I hired James Bergman to do some interior painting in my N. Columubus home back in July. I had…read moregotten an estimate from a large paining contractor first, and was going to get another two estimates. After Bergman gave his estimate, I decided to hire him because I wanted just a basic paint job at a reasonable rate. My goal was to sell the home in the coming weeks, so I did not want to spend more than was necessary. But as it turned out, hiring Bergman was a huge mistake. As the old adage goes: you usually get what you pay for.
For starters, he required half down. I thought this was high, but foolishly I agreed, gave him a check for $1100 and signed his proposal. This was on a Wednesday, and the plan was for him to start the following Monday. In the meantime, I decided to get all the walls prepped in advance so that would be completed before he arrived. This required that I make any and all repairs with joint compound, sanding, and cleaning of any dirt or soot build up. This completely freed him up from doing this important part of the job.
On the appointed day, he showed up and things started going south within the first thirty seconds, and it only got worse after that. He claimed we never discussed the ceilings, when in fact we had on the day after I hired him. It was during a phone call that I'd mentioned the ceilings and he said nothing at that time, which he should have done if indeed it was not discussed the day he gave the estimate. I'd just assumed on the day he gave the estimate that the ceilings were included, and he did not stipulate whether or not they were included in the job. And this is a guy who claimed to have been a handyman for 38 years. Not very thorough or professional of him to let this important detail slip by.
So, without writing a book I will just say that after less than two days work, I was so fed up with him that I fired him. And he had the balls to insist that I owed him the balance!!! The guy's workmanship sucked, his manner is manipulative and he's an inveterate BSer, and he was late to arrive the three days that he came to my house. Most of all, he was unprofessional. He even lost his temper and went into a full blown rant in my living room when I first told him that "we're shutting this thing down..." I just could not believe it. Four homes over thirty two years and many contractors...and I'd never experienced anything like this hayseed. It was the worst. And I'm sure I'm not his first victim
I had considered taking him to small claims court to try and get back some of the original down payment, but I had to sell my house asap and I had much too much to do to prepare it for the market. So, I ate the loss and moved on. I figured my best revenge was the power of the computer keypad and websites like Yelp where I can warn others about turds like Bergman.
Just to be sure no one else hires this guy, his description is as follows: he's in his fifties, about 5'11", skinny build, fair skin, full beard, and seems normal when you first meet him. It's after you hire him that the shit starts. His addresses are Barthman Ave in Cbus and also Chesterville, OH.
Steer clear of this guy.
