Complaint Review: 5 Star Paint & Body

This person John Gomez is a crook.He also goes by the name of Tony and does business as 5 Star Paint & Body in Gainesville,Florida.I took my truck to him to have it painted and gave him a $450.00 deposit.He was going to paint my truck for $900.00 total.After he took my money all communication with him stopped by talking to him on the phone.He would only respond periodically by text messages.All he would ever say was he would paint it on such and such a day and then would tell me over and over again that he did not paint it because he had to go look at other jobs etc.This went on for 21 days.I told him I was furious and wanted to see my truck and he would never set up a time for me to see it.I knew something was terribly wrong so I contacted the Gainesville,Florida police department and filed a report with them.I finally was fed up with this and demanded that I get my truck back and when I did the paint job was a horrible mess.He used regular tape to mask areas off instead of low tack auto body tape and left residue all over the paint.He also missed over 40 spots on the truck where the original paint was showing.He also taped the windshield wipers instead of taking them off and got overspray all over my wheels and tires and exhaust etc.It took hours for me to remove the tape and still there is residue everywhere.To make matters worse he put over 185 miles on my truck.I marked my mileage when I dropped it off to him.I finally figured out how this crook operates.He gets your deposit and spends it on his personal use then tries to get another job and then used that deposit to replace yours.He also will use your vehicle to drive around when going to look at other potential customers.Please avoid this guy like the plague.He claims to have 35 years experience painting vehicles and gets his victims from his Craigslist ads that he posts.He will act kind and friendly at first then after he takes your vehicle and deposit the serpent will show his true colors.In conclusion I spent sleepless nights with high anxiety because I was afraid to tell him off.I was worried he would take it out on my truck and do damage to it.I warn everybody please do not have your vehicle painted by this person and go through the hell I experienced.He is a liar,dishonest and is not to be trusted!Go to a reputable licensed auto body repair shop.They will charge you more but at least you will be able to communicate with them in a professional way and be satisfied with the results.