Complaint Review: Gabriel Cogswell - Bethlehem Pennsylvania

 Gabriel is a con artist he was contacted on February 16, 2017 and was given a retainer on February 11, 2017 to secure his time along with cash for materials . He had inspected the job several times to gather what materials were needed and was given Money to get such materials . When he showed up a month after the job was to start he showed up with no materials and wanted more money. I expressed my concern as to the prior money given for materials and why he did not come prepared after so many weeks had passed . I realized at this point he had asked for more money I then realized that his intention was to just try and get as much money as he could without doing the work. Gabriel has ripped off other customers in the past and that is a fact.. The sink I purchased he kept along with the down payment , the initial funds to secure his time and the funds for the materials that were needed. He is falsely claiming I didn't have the funds however I have all the receipts for money given to him totalling $1800 not including the sink that he kept and never brought to the job. The only tool he brought which I never tried to keep was a broom a wheel, barrel and a shovel. Gabriel became agitated when I had asked him about showing up late and not being prepared . This matter is scheduled for court on May 11 in front of a judge and I have provided all the documents necessary to show the court his breach . Gabriel sent harassing text messages stating that 'I am a coward and a scumbag ' and that messing with him will be the biggest mistake of my life threatening me. He tried to lure me to his home with the hopes of getting the materials that he had in his possession that are mine and i had paid for. I asked him to return any merchandise to the Home Depot and leave it with my order he refused he would only release it if I came to his home. I felt uncomfortable with that arraignment due to his prior actions . I wrote him a check on February 16, 2016 and he cashed it on the 17th so money was not an issue . When the police arrived they had asked if I wanted Gabriel to do the work , I expressed to them the situation and that I've been waiting for almost a month for him to start I said I would let him do the work. Since the police could not force him to do the work I was advised to take it to court and Its in the process . I would not trust Gabriel he has friends act like they hire him to give him a good revue and that's what lured me into choosing him to begin with. The pictures he has of the apparent "work he has done " are pictures he downloaded and claimed to be his work . He is a fraud , a liar and a cheat . Very dishonest he will take your money and materials and not perform the duties he stated he would do. I look forward to presenting my case in front of the magistrate so that no one else has to endure this kind of dishonesty . Gabriel owes me over $6500 dollars and he claims he has unpaid billable hours? How can his have unpaid hours if you never started the job. The day he finally showed up he was to start at 8am sharp as he stated in the text message and didn't show up until after 9.30 . I would never hire his company I doubt he will even have a liscene to do Cunstruction much longer do to his ongoing reputation of ripping people off.

  In response to the report written claiming I am a conman: Ismael is a client I had to quit working for and call the police on. I attempted to start his job within the agreed start time frame which was clearly written in our contract. When myself and my helper showed up he was furious and irate. This customer was responsible for providing material and my price quoted was for labor only. He still owes me over $1500.00 dollars and has not paid. Ismael also known as Joey brick on face book has been harassing me via social media and other online avenues. Upon arriving to the customers house to start work I noticed there was no material on site. I began to make a list of what we needed to get started. Ismael was insisting that we do the spackle work and not worry about getting the material. I informed him that first we needed to get material before we could begin work. I offered him the options of going with us to pick it up so he could pay or doing a phone sale with home depot. He asked me to buy his material out of pocket and i denied his request. The only reason I had put the responsibility of getting material on him was because he requested to do so. Ismael said he could not afford to pay for the material in cash and he had to use credit cards. At this point it was about 9 am and i just wanted to get the material so we could get the job started but Ismael was still trying to convince me to put money out of my own pocket towards purchasing his material. Once I made it clear I was not going to loan him money and that I didn't feel I could trust him to pay me back he flipped out. Ismael stated ranting about calling the police on me, having me arrested and he was calling me a crook and other names. I warned him several times that if he didn't stop behaving that way we were going to leave. He continued his ludicrous behavior and so i instructed my helper to gather our tools so we could leave. Ismael then locked us out of his house and refused to let us get the rest of our tools. I called the police and they forced him to return the equipment he was holding. The website I got his lead from offered us a free arbitration service which he refused to use and he has been posting false statements about me and my company since. I try to find an amicable resolve anytime I have a customer conflict but with this situation there is truly nothing i can do. Ismael is not reasonable, rational or willing to compromise and he talks to people with a complete lack of respect. Be aware of this man if you are doing business with him because he is extremely unreasonable and mean.