- Report: #730141
Complaint Review: Carpenter Contracting - Garland Texas
Reported By:
Chris M -
Dallas, Texas, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Carpenter Contracting
P.O. Box 452301 Garland, 75045 Texas, United States of America
Phone:
214-470-8446
Web:
carpentercontracting.org
Categories:
Business Rating:
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Carpenter Contracting Patrick Carpenter Took my money and didn't finish the job Garland, Texas
*REBUTTAL Owner of company: Rebuilt twice still not enough. . .
*Author of original report: Patrick Finally Admits He Lied!
*REBUTTAL Owner of company: Just stating the facts.
*General Comment: ...
*Author of original report: Patrick tries to silence his critics by attacking them
*Consumer Comment: Stonework workmanship looks familiar!
My wife and I hired Patrick Carpenter to put in a stone border for our garden on April 25, 2011. He seemed to understand exactly what I wanted and said he could have it done by the end of the same week. It was "completed" the same day he began construction, April 27th, finishing late evening in the dark of night. He wanted to be paid immediately, so we did. On April 28th, after seeing the "completed" project in the light of day the next morning, I knew there were some serious quality issues with it. The stone was not level as discussed going up the driveway, it was not level on the east side of the house meeting up to the house, all corners were pointed and sharp where someone could be hurt if they hit a corner, the mortar was slathered all over the stonework between the stones (which they had said they would come back to clean up after it had two days to cure), the lawn around the stonework was littered with mortar residue and rock debris (which they said they would clean up when they came to clean up the mortar on the stonework), the small separate square border against the house was unfinished. I called Patrick, told him we had concerns and he said he would be out to the house in the evening. The evening came and went, and Patrick was a no call, no show.
We called him that night, April 28th at 9:15 p.m. and he said he had some projects he was working on and didn't make it out. He said he would come over at 9 a.m. the next morning to look at our concerns. On April 29th, he sent one of his employees in his place to speak to us, who immediately started addressing our concerns and was making progress on it. Apparently Patrick was not willing to spend his employee's time fixing their errors, and finally made an appearance himself, 3 hours later, where he was extremely defensive with our concerns. He admitted he didn't realize what exactly we had wanted because of a lack of communication. We said it probably had to do with us not even being home during construction to ensure it was what we wanted the first time to save everyone's time. He agreed. Patrick said he would fix the problems but that today he already has another project that he needs to work at with his employee and that we would return the next day in the morning.
The next morning he called and said it would be in the afternoon before he could work on the wall. In the mean time, we cleaned up their leftover debris and residue around the stone wall as it was predicted to rain later that evening and we didn't want the construction trash to wash into the rest of the yard. He no call, no showed again in the afternoon. Four days lapse and no communication from him at all, so we called him on May 4th. I said "We missed you on Saturday" and he explained he had some equipment malfunction and had to take care of and he was behind on a couple of other projects before he could work on our project. I explained to him that I understand he has other clients but this lack of communication and not showing up when he says he would is unacceptable. I reiterated the communication was the piece we were upset about, if he had communicated he would not be available, at least we would know he hadn't forgotten about us or that he actually had a plan to finish our project. He acknowledged this and said he would be out in the morning the next day. I specifically said "Patrick, do me a favor and if for whatever reason you will not be able to come out tomorrow, please give me a call so I have a heads up that you will not be here." He agreed and said he would be out the following day. The next day, May 5th came and went. No call, no show.
At this point I was extremely frustrated with him. I called him and asked what the deal is and got the standard answer of "We have another project we are working on and will be there tomorrow." I responded with "I don't believe anything you say at this point because you've said this each time and not shown up at all. Your words mean nothing to me." He then hung up on me. I called him back and asked why he hung up and he said I was being rude. "How am I rude?" He said "it was rude of you to attack my integrity." I asked for a refund of the labor costs so we could hire someone that could come finish the job he was struggling to finish. He said there were no refunds. I responded that I'd take him to court over labor costs. He said "I quit then". He was very arrogant and then said that he has the right to quit. I said then I'll take you to court. He then hung up on me.
An hour later he called me back and asked me to listen to him rant. I listened to him explain how we didn't understand that he is a small business and had other projects going on. He said he was a Christian so he would keep his word. He said he had built it the way he thought we would want it since we did not have a construction background like he did. He said it was the beginning of the season for stonework so they were extremely busy with other projects. He once again claimed he would be out to fix it because he's a man of his word and he's a Christian. He said he didn't want to hear from me anymore that evening. Without giving me a chance to respond, he once again hung up on me.
After the dust settled a few days, I reached out to Patrick one last time by sending him an email on May 10th. In the email I outlined exactly what we had discussed in person on April 29 saying that the project would be complete once they were taken care of. I listed in detail the exact issues to be addressed so that there was no confusion and both parties could have the issues in writing. I gave him a one week deadline starting from the time of the email (completed by May 17th). I also stated that if they were not complete at that point, I would file with the Better Business Bureau and other review websites. I also gave him an out that if he was quitting, that I would expect a refund of half the cost of the labor charges (half the labor was $325).
Patrick replied via email a few hours later claiming that he "fully intend(s) to fix those issues." Then he says that he could leave me an additional bill for labor charges not originally agreed upon. Then once again he tells me how rude I have treated him. That he did not like the way I have addressed him personally. He did not say when he planned to fix the issues in the email.
I wrote him back and once again reaching out the olive branch to Patrick saying that I understand about the additional charges since neither he nor I could have anticipated concrete skewed that would cause him to rent a saw to fix it the way we originally agreed upon. I told him to send me an estimate for this fix. I also reiterated the fact that from our prospective that it appears he has left us with an unfinished product and are just blowing us off. I also mentioned the fact that four times already he has said he will be out the next day and then the doesn't call or show up. I asked him how else I should interpret this.
Patrick never responded to my second email and there has been no further communication with him.
I really wish I had come to this site and seen all the negative reviews that he has got from others. He is also hiding his legal address so that you cannot serve him legal papers. Please save yourself the trouble and do not hire this man.
We called him that night, April 28th at 9:15 p.m. and he said he had some projects he was working on and didn't make it out. He said he would come over at 9 a.m. the next morning to look at our concerns. On April 29th, he sent one of his employees in his place to speak to us, who immediately started addressing our concerns and was making progress on it. Apparently Patrick was not willing to spend his employee's time fixing their errors, and finally made an appearance himself, 3 hours later, where he was extremely defensive with our concerns. He admitted he didn't realize what exactly we had wanted because of a lack of communication. We said it probably had to do with us not even being home during construction to ensure it was what we wanted the first time to save everyone's time. He agreed. Patrick said he would fix the problems but that today he already has another project that he needs to work at with his employee and that we would return the next day in the morning.
The next morning he called and said it would be in the afternoon before he could work on the wall. In the mean time, we cleaned up their leftover debris and residue around the stone wall as it was predicted to rain later that evening and we didn't want the construction trash to wash into the rest of the yard. He no call, no showed again in the afternoon. Four days lapse and no communication from him at all, so we called him on May 4th. I said "We missed you on Saturday" and he explained he had some equipment malfunction and had to take care of and he was behind on a couple of other projects before he could work on our project. I explained to him that I understand he has other clients but this lack of communication and not showing up when he says he would is unacceptable. I reiterated the communication was the piece we were upset about, if he had communicated he would not be available, at least we would know he hadn't forgotten about us or that he actually had a plan to finish our project. He acknowledged this and said he would be out in the morning the next day. I specifically said "Patrick, do me a favor and if for whatever reason you will not be able to come out tomorrow, please give me a call so I have a heads up that you will not be here." He agreed and said he would be out the following day. The next day, May 5th came and went. No call, no show.
At this point I was extremely frustrated with him. I called him and asked what the deal is and got the standard answer of "We have another project we are working on and will be there tomorrow." I responded with "I don't believe anything you say at this point because you've said this each time and not shown up at all. Your words mean nothing to me." He then hung up on me. I called him back and asked why he hung up and he said I was being rude. "How am I rude?" He said "it was rude of you to attack my integrity." I asked for a refund of the labor costs so we could hire someone that could come finish the job he was struggling to finish. He said there were no refunds. I responded that I'd take him to court over labor costs. He said "I quit then". He was very arrogant and then said that he has the right to quit. I said then I'll take you to court. He then hung up on me.
An hour later he called me back and asked me to listen to him rant. I listened to him explain how we didn't understand that he is a small business and had other projects going on. He said he was a Christian so he would keep his word. He said he had built it the way he thought we would want it since we did not have a construction background like he did. He said it was the beginning of the season for stonework so they were extremely busy with other projects. He once again claimed he would be out to fix it because he's a man of his word and he's a Christian. He said he didn't want to hear from me anymore that evening. Without giving me a chance to respond, he once again hung up on me.
After the dust settled a few days, I reached out to Patrick one last time by sending him an email on May 10th. In the email I outlined exactly what we had discussed in person on April 29 saying that the project would be complete once they were taken care of. I listed in detail the exact issues to be addressed so that there was no confusion and both parties could have the issues in writing. I gave him a one week deadline starting from the time of the email (completed by May 17th). I also stated that if they were not complete at that point, I would file with the Better Business Bureau and other review websites. I also gave him an out that if he was quitting, that I would expect a refund of half the cost of the labor charges (half the labor was $325).
Patrick replied via email a few hours later claiming that he "fully intend(s) to fix those issues." Then he says that he could leave me an additional bill for labor charges not originally agreed upon. Then once again he tells me how rude I have treated him. That he did not like the way I have addressed him personally. He did not say when he planned to fix the issues in the email.
I wrote him back and once again reaching out the olive branch to Patrick saying that I understand about the additional charges since neither he nor I could have anticipated concrete skewed that would cause him to rent a saw to fix it the way we originally agreed upon. I told him to send me an estimate for this fix. I also reiterated the fact that from our prospective that it appears he has left us with an unfinished product and are just blowing us off. I also mentioned the fact that four times already he has said he will be out the next day and then the doesn't call or show up. I asked him how else I should interpret this.
Patrick never responded to my second email and there has been no further communication with him.
I really wish I had come to this site and seen all the negative reviews that he has got from others. He is also hiding his legal address so that you cannot serve him legal papers. Please save yourself the trouble and do not hire this man.
6 Updates & Rebuttals
AKB
Plano,Texas,
United States of America
Stonework workmanship looks familiar!
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, June 24, 2011
Wow....I saw the photos of the terrible workmanship of the wall and it looks TOO familiar! Take a look at my photos of the condition he left my wall in. This is the sloppiest work I have ever seen with mortar work. He kept telling me that he would come back and get the excess off with a wire brush....all lies! This is just how he does mortar work. He's the worst and I highly recommend anyone who has been scammed by this con-artist to file a small claims lawsuit and get a judgment against him. He's a crook and deserves to be in jail, but maybe if there are enough judgments against him, he won't be able to do this to other people.
Report Attachments
Chris M
Dallas,Texas,
United States of America
Patrick tries to silence his critics by attacking them
#3Author of original report
Tue, May 31, 2011
Let's go point by point on your response.
Patrick, slander charges only work if what the person is saying is not true. Everything I have stated is true and I have evidence to prove my case.
No, I do not agree that just because you built something twice somehow makes it correct.
Picture of first build
http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/IMG_3693.jpg
Picture of second build
http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/?action=view¤t=IMG_3732.jpg
The pictures speak for themselves. As you can clearly see the second "build" is worse than the first. This is your idea of a "rebuilt" section of the wall? Certainly I don't consider this complete and without a doubt, this is not what comes to mind when I think of "bending over backwards" for someone.
If anyone has bent over backwards here, it has been me with how many opportunities I gave you to fix your mistakes and complete the wall. By your own admission on this site you said you quit the job after you "rebuilt" the wall twice. So why is it that after all the phone calls and no shows did you send me an email saying that you fully intend to fix the issues weeks after you claim on this site that you quit?
Screenshot of email Patrick sent to me: http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/?action=view¤t=email2.jpg
Here is the screenshot of the email that I sent Patrick describing the issues: http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/?action=view¤t=email1.jpg
My email reply to Patrick's reply:
http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/?action=view¤t=email3.jpg
Patrick, I have never once cussed you out. In contrast, I have never had a business professional hang up on me twice (after calling you out on not showing up 4 times you claimed you would be out) and then calling me back and only to rant for 10 minutes about how good you are, only to not let me respond and hang up on me a 3rd time.
As for your claim about saying "Thanks for the awesome work!!" on the checkwell Patrick, once again you are caught in a lie.
Final payment check screenshot from bank website: http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/?action=view¤t=image001.jpg
First Payment: http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd491/fauxsailor/Carpenter%20Contracting/?action=view¤t=image002.jpg
As I stated originally, in the dark of night you demanded payment, we didn't have a reason not to believe you completed the job. Not to mention how you told us multiple times, "I will be out to finish the job after the cement dries." "Thank you" is a far cry from "Thanks for the awesome work."
And Patrick, I certainly have buyer's remorse, but not from your slanderous remarks against my family that you state, rather the terrible quality job that by your own admission you never finished. Shame on you for taking my money, claiming you will finish the job, by your own admission here, knowing that you never intended to finish the job. I gave you the chance to send me a check for half the cost of the labor (I was bending over backwards to try and end this dispute quickly so I could hire someone else) or for you to finish the job. You choose to do neither so I am simply alerting as many people I can about how you do business.
Your comment about harassment is laughable at best. After you blew off my email, that was the last contact I attempted with you. You are the one who came on this website and are the one harassing me via this website, threaten to sue me for slander while at the same time slandering me and my family with snide remarks like I'm "destroying the American dream." Apparently you do not understand that as an American, I have every right to rate your poor service.
I have presented a strong case about the type of person you are to serve as a warning for others. You are right in the sense I am merely one person who had terrible service from you but clearly from this site readers can see a pattern, similarities from other people in the same situation that give additional validity to what I have said.
Clearly I have proven that your accusations of slander against me are false, and anyone reading this and reviewing my evidence, you can clearly see that not only has Patrick lied in every response so far, he is also slandering me and my family. I encourage readers look at all the pictures and decide for themselves http://photobucket.com/carpentercontracting.
axxx
United States of America...
#4General Comment
Tue, May 31, 2011
Look at the pics of the wall!! I wouldn't be happy with that either!
Pat
Garland,Texas,
United States of America
Just stating the facts.
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, May 31, 2011
We reserve the right to quit any job on many different grounds. I think you as well as all readers would agree after us bending over backward to build your wall more than twice is plenty.
Further slandering me and my good honest practices is uncalled for. Simply reading your posts is enough for any audience to understand what kind of client you have become.
Keep in mind we also reserve the right to legally persue any and all slander or any false statements brought against us by anyone on this site. It is always sad when these situations come about, when we are not able to meet the demands of these select few types of clients. We do try very hard but we simply cannot please everyone. My sincerest appologies. Next time I would suggest being more clear at the onset, and not cussing out the person working for you. We are human beings not slaves to be talked down to. Your deminer as well as your attitude is appauling at best. No contractor should ever put up with this kind of abuse. I for one will stand up for myself, and not be treated like a peon, and care about my small business, its people like you that destory the american dream. All the hate mongering and slander, attempting to ruin small business, for shame.
I encorage any reader to simply remember that for every one of these individuals there are at leaset 30 fully satisfied customers. As it is with any business. The simple fact of the matter is these individuals stated that they were satisfied, made the final payment, and even wrote, "THANKS FOR THE AWESOME WORK!!" right on the check. Then had buyers remorse or family issues and things went south, then we began to be harassed and still are as this site clearly shows. The fact is we never know why these things happen but they do. We do all we can to prevent that but all we can do is all we can do.
Again any and all questions about this or any other matter on this site will be discussed openly by me personally if need be prior to your consideration for using our services.
Thanks again.
Chris M
Dallas,Texas,
United States of America
Patrick Finally Admits He Lied!
#6Author of original report
Thu, May 26, 2011
Patrick thanks for proving my point and all the other posters of this website about how arrogant you really are. Since you obviously cannot stand on the grounds of quality workmanship, you resort to attacking me and my family personally as you did with most of the other posters on this website. I think this should highlight to everyone just how unprofessional you really are.
Patrick, you did not build the wall the way we discussed in the pre-construction meeting. I did find it odd that you took no notes from the meeting, nor did you really make an effort to relay to me that you understood what I wanted. This was a major red flag, but as another victim pointed out, you brought your wife along and claimed to live in a close neighborhood, giving the impression that you could be trusted.
Finally Patrick, you admit that you "ceased work" after we called you out on your poor workmanship the first time. Thanks for proving my point that you have no integrity. You lied to my face, over the phone, and even via email that you "fully intend to fix the issues" for 4 weeks.
Here is the link to some photos of what Patrick built. I'll let people judge for themselves about the quality job you do Patrick. http://photobucket.com/carpentercontracting
Also Patrick, you asked people to contact you about questions on this or other complaints, well there are many people (victims) including myself, on this website (and probably others who haven't posted on this website) who would like to contact you, please post your legal address, not a PO Box. If you do such stellar work and are on the up and up, why go to the extensive lengths that you have done to hide your address? It was rhetorical Patrick...you obviously hide it because so many people want to sue you after you do a job for them.
Pat
Garland,Texas,
United States of America
Rebuilt twice still not enough. . .
#7REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, May 26, 2011
These people had us build a stone border around there flowerbed we built it exactly to there specifications, the story is grossly exagerated. After they accepted that we were finished the mans mother in law complained that the wall was done incorrectly, as she is the babysitter of their child they have to keep her happy.
Due to their family issues they passed the blame to us, and demanded that we rebuild sections of the wall. The very next day we arrived and rebuilt it exactly to the wifes specifications a second time. After this the husband arrived home again with new complaints. At this point I informed him that as we had rebuilt the wall twice he would have to pay the labor to have it done a third time, which he did not agree with. Therefore we ceased work for them.
If you have any questions about this or any other complaint on this website feel free to contact us.
