ComplaintsforPirates Painting

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired Pirates Painting to paint the interior of our home. They painted latex paint over oil based paint on all the trim, doors, closets, window and door casings, etc. It immediately began peeling. They spent 2 months trying to "fix" it which included sanding off the latex paint, priming and then repainting. They kept not sanding deep enough, or not wiping off the paint dust prior to priming, and caused a huge mess. They damaged our trim & doors. We already replaced all the door hardware, and they painted over that. They got paint all over our hardwood floors. They walked outside to smoke with paint all over their shoes and got paint all over our driveway, brick patio and porch, and steps. After 2 months of trying to fix it, they walked off the job. Their insurance will not cover the damages. Several contact attempts have been made to at the very least get a refund from what we paid them, but we are being ignored. It is going to cost a lot more than the original money we paid them to fix this, not to mention loss of use of our home. A 2 week paint job has dragged on now for 3 months, is costing us a large sum of money to fix their problems, and we still cannot move into our home. Images can be found https://*******************************

  Business response

  12/20/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/18) */ Please see the below for responses on each of the complaints from the homeowner: 1. They painted latex paint over oil based paint on all the trim, doors, closets, window and door casings, etc. - At the beginning of the job Pirates Painting was unaware that oil-based paint had been used in the interior of the home. 2. It immediately began peeling. - Pirates Painting was contacted approximate 7-10 days after completion of the job regarding the paint peeling. 3. They spent 2 months trying to "fix" it which included sanding off the latex paint, priming and then repainting. They kept not sanding deep enough, or not wiping off the paint dust prior to priming, and caused a huge mess. They damaged our trim & doors. We already replaced all the door hardware, and they painted over that. - Pirates painting spent approximately 5-6 weeks working on correcting the issue. At times we were advised by the homeowner that we were sanding too deeply. Wiping of the dust from sanding was completed prior to priming. There was no damage caused to the trim and doors that we are aware of. If paint was on the newly installed hardware, we would have cleaned that when the work was completed. 4. They got paint all over our hardwood floors. - Yes, paint did get on some areas of the hardwood flooring however that was cleaned as we went. 5. They walked outside to smoke with paint all over their shoes and got paint all over our driveway, brick patio and porch, and steps. - There was paint transfer to the driveway, and it was cleaned as soon as the homeowner advised while he supervised that work. The brick patio, porch and steps were covered with tarps to prevent paint transfer. 6. After 2 months of trying to fix it, they walked off the job. - Pirates Painting worked on making the corrections needed for approximately 5-6 weeks. As work proceeded the homeowner continued to criticize the work being done. He also began to eliminate members of the crew he would permit on his property. This greatly affected the ability for Pirates Painting to make the corrections in a timely manner. At the end of completing approximately 45% of the work needed he had eliminated all on the crew except for myself. 7. Several contact attempts have been made to at the very least get a refund from what we paid them, but we are being ignored. It is going to cost a lot more than the original money we paid them to fix this, not to mention loss of use of our home. - The homeowner previously asked Pirates Painting for $7,500.00 refund without correction to the work and called it even. Pirates Painting wanted to make it right with the homeowner and correct the issue. The written communication received has been a demand for a full refund when the quoted cost of door and trim was broken out in the quote. Payment was not made toward any of the corrective work. One of the homeowners has resided in the property since the original work was completed at the end of May. 8. Their insurance will not cover the damages. - The homeowner originally reached out to our new insurance provider and not the provider at the time the work was originally completed. 9. Images can be found https://************************************** - Unable to access this google drive to view their photos. Pirates Painting does want to resolve this in a fair and equitable way. If this dispute cannot be resolved through the complaint conciliation process, Pirates Painting is agreeable to mediation/arbitration. Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2022/08/25) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) You painted our house with latex over oil. You didn't fix your mistake, destroyed our home, prevented us from living there and walked out on the job. We have videos, texts, witnesses, and time stamped photos to prove a lot of your rebuttal is false. Yes we originally offered you $7500 in June because we wanted to get you out of our house, so we could get someone else in who could fix everything in a more timely manner, without causing more damage. That was also before we understood the extent of the damage and how much it would cost to get someone to do the rework. That is no longer an acceptable number. We received numerous quotes to fix the paint job, all of them for well over $12,000. We included one of these quotes with our refund demand letter so we know you're well aware of what this is costing us to fix your error. The painters we ended up moving forward with have quoted us $18,000 just to redo your work, not including the fact that some of our trim and doors have been completely destroyed by the electric sanders you used. Luckily your insurance company is reimbursing us for some of the other damages such as the floors and driveway, that were not cleaned up as you stated, but they are not going to help with anything to do with the trim, doors or walls as it is considered by them as "faulty workmanship". We are not going to be left with paying both you and the new painters. Everything you touched had to be redone, including the bedroom which you took photos of, because you did not wipe anything off properly and painted over the paint sand, leaving it lumpy and rough. Many of the walls have to be redone as well because you rested doors against them and damaged the drywall with electric sanders. Regardless of how much you think you completed, it is costing us $18,000 for new painters to fix your mistake. A partial refund will not be accepted and it's generous of us to give you the opportunity to simply refund what we paid you, and come out of our own pockets to fix the rest. The 2 week long paint job you were hired to start on May 2nd is still not completed, it will be longer than 4 months from the time you started until we can finally move into our home, that is absolutely ridiculous. Our request for a full refund was so we could put this matter to rest without having to go through court. Please let us know how you'd like to proceed. As noted before payment must be a certified check, a personal check will not be accepted. If this is not acceptable to you we will proceed with litigation for the full amount we are paying the new painters, plus legal/court fees, any other damages to our home your insurance did not cover, and loss of use. This will cost you significantly more than the $12,000 we are willing to settle on now. This is our final offer and if not accepted our next communication will be through our attorney.

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