Complaint Review: Tom Weaver - Harpers Ferry West Virginia

When I first heard about these ludicrous accusations I paid no heed, for as you can see the writer couldn't even state his true name.  To set the record straight his name is James DiStefano and this alleged incident occured in early 2003.  DiStefano had employed me to do work for him 2 years earlier, and obviously liked my work so he asked me to finish his basement in 2003.  He had an estimate supposedly from another outfit for an obviously fictious sum of money.  I said I could not do it for that amount and begged off of the job.  DiStefano repeatedly pursued this and finally he agreed to work with me on the price as I could not complete his basement for the low ball estimate some other guy gave him. 

The guys who agreed to work on the basement with me all reduced their labor cost in order to cut costs with DiStefano.  As this job progressed he repeatedly changed course and thus altered the original agreement.  His, was the insanity and this was fueled by his prodigious usage of pain medication and alcohol, and his was the foul mouthed ranting and raving driven by his ulterior motive of getting something for nothing.  DiStefano went so far as to triple and upgrade the amount of lighting he had agreed with me upon, expecting all extras to be included and leaving a large debt to my electrician.  When I called to get another draw to pay workers, he launched into a foul mouthed tirade which left him screaming into a hung up phone.

To set the matter straight it was my workers who where cheated out of $2500 by him.  This $2500 which I personally paid to them.  They did the work, they deserved the pay and DiStefano was the beneficiary of their work and chose not to pay for it. 

I find it odd that he waited 4 years to post this poorly written complaint.  I posit the reason he waited is that he got caught by several of us trying to scam a well respected neighbor who resided near him.  Imagine, falsifying a petition with your neighbors signatures.  He found out that I was involved in exposing him and posted this balderdash, but only after he had moved out of state.  And yet he didn't have the fortitude to use his real name, James DiStefano on his post about my supposed wrongdoing. 

I realize that my rebuttal could be construed as a bit vitriolic however I stand by all of its content.  The only thing I am guilty of is the poor decision on my part to trust James DiStefano.

I have many a bonafide references for my workmanship and stand by all of my work.

I've used Tom Weaver for not one, not two, but three home repair or home improvement projects.  His work has always been stellar and his integrity beyond reproach.  

The first time was when a water leak upstairs destroyed our downstairs bathroom ceiling.  The blown insulation was saturated and the bathroom was a total mess.  Just cleaning it up took two full days.  When Tom was finished it looked like it never happened, and his rates were so reasonable that the insurance check completely covered his services.

The second was finishing an upstairs area that the previous owners had tried to do themselves.  Tom painstakingly went over their work and showed me where it was substandard; walls that weren't square or were out of plumb, substandard materials used, code violated, etc.  He told us that he wouldn't feel right about just adding on to the bad workmanship, and said that if that was what we wanted done he'd recommend another handyman.  

Tom estimated the cost of correcting the flaws and doing the rest of the project right.  It was done perfectly and for slightly less than he quoted - especially the flawless drywall finishing.  Two years later you can't find a seam or a crack!

The third time had to do with a sagging deck that people who were supposedly knowledgeable had told me was beyond repair.  Tom assured us that he could fix the problems and he did, and for a very reasonable fee - especially compared to the cost of tearing it down and constructing a new one.

Having read the negative comments I have to believe that they were posted either by a competitor of Tom's or a person who has some personal issue with him.  Handymen in this area work on a pay-as-you-go basis.  Customers advance the money for, or purchase materials themselves, and pay the handyman either a draw, or for the hours that he can document.  Nobody advances them thousands of dollars before the work is done, so it's next to impossible for somebody to be out three thousand dollars.

We're now considering finishing the basement, and I can say for certain that if we decide to go forward with it, Tom will be the one doing the work for us.