Complaint Review: Angel Barreto - Tampa Florida

I hired Angel and Aida to help me skim coat and apply knockdown texture to several walls in my house.  They gave me an estimate of $350 dollars for the job and told me they would be at my house by 9AM on Saturday and would be working the full day.  They showed up two hours late and seemed more interested in gossiping about their family members rather than working.  I had told them the specific measurements to my wall, yet they still arrived lacking a ladder tall enough to reach the top of the wall.  They applied a very uneven skim coat to about 3/4ths the height of my wall which did not even cover the underlying texture.  I asked whether they would be applying a second coat and they ensured me they would do it tomorrow as well as come back with proper tools.  They told me they would arrive at 9AM on Sunday, but this time they did not arrive until 1:30PM in the afternoon.  Once again, they lacked the proper tools for the job.  Instead of bringing a new ladder, they attempted to put metal blocks under their ladder to reach the top of my wall.  They applied a very thin uneven skim coat on the top 1/4th of my wall which they had not covered yesterday.  When I inquired when they would be applying the second coat on the wall, they tried to tell me that it did not need it for knockdown texture.  I had interviewed several other companies before hiring Angel and Aida so I knew this was not correct.  After some pressure he agreed he would do a second coat but could not do so until he came out the next weekend.  He then told me the wall would look better flat, clearly the reasoning because he did not want to spend the time covering the floors and ceiling in order to apply the texture.  I did not want flat walls but I did not want the project to stretch out any longer so I told him that was fine.  I noticed that he did not have a sander with him, so I inquired how he was going to sand the walls.  He showed me a spray bottle of water and a sanding pad.  It reminded me of an 8 year old trying to do an art project.  Every other professional I had previously interviewed told me about their professional sander which would eliminate 99% of the dust.

Shortly after the discussion about sanding the walls, he told me he needed an advance for the job because he had no money right now.  I naively gave him an advance as he assured me he could trust me and he would be back out to finish.  (In hindsight, when he told me that he did not file his tax returns or show up for jury duty, I should have taken a hint to his character.)

As soon as I gave him the money, he started packing up.  I asked him what he was doing, and he said he needed to go for the day but he would be back next weekend.  Not knowing what I could do at this point, I said okay.  The end of the next week came and I had not heard anything from him.  I tried calling him multiple times and received no reply.  He stole my advance payment even as he looked me in the eye and told me I could trust him.  I am left with a terrible looking wall which is not remotely smooth and which lacks texture.  The job is 30% done at most.

I hold Aida equally responsible for this fraud and theft as I believe she was the mastermind behind the scheme.  I have since researched them both on the internet and have found the following information:

Their "business" is listed on the following websites:

http://www.angelskitchensandbaths.com
https://sites.google.com/site/angelinnovativedesigns/
http://www.pennysaverusa.com/classifieds/local-services/home-services/drywall-installation-repair/usa/florida/hillsborough/seffner/33584/small-drywall-repairs-and-wallpaper-56246936.html

Their phone numbers are:
813-764-1312
813-446-0395
813-863-0181

The keywords they advertise under are:
Angel's Kitchens & Baths
SMALL DRYWALL REPAIRS and wallpaper removal. Hang, Finish and Texture. For best prices call Angel 813-764-1312
Small or Large Jobs
Quality Service
Call for Free Estimate
Tampa, FL
Seffner, FL
[email protected]
Angel Innovative LLC
Angel's Kitchens and Baths LLC
Diamond Quality Renovations LLC

Their full names are:
Angel Barreto
Aida L Roldan

Angel does not have a license of his own, but appears to operate under someone else's.  Next week I am going to contact the license holder to report the fraud.  Hopefully Angel's use of the license will be revoked.  I write this review to warn all other Tampa and Seffner Florida consumers about the fraud, theft, unethical, and unprofessional business of these individuals.  Please beware!