Complaint Review: Painting by Ronald Scott - Atlanta, Decatur, Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell Georgia

 Painting By Ronald Scott - - Atlanta Beware

General Description: Rip-off. Unqualified contractorno plan and little experience.  Promised reimbursements, redo's, subcontractor payments and deliveries exceed $70,000!  Still waiting!  Worst vendor experience of my life!  Feel violated--as if thief had broken into my house, vandalized it, and taken my most prized possessions!  Ron has disappeared, leaving me and several sub-contractors holding the bag!  

Specific Issues: Poor Quality, Paid-For but Undelivered Services, Deceptive Sales Practices, Scope Creep, Unqualified Sub-contractors, Worthless Warranty, Convoluted/Inaccurate Billing, Poor Quality Requiring Demolition and/or Re-Do, Innumerable Broken Promises, Disappearing Act, Duplicate/Over Charges, Stiffed Subs, Work Not Properly Permitted, Abused and Unpaid Subs.

Scam Model: Give neighbors as references whether they are your jobs or not.  Actually have one good one. Gain trust of client by providing reasonably good initial work.  Befriend client.  Once client is comfortable, introduce unqualified sub-contractors, without proper tools of the trade to optimize profit.  Introduce Scope Creep, Over-Charges, Duplicate Charges, Phantom Receipts into a convoluted billing system confusion through multiple projects.  Give the appearance of activity--that something is being done.  Promise anything-even in writing.  Delay as much as possible.  Get client to pay as much of a deposit as possible to pay subs. Don't pay subs to increase profit even more.  Work the neighborhood and disappear leaving client holding bag!

My Story: Ron referenced clients in the area--particularly one he befriended across the street.  Sounded reasonable. Initial painting and some subbed contracts (tile, electrical, roof, gutters) was reasonably good quality, so client gained confidence to add additional projects--replacing existing upper patio, building new lower patio, new patio walls, stairways and stairway rails, repave driveway, build new driveway gate.  

But, began to notice unqualified painters, masons, as well as discrepancies in Ron's invoices after spread-sheeting all charges, revealing:

        Unfulfilled written promises to reimburse client for re-dos and demolished work (labor and materials).  Example: $20,000 in demolished stonework.

        Overcharges, duplicate charges, and phantom invoices. 

        Work client paid for but not delivered.

        Sub-contract work client paid for where Ron held back payment to sub. Example: Cabinet refinisher and driveway gate.  When Ron disappeared, client had to pay sub again to get work out of hock.

        Sub-contracts Ron tried to re-negotiate for greater profit but inferior quality. (Example: driveway paving and cobblestone driveway border.

At this point, only understand action or a reimbursement check is acceptable.  I have suffered innumerable promises, unanswered calls and messages, full mail-boxes and missed completion dates.  The promised delivery of additional receipts and final reconciliation of payments, proposals and invoices is the BIG LIE!  I am ready with all my documentation but Ron is nowhere to be found!

Sub-contractor examples: 

Ron hired a stucco guy he raved about as a sub-contractor for my stonework.  Guy who new nothing about stone--level, plumb, pointing, grade lines, drainage, or design.  Ron kept asking me to give the guy a second and then a third chance--that he was great.   Finally, I had to fire the guy after coming home to view crooked walls, wasted materials (sand, mortar, stone) two trucks of concrete, and a lower patio with a bow that looked like the Titanic.  All of this stonework had to be demolished--stairways, walls, lower, and upper patio.  Mortar joints were very wide and covered stone.  Pressure washing and muriatic acid only made matters worse.  Ron agreed, in writing, to replace all demolished work, labor and materials.  Still waiting!

Ron agreed to sit down and settle all invoicing discrepancies, refund labor and materials for the stonework on the patio and walls, and complete other unfinished projects or redo's of unsatisfactory work--kitchen and bathroom cabinets, driveway gate, poorly poured concrete driveway that doesn't even pitch toward an expensive drain system I had installed, and poorly installed cobblestone edging.  Still Waiting!

Undelivered Projects or Reimbursement ($74,000)

        Stonework Redo

        Driveway Gate and Columns

        Partial Driveway Repave

        Cabinet Refinish

        Unfinished Carpentry

        Unfinished Painting

        Unfinished Landscaping

        Unfinished Clean-up

        Overcharges, Duplicate Charges, Phantom Receipts

Still Waiting!

Legal ActionVery Soon!