Ripped Off by a "Retired Army Vet" House Painter

by Amy
(Texas)

I needed to have the exterior of my house repainted. One day coming home I noticed that there was this white van parked in my neighborhood putting flyers on doors.

I picked the flyer on my door handle and saw that the guy was a retired army veteran and has extensive experience in house painting and other handy man jobs. I walked over to his van and made an appointment with him to come by tomorrow and give me an approximation. I was so happy to finally get started on having the house painted and also giving the work to an army vet!

The guy, named Gus, came by late the next day, walked around the property and said that he could do it, for an amazing low price of $1500 and that he would supply the paint and all necessary equipment.

I was thrilled, I could not believe the deal I was getting! I basically had to sit back and my house would be painted in one week. I know it sounded too good to be true, but army vets are trustworthy people. That's what I said to myself!

Gus came the day after with his equipment and asked for a $500 advance so he can buy the paint and thinners. I graciously obliged. He came back a couple of hours later and started scraping off the old paint. He did a decent job scraping the paint and said he would come back tomorrow.

Then he called again in the morning and said that he was having trouble with his van and would come back in he evening to work. He called again and said that he would not be able to make it because his truck is in the shop and he does not have the money to pay for it. He wanted to know if he can get an advance and get his truck repaired to comeback to work. i gave him another $500 and that was the last i saw or heard from him!

The moral of this story is if the deal is too good to be true, then it is a rip-off. And no matter how honest and reliable they look always ask for a contract and several references!

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