Complaint Review: Mario Alberto Mareno

AVOID THIS CON ARTIST AT ALL COSTS. Mario Moreno, handyman, contractor, construction worker, bartender, phone number 214-815-3448, who owns a website, dfw-contractors, http://www.dfw-handyman.com/contact_us.html, agreed to build a fence for us. We agreed on a price of $1,500. , which turned out to be $100 more than quotes I later got from bonded, respectable contractors. We gave Mario Moreno a check for $750 in good faith. He and his no-account son, Jonathon Moreno, purchased about $150 worth of materials, removed most, but not all, our old fence, poorly planted five steel posts, left, and never returned. They never returned the remaining money. The estimated theft was about $350 - $400, and this generously assumes payment for very sloppy, incompetent work. The posts were not sunk deep enough, which necessitated adding additional posts. It was evident that he had already cut every corner conceivable to make it appear that he we actually fulfilling his contract. I phoned him repeatedly asking for a refund of funds. He and he son sent saracastic jokes via text messaging, and Mario actually made theats of physycal violence, which was most ludicrous since he's an old, fat slob who apparently suffers from some sort of lung disorder. He coughs constantly like a consumptive. I filed a police report on him but was told I would have to file a civil suit to try to get my money. This would be more trouble than it's mworth, so he gets to keep the money.

I learned from the friends who had mistakenly referred Mario Moreno that he had done such a poor painting job for one of their customers that it was reported Moreno has spilled more paint on the ground than he slopped onto the walls. He had to come back three times to clean up redo his sloppy work. Moreno himself also admitted that he was under fire for contruction work he had done that failed code inspections in San Antonio.

My biggest mistake was that I trusted him without doing a background check on him. Intelus has a long report on this Mario Moreno.

Physical Description in 2012: Hispanic (Mexican) male, dark complexion, 46 years old (looks older), 5'7", 200+ pounds (short and fat), with a wart on his upper eyelid.