NJ Handyman Heroes AAA Handyman Heroes Poor Service, Horrible Support, Bad Practices Internet

I contracted NJ Handyman Heroes (aka AAA Handyman Heroes) to drywall my basement so that it was paint ready.  Workers came out and gutted the existing basement, put up the new drywall, spackled and sanded.  On the last day of work, the workers told me they would be finished before I got home from work, so they asked me to sign a completion certificate and give them final payment in advance and they promised to be out there immediately if I found anything I did not like.

Upon inspection, the new basement drywall was in good shape but the spackle and sanding job was horrible.  Some areas were not sanded enough and the walls were completely rough.  There were many areas with the screwheads of the drywall screws were sticking above the drywall.  Other areas were not spackled enough and you could feel the recess when sliding your hand over the drywall.  There was one wall of old drywall in my laundry room that they never tore down to replace, despite the agreement being to tear down existing walls to put up new drywall.  I called the workers who were out, the ones that said they could be there immediately if anything was unsatisfactory.  Turns out they had new jobs to work on and couldn't find time immediately, but planned on coming out "when they could."

The basement was a mess with dust and a some debris, so I decided to clean that up.  In my cleanup I found a ton of cigarette butts throughout my entire basement.  Some swept into the basement french drain, others covered up by the sanding dust.  I was disgusted at this point and called the main number, both to report what I found and to also see about speeding up the process of getting someone back to my house.  I believe I spoke with Bob on the phone, who was doing everything possible to make it seem like it was my fault.  He did agree to send the crew back out.  However, when I tried to tell him my findings about the lack of quality work and the cigarette butts, he did not want to hear it at all.  I asked for new workers, in hope to get better quality and no one smoking in my house.  He said the crew that started the job had to finish it and he had no interest in hearing about my complaints.  Just kept making it seem like he was doing me a favor even sending them back out to fix their own shoddy work.

On top of all this, the contract was for labor only and I was to buy the materials needed.  When they priced their job, I was given an estimate (one that I was told was on the high end, so if anything, it should come in less) for all the materials needed for the job.  On top of those materials, we left the workers a home depot gift certificate to cover any incidentals.  On top of burning through the materials needed and an additional $500 home depot card, they also required additional funds from me before the project was over.  In total, my material payout came to 30% higher than my original estimate, which was supposedly on the high end.

Back the the basement, the due date was approaching on my carpet install for the basement and I desperately wanted the drywall done so I could paint before the new carpet came.  They sent one worker back out to fix the spackle and sanding and he was only available at nights.  After completion, the walls still looked like they could have been sanded a lot better.  I was told by the worker that if I used a damp cloth before painting, that it would clean up the walls and they'd be perfect.  Well, I did as instructed and the basement has since been primed (2 coats) and painted (2 coats).  With the paint on the walls, the imperfections and low quality of work became really obvious.  I'm embarrassed at the work they performed and more embarrassed at the price I paid to have them do it.