College Works Painting
Reviews and Complaints

To whom it may concern,

I contracted with College Works Painting by Jordan Miller, from the University of Nebraska, Kearney, to paint our home this past summer.

The crew began painting our home in June 2023.

This contract included a two coat paint option, which was agreed upon with Jordan when I signed the contract.

Some of the 2nd coat, higher elevation painting, was not completed. Apparently some of the crew members were "afraid of heights" and the second coat of paint was never applied in those areas.

Scraping and other prep work was billed at $1866 which included scrapping, repair, or replacement as needed.

We paid full amount for this service and clearly, hardly any scrapping of chipped areas around several windows was done.

My wife retouched several spots around the windows herself, and could see, up close, where scrapping and/or repair was not done.

We have pictures and video of these unfinished areas.

For these reasons, the TOTAL amount paid, of $1866 for this service is completely unacceptable.

We were also charged $1027 for trim work.

The wood trim around the front windows did not receive a 2nd coat of paint.

We also requested to have the metal frames around the window to be painted, which Jordan verbally agreed to. This was not done to any of the metal trim on the windows.

Jordan was called 3 times to finish the windows with a 2nd coat. She said she would have to return on a weekend to do this, which has yet to be completed.

It has been almost two months, and UNK has resumed classes, so we don’t know what Jordan’s availability will be at this time, seeing she is a student at UNK.

My wife has since painted all but one of the metal window frames herself.

We strongly feel we have been grossly overcharged for the services rendered by College Works Painting.

We are asking for partial if not total reimbursement of the $1866 for scrapping and/or repair or replacement services as well as the $1027 paid for trim work.

Please contact us as soon as possible so we can discuss the incomplete work to our home, which we have already paid in full to College Works Painting.

Thank you,

James and Carol Staab

8 Seminole Lane

Kearney, NE

[protected]

The reason people come here to post complaints about this organization is because if you try and post a negative review on their website, it never gets posted. I am sick about the paint job that was done on my home, it is horrific, I stopped them from continuing on July 10th, 2018 and there still is no resolution. They continue to lie about the surfaces being power washed and prepped prior to painting, they were not, I hired a professional painter to review the job, and he was shocked, he said that the surfaces were definitely not power washed or prepped and he just kept saying this is a joke, unfortunately, I guess the joke is on me. I also had the Sherwin Williams paint rep review the job, he said the same thing and took samples and said that they did not power wash or prep the surfaces to be painted. I received no satisfaction from the branch manager or the district manager, they just continue to lie. I was put in touch with the district manger's boss, Taylor Duncan and the first thing he said to me was I understand the house was powerwashed and prepped and you are not happy ! I was disgusted, especially since he knew that it was not, because he had talked to the paint rep that came and reviewed the job site. He also knew that they did not even have a tall enough ladder to prep or paint the second story. My neighbor said they used a short ladder with a roller attached to a 10' pole, so they clearly did not have the equipment to do the prep or the paint job, they actually rolled over my overhang vents and most ofthem are now painted closed orpartially closed. Taylor was supposed to call me back in a couple days, I never heard back from him until three weeks later, and that was only because I contacted the corporate office and told them I wanted to go to arbitration, he finally called me back that afternoon, I didn't take his call, I will not deal with liars or someone who is unresponsive! I contacted the corporate office again and told them I will not deal with liars and I want to go to arbitration...no reply back yet. What a joke, I think they think if they continue to not return your phone calls that you will just get tired of It and go away. I have also reported them to the Better Business Bureau and their response to the BBB was that we were working out a resolution! If any of you college students who have worked for them have any suggestions or know how I go about the arbitration process please advise. Worst organization I've ever dealt with, they lie, are unresponsive and no one is accountable.

They took my $1, 697 deposit over 2.5 months ago (3/31) and I haven't seen or heard from them since. They missed the appointment to pick paint colors and schedule the project in early May. I found out they had fired the guy who sold me the project. I finally called the guys boss (Riley Eichhorn) and left 3 messages. He never got in touch with me so I wrote them and told them to cancel the project. They said someone would get back to me to tell me about my refund. That was last month (5/31) and of course I haven't heard anything.

They are in breach of contract for non-performance as they missed the time frame to schedule a meeting to pick colors and a start date for the project. It was the next step in the process and was supposed to happen the first week of May. Their contract says they will return any money paid within 10 business day of getting written notice of my desire to cancel. I sent it and they confirmed they received it on 5/31.

I painted houses in college and really like the kid who sold me the project. I wanted to give him a shot like I got. I regret that now. Once they had my money everything changed and now they have just disappeared. Save yourself the hassle and don't do business with these guys.

What do I want?
One - I would like a full refund of my deposit and
Two - For my time and trouble I would like College Works Painting to donate $500 to the men's homeless shelter in Winston - Samaritan Ministries, 414 E NW Blvd, Winston Salem, NC [protected]. This doesn't cover the cost of my time but it is a good cause and they need the money.

This place feels like a scam. The guy who came to the door seemed nice, and it seemed at first like an ok decision. He said that they would scrape the old paint and the painters would be professional.. But the guys who came definitely did NOT seem like professional painters. They did NO prep work at all -- no taping, no cleaning, nothing. The paint is now all peeling off, after only 3 months. I have scheduled 3 calls with their guys to come, and they don't show up (the last one admitted that he overslept). I told them that I don't want them to come out and fix it, because it is so bad and they have been so unprofessional and it is just a waste of time- I will just let them keep the deposit and we'll call it even, even though I need to have it repainted. I just now had one of the guys show up at my house at 8pm unannounced and essentially threaten me in front of my kids that they will take legal action if I don't pay the remainder (even though I haven't heard from him since the day he didn't show up because he overslept). Stay away from these guys. Sketchy at best.

My husband and I hired Collegeworks Painting to paint our Bethlehem, PA home in the summer of 2007. They did a good job and we were happy with the team of painters. The manager, Mike Rosales, was excellent with his workers and with his customers. The only complaint we had was that they started the job much later in the summer than they had told us they would, and then took much longer than they had anticipated, so by the end of the summer, the students were visibly "checked out" mentally. They were heading back to college and wanted to be done. The carport area was done in a "mad rush" and it subsequently began to peel almost immediately. But they wouldn't come back to rectify this, stating that their season was finished and they'd return in the Spring and re-do the carport under the warranty.

We had purchased an extended (five year) warranty. I contacted Collegeworks over the winter of 2007 due to peeling we detected on various areas of the house, in addition to the carport problem. They took their time in getting us set up with painters to come out and take care of this. They finally sent painters very late summer, and it was taken care of, but, again, it was late in the season and they clearly didn't want to be here.

Once again over the winter of 2008, we noticed peeling. I contacted Collegworks and requested a manager be sent out early Spring. I explained to the Customer Service Representative, Steven Antonio, that we really would like to have someone come out early in the season and take care of this, as we wanted them to be "fresh" and ready to roll (pun intended). He promised me that he would see to it this happened. He did explain that the warranty work estimates get done late June, early July and that he would put a request in for ours to be one of the first. After several phone calls and emails, finally, one day in July, (the 15th to be exact) a manager (Ryan) called and said that a painter (Darren) would be coming out to price out the job in the next couple of hours. Nothing like planning ahead. Pretty unprofessional. Luckily my husband was working from home that day and was available to meet with Darren. They walked around the house together, and when them came to the chimney (which by the way hadn't originally been painted at all unbeknownst to us at the time - a roofer subsequently spotted it and then told us about it), Darren said, "Hmmm...I don't know how to get up on that roof." Hmmmm...we are hiring you to get up on that roof, and if you don't know about chicken ladders and such, should you be doing this job? I spoke with Ryan about this and he said not to worry, he would definitely have someone out within the next few days to do the job - someone with experience - and that the job would be completed by the following Monday, 7/20.

When Monday came and went and no Ryan and no painters, I contacted Steven Antonio again, who told me this job is going to take much longer than they had anticipated; that it will take more than ten hours, therefore it needs approval, and that will happen by early the following week, 7/27..

I also had requested back in March a copy of the original contract and warranty. Steven had told me he'd get that to me. Since I hadn't received it, I asked Steven about it again, who said he would be in touch with Mike Rosario (who had left the company) to inquire about the contract (which was apparently missing in action) and about any notes he may have written about our house (since Mike had told me he'd do that before he left the company).

On 7/21, I spoke with Ryan, who stated that this would actually be a two-day job and the local college crew would be working late into the summer and even into early fall, so not to worry, it would get done and he promised everyone would be "on board" to do a good job. We agreed on the week of 8/10. I mentioned the contract. He said he'd look into it.

8/3 I left a message for Ryan to confirm the job. No return call and no Ryan on 8/10.

I called Ryan and left a message on 8/12. I then called Steven Antonio and asked to speak with the top manager for this area. He put me through to Joe Young, who they tell me supervises the warranty work. Joe told me that the warranty work does get done July - September (in other words, they weren't technically late in getting to us). But, as I explained to numerous people, I also explained to Joe that it was promised to me that we would be one of the first houses to get done and that the lack of communication and follow-through is unacceptable. Joe stated that Ryan is "swamped" but would get back to me that evening. I also discussed the contract and warranty and Joe said he'd look into it and get it emailed to me.

No Ryan, once again.

On 8/24, I called Steven and asked to speak with the "big boss" of this area. He told me her name is "Lulu" and that she is the "owner" of the PA division and that she would get back to me.

No call from Lulu, but Ryan called on 8/25, very apologetic, and set up the job for 9/3 (remember - we were supposed to be first on the list way back in July!)

9/3 came and went. No Ryan. No painters. No job getting done.

Messages, etc.

On 9/9 I called Joe and told him that at this point Collegworks was in breach of contract and that my next step would be to contact my lawyer (oh, and by the way, where is the copy of the contract you promised?! Hmmmm...they cannot locate the contract! Or the warranty! Also - why haven't I heard back from Lulu and could I have her direct number? No I could not have her direct number and she will not be calling me.)Joe stated he wasn't aware that the job wasn't getting done and that he was not happy with that and that he'd see to it that it got done and he'd be emailing me with a copy of the contract, any notes he can find that Mike may have put in the file, and he'd also explain the warranty policy (he thinks the first two years are free of charge to us, and then years three through five there is an hourly rate for labor, but it's free of charge if it's a re-do from previous warranty work.)

Ryan called a few minutes after Joe and I hung up. Apologetic. Will definitely be here 9/18 to look at the job and then will complete the job on 9/19 and 9/20. He will also return the following weekend if need be.

Finally follow-through. Ryan did work on the days he promised. He did not have a helper as he said he would, so could not get up on the ladder to do the 40-feet areas but promised it would get done the following weekend. He did show up the following weekend, 9/26, but once again the helper wasn't with him and we had to go out. He stated he promised he would not get up on the high ladder without his helper, that his helper was on his way, and that the job would be done upon our return. When we returned, he had left several ladders, paint, sprayer, other tools and equipment in the yard and in the carport. It looked as though the job was complete, but we still to this day do not know if his helper showed up; if he got up on the high ladder and painted all the high spots and the area on the chimney that hadn't gotten done.

Today, five weeks since we last saw Ryan, ladders, sprayer and other equipment is still laying about our property. We have not done the "walk-around" with Ryan or signed off on the job. We do not have a copy of the contract. Ryan nor Joe are returning phone calls.

Very unprofessional indeed.

Unfortunately, we would probably have to deal with this company three more years if there is more peeling (and what about that?! Why so much peeling?!) But at this point I do believe our best bet is to seek a refund on that warranty and be done with Collegworks.

I will see what our lawyer thinks about the whole mess.

In the meantime, I am telling friends and neighbors NOT to use Collegeworks, which is unfortunate, being I had actually recommended them after the original job was done. I have since gone back and rescinded that recommendation. It's also too bad because we were actually considering having them do the whole job all over again in a few years, as I was told they would honor the same amount we paid originally (which was at that time a couple thousand less than other estimates).

I have absolutely nothing nice to say about this company. They took my deposit, breached there own contract, and deposited money without "ever" doing the work. They will not return phone calls! I am now persuing legal action. Do not under any circumstance hire this company. A minimum of 50 phone calls and messages and not "one" call back. Please, I can not tell you enough times to not go with this company, look elsewhere. There crooks! And they need to be put "out" of buisness! Customer Satisfaction is absent from this company! There are no principles at all. Do not hire this company to do your painting.