Hired Steve Brown (@oneguyandsometools, 484-925-7750) for a gutter cleaning on a 2,700 sq ft two-story home in Malvern, PA. Paid $185 via Venmo on May 12, 2025. The job was incomplete, multiple verbal commitments were not honored, and after a month of follow-up he stopped responding. He required cash or Venmo when leaving. Venmo declined to review the dispute.
What was agreed: Full gutter cleaning. Steve also verbally agreed at the start of the job to check a drooping fascia on the second story and inspect the chimney flue for a possible bird nest.
What actually happened: Steve arrived with a small electric leaf blower. The job took approximately 15 minutes. My gutters have gutter guards; based on what I could observe, he did not remove and reseat them properly -- within a week, two sections of guards on the second story fell off entirely, most looked like they were not removed at all for cleaning.
When he finished, Steve interrupted a work call I was on to request immediate payment. I paid without being able to verify the work. Before leaving, when I asked about the two additional items, he said:
"He pushed the eve back up, but it would probably fall down again"
"If there are any birds in the chimney, luckily they'll probably move on after they're done nesting"
When I later inspected the fascia myself, it was clearly still drooping -- there was no indication any attempt had been made. I pushed it back into place myself with significant effort and it has remained in place.
I texted Steve a photo of debris still in the lower gutters and told him I wasn't happy. He offered to return. He also acknowledged he hadn't taken any before/after photos, saying:
"I admit, I didn't take any pictures/videos (which I usually do) but am happy to do that for you"
Over the following month I followed up multiple times. He repeatedly committed to returning but never did:
* May 15 -- said he needed to wait for it to dry up
* May 27 -- said he'd try to get back "later in the week"
* June 1 -- confirmed "this upcoming Friday" (June 6) would work
* June 6 -- did not show
* June 11 -- I informed him I was filing a Venmo dispute. No response.
Payment note: Steve asked for cash or Venmo. Venmo defaults to a personal ("friends & family") transfer, which has no buyer protection. The dispute was denied on that basis.
Note: The one existing review on this Yelp page describes an almost identical experience -- promised returns to fix issues, then stopped responding entirely.
If you hire this contractor: verify all work before paying, use a payment method with buyer protection (not Venmo friends & family), and get commitments in writing. read more