Complaint Review: STEVE SKOTKO CONSTRUCTION

God Sees, and keeps good books.....But he also forgives or we would all split HELL wide open.... It's a scary thing when people get older and cannot see themselves.

I have read the rebuttal of ed in colorado springs and of christine ruiz of corvallis.

quite frankly i am writing this on 2/8/2008 and have long forgotton. I have had 8 large jobs since ms. ruiz's original complaint and every customer has asked me about it and i tell them the truth. "ms. ruiz used the construction contractors board as a crutch to get some of the money back because what she picked, she did not like"

obviously she is still bothered by our experience or she would not continue to argue over a case that she claims she won! why?

maybe she is bothered by who was really dishonest and unfair.

whatever the case may be, i forgive christine for taking advantage of me and of the system that was put in place to protect both her and i.

I wish you all the luck in the world with your home and i apologize for the things i have said about you in these blogs.

actually everything for me has been better since you complained!

so thank you again for using me and abusing the system, it has made me a better contractor in the long run

You may 5000 properties and as a person who does insurance repair work as I do and being self employed understand that the customer "is always right" but not in many cases. Many times in my 30 yrs of doing contracting work when we contractors bid jobs we often wonder if some of the people we work for are mildly Phsycotic or Neurotic....There comes a time when we say to ourselves UH OH maybe this is one I shouldn't have done!!! From the way you seem to have pursued this man I can't but help wonder if your one of the crazed UH OHs.

From reading your report on this I believe you may be kind of crazy but maybe not.
The reason I have filed this report is to be somewhat fair to him because I have personally seen his work many times and happen to know he is not " A bad Contractor at all".... So you have your OPINION and I have seen much more of his work than you ever have. Yuve seen one Ive seem 300 jobs hes done. So maybe you didnt like something he did for you but I would put money om the gact that YOU are a UH OH he shouldnt have even bothered with....ED

In response to Ed, I would really suggest you read the report taken by the Oregon contractors board, it is all a matter of public record and the entire file may be viewed. My report regarding the shabby work is true and accurate. The contractors board awarded me $,1,000.00 back as restitution and they will confirm they do not award funds back unless there is justification. I also had 2 other contractors inspect the work, one highly recommended by Miller paint in Corvallis, and they came to the same conclusion regarding the work of Skotko.

I re-did the entire job myself. I resanded all of the wood surfaces, and did 3 coats of paint, rehung the closet doors and replaced the hardware, as well as corrected all of the wallpaper mistakes. Really, you can not imagine how shoddy it was, it was so terrible and unfinished, it was just unbelievable. I brought several friends and business owners in Corvallis over to see the work also, so that word would spread about how I was taken advantage of and so that they would also be warned never to use Skotko Constrution.

My husband and I are well respected in the community and own several rental and investement properties. This was the first and possibly the last time that I hired cosmetic work done by an outside contractor. I have never experienced anything like this and am confident it will not happen again.

Again I would highly suggest you view the contractors board report in its entirety before recommending Skotko to anyone, you may want to re-think any recommendations. I continue to warn anyone I know who asks me for recommendations, I would not want anyone else to be taken advantage of again. There are many, many good, honest contractors out there, but unfortunately Skotko is not one of them.

I have known Steve since he was a young man and have worked with him in the past. I know that the he does good work and have seen his work first hand many many times. If there was a problem with the job Im willing to bet that there are more extenuating circumstances involved here that this report just simply may not reveal. Im surprised theres been no rebttal to this report. ED

To all who may read this report.

I am writing this because i just found out that this website will not remove any reports, no matter how much the original author requests.

I paid back Ms. Christine of corvallis oregon $1000.00 for the work i did. Ms. Christine used the oregon contractors board as a crutch to be reimbursed for the materials she ordered, had me install, but did not like them.

In front of the inspector she agreed that 85% of the work was exceptable and met with her approval, but insisted on a FULL REFUND! Thank you CCB for not allowing her that money.

I went above an beyond in refunding her $1000.00 Ms. Christin is an unstable frustrated female dog! and needs to be institutionalized.

I would ask that all people making a decision on my business first look for any other derogatory defamatory untruthful information about my business,(none) check out my references. Rip off report is very week, they don't care about anyone and are only in it for the money. You can't sue them so that is why i wrote this final rebuttal. God bless America!

I am very happy to report that Skotkos work spoke for itself. A representative from the contstruction contractors board came over to inpsect on 8-15-07. To expedite matters I accepted $1,000.00 immediately to close my claim. I was assured the report will stay on file for 7 years. I am so thankful to the contractors board and to Rip Off report. I have no doubt I would never have received any compensation whatsoever without your assistance.

I am very happily sanding and repainting myself and have contacted another contractor to repair and replace the wallpaper. I would encourage anyone who has ever been taken advantage of, or who has been threatened and endured seemingly endless intimidation tactics from some dishonest contractor to pursue it through the contractors board. It does take a lot of time and effort and you must live with the botched up job until it is inspected but hopefully it may save another consumer from going through the same nightmare.

I would also like to thank the good people at Miller Paint in Corvallis for all of their help and assistance during this nightmare.

As far as I am concerned the case is closed and Skotko and his threats to sue me, his intimidation tactics, his lies, and his dishonesty are on the way to being a part of the past, an unfortunate mistake I made by trusting the wrong person.

I would also like to request, and to give my authorization to Ripp off report to also consider my case closed, to accept my sincere thanks, and to accept my authorization to remove my online postings regarding this dispute.

Many Thanks!

Please note that Skotkos rebuttal letter seems to be a the same copy sent in response to my complaint with the BBB, the CCB and most recently to Rip Off Report. Following is a condensed version of my original response on 07/02/07 to Skotkos letter.

I have only sent one letter to Skotko advising him that I was filing a complaint with the contractors board. It was sent on June 4, 2007 and received by Skotko and signed for on June 5, 2007.

The last conversation or phone call I have had with Skotko was on May 30, 2007. I called him during my break from work between 7:00 pm and 7:15 pm. I have never contacted him late in the evening and would never do so.

My husbands name is not Rick. Neither he nor my daughter have contacted Skotko since May 31, 2007. My husband had placed numerous calls to Skotko on May 31; Skotko hung up on him repeatedly. He then borrowed the phone from a friend and called Skotko so that Skotko would not recognize the number. Skotko answered and he told him if he did not take his call that he was contacting the contractors board immediately and read the contractor board number off to Skotko. Skotko then listened for a few moments to my husband who told him he expected him to get back to the house and complete the job.

My husband never heard from him again, My husband has never called him again. I found out later that day that my daughter also called Skotko. She knew I was distraught after he told me he would never be coming back and that I would be lucky if I ever saw him again. She felt badly for me and knew how devastated I was. He hung up on her twice. My husband and I have told her she should not have called him, although she meant well, and she has also assured me that she has never contacted him again.

I have had 2 contractors inspect the work.

(The contractors names and license numbers were furnished in my letter to the appropriate parties)

They both urged me to contact you immediately to report Skotko, which I did on 06/04/07. One contractor was highly recommended by Miller paint and he told me that he would not even repair the work or touch it let alone leave my home until I had reported it to you. He stayed at the house until the contractors board had been contacted. It was his opinion also that I should be refunded, and the contractor should buy new paint and wallpaper as well. He agreed the job needed to be redone, resanded, reprimed, repainted and rewallpapered. He thought we could save the top half of the wallpaper and retouch the rips and tears with the ceiling paint but agreed the bottom half and the border are so botched that it must be replaced and redone.

I am very happy with the paint colors I chose and the wallpaper I have chosen. This is not an issue, and the colors and wallpaper will stay the same. I ordered the furniture, the lamps and all of the bedding to match these colors. Everything is still sitting in the Blackledge furniture warehouse and has been for approximately a month or more, awaiting my review with the contractors board before I can have it delivered.

Yes, I am devastated and feel like a fool for trusting this man. It is correct that this room was being redone by me for my daughter. She graduated from College in May and came home in June; I wanted everything to be perfect as a welcome home and congratulations for all of her hard work. Hers was to be the first room in our home that would be completely redone, with new furniture throughout, something we have never had, and that I have saved up for and worked for, for a long, long time. She leaves mid-July (Is residing in Ireland now) for a graduate program in Ireland in international public relations and will not even get to seem the room completed.

My daughter excelled in her studies and with her knowledge and experience in dealing with business matters and negotiation skills she thought she could contact Skotko and resolve this in a professional and rational manner. Skotko was neither professional nor rational, disconnecting her first call. When she called him back and told him she would like to discuss the issue in a professional manner, he actually told her to "Shut Up" and hung up on her again.

I have left the room exactly as Skotko left it awaiting your inspection. A huge mistake was made on my part in trusting him and therefore I was going to just redo all of the sanding, repriming and painting myself, and pay for the wallpaper to be redone, so that I would not have to deal with him ever again. Everyone who saw the job urged me not to let this matter go so that he could not take advantage of anyone again, so I filed my complaint hoping it is the right thing to do.

I STAND BY MY ORIGINAL REPORT! Skotko has lied about correcting the problem and he has lied about replacing the defective wallpaper. HE HAS NOT! I am currently pursuing this through the contractors board and I will not give up, until he has been held accountable. I have notified the contractors board, the BBB and the Attorney General that HE HAS LIED ABOUT PAYING FOR AND REPLACING THE DEFECTIVE WALLPAPER! NOT ONLY DID HE RIP ME OFF BUT HE IS DISHONEST AS WELL!

Skotko is still falsely stating that he made every effort to correct this problem including paying for and replacing the defective wallpaper. Does he not think the contractors board or the BBB will look into this? I urge anyone even thinking about hiring this man to check into his credentials and to contact the contractors board as I was urged to do. They are there to protect the consumer and I trust they will get to the truth shortly.

To whom it may concern,

On May 15, 2007 Ms. Christine did contract with me for the sum of $1880.00 for the following work to be done in an upstairs bedroom known as "Caitlin's room" (that is the name of her daughter), for the following. Strip off the existing wallpaper that was on the walls. Repaint the ceiling, the woodwork in the bedroom which consisted of baseboards, entry door, 2 closet doors, (one which was already off of its track due to old and worn out hardware), bookshelves, and window trim. The remounting of the closet door or replacement was never agreed upon or included in any estimates I gave to her.

I hire my daughter during the summer and she did all the preparation work on the woodwork in the bedroom, laid down all the drop cloths over the carpet and prepared the room for painting. On May 24th I informed Christine that I needed to use a special primer for the ceiling because the paint she picked was too dark in order to paint directly onto the old surface. On May 25th I primed the ceiling on May 26th I painted all the woodwork, and on Sunday may 27th I painted the ceiling its finish color.
From May 28th through May 29th I wallpapered the bedroom.

Ms. --- inspected the room brought to my attention a few details that needed to be addressed and wrote me a check in the amount of $1880.00 on may 29th, for full and final payment and left for work. I informed Christine then again that the closet door remounting or hardware was not included in the estimate I deposited the check on 5-29-07 and considered the job done.

On may 30th at 11:15 p.m. Christine called me as to why I did not go the house and fix the closet door. I did not get the message until the next morning, the 31st of May. I tried to phone her back on her cell # 3x's on the 31st to inform her that I was working out of town and would have to come back the following week to check on the job and address her complaints. On the evening of the 31st she phone me again and told me that she was confused as to why I was not there everyday finishing the work. I told her that I was finished and then she started telling me of all the problems and would not stop talking long enough to let me explain that I was not in town and would not be able to come by until at least the following week. All she kept saying was, I don't understand why you are not here finishing up. She had already made final payment!

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On Saturday may 31st, Christine, Caitlin her daughter and Catlin's boyfriend called me 8x's within a fifteen minute period complaining that I ripped her off, complaining that I ripped off her mother and etc. I could not get in a word to inform them that I was not in town to come there. They wanted me there right then at that instant.

Finally Christine's husband Rick called on may 31st and let me speak and he told me to work with him and not his wife or daughter and I worked it out with him to phone him on the evening of the June 5th (Tuesday) to set up a time to come by on June 6th and look at their complaints. I told him in that conversation on the 31st that if the wallpaper seams were splitting as they said, that it could not be repaired but had to be replaced and to save time, I told him to reorder another wallpaper and that I would rehang the one wallpaper and pay for the replacement and address all their issues. We had an agreement and a solution worked out.

On Monday June 2nd, one day before the date that Rick Ruiz and myself had worked out to solve the problem, Christine prepared and sent to me via certified mail a very bad letter threatening to sue me, wreck my business and "spread the word that I was a horrible contractor and took advantage of her". I received the letter on Tuesday June 2nd delivered by USPS. I phoned Rick and asked what was going on and he then told me that He was staying out of it and letting his wife deal with it.

I went by their house on June 2nd, no one was at home. I telephoned Christine on June 2nd and left a message and wanted to know what was up with the whole ordeal.


In rebuttal to her complaint;

I made every effort to correct this problem including paying for and replacing the defective wallpaper.

Telephoned them back numerous times, had an agreement to meet with them and solve the problem or which they have avoided.

If there were so many problems and poor workmanship, then why did she make a full and final payment? I never requested any sort of down payment and fulfilled my agreement to her approval. "The approval comes with the full payment" Also, poor workmanship does dot happen once the job is inspected and gone over and payment is made. This is what they are claiming. After they inspected it and paid for the work, all of a sudden the workmanship becomes poor, I am sorry but I refuse to buy into that one.

I was harassed and continue to be harassed by their telephone calls

Christine has stated that other contractors have stated that the work was poor, but never has stated who the others are, nor has she produced or offered to produce to me or the Better Business Bureau any documents agreeing to that, their names, telephone #'s or solutions to the "problem area's"

I have not been to the premises since May 29th to inspect the work, nor have I seen any sort of proof that the problems exist.


In summation;

While we were working there at there house, both Christine's daughter Caitlin and her husband Rick had at numerous times made comments to both my daughter and myself that they did not like the colors Christine chose and the wallpaper that she picked out to install. At 1 instance Rick claimed that his wife was crazy for what she picked and thought that it was too much to pay for. I am sorry but the customer chooses the materials for me to install, once they are installed I have no control over how much the like them or dislike them.


Sir and or Maam'

I believe that once we were complete with this project that Christine had a change of mind at the behest of her husband and daughter and conspired with them this scheme to reclaim the money they paid me in good faith to contract this work.

I have numerous references to the excellence of my work. I am referred by many professional companies in this area as to my abilities, timliness and professionalism, any remarks make by the Ruiz's in contrary to this outside our circle will constitute slander and will be dealt with as such.

I can be reached on my cell # 541-619-5937 at any time should any need arise.

Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully submitted
Steve Skotko
albany, oregon
541-619-5937

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