~~|~~ Jeremy Barnes, Salt Lake City Contractors ~~

Fittings not tightened. god only knows what else inside is loose.

Not flush, not sealed

Not professional

To be fair, he fixed some of these things --
with a smile -- but he also smiled before
all this happened.

But he eventually refunded
me for the candy and some
things which he also billed me for.

Link To get this fixed, I had to hire Mr Gary Gish.

Email

From: Jeremy Barnes <jebarnes06@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Postings
Date: May 22, 2013 8:42:37 PM MDT

Please tell me where you are posting these pictures. I will refund your $10.00 for sure but a will have to consider the $300.00. I think this is just an arbitrary number that you came up with.

Sent from my iPhone

More than a month later, Epic Jeremy sent me a check for ten epic dollars. But not before he was contacted by the better Business Bureau (Case #22149037) about his dishonest practices. I think, anyway that he's dishonest; it's my opinion.

The ten-dollar check arrived in a CERTIFIED MAIL envelope -- postage for that was six dollars. I'm assuming that he wants to make sure I don't later dishonestly say that I didn't receive his Cashier's Check, that's why he paid over half again, in postage, the value of the content of the registered letter. Maybe he thinks I'm dishonest too (I'm not:). Here is the picture of that:

his refund didn't cover everything; I was also billed for:
Homer Bucket 5-Gal. Orange Bucket, whatever THAT is - $2.28 and
SHEETROCK - $4.98. WHY?
I don't need a bucket and he never worked on a sheetrock / drywall!
I think he cheated me.

The BBB posting:
From: "Better Business Bureau" <saltlake.kg@bbb-email.org>
Subject: BBB Complaint Case#22149037(Ref#6-22339023-22149037-6-1100)
Date: July 8, 2013 6:02:39 AM MDT

The Better Business Bureau has received a response from the business regarding your complaint. Please review their response and advise us of your position in the matter by July 22, 2013. If we do not hear from you this case will be closed in our files as "assumed resolved".

You can access the details of the complaint and view the business' reply by clicking:

https://utah.app.bbb.org/complaintreply/c

Use the following to login:
Case ID: 22149037
Password: 73r893

BBB Processing

06/17/2013 web BBB Complaint Received by BBB
06/20/2013 KG BBB Complaint Reviewed by BBB Operator
06/20/2013 Otto EMAIL Send acknowledgement to Consumer
06/20/2013 Otto MAIL Inform Business of the Complaint
07/05/2013 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : Contact Name and Title: Jeremy Barnes
Contact Phone: 801-946-6442
Contact Email: jebarnes06@gmail.com

I received a call from the complainant in the second week of May 2013, a referral from a local real estate agent. We made arrangements to meet at his home to discuss some home repairs he was hoping to have done in the rental unit of his home, the completion of some ongoing home repairs, and some future ideas he was considering. During our meeting, there was a man there working on a sprinkler valve box.

Once we made it to the rental unit we went through items that needed to be repaired. Throughout the walk-through process, his biggest concern was budget. He also commented about his disappointment with previous contractors, who had not completed the work he'd paid for. I made a note that the existing finishes were low quality. I wrote down every item that needed attention, and offered to make the repairs for "time and material" at my rate of $50/hour (thus the receipt). The complainant agreed.

The complainant was going out of town and I had a small window of opportunity, so re-arranged my schedule and worked him in. I went back and forth between jobs, for three days, to get his job done. It is apparent that the complainant has a video camera and was aware of when I was coming and going.

The work was completed while he was out of town. When he returned I was notified that I hadn't attached the dryer duct to the wall. He said the rest of the work looked good. I made arrangements to attach the dryer vent to the wall.

I dropped off the bill and he paid the bill without any concerns. Shortly after, I received an email from the complainant with concerns as to my workmanship and the receipt. He was concerned about some "wire nuts" and "salty snacks" that were on the receipt. I apologized for the oversight and offered to refund his money for those items, which totaled about $10. Then he proceeded to tell me that my work was not to his liking. I offered to come and repair any items that were not to his standards. He denied the opportunity and said he wanted another refund for the work of $300. Again, I offered to make the repairs, but told him I would not give him a refund. He told me he did not want me back on his property.

Following that discussion with the complainant, I received multiple emails from him, threatening to post something negative on the internet about my workmanship. I asked where he would be posting these complaints and he said "in about a week the Google spider will find your name and you can Google it." At that point, I stopped responding to his emails and went about my business.

I went on a vacation with my wife and the day we got home, I got a Cashier's Check for the complainant, in the amount of $10, and sent it Certified Mail. That evening I opened a notice from the Better Business Bureau, prompting this response. Upon, receiving the notice, I decided to do some research on the "postings" of the complainant. Had I done this research in the beginning, I would not have taken the job in the first place. It appears he has his own website where he has posts complaints about many reputable companies in Utah. One look at his website, and it's clear that he is "out to get" something for free from everyone he's worked with and that his threats and website are a form of "sport" to him. His posts are not only untrue, but damaging to business. Take, for example, the following quote from his website:
"I was going to go buy, however, you saved me all the trouble." Consumers do not randomly complain and create web pages for lack of something better to do"

I continue to receive badgering emails from him in the middle of the night; most people send them during the daylight hours. The last email update he sent was on June 28th at 1:22 a.m.. He is obviously more tech-savvy, than myself, and has lots of free time to make and post a website about everyone he meets.

I have offered to repair my work to his satisfaction and he has refused. I am under the impression from his constant emails that he is threatening a lawsuit.

I understand that the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a place for consumers that have been victimized by serious offenders. It is unfortunate, however, that people can try to take advantage of this service, and file as many complaints as they like . . . true or not. It is particularly frustrating to me that the complainant was offered, and refused, a reasonable solution.
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the BBB regarding this matter, and would suggest that a close look be taken at the source. I suspect I am not the only small business the complainant has tried to destroy for, what appears to be, his petty amusement. I stand by my work, and welcome any further questions you may have.

My response:

In broad strokes, Mr. Barnes� account is valid but in the details of his rebuttal there are things which are not so and there are other things which demand comment. Here are the most salient ones:

** RE: �The work was completed while he was out of town."
NOT SO. Yes, I was out of town but his work had NOT been completed, as he claims! This is evidenced by the fact that Barnes needed to return to affix, correctly (more or less), the sloppy attachments of two electrical outlets (see pictures on my web page) and to "�attach the dryer duct to the wall", as he states. That outlet / switch box which he installed is loose, sloppy and there�s no tightening of screws and cables. Perhaps he was in a hurry. Why did Barnes bill me for drywall, which was never used? Why did I have to purchase a bucket for him?

** RE: �He said the rest of the work looked good. I made arrangements to attach the dryer vent to the wall."
MAYBE; MAYBE NOT. I don�t remember saying that his work looked good. I know for certain that after examining Barnes� work at my leisure and later, with help from an expert, that his work was actually sloppy; that�s why I�m asking for a partial refund; I�m not going to all this trouble for my health. Yes, he did return to attach the dryer duct to the wall but he did not perform the fix to the electrical box and wiring (see pictures above).

** RE: ��there was a man there working on a sprinkler valve box."
TRUE. This man (I can give his name as witness) has a small business and he has maintained and improved my house since 1988. He is my afore mentioned expert. (He did not have time to do the work for which, instead, I hired Mr. Barnes). It is he, after examining Mr. Barnes� slipshod work, who alerted me so some of the defects in Barnes� efforts and recommended that I seek reckoning.

** RE: �I offered to come and repair any items that were not to his standards."
YES, HE DID THAT. But it�s not my standards that I expected, it is at leart a commonly accepted, lowest common denominator level of competence which I expect, certainly, and I did not receive even that. It is my opinion that Barnes� work was hasty and sloppy -- below par.

** RE: �He denied the opportunity [to come and repair any items] and said he wanted another refund for the work of $300. "
YES AND NO. No, we never talked about it. BTW, He is still welcome to return to fix the outstanding items. Yes, I asked for a three hundred dollar refund, thinking that it would be a fair and equitable and quick way that Barnes could redeem himself. But he charged eleven hundred dollars, and got paid that, and by now I�ve had a lot of trouble with him, with all this back-and-forth, reporting to the BBB and making a website about that shoddy work. It�s only fair that he should make an honest settlement for the true value of what he did here. I want a greater refund. Barnes did not work for 17 hours, I know that -- a journeyman could have done this work more quickly, in my opinion.

** RE: �Again, I offered to make the repairs, but told him I would not give him a refund."
NO. BARNES DID NOT OFFER TO RETURN to make the additional repairs. Barnes returned twice, but did not fix the outstanding issues.

Barnes did not say he�d give a refund beyond money which he spent on candy (see receipt) and wire nuts (for his inventory)! But he said he�d CONSIDER a refund! In fact, his last email communication to me reads as follows:

"From: Jeremy Barnes <jebarnes06@gmail.com>
Date: May 22, 2013 8:42:37 PM MDT

"Please tell me where you are posting these pictures. I will refund your $10.00 for sure but a [sic] will have to consider the $300.00. I think this is just an arbitrary number that you came up with.

Now that he�s denied my refund via BBB, I think that maybe there was a certain bravado in his emailed message to me, a kind of mockery, a cocky smugness or arrogance, but certainly no hint of apology! Correct me if I�m, wrong. I see no "apology for the oversight" as he now claims. I see recalcitrance on Barnes� part in this, his BBB rebuttal.

** RE: ��I apologized for the oversight�"
I don�t care for Barns� apology. I was cheated; that�s my opinion, and I�d be keen on rectification without having to go further."

** RE: �I continue to receive badgering emails from him in the middle of the night; most people send them during the daylight hours. The last email update he sent was on June 28th at 1:22 a.m�"
WELL? Barnes asked me, via email, �Please tell me where you are posting these pictures.� Later, I replied that he should wait until the Internet spiders had indexed these pictures and subsequently I emailed him to say that the Internet search engines had indeed indexed the location on the �Net (URL) and that he could now GOOGLE his information to find my website.

As for the time when I do my emailing� I work nights. If he does not want to receive emails at the time I send them, then he should simply open them at a time which is convenient to him and not put the blame on me! Barnes seems to be grasping at straws only to make me look bad.

** RE: �I went back and forth between jobs, for three days, to get his job done."
FROM MR. BARNES� INVOICE:

	1. replace trim on bathroom door (bathroom) 2. caulk shower door & re-caulk tile at shower door (bathroom) 3. remove outlet & replace wall tile (bathroom) 4. add GFI outlets pulling power form opposite side of wall (bathroom) 5. replace one outlet / switch box & add one new outlet (garage) 6. add dryer exhaust (garage)
Mr. Barens' is even SLOPPY with preparing his bill: If you click to enlarge the INVOICE above, you'll see that Materials is billed as $251.89, whereas the receipt for materials came to $251.98 !

Correct me if I�m wrong: it should NOT take THREE DAYS to do these small six items. Mr. Barnes billed 17 hrs at $50/hr for labor and he knows full well that�s not how long he actually worked. Seventeen hours is two full 8-hr days... PLUS TIME FOR LUNCH! His bill came to $1,100. I think a journeyman contractor could have done these six items satisfactorily (and the first time) in fewer than six hours!

I think that this "Epic Contractor" was milking me. And bilking me. And I think that the believes he�ll get away with it, as is evidenced from his BBB rebuttal above.

Mr. Barnes also billed me for tools and materials that were not used: A certain kind of �bucket� and some sheetrock -- please see my web page where I complain about this. I think he may have billed me for hours which he intended to work, but which he did not actually work, as is evidenced form the sheetrock he bought (to fix a hole in a wall) and which he did not attempt to repair.

** RE: �He told me he did not want me back on his property."
I�LL BET THIS IS ALSO FALSE. I say this because that�s just not how I talk. I�d be happy to make an appointment for Mr. Barnes to return, to do proper re-work, and especially if his appearance is to deliver a cashier�s check to make things right. I think I got cheated. I got scammed by over billing and under-performance and recalcitrance. That�s my opinion until now.

Addendum:
So many things are slanted in Barn's account, it's difficult to correct them all. I discovered another untrue claim after I'd submitted my My response above, to the BBB. Mr. Barnes says that thinks I'm threatening a lawsuit.

** RE: �I received multiple emails from him, threatening to post something negative on the internet about my workmanship"
NOT TRUE. I never threaten, I just do. I think Mr. Barnes discovered this web page on his own or perhaps he was told about it by the realtor -- that's my guess.

This workman was recommended by Jonathan Aubrey, a realtor from Century 21.

It's my opinion that Mr. Barnes cheated me; that's why this web page.

Your email is welcome. Publisher's statement: Inaccuracies will be corrected, if brought to publisher's attention.
This web page has been brought to the attention of its subject.

Do these things suck? ~~ Unpleasant experiences with companies and organizations.
Page updated 2015-07-26