4 C's Company Inc

We originally agreed to do a straight up payment of labor and materials at set rates. He went over on labor by 30 percent, which I can even understand if he needed that to get the job done. However, that wasn't where it ended. One of the biggest elements that made working with them so frustrating, was they added a large markup on materials used during the repair in addition to no invoice because "his customers don't ask for them" which anyone would agree that is rather suspect. Getting this information out of him (as to why the charge was so high) took 1 phone call and multiple text messages before he admitted that he had spiked the materials cost up ---only after I literally researched with local vendors what rates were for things like concrete. He finally owned up to it after being pressed. He gave me a bit less off, but not at cost like we originally agreed. The runaround I was given was just as frustrating as the work itself. I would think twice before hiring this company out. Update: 10-22-15 Val's reply contains several errors of fact. First, there was no change in the work orders, only in what material was used in a particular section of the room AND the substitute material cost less than the original. Further, the removal of the baseboard made the crack easier to fill than when it was it place. Secondly, since the subcontractor did not believe he could make any decisions on his own, there was a considerable WAIT time, while he tried to reach Val to obtain approval for the change in material (unrelated to fetching materials). Even Val's own invoice reads "credit 30 min. for waiting time to contact Val". Although I requested a detailed invoice for materials, Val did not initially provide such. Upon my persistence , he wrote one that included a bucket Nonshrink fastset $18.06 (not purchased by sub as no fast set was available) and 150 lbs Fastset concrete $50.02 (which normally runs between $7.02 to $14.94 for 150 lbs). Since Val never returned to the job site after bringing over the sub, he apparently was unaware of what was done and with what. When arguing about costs, Val complained that he wasn't even making $100 on this job--that he not only subbed out but also had estimated at $260, including materials. Thus, not only did he mark up the materials by what he claimed was 40%, but he also marked up the hourly labor fees. With the 30 plus contractors I have worked with over the years, labor and materials means just that. If Val was unwilling to take the job for that agreement, he should have said no and provided a contractual bid. His hidden method of determining labor and materials deterred me from going after additional bids, as it doesn't get better than straight labor and materials.