COLLAR CITY PAINTING LLC

Did the job wrong from the get-go, refused to repair/correct mistakes crew made, after owner admitted as such. Once job got underway and problems pointed out, owner NEVER communicated by phone, never responded to phone calls or emails except by text, and invariably avoided answering/responding to concerns. Skipped out of job and refused reimbursement. All friendly/down-to-earth guy to start, but as job went south, so did he.

Pretty good estimate for work to be done and 5 yr warranty on painting got us signed on the dotted line. It did take a while to have painters come and get started after contract was signed. They worked steadily however the quality of painting was not what was expected. Trim color paint was splattered on house paint, house paint was on trim, paint splattered on concrete work and screens. Front door was painted another color and that paint was on the brickwork in front of the door and also on the white on the inside of the door. When we complained we were told it would be remedied but it took forever to get them to come back. A year after the painting we had issues with cracking and blistering of the paint and attempted to reach company numerous times. Most times when we called we got an answering machine. Finally we got a call back a month later and then they came and fixed the areas that were an issue a month after the phone call was returned This year the same issues are occurring and after almost 2 months, we are still waiting. Twice we were told they would be here to do the repair and they never showed and never called. This has been an issue with this company since painting was done. Not very reliable at all. A five year warranty is not of any use if they do not respond to your calls or come to do the work. I do have to say that they initially painted some additional areas and did not charge us for that - one point in their favor.

I got a number of estimates to paint my house in the spring of 2007. Collar City's was priced in the middle of the pack. I felt that the quality of their work was worth paying a bit more than the absolute minimum for the job. I also chose them because they were on time for the estimate appointment and sent me the paper work in a timely fashion. Some of the other contractors waited weeks to return written estimates and I didn't think that bode well for actually getting work done. It turns out I was dead wrong. The company I had shunned for lateness wanted to do the work when they had suggested in their estimate but I had all ready given Collar City my deposit for the job. Collar City must have really overbooked or something because they were unable to get the job started in 2007 before the weather made it impossible to do outdoor work. They promised to get to me right away in 2008, there was just one other job ahead of me (also leftover from 2007). I figured since I liked them enough to hire them the first time I'd save myself the drama of looking for someone new so I okayed the job for 2008. Weeks into the season I was still playing phone tag trying to get them to help me find decent colors. I don't know what was going on with them but it should not have been my full time job to beg them to get going on the project. Eventually we decided that I should have my deposit returned to me. It took two weeks for them to even manage that small task. It all seemed way too complicated, and now I'm left trying to find a decent painter who has time available to work on my house before all the wood rots away. I wish that Collar City had been more realistic about what they could handle or when they'd be able to do the work. An exceedingly frustrating situation which came as a huge surprise because I had started out with such good feelings about the company.