Complaint Review: Jack Santarelli

Whoever is reading this - please do yourself a favor and find another contractor. He has a criminal history (order an online background check to verify this is true), has filed bankruptcy at least once, and has a number of complaints on websites such as this one (note that he had his Louisiana contractors license revoked: http://www.lslbc.louisiana.gov/pdf/violations/violations-May-08-residential.pdf). He can point fingers at everyone (clients, sub-contractors, judges, prosecutors, material suppliers, etc.), but believe me, they are all pointing their fingers at him, and rightfully so. His web of lies just continually grows during the course of the job - and the interesting thing is that he is so easily caught. But no matter, he just lies again or starts to use threats.

It saddens me that a person like this can continue to wreak havoc on families, sub contractors, etc. Unfortunately in Texas any dummy can be a contractor and it is hard to find a way to stop dummys like Jack Santarelli once and for all.

Once again, please just get someone else to do your job. Hiring Jack gets you incomplete and sub-standard work, loss of money and eventually threats when you try and make him pay up.

Here are afew tips / questions to ask your contractor:

(1) how long have you worked in the area

(2) please provide a list of sub-contractors and materials suppliers you will be using for my job (call these people to see if they have worked with the contractor in the past, how long, reputation, when payments are due for materials, delivery schedules, etc.)

(3) please provide a background check (criminal, civil and credit); better yet run one on your own using an online service.

(4) as the client, demand that all subs and materials suppliers be paid directly by you. DO NOT pay for any materials that are not on site or for any work that has not been inspected and approved by the City.

(5) have you ever been fired from a job?

(6) have you ever been sued in civil court?

(7) what qualifies you to be a contractor?

(8) what sort of credit line does the contractor have?

(9) do not pay anything up front. the contractor should use a credit line to float the initial upfront expenses.

(10) make sure you have read and re-read the details of the work to be done; have a friend (or multiple friends) read and walk through it with you before signing and contract.

(11) ask to see examples of how the contractor keeps separate books and records (contractors in Texas are required by law to keep separate books for each job they work on).

I can just imagine the answers / responses ole Jack would have to that list! Actually makes me laugh a little.

To the "author" of this report, my BROTHER!  Unfortunately in life there are people, and family members, that do not like to hear NO or that their work is sub standard or in this case, below standards and down right POOR QUALITY!  The last thing that you ever want to do is replace someone that is working on a project, it causes delays, trust issues from the client that you hire someone that doesn't know what they're doing and additional costs as in the case of my BROTHER. 

He had ample time to fix his issues but could not, he installed products and materials that were damaged or incorrectly installed which caused other issues to take place.  In the interest of our clients, he and his crew had to be replaced, and at one property he would not leave, we had to contact the police to help.  He has refused settlement payment but at this point after all accounting has been completed, his damages and additional purchases of materials and additional labor to correct, he now owes our company for damages.  Again, people that have an agenda when they "think" they are correct, all the facts in the world will not prevent postings and actions such as these.

The other postings of links in the county court, yes, someone like him decided to call a favor in at the county court house, and try to get me in trouble for a contract that was breached by a client and no lawyer that was contacted could give him the answers he wanted to make him correct in his actions against his contract.  After tireless time and resources, such as my "brother", he decided to call the past DA of Denton County, a DA that was taking bribes from what I was told and the reason he was voted out of office while his wife was the Judge, and he was able to cause trouble for a brief time for myself, my wife and my two young daughters.  That was short lived and caused my family financial distress over legal fees to prove this person wrong, but it is wonderful what someone could do for a short period of time by lying to people in power that could do what they did to us.  I stood by my convictions and would not give up until we proved our point and cleared this matter up.

In closing, I am in a business that has a very bad reputation with dishonest contractors so right off the bat we are always behind the eight ball and having to build trust with clients just to be on a level playing field and then move ahead.  I understand this industry and try my best everyday to do what is best for our clients, and it's not always a sunny day, a little rain must fall but at the end of the day, we do what ever can to make our clients happy, but you can't always please everyone and the one's you can't, sometimes will try to make life difficult because the internet is an open forum that is not and can not be policed so it doesn't hurt someone's lively hood.

Armand Santarelli is misguided and he pledged to do what ever he could to make my business suffer unless we paid him what he thinks poor quality work pays, I refused and took care of our clients to make sure THEY got what they needed first.

If anyone cares to request real proof of this posting with the facts, photos, documented statements, feel free to contact me and I'll be more than glad to take time to show you what you need.  People like this have one agenda, to be heard and to feel as if they have made others suffer because they have caused themselves to suffer due to their actions and poor work ethics, family just makes it a little worse feeling.  I stand by my company and it's employess and the projects we perform, my clients will attest to this fact as well.

Thank you
Jack Santarelli 

I would like to help in the quest to stop this dishonesty, and I would like your help. Please contact me