Painters Ink

This is by far the worst «company» I have ever done business with. I took a chance by hiring someone off craigslist and can’t be more regretful. I contacted Painters Ink on ¹⁰⁄₂₄ to paint part of my vacant 2k sq ft home. We scheduled a meeting and estimate for 4pm on ¹⁰⁄₂₅. Around noon I received a call from Juan stating that he swore he sent a text earlier and it would have to be 6pm. No big deal I thought… At 6:30pm Juan called and stated his GPS still said he was 30 minutes away due to traffic. (on a Sunday evening) We re-​scheduled for the next morning as I had a family event to attend. I should have pulled the plug at this point due the lack of communication and punctuality but I was on a time crunch as I was sleeping on a friends couch as the house was being painted.
The estimate went well ($ 1400 for 1500 sq ft, fair enough) and we signed a contract for the work to be completed on ¹⁰⁄₂₉ with a final walkthrough at 9am ¹⁰⁄₃₀. I paid $ 450 for materials that day which I thought was fair. Work began 9am ¹⁰⁄₂₇. On ¹⁰⁄₂₈ I was asked for an additional $ 200 for materials which I provided (no receipt). On the evening of ¹⁰⁄₂₉ the job was maybe half done. I informed Juan that furniture was being delivered in the morning and he assured me that the bedroom would be done at 10am and the rest completed by 4pm.
The bedroom furniture was delivered at 11am and the room wasn’t close to being done (probably due to Juan not showing up until 0930am complaining of traffic once again). Living room furniture was delivered at 6pm and was forced into the garage with everything else since there was no discernible progress since about 2pm. At this point the man working with Juan asked me for payment stating that Juan picked him up at home depot and didn’t want to leave without being paid. Odd… but I paid Juan $ 300 (no receipt) and Juan paid him… They left around 6:30 with Juan promising it will be all be done by the next afternoon. I stopped by the house around 0930am the next day and Juan was there alone seemingly working diligently, he said he was about to go pick up someone to help him get it done that day. I returned around 330pm to find Juan there alone with an empty 6 pack of Michelob Ultra on the counter (hey, it’s Saturday, whatever helps you work I thought). It was this point that Juan informed me that he had to take his guy home early and wouldn’t be able finish until 4pm Monday 11÷2… I was visibly aggravated. We were already 2 days behind and he’s demanding 2 more. Oh well, 2 more days homeless on the couch I guess.
I showed up to an empty house around 2pm Sunday. Zero activity and virtually zero progress since Friday evening. I called Juan, and he said he could have sworn he told me that he doesn’t work Sundays. (Usually that’s understandable, but not when you’re 3 days late on a Job) I was assured that it would be done 4pm the next day. 9am, on the morning of 11/​2, no Juan. I texted to see when he was planning on starting, he said he was on his way and complained of traffic. When he finally showed up around 1030am I asked again if 4pm was still good. He said yes. I returned at 12pm and nobody was there, both front doors were wide open as well as my sliding glass door. My ladder was missing, there was 3 opened beers on the counter and urine left in the toilet. Juan’s equipment was gone and he wasn’t answering any calls /​texts. I could only assume he’d quit and taken my property with him on the way out. I reported the theft to the police and let them know he still has a key to my house. He sent me a text later that day calling me a «fucking dump ass» and asking what he stole… He then said to «watch my mouth before we come over there when you less expect us».
At this point I’ve given up hope for the return of my stolen property and am still waiting for the police to recover my key. In the meantime, I hired a professional that finished the house in 2 days and cleaned up Juan’s mess.
I trust this is not the way «Painters Ink» wishes to conduct business with customers. I have had great luck with Craigslist in the past and have never encountered such treatment before. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss matters further and to learn of how you propose to prevent a similar situation from recurring. I look forward to hearing from you.
Juan also works for «Leafers Landscaping» See their page for similar experiences.