Complaint Review: Manjit Singh

I was referred to Manjit Singh by my baby sitter Neena in Framingham. She claimed that he had done a great job installing their shower door and ceiling fan in the kitchen, adding that he's very affordable.
I called Manjit who came over promptly to discuss the jobs that needed to be done in our new house:
1. Installing shower rod and curtain.
2. Putting up 3 curtain rods in the bedroom.
3. Putting up about about 7 to 8 pieces of wall decor, including towel rings in the bathrooms, pictures on the wall and a couple of heavy shelves.
4. Wiring and installing 2 heavy light sconces in the living room walls.
5. Building couple of basic bookcases for the basement.

He quoted $600 for all this. That evening he spent 3 hours on projects 1, 2 and 3, at the end of which he asked for an advance of $300 to buy the materials required for the bookcases. And said that he'll call me within a week. One week goes by and he calls to say he's still held up, but will call in the next couple of days to set up a time. I wait another week and call him myself, and he says the same story. Finally after waiting another week, I call him but there's no response. I leave 3 messages, and later he calls saying that he won't be able to finish the work since he's extremely busy, and will return the money, after deducting $150.

He finally returned the $150 after making us wait another week.
I asked him why he had asked for and taken the check when he knew that he wouldn't complete the job, and he said that he had given a wrong estimate. And he said that there's nothing we can do but just take what he decides to give us!

Victimma
hopkinton, Massachusetts
U.S.A.