James "Jim" MacMillan is a smooth-talking "contractor" (really just a glorified handyman) who managed to get thousands of dollars of payment from me up front and is now hanging me out to dry. He won my trust by pointing me to his Superpages reviews which are all 5 stars, but I have reason to believe many of those are bogus. Do not be duped by those reviews into thinking this guy stands for quality or integrity.
He started my project over 3 months ago and since the beginning he has been feeding me excuse after excuse for why he cannot get to work each day. Here is a sample list of the supposed ills that have befallen him in the past 3 months: His father had a heart attack; a bad break-up led him to have to spend 3 days in traffic court (don't ask, it's a LONG story); his ex-girlfriend stalked him, broke into his house, and hacked his phone causing him to have to spend days changing his locks, changing his phone at Sprint, talking to his lawyer, trying to get a restraining order, etc.; his son overdosed on heroin; due to all the stress he had been under his own health declined and he had to take several days off to recuperate; he had to take other jobs because he didn't have the financial motivation to come to my job anymore (because he had taken payment way too soon and taken loads of personal days); his van broke down and took days to repair...
I would stay well away from him and if you do decide to hire him (I would recommend him for only very small, specific jobs), do not pay him up front and make sure you sign a contract with him that includes an end date. He now has me stuck in a limbo where I don't want to fire him because he has all my money but he is not showing up for work.
He has worked an average of about 10 hours a week since starting the project and seems to feel entitled to work at his own pace and give me the proverbial finger if I request him to put in a full week of work. I wish I had saved myself a lot of hassle and negative health and financial consequences by never hiring him. Now I feel I will probably have to chose to lose more money and get someone else to take over and finish the job.
Most of the time he claims to be spending on the project is spent at Home Depot, "planning" your project, or doing minor stuff that requires no actual work. He is dysfunctional, inefficient, and self-absorbed but he will always maintain that he is "doing his best" considering how hard his life is at the moment. Nevermind how hard his is making your life. And one last thing...he will lure you in by saying how reasonable his prices are. Again, do not be fooled. He will start out at one price and quickly raise the price incrementally to cover additional unforeseen expenses until his price is the same or more than the other estimate you got.
I could not be more disgusted by how this process has played out and I would strongly recommend you look elsewhere for a contractor.
Bogus Hipocrit extortionist
Hamilton,#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Fri, November 11, 2016
This is a sad day having never in 14 years prior dealt with someone this low in nature as to slander a child or post peoples personal hardships to feel better about themselves or save face with ther husband she wasnt homnest with.
The person Kate who left this review hired me to do work.
She lives 4 hours away from her rental property in New York.
She decided to have me deal with for her ( without ever being presant or spending the time to come to her own home) the following:
The township inspector: I did as a favor
Her former angry tennant who's name and phone number i can provide.
Her current tennant who she bad mouthed quite frequantly.
A rescue center for a supposed lost cat in or on her property that she showed zero concern for that belonged to prior tennant.
I also was left to do her shopping.
Pick up her materials.
Deal with current tennant also running how things went as far as sced. of work while she says total oppisate.
I was left to play mediator between her and her demands as well as a angry tennant who seemed to dictate everything that happened even though i was not hired by this man.
An unsafe garage door she was advised of for 2 months that weighed over 150 pounds made of wood fell on my head she showed little to no concern before this happened or after it busted open my foreheadand knocked me out causing me a huge mark on my forehead and 2 large gashes on my back as a result of falling into the door metal tracks. Never offered treatment for my now injured back and neck and even afterwards never had the door fixed for over a month in a half later. The door also per her tennant fell on him as well. Total dissregard for my well being.
Also i did Painting work at her location and was not paid the balance of $1100.00 for work done to "her Home" instead saying the tennant owed me the money for a rental that obviously needed paint work.
The ownere Kate had the tennant move into the rental prior to the clear c.o being issued even though prior they had been warned and i believe fined for doing the same thing with a former tennant.
The owner Kates husband a man named Sonam who i never met and i will note over 4 months only met Kate 1 time was always im told in the dark regarding what the wife Kate agreed to do for her tennant so he didnt back out of the deal to rent her over priced rental a home that they have been unable to sell for 2 years now due to way over valuing the homes worth.
At one point everything was going great the owner Kate paid me i di the work she kept adding work we where both happy with how things progressed.
She than allowed the tennant to move in earily knowing she had ordered 3 bathrooms to have various work done plus much more.
While working on things as instructed by the person who hired me "kate" the tennant started making all kinds of demands as im already in the middle of doing a bunch of projects. I was pulled from one to another never being allowed to finish one before another is started or some reason why the tennant needs a priority order done for his i believe illegal hoome based office and business. I was told id be working in an empty home and could work what ever hours need be to get the work done.
Suddenly the job is shut down because the owner who missmanaged the work scedual and did a terrible job mediating problems trying to g.c. a job based on a Princeton education with zero home improvement experience from 4 hours away.
The job was shut down with the excuse of nothing was finished and a bunch of things started at same time ! The very complaint i had made advising her that i couldnt work that way with her saying start one thing and mid way the tennant pulling me off toanother project. My tools where heald hostage with rediculuss threats and demands for money to be refunded leaving me out of work and with no income for 8 days having set asside that time for her property and my tools held in her home.
Turns out the tennant had a buddy or family he wanted to get the work becausethe guy was slow at work.
The owner Kate than had the tennants friend come estimate the remaining work for a job that was supposedly so time pressed to be done and behind sced. The other contractor looked at the work 3 days later than took a week to turn in a non detailed estimate that was over $5,000.00 more than my price. She than said she was not confident in the man and didnt care to use him and he wasnt available for a few weeks minumum anyway meaning a full 3 to 4 weeks past shutting me down before he would start to finish the work i was hired to do.
She agreed to pay mr up to that poiunt and release my tools and terminate any further work.
2 days after doing so the ownere "Kate" called me literaly crying saying her husband was verbaly abusive and she was scared to tell him all the extra money she had spent to get work done for her tennants demands which was always dictated by her and demanded by the tennant. I advised her many times some of the work wasnt needed or required to rent her home out and she kept giving in.
Kate seemed like a kind person so i forgave her and her lousy unprofeshional way of treatiing me and had sympathy for her marriage problems having just gotten out of a controlling relationship with an ex who did everything to make my life misserable.
I will comment that during the 4 months dealing with Kate although a Princeton University Grad should be ashamed of herself for lowering themselves to mentioning my personal business that has zero to do with the work done that:
My father did have heart issues which is documented and i prey nobodsy in herfamily has the same.
My son did have persoal problems that where very serious and upsetting also can be verified but why should i even need to ? God help Kate if one of her 2 young children have simular issues down the road and she go through what i did as a father.
I did have a electrical issue for over a week and winded up renting a truck to go to work which she fails to mention.
With Kate i feel someone who did little to nothing as far as coming to her own home to help or organize things leaving me to deal with deliveries tennants that where mad prior and current hiring of contractors for mulch and recomending finaly a garage door repairman as well as pissed off township employess i had to calm down because the owners husband had pissed them off prior. A husband who she had a strained relationship with and even a Klu Klux clan type neighbor that cursed her husband up and down as the devil using recial slurs regarding his nationality...Yes i believe Kate did pay as we went along and agreed up untill paint work was done and she told me to deal with the tennant who refused to pay for extra work done that was pre advised as costing extra.
The owner never seemed to want to take ownership of problems she created which the worse was a very hostile work enviroment where as i could not stand even going to her house to work it was so uncomfortable to be in.
I had 6 different people who came to that work site who where eirther embaressed or insulted or scared to return with the treatment the recieved or the uncomfortable enviroment caused by the tennant who went out of his way to cause annimosity and to try and attempt to pit workers against workers anytime they where 1 on 1 with him alone.
This forcced me to work for most part alone seeings that nobody woyuld agree to return to her home people oive known for years. While also trying to work my other sced. jobs all put on hold or pushed back by more and more request for additioanl work to be done even during all the problems we had been having.
Along the way sensing possible problems i choose to take before and after photos of each project and send them to Kate and each time was given a great job looks wonderful type comments which i have saveed.
This report left by Kate was due to me deciding to leave the job 95% finished as far as total job scope untill paid for the paint work long since completed over 2 months prior with a bathroom 3/4 of the way done and total of $520.00 owed on bathroom work and $1100.00 on paint work totaling $1620.00 owed and me saying i had enough of the stress related to this debockle.
In 14 years almost prior i have never had even 1 bad review which speaks volumes of how much of a problem this job was regarding my character .
I regret allowing my sympathy for Kates worries about a mad dictator like husband who yells at her (her words) sway me into coming back to work even though she had nerve to cost me 9 days work and admit she was ded wrong shutting down the work proior after i had went out of my way to appease her every need.
Whats funny is she wrote this eport unbekjnownst to me while i still worked at her home for another month almost me this terrible man even during that month both her and her husband both commenting in writing how happy they where with work so far.
Initialy the husband when asking me prior to hiring for great prices but to keep in mind its a rental Jim amnd we only want bare minimum because we just want to dump the place when we can and are stuck owing more than its worth due to a poor investment i did the worknicely and and below market cost id say about 30% below average because it snow balled into problemafter problem with her tennant and her saying they couldnt afford to pay the real cost that i should be billing for simular work or have in past or would in future.
Another thing funny is the grossly over priced kitchen and one bathroom floor they paid prior but i was expected to provide huge disscounts the entire time?
The only thing left to do in this home was finsih tile in 1 bathroom
mount a sink and vanity already assembled
install shower door set
mount a toilet already assembled and hand a light fixture.
Here is a list of what was done mostly by me alone and i have before and after photos to show work and its quality and the customer and her husbands comments saying great job.
all done
Painted rooms all done plus crappy spackel and prior work for most part repaired but never fully paid for.
office bathroom
office
master bedroom
second bedroom
3rd bedroom
work done to kitchen
remod bathroom in office:\floor
toilet
fan
vanity
sink
faucet
shutr off valves
fixed toilet flange broke by customer and trap also made to leak on purpose after we left for the day
hallbathroom
toilet
vanity
sink
faucet
shower set
had tub and enclosure sprayed guy hired bathcrest by kate i recomended also left quite uncomfortable due to tennant trying to instigate issues
new fan
wall reapr.
Master bathroom:
sjhower
all new walls
delux trim with wainscot walls and ceiling
repair unkept reotted sub floor and mold problems.
plumbing repir to washer and underside to bathrooms
repaired leaky unkept bilko doors and cement that caused flooding to prior tennant.
outside changed lighting and mailbox.
removed 10 years worth of trash and items left by prior tennants and carried to curb side
carrying from basement up stairs.
all new lighting fixtures even donated 1 myself. 3 needed a licensed electrician due to rigged up as much in home was wiring done by owner or prior owner.
changed all painted over outlets
changed 2 fans in bathroom
installed chandaller
installed ceing fan
both where replacements for existing
tiles to repair leaking back splash along counter
tiled as a gift labor wise backsplash over stove after which tennant out of spite shifted the finished drying tile to make crooked when i left.
painted totaly ghetto looking shutters on house
painted terrible looking foundation on house
paiunted kitchen
painted family room
painted diningroom
painted 3 bathrooms
painted trim
repaired an obortion like entrance foyer with repir to walls butchered by tennants poor spackeling prior done best i could for free.
ended up doing 1 to 2 extra coats of paint to cover all the hidious colors there prior advising that if the 1 coat paid for didnt cover with the do cheap mentality that it would cost extra.
installed replaced outside lights
cleaned garage full of trash and junk left behind same with yard.
repaired gutter handing off
repaired cracked cement landing
installed new ofice pergo and wood trim becuase old one was buckeled and missing pieces.
removed all the hand
ging and rigged up cable wiring and abandoned wires in basement.
cleaned basement.
removed old basketball pole and net
changed front mail box.
and even after i left the job refusing to return juat twoo weeks ago the owners husband called and texted asking me to return and finsih the bathroom for half of what his other qoute was to have the work done.
I am debating weather to hire an attorney as is my son who was slandered regarding this bogus report but have choosen to see if this home owner decides to do the mature thing and remove this report since its full of disshonest and left out details.
I did i will say show up less and less hours choosing paying non stressfull work enviroments and need to pay bills and fight back and not have my entire existance dictated by Kate her husband or there tennant futher when it became apparent that my health or well being or ego did not matter to them at all.
Nobody i spoke to during this job would have even came close to staying with all the bad missmanaged caios inflicted by the tennant and this home owner attempting to micro manage a huge project from4 hours travel away only being on sight 1 time in 4 months.
I felt as though i was a personal servant or slave to there every needs with enough never enough so excuse me for having enough and not tolerating abusive words and insults and blatent dissregard for work done to the owners home(painting) that they knew full well was done and nobody had any intention of paying for.
Also 5 times work was sabitoged by tennant after work day was done in order to make his point or get his buddy the work always hours after we left never while we where still there.
Even paint was latered with something dumped into the paint i bellieve massage oil found next to paint cans that caused paint to seperate upon application never before seen in 14 years by me or paint represenntative who came on sight to hav a look!
James.
Any customer who wishes to view before and after photos to shoot down validity of this bogus extortion like review is welcome to contact me.
Furthermore i will state that this websight is a known sham allowing post like this to go up refusiing to remove even if proven wrong or containg person slander meant to harm a mand good aname or even his 21 year old son.
This sight than wants to arbitrate for $ Money$ or extort the business owner to have removed whichg is so unethical and criminal its sad.
Rip off report is a total rip off google there name and review the pending lawsuits against ripoffs owners and the reports info publicly listed as a way to extort monety for fees and for customers trying to use this venue to get money for work already done and marked as satisfactory done.
also i have 6 people ready to give statements as to why they didnt return to this job sight.
Two of which where woman misstreated or spoken down to by tennant with home owner a woman herself doing nothing to stick up for the woman abused verbaly.