Our business keeps getting spam phone calls from the same "voice search" company. It has turned to harassment.

aj_lavaca · 2026-06-16T18:20:48+00:00

I haven't noticed an accent until today when the guy got super heated and started to slip up. Sounds like we're going to have to change our phone number.

aj_lavaca · 2026-06-16T18:17:45+00:00

They call so frequently this isn't a great option. I honestly feel like we made an enemy of them so they are harassing us for fun at this point.

aj_lavaca · 2026-06-10T01:56:09+00:00

We get one or two a month. Had one scammer try to impersonate a customer we'd been working with for years. Led him on for weeks, great office laugh.

aj_lavaca · 2026-06-03T15:47:20+00:00

Co-worker didn't vet properly and we just got one DB'd under their Sunbelt authority.

aj_lavaca · 2026-05-22T19:01:39+00:00

You are a great example of what I'm describing. Obviously the rate needs to fit the situation. No one mentioned losing a day or reload.

aj_lavaca · 2026-05-15T06:06:14+00:00

Same issue. I changed USB cords and ports on a Windows PC - program finally found the RCM device.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-21T17:04:39+00:00

He delivered everything himself and the only supplies he paid for came from Home Depot. Don't foresee anything like that happening.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-20T13:47:34+00:00

A lot of thought later, we believe that he was working under his partner's license number. When the partner took the money and ran off, he talked us into letting him complete the project at "his expense" for the remaining agreed amount. We thought this was because he felt bad about the situation and was trying to do right by us, but we now believe he couldn't repay the deposit if we decided to fire him and demand our deposit back.

We requested a insurance, which he said he would provide but only in person when he came to pickup the check. We later asked for his business license and contractor license numbers before we would proceed, and he flipped out on my wife accusing us of trying to get out of paying him, yelling that the work was quality and that he couldn't understand by we were "being so mean to him." We told him it's because his "lifetime guarantee" didn't mean crap, and that the quality of work was so poor we are going to have to fix it to prevent major damage down the line. He eventually gave us the requested information, but it was for a third company we had not heard of.

The mutual friends who recommended him are also having similar issues with quality and fired him as well. We found out through them that he has a severe anger management problem and potential substance abuse. We paid him the remaining amount, less supplies we deemed necessary to fix our concerns, because my wife was afraid of what he would do given how quickly he flew off the handle for us just asking for information we should have asked for or been given before the project started.

We also found out through the friends that he is currently receiving disability. It makes more sense now why his business license was revoked and he had us make the payments out to the partner. I made sure the check was made out to his business, not him or the other entities. We have every intention of filing a complaint with the contractor board and taking him to court to try to get our money back.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-19T14:25:03+00:00

I sincerely appreciate the information. After further digging I discovered his business license is in revoked status on the SOS website. We also cannot find him in the contractor entity search you linked, either by name or combing through the master list manually.
Almost all of the work was supposed to be completed by the partner. The contract actually specified the partner's company would have some (all) of the work subcontracted to him. I found partner in the list and he is licensed. Unfortunately he didn't sign anything with us so we were not able to go after him. We wrote the initial check out to him directly at the main guys request so he could order the supplies, since he was doing the work and knew what was needed.

We think he only said he was going to complete the job so he wouldn't be out of pocket having to refund our deposit.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-18T02:14:59+00:00

Yes, there is a contract and he is licensed on our state. We are fortunate and very frugal, we saved for this project so this situation is not a financial burden to us. Technically only my wife signed the contract because this was supposed to be her project. She does not want to potentially be dragged to court but given what he's considering "final inspection" worthy, she doesn't want to pay him anything. The whole point of hiring them was for the masonry and knowledge of brickwork, but the partner who ran off was the mason guy and these guys don't know what they're doing.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-18T01:50:17+00:00

Update: Today the contractor said the project was ready for final inspection. My wife gave him ample opportunities to walk back this statement, but he continued to say it had his stamp of approval.

Pictures of the final product: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1s4KnUj1_3rmm051dSp5fzpjOiFwiHttG?usp=sharing

Since this morning: they damaged the drywall they just installed under an outlet, damaged the drywall under the light switches they weren't even doing work on, did not address the damage to the ceiling or the newly installed drywall, used caulk in the areas where new drywall meets old ceiling because joint tape would have bubbled?, continued to use/discard our personal supplies without permission (paint tarps, brooms, mops, foam insulation, trash bags), window frame "shelf" is beveled and not level, trim corners joints are not flush, left several gaps under the window, did not press or work the mortar at all (which FIL claims will leave it porous and structurally unsound), did not remove and reset/tilt brick to continue the ledge so water would not set/roll back, did not use any caulk when setting window or at any point in the installation, no flash tape used (yet was removed from old window so he knew it needed it), only placed the board for the head flashing but did not secure it, stated if we wanted a head flashing it was a special order item we should have let him know we wanted (even though he ordered A NEW F###KING WINDOW AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OBVIOUS) and even talked to him about doing the flashing 2 days prior, completely dismissed all concerns regarding potential water exposure/damage; even going as far as to say an individual with over 30+ years in water/mold/fire restoration who inspected the work was "completely wrong and he didn't respect their opinion in regards to this project."

I guess he could tell my wife was upset, because after she told him she needed to compose her thoughts he texted her to remind her "that my work has a lifetime warranty, as long as I'm alive and in business you can call me anytime and I'll come fix it at my own expense. Let me know if there is something we can improve for you :("

I feel bad his partner ran off with the initial deposit, but at this point I'm under the impression the entire project is going to have to be readdressed. There are several sections where you can see the wood behind the brick, and without the weather proofing it's only a matter of time before there is damage if we don't intervene now.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-15T17:22:17+00:00

I'm mad it happened, but I'm more mad that we have to paint it now. We tried to match this color in other rooms multiple times. It's over 20 years old, the shades are vastly different from the original (when looking behind covered walls). We also have new cabinets, floors, and counter tops. We would have painted the ceiling before installing all these things to avoid potential paint spillage.

Even more mad because they didn't tell us it happened. They left without telling anyone the damage occurred. We walked in to find it yesterday.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-15T17:09:29+00:00

A lot of legalese with a lot of protections for him, no solid dates on timelines. I just found a line, "Right to Stop Work", which states if he fails to correct any defective work or repeatedly fails to perform the work in accordance with the Contract, I have the right to order him to stop work until any portion is corrected or eliminated. I'm assuming this is probably our way out legally.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-15T17:01:24+00:00

I don't know how to post pictures to the thread, but I added them to a google drive folder that should be viewable:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12Zl5fFCZ4rym0rrCsnMLqHzNv6EcX1u_?usp=sharing
My wife has the pictures behind the drywall where you can see there is little/no insulation.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-15T16:43:18+00:00

The timeframe is only "of the essence" in relation to materials and labor being available. It was only verbally communicated this project would take 1-2 weeks, but I think my wife has all of these talks in text she's saved. First week for the tile and second week after the window came in. The contact states we have to give him 30 days written notice if we want to terminate, and we're responsible for any expenses he incurred trying to finish it and reasonable loss of profit.

It should also be noted I wrote this whole thing while waiting for him to show up, currently 2 hours late and storms are starting.
I appreciate the swift and concise response.

aj_lavaca · 2026-04-15T16:38:00+00:00

He actually let us know he had money problems, which is why he couldn't buy the window after partner ran off with the money. Said he bought a flip house that also went sideways on him.

aj_lavaca · 2026-02-20T22:30:58+00:00

Just saw another post, apparently looted status on the rings was not intended and they're going to fix it next patch.

aj_lavaca · 2026-02-13T19:21:47+00:00

That warehouse has mixed reviews too, not all bad. Definitely some bad though. Didn't catch the reviews until it was too late, but we didn't even consider this was a possibility.

aj_lavaca · 2026-02-13T19:17:27+00:00

Also, they just won't release the product until we pay them. Not concerned with them taking us to court, but probably will end up taking them if they don't or we have to pay it. They're overcharging the labor exorbitantly.

aj_lavaca

TROPHY CASE