On July 23, 2026, we accepted a proposal from James Barnett of Barnett and Sons, Inc. to install…read morea gas water heater and expansion tank. This proposal #28790 was for $2,600.00. The proposal states, "Price of $2,600.00 is good for 15 days from this proposal. With your 50% down and your signature, you agree to let Barnett and Sons Inc install your water heater, and the remaining 50% is due on day of completion." James Barnett said he would order the water heater and expansion tank and would call us to arrange to install the water heater and expansion tank.
We gave James Barnett a deposit of $1,300.00, check number 2610 on July 23, 2026. He accepted our deposit. The proposal states, "Paid check # 2610 for $1,300.00. He cashed our check the next day, which was July 24, 2026.
After two weeks, on August 6, Mr. Barnett called. He said he had been sick, sicker than he had ever been in his life. He said he called and left messages for us at 301-645-3291. This number was our house phone that we had disconnected in 2020. Since that time, over the past six years years, we communicated with Mr. Barnett solely by our current cell phone numbers. Indeed, he wrote our cell phone number on the proposal for the water heater before we signed it.
Mr. Barnett said he would need to see when his assistant was available. He also said, "I've installed these by myself, but I would rather have help." He was supposed to call us when he had some possible dates.
He called back two weeks later, on August 20. I gave him two dates that were good for us -- August 25 and August 28. He said one of those would be good, and he would call the day before or a couple of days before to see if we were still available. We did not hear from him prior to either of those days.
We wrote him a letter on August 28, telling him that we were cancelling and to return our deposit. We sent a letter via registered mail to Mr James Barnett, Barnett and Sons, PO Box 513, St Leonard MD 20685-0513. We sent the same letter via US Mail to the same Post Office box, and a third letter to his address at 6225 Long Beach Drive, St. Leonard MD 20685. In the letters, we asked him to return our deposit. A five-week wait from July 23 to August 28 for a water heater is unreasonable and unacceptable.
After we sent the letters, he called on September 1 and September 4. He left messages asking us to call him back. We did not call him back. We had already told him that we wanted our deposit back.
Furthermore, the proposal that Mr. Barnett gave us lists his address as 3017 Walnut Lane, Waldorf, MD. The Barnett family has not lived in that house since it was sold in February 2023. In order for us to send Mr. Barnett a letter, we had to look up his address online.
Prior to signing the contract, I asked Mr. Barnett if a permit was needed. He shrugged his shoulders and did not answer the question. I called the Charles County Government Permit office. I was told that a permit is, in fact, required for a gas water heater. Additionally, I learned that a permit is required for HVAC -- gas furnace, air conditioning. Mr. Barnett installed these in our home several years ago and did not get permits for them.
We would like Mr. Barnett to refund our $1,300.00 deposit. A five-week wait for a water heater, coupled with his failure to call or come when he said he would, is unreasonable and unacceptable.
