofessional and I wanted my money back. "I agree that was unprofessional, but there was a gas leak, and there were kids involved, so that had to come first. But I'll give you your money back. You can give me an address and I'll send it to you" I told him no, that I wanted the refund in person. He said he was going to LA, and he would meet me after.
Thursday 11/13 - 6:45PM. Ripoff report complete.
Andrew
El Monte, California
U.S.A.
0 comments