Budget Right Handyman

Budget Right does fraudulent work. Let me explain….. I hired them to remove and replace the front door on my apartment (with landlord’s permission, agreement to repay). Numerous times I discussed with their project manager what the goals were, and that the project was not a cookie cutter project. The door in question has a larger than normal rough opening in the CMU and structural wood framing. The extra area around the new door would need to be built up with additional wood to make a standard 36x80 door fit in the space. This was discussed with project managers and the estimator. In an attempt to ensure a proper plan was developed, I paid to have an estimator come out and look at the door, and the situation. The estimator measured for the new doors, and those are the measurements I used to purchase the new door. On the day work was to begin (Monday, April 3rd, 2017), a technician arrived after 8am (late). He did not have any idea what he was supposed to be doing. My landlord told him the job was to remove and replace the door, and his project manager would have the details (I had assumed Budget Right would have constructed a specific plan, but apparently not). He was left to do his work (because we assumed a professional could be left alone without needing to be supervised). When I returned home at 4pm, I saw the technician had installed the door incorrectly. He had relocated the door forward into the brick veneer (not a structural element of the house), whereas it had been attached to the CMU. I immediately called Budget Right, and informed them the work was being done incorrectly. I also advised the technician to stop work, but he insisted on continuing. I spoke with project managers several times the first evening, who assured me any deficient work would be corrected at their cost. Here is the list of problems with the installation of the doorway: 1. Relocated from the CMU (structural element) to the brick veneer (non-structural element). I have spoken with structural engineers, architects, and other home improvement specialists, all who agree this in and of itself constitutes bad work (both structurally and professionally). As one handyman noted, “The job was to remove and replace. That means you put the new door exactly where the old door was, unless instructed to do otherwise.” 2. The brick veneer opening is actually smaller than the CMU or structural wood framing. Because of this the door/frame barely fit into the space. However, this leaves no room for a threshold. The door, as installed, cannot be opened more than a few inches because it hits the carpeting by a full ½” or more. 3. The technician installed the door in such a fashion as to butt up against the side of the threshold, instead of closing on top of it (like every other door in existence). Therefore, water hitting the front of the door does not roll down the threshold and away from the building. Instead, because the door does not sit on top of the threshold, water can seep between the door and threshold and leak into the building. 4. The brick veneer opening and structural framing are slightly offset from each other horizontally. Because of this, once the trim was fully installed the door would not be able to open a full 90 degrees (like a normal door). The hinges on the door would end up slightly behind the trim work on the structural wood framing. Problems 1 and 2 were brought up to the project managers on Monday. Again, I was assured the work would be corrected at their cost. When the technician arrived on Tuesday, I showed him issues 1 and 2, and explained what needed to be done to correct it (the door needed to be relocated to the CMU, and raised up). However, he continued simply working on trim work as if the door was going to stay exactly where it was (according to the technician per the orders of his boss). Once again, I called the project managers, several times, and I was assured the work would be completed correctly at no additional cost. It eventually became clear the technician was not going to install the door correctly, and I sent him away (because the longer he stayed, the more time he wasted, and the more likely they would try to make me pay for more time). My conversations then moved to being with “John H”. John H refused to listen to what I said, and repeatedly insisted the door was installed correctly (I had to scream over and over again “The door will not open! The door will not open!”). He attempted to bully me into accepting the door by claiming I had signed a statement saying I accepted the work. However, this was not true. The statement in question had three sections, two for acknowledgment of the number of hours worked, and one for job satisfaction. I signed only the sections acknowledging time worked, I did not sign the section for job satisfaction (because the work was done incorrectly). John was betting on the fact most people don’t read contracts, and assuming I could be bullied into believing I had signed something I didn’t. John further attempted to blame me for the problem, claiming it was my fault the door was installed incorrectly because I was not there. This is a fallacious argument. At no point did Budget Right attempt to contact me regarding moving the door to the non-structural brick veneer. The job was to “Remove and Replace the front door”. Every person I have talked to agrees that a sane person would interpret that to mean the door should go back exactly where it was. Budget Right’s claim this is correct for “environmental seal” reason is equally fallacious, given they installed it such that water can leak in and the door is now past the empty space between the brick veneer and the CMU. This empty space is there because the brick veneer is not necessarily water tight, and water needs room to exit from between the CMU and the brick. Also, because the door was moved forward, the interior of the building is now exposed to that empty space, which breaks the insulation layer between the CMU and the structural wood framing. After I sent John a video of the door not opening, he agreed to relocate the door, but insisted on getting paid to redo the trim work (half of which was done). This is ridiculous because not only did they continue to perform work after they were informed the work was done incorrectly, but they were paid for 14 hours of work. They worked about 12 (10 on Monday, 2 on Tuesday), and at least 4 of that was after they had been informed the work was performed incorrectly. Moreover, given how bad of the job they did the first time around, you would think they would have some shame, and just finish the work for no additional money. I attempted to explain to John why his offer made no sense, but again he absolutely refused to listen to me. He kept talking over me, repeating that their offer was reasonable (not even remotely), and I finally told him to shut the **** up and listen, at which point he hung up the phone. Budget Right unequivocally engaged in fraud. They did not do the job they were hired to do (remove and replace a door means put the new door exactly where the old door was such that it opens), they caused unrepairable damage to the property (the holes they drilled in the brick veneer can’t be fixed without replacing the bricks), and further refused to fully complete the work they were paid to do at no additional cost.

In the process of changing them, Edgar checked the other ones in the house and found several that I had crossed wired. Thank heavens! The fan installation was difficult because my place is an old lathe and plaster apartment. He did a lovely job, especially patching up the holes necessary for the fan installation. Furthermore, while waiting for plaster to dry, he found other minor jobs that needed to be done and fixed them for me!

He was very responsive and explained along the way.

We were assigned to work with Art, who was phenomenal. He was very communicative with what services he was performing and flagging any questions he might have. Drywall repair isn't a particularly "clean" line of work, but Art was always careful to tidy up. Given the nature of our service request, it required multiple days of work and Art was consistently on-time and went right to work with what needed to be done. You'd never know our basement had new patches of drywall installed - it's seamless. Would highly recommend Budget Right Handymen, particularly Art, for any job!

Quick, efficient, prompt and done safely and securely. My green egg (ceramic grill) is one of my most valuable and cared for items and due to the weight, wanted to have it moved to ensure it was done correctly. No damages, right on time and were in and out. Thanks.

1 - called to inform me that someone would not be able to come on the scheduled day due to a back injury. Rescheduled two days later and issued one hour of "good will," for their inability to keep the scheduled appointment. No problem - things happen. 2 - Handyman arrives on time. I informed him I had a motion sensor light switch where the fan was to be installed, if this was going to be a problem let me know and I will walk to the corner hardware store for a different switch. FOUR hours later he is unable to get the fan functioning. He moves on to other items, blaming the problem on the motion switch. 3. I called to complain the fan was not working and the FOUR hours it took to install a non-functioning ceiling fan. I requested an hour credit because of the excessive time involved with the fan that was still not working. I was told NO and they would "good will" two more hours for a different handyman to come out and work on the fan. 4. Spoke to manager - he was not wiling to credit me an hour of service, stating they had already given me an hour for their failure to arrive on the schedule day and time and they were sending someone out "good will" to fix the project they had not completed. WOW - I told the manager I thought we were looking at this from different perspectives, he responded. "THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSPECTIVE AND IT'S BUDGET'S ." OMG - this is not customer service and more importantly blatantly disrespectful. AWFUL Customer service. Finally we did reach an agreement to credit me with one hour of service. 5. Second handyman comes out and fixes the fan in 40 minutes. He leaves and I go downstairs to find the first handyman did not put the bed back into the frame but dropped it onto the bed frame leaving it lay wherever it landed. There were screws and debri in the linens where he had pilled the sheets on the bed. Pillows were thrown on top of the lamp and some of his tools were left behind. I imagine Budget handyman will write some type of retort - I have hired many people through the years from contractors to handyman - never would I hire this company again. Their service may be adequate but their customer service is horrible and they should take some training in how to interact with people, much less customers.

Everything was great. Leonard B. was prompt and professional. Having the supplies needed made the home visit a breeze. I wished that I had more stuff for him to do! Will definitely call budget right handyman again in the future.

Fast, clean & reasonable priced.

None of the three tasks were completed correctly, Multiple attempts to resolve this have failed. Brad at Budget Right told me I shouldn't have been charged the $118 for the "goodwill" call to fix their errors and to expect a refund. But the last phone conversation, on 4-12, with John their customer service person, he told me I shouldn't have paid the additional $118, that though the tech asked for it, I had the choice to refuse. I choose to refuse to ever deal with them again.

Great, nice guy who did what I asked him to do.

The company said they couldn't do what I needed even though the deal states they should have been able to. I do like that he was honest with me upfront even though their ad is misleading.

Budget Right was responsive to what I needed. They sent an electrician out quickly who got the job done in a reasonable amount of time. Their charges are by the hour with a 2 hour minimum and they estimated ahead of time how long it should take and it turned out to be accurate.

I hate removing wallpaper but I don't mind painting so I decided to hire someone to handle the wallpaper but made sense to contract both out as they would have to be responsible for making sure the wall was prepped before painting. The workers were friendly and did work hard the whole time, my complain is with the quality of the paint job. I had them come back to do another coat and touch up some spots but still doesn't look great. Since I've painted almost every room of my house I've gotten pretty good at looking for the details, the bathrooms are not up to my standard of good paint job. The company did try to make things right by coming back out so I do like that about them but in the end I may have to repaint one of the bathrooms.

I needed a simple outlet installed above my stove for a new microwave range. Made appointment, everything started great. Was told my appointment was at 2 pm. About noon the serviceman called me to say he would be done in 2-3 hours. At 4:45 still no one here and I didn't hear anything. Had to call the office to find out what was going on. They couldn't reach their guy either. Eventually they sent out another person, in which I was told he'd be here at 6 Pm. 4 hours after my initial appointment. At 5:45 the new tech called me and said he was 40 minutes away. He arrive at 6:30, came inside to see what he needed and left for Home Depot which was 11 minut s away. He arrived back at my house just before 8PM. Finished the work at 8:30PM. So an outlet installation for 30 minutes of actual work are up 6.5 hours. Meanwhile the rep I talked to on the phone said he would comp me an hour for the 1:20 minute trip to Home Depot. Instead I got chArged the full 2 hour minimum and was given a "goodwill" hour. Meaning the next time, if there ever will be, I get a whole free hour. One of the worst experiences I've had. Just a complete lack of communication all around by the company.

They had to remove the old floor, clean up some mold, and put down the new floor. They also picked up all the material at Home Depot and finished the job ahead of schedule. Mario and Luis did an awesome job and I would definitely hire Budget Right for any future projects. I have never had such great customer service with a company. Chris went out of his way to make sure the job was done right and we were happy. They are a wonderful company to work with and I highly recommend them! Five stars!!!!!

First, I called Budget Right and talked to one of their project managers, Brad, to get a quote and to brief them on the project. I sent photos and the plans on how the new cabinets would be installed. I was impressed with the amount of questions he asked and how thorough he was over the phone. A week later I chose Budget Right out of 4 quotes based on my interaction with Brad and their price. I was quoted $2800 plus materials, 3 days work with two contractors. I was told that he was sending out a crew that specifically was experienced with cabinets. Day 1- Crew arrives, A and P. It's immediately clear they have been told about the project but that they have not seen photos or the plans for the kitchen. I thought Brad would do this since his title was "project manager". They start removing the countertop and cabinets and I leave. I come down mid-day when they are removing the plaster and lath to find our wood floors unprotected. (I specifically asked Brad if the crew would keep things clean since we're in the house) I told P that I didn't want the floors to get damaged. P assured me that they were being very careful and would not scratch the floors. Day 2- The plumber arrives first, late. Talks to my husband about moving the sink pipes into the wall and tells my husband he doesn't sweat pipes (work with copper) but looks some more then tells him that he'll do it, but he has to buy a torch, he leaves for Home Depot. This raises a huge red flag- what actual plumber doesn't travel with a torch. I call Brad and tell him that I don't feel comfortable with a plumber doing plumbing in my house when it appears he's not actually a plumber. I then call my usual plumber to do the work. The crew shows up quite late after the BR plumber had already left. They get started on installing the new cabinets on our north wall, one of which contains a chimney. This was mentioned in the original email to Brad and I brought it up again. In the meantime, my plumber shows up, says no plumber should've agreed to put the copper in the wall, that it would freeze no matter how much installation is in the wall (why didn't the Budget Right "plumber" mention this?). Our plumber cuts the copper and pvc in the basement and leave after just a few minutes to return when the bottom cabinets are installed. The crew rather than check for studs and mark the wall before placing the cabinets, they just drilled about 8 screws into the inside of each cabinet, sloppy. Before leaving I grab a piece of mold resistant drywall from the basement and give it to P and tell him that I want that used behind the sink, not the regular drywall they purchased. Later in the day after the crew installs a soffit to hold a cabinet above the fridge my husband notices and points out it's the wrong size, they hadn't looked at the plans. That night I look around at the work and notice that they did not use the mold resistant board behind the sink, just regular drywall. My mold resistant drywall is still sitting in the kitchen. So- no mold resistant drywall, soffit that needs to be removed and re-done on day 3, very hairy looking and not totally aligned install on the upper cabinets on the north wall. (one upper cabinet screw had about .5" of empty space before it hit wood... no question that would've damaged the cabinet eventually) Day 3- P arrives close to on-time, but leaves after being at the house for just an hour due to a family emergency (totally acceptable). A arrives about an hour after P and starts working on the lower cabinets on the S wall so the plumber can come back. I come down to check on the work and notice a HUGE gouge out of my hardwood floors. I ask A about it. He says he has no idea where it came from, I ask him if he moved the stove (which was on the other side of the kitchen when I went to bed the night before) and he said he didn't, P must have. It was clear the gouge came from the stove since it was exactly where the stove once was. A said he would talk to management. I leave and return at 12:40, A is gone. I later found out we were charged 6 hours for the 4.5 hours that the crew was in our home. Money I still have not been returned, nor did I sign any paperwork stating that the money could be charged. I sweep up the mess on the kitchen floors and take pictures of the multiple gouges and scratches I can now see that debris is gone. I call Budget Right and speak to John, the office manager. He says that he'll talk to the crew and get back to me. I look at and measure the lower cabinets and notice that there's not enough room for the dishwasher and that one cabinet is installed with one screw and straight into drywall, no stud. Day 4- Electrician E, arrives to install an outlet. He's professional and responsive to my suggestions. He is apologetic about the experience we've had thus far and about the scratches. He does a great job installing the outlets, even though he made a mess in the basement and did not clean any of it up. I get a call from John and he says the crew say they didn't gouge or scratch the floor, either my family or the plumber did it, and they remember my plumber moving the stove. Not true, the plumber was by my side the entire 5 minutes he was in the house. I push back and he says we'll figure it out after the project is done. I tell him that I want it figured out now and that I want to know how much longer the project will take over my original budget. I also ask about the project manager role and why they weren't more involved, turns out the "project managers" are the salespeople, NOT actual project managers. He also says that he can't guarantee cost even within a margin. I expressed my dissatisfaction with that answer since I foresaw the project taking twice as long as budgeted (cost twice as much). John doesn't budge. He asks me to email him pictures of the floor. I email him the photos and he calls back agreeing to have a flooring crew come out and sand down and re-finish the floors. I'm very nervous, but I want the project done and my first floor usable again. The crew is set to return Friday at noon and again on Monday. Thursday evening I create a lengthy and detailed tick list for the crew thinking the problems might be lack of a project manager. Day 5- I text crew to make sure the south wall cabinets are put in the correct position and the countertop replaced so the plumber can come on Saturday. They say it's done. I get home; look at my tick list that has most the items checked as being done. I take off the countertop to see if they actually did item #1, fix the bottom cabinets and make sure all are screwed into studs. None of the cabinets had been moved, I grab the original bottom cabinet that was not screwed into the stud and I can rock the cabinet back and forth. Day 6, Saturday - My husband and I spend the morning moving the bottom cabinets into correct positioning to fit the dishwasher and screw them all into studs before the plumber arrives. 2/5 screws were in studs in the 3 cabinets. Again, this was marked as being done on the tick list. After spending hours re-doing work I already paid for, I decided to fire Budget Right. I text the crew to tell them to not come on Monday. Day 8- I call John to tell him I will not have the crew returning and told him why. I also express that I am disappointed that I basically have to start over again, because I have a toddler and an unusable kitchen and dining room. My desire was that Budget Right would finish the job, but at that point if they did, I knew it wouldn't be done properly. Day 10- I get a call from John, they have decided to just "goodwill us" 12 hours of labor back ($708) because they don't want to have their guys do the floors anymore. I mention again the day 3 issue with being charged too much and that I don't think that would cover the cost of fixing the floors. He then offers 16 hours ($944). I tell him I'll get a quote before agreeing. Day 11- New contractor starts pulling screws out of upper cabinets on chimney wall to check to make sure they're secure, finds that most are not screwed into studs and has to take them all down to secure them properly and align them properly. We're paying to have Budget Right's work re-done AND those cabinets could've easily fallen down once we put our things in them. We have a toddler! Day 12- Got a quote on the flooring, they have to remove and replace boards to get rid of the gouge so there isn't a dip from over sanding in the floor. The quote is just shy of $1000. I leave a message for John. Day 16- John calls me back, I tell him about the issues with having work re-done and he says he'll call me back. He calls back and offers me the same 16 hours. I want to move on. He says he'll refund the money once I sign and send back a "goodwill agreement". I get the document via email and it's a NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT! I call John back and tell him I will not sign it without altering the language. A. The money is not because we're dissatisfied; it's to fix damage his crew caused and B. I will not keep this experience off of Angie's List. I picked them based off their good reviews... and it's clear now why they have so many, because of this document. He says he'll get back to me on that. John calls me back shortly and tells me they will not accept the document altered. I tell John that I want to talk to his boss then, and he says he's the head of operations. I tell him that I want to talk to the owner, he says he'll email the owner but it's unlikely I'll hear back. I also mentioned the 2M liability coverage they claim they have and ask why that isn't just paying to fix my floors, no response. I told John that I would reach out to Angie's List about this experience, and they advised to post this review. So, I gave the owner 2 days to get back to me, even checked in with John and I've got nothing. They have refused to give me any money to repair the floors and they have refused to send out their crew to fix it.

Excellent. The ordering procedure was efficient and simple. The worker (Richard or Rick) was excellent. He was terrific with the electrical work and the other tasks. He worked very quickly, but accurately and thoroughly. His work was uniformly excellent. He finished 20 minutes before the two hour window that I purchased with a promotion and was more than happy to take on other tasks. Plus, he was a very nice guy -- polite and eager to please. I would ask for him again. You can't beat the value for the two hour package I bought for only $99.

Stan and Edgar were excellent. They worked hard to work around issues with the electrical outlet and did some additional work with the extra time I would recommend Budget Right Handyman and Stan and Edgar.

I purchased the handyman deal: 2 hours for $99. Everything went very well. The worker arrived promptly, the job met my expectations, completion time was spot on. I was pleased with the work and would hire again.

Robert did a great job in less the estimated time

Joe was on time, extremely knowledgeable and very professonal.

The handyman tried to repair a hole in my ceiling. I was warned it might crack again. He did not offer to go and get other supplies to fix it correctly even as I was home with an infant and this is something original scheduler said the handyman could do. Instead, he tried to patch it and said he would come back out again. I agreed tot this. The ceiling cracked the same day. When it did, I called to schedule a new handyman to finish the job. I was willing to pay full price. The first person I spoke to said it would be a goodwill appointment but I never heard back after filling out the customer service form as directed. I called again and was told I'd hear back. The following day, I was told I'd have to pay. The man told me he'd call me back to schedule but I didn't hear back that day. I started the process of trying to schedule an appointment on Monday. It is now Thursday and still no response. Overall, the lack of clarity and follow through is disappointing. I also texted the original handyman to see if he'd come back out as promised and after a day of wait time, he responded and said he didn't know when he could come back out again.

Nate was excellent. Good communicator. Everything went well.

The projects were completed very professionally and the serviceman was very pleasant.

They did as much as they could. Some of the hardware was missing, they are going to come back to finish.