John Wiggins, painter, came to a house my husband and I were trying to sell for a quote. He looked over the entire job and gave us what seemed like a reasonable quote for $3850 at the end of October. He explained he was in the middle of another job but could start the job around the second or third week of November. The first week of November, my husband met with John Wiggins to write a check for $1150 (1/3 to start the job). We received a call approximately a week from that day from Home Depot asking for payment for the paint. John Wiggins Wiggins ordered and transported the paint back to the house so we assumed the work had started.
The third week of November, we went to the house to find that no work had been done. We called John Wiggins who profusely apologized and said his other job took longer than expected. He requoted the start date as the first week of December. We agreed to this.The second week of December, we went back to the house to find that once again, no work had been done. We spoke to John Wiggins once again who again apologized and promised he would start on Monday (second week of December). He made arrangements for my husband to meet him at the house at the end of the week for final payment.
On Thursday of that week, John Wiggins contacted my husband to say that again, no work had been done on the house. He stated that he was out of town and the guys he had hired never showed up. He said the job was going to be rescheduled to "sometime after the New Year". Since my husband and I had taken time off for the holidays and needed this house on the market by after the New Year, we spoke to John Wiggins and said the delay was unacceptable and we couldn't wait without a definite date. He refused to give a date so we asked for our money back so we could either paint the house ourselves or find another, more reliable contractor.
At this point, John Wiggins said it wasn't his fault, that we didn't understand this business, and that it was hard because he had to hire "criminals and drug addicts". He then stated the money we gave him was a deposit and he would not be paying any of it back because we broke the contract. My husband said we would be filing in small claims court. The day my husband filed in small claims court, using the address provided on John Wiggins "John's Custom Home Painting" sites, he also wrote a complaint on Angie's List and at that point, John Wiggins contacted us again to say that if we did the right thing by taking down the review, he would do the right thing and pay us back. We received a money order for $100 two days later with a long note explaining that he would pay us back in payments and take nearly $200 for gas from traveling to the house twice. He provided no return address.
We texted John Wiggins again to say that we did not accept this arrangement, wanted the full amount returned, and had filed in small claims court already. One of his listed addresses is now vacant so the first summons was returned to us. I went on John Wiggins' facebook page (John Boy's Painting) and wrote a 1-star review. Not one hour later, his wife (Hollie Wiggins) contacted me. She stated that the house was dirty and cold (which was all clear during the on-site quote) and that the money John Wiggins sent wasn't negotiable. She stated that the money that was being deducted was "the price you pay for breaking it (contract)". I asked for her valid address which she said she would not give. The Facebook site for John Wiggins' "John Boy Painting" aka "John's Custom House Painting" was removed shortly after this interaction.
We have gone above and beyond to be reasonable with John Wiggins. He may be a good painter but he is not a decent human or a man of his word. This an expensive lesson (and one I will definitely be fighting) but ultimately taught me a lot about hiring contractors.
Johns Custom House Painting Reviews
John Wiggins, painter, came to a house my husband and I were trying to sell for a quote. He looked over the entire job and gave us what seemed like a reasonable quote for $3850 at the end of October. He explained he was in the middle of another job but could start the job around the second or third week of November. The first week of November, my husband met with John Wiggins to write a check for $1150 (1/3 to start the job). We received a call approximately a week from that day from Home Depot asking for payment for the paint. John Wiggins Wiggins ordered and transported the paint back to the house so we assumed the work had started.
The third week of November, we went to the house to find that no work had been done. We called John Wiggins who profusely apologized and said his other job took longer than expected. He requoted the start date as the first week of December. We agreed to this.The second week of December, we went back to the house to find that once again, no work had been done. We spoke to John Wiggins once again who again apologized and promised he would start on Monday (second week of December). He made arrangements for my husband to meet him at the house at the end of the week for final payment.
On Thursday of that week, John Wiggins contacted my husband to say that again, no work had been done on the house. He stated that he was out of town and the guys he had hired never showed up. He said the job was going to be rescheduled to "sometime after the New Year". Since my husband and I had taken time off for the holidays and needed this house on the market by after the New Year, we spoke to John Wiggins and said the delay was unacceptable and we couldn't wait without a definite date. He refused to give a date so we asked for our money back so we could either paint the house ourselves or find another, more reliable contractor.
At this point, John Wiggins said it wasn't his fault, that we didn't understand this business, and that it was hard because he had to hire "criminals and drug addicts". He then stated the money we gave him was a deposit and he would not be paying any of it back because we broke the contract. My husband said we would be filing in small claims court. The day my husband filed in small claims court, using the address provided on John Wiggins "John's Custom Home Painting" sites, he also wrote a complaint on Angie's List and at that point, John Wiggins contacted us again to say that if we did the right thing by taking down the review, he would do the right thing and pay us back. We received a money order for $100 two days later with a long note explaining that he would pay us back in payments and take nearly $200 for gas from traveling to the house twice. He provided no return address.
We texted John Wiggins again to say that we did not accept this arrangement, wanted the full amount returned, and had filed in small claims court already. One of his listed addresses is now vacant so the first summons was returned to us. I went on John Wiggins' facebook page (John Boy's Painting) and wrote a 1-star review. Not one hour later, his wife (Hollie Wiggins) contacted me. She stated that the house was dirty and cold (which was all clear during the on-site quote) and that the money John Wiggins sent wasn't negotiable. She stated that the money that was being deducted was "the price you pay for breaking it (contract)". I asked for her valid address which she said she would not give. The Facebook site for John Wiggins' "John Boy Painting" aka "John's Custom House Painting" was removed shortly after this interaction.
We have gone above and beyond to be reasonable with John Wiggins. He may be a good painter but he is not a decent human or a man of his word. This an expensive lesson (and one I will definitely be fighting) but ultimately taught me a lot about hiring contractors.