We found Mike on Craiglist while looking for a painter for my mother-in-laws home. My father-in-law passed away in May of this year and she was forced to sell her home due to a sudden decrease of monthly income. We were pressed for time as my husband and I live in the Sacramento area and were only able to make it here on the weekends to help her get the home ready to sell and pack. Mike came over after we contacted him. He was an hour late, but was very friendly when he got there. He had done some painting for another client of our realtor's and so we felt we were in good hands. We initially only wanted him to paint the interior walls and ceiling. He showed us some pictures of gray kitchen cabinets that he had done at a home nearby and we decided that the kitchen needed an update so we agreed to have him duplicate the color/hardware, etc. He quoted $5000 but said that he would give my MIL a $500 discount. He also said that he would dispose of any furniture that we couldn't sell in a yard sale when he came in to paint. We were relieved because we had a lot of work to do in a very short period of time. Once my MIL was moved out, he had his crew start on the painting with our realtor checking in to monitor the progress. I have attached pictures of the kitchen that he showed us and we agreed on and the actual pictures of my MIL's kitchen when he was done. The color is not even close to being the same, the hardware has not been changed. In addition to the color issue, he took down all of the brand new window fixtures and THREW THEM AWAY! We couldn't get them back if we wanted. I contacted Mike immediately after I got the pictures and initially he apologized and said that he would get it fixed right away. Fast forward 24 hours, he changed his mind and told us not to contact him anymore. I decided to wait to see how the house would do on the market before pursuing him again. Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed. The house has sat on the market for several weeks with little activity and the feedback is that the color is too dark. Ya think?? I contacted him yesterday and asked him to go fix the cabinets so we can get the house sold. My MIL does not have the financial means to continue to pay her mortgage and space rent while the house sits on the market. He was extremely rude and told me not to contact him again. That was our last effort before pursuing reimbursement through small claims court. I wanted to give him an opportunity to make it right. Now my husband and I will have to take time off work, drive down (6 hours one way), buy painting supplies and fix the mess that he and his crew created. He took advantage of a grieving widow and we are thoroughly disgusted. Do not hire this man! He is a scam artist! read more