SUN STATE DESIGNS INC. AKA HOMEGARD PERMANENT COATING - Sunstate DESIGNS INC Sunstate DESIGNS INC agreed to apply a special lifetime protective coating to my property but instead have simply applied 1 coat of regular paint and are refusing to assure me in any way and are perusing in an aggressive and bullying fashion. St Petersburg Florida

My house was not in need of repainting however I received a call from a company who were offering a special coating that would provide extra protection from the elements and constituted a lifetime coating accompanied with a lifetime guarantee. This appealed to me as it would protect the structural integrity of my home and I felt it would add to its value.

The company were Sunstate DESIGNS INC and I agreed to them visiting my home to demonstrate the product and invite them to provide a quotation for the work.

The salesperson explained to me the scope of works and more importantly the benefits of their HOMEGARD coating. The coating they maintained had been under development for four years and Sunstate DESIGNS INC was the exclusive manufacturer. They demonstrated the benefits of the coating using a 1 inch thick sponge wall mock-up which showed how the application of a primer and 3-4 coats of HOMEGARD would provide additional protection to my home.

As this was a special coating I was prepared to pay a premium above the cost of repainting my home with regular paint. To provide a benchmark for the additional cost of the coating I solicited several quotations for a regular repaint which ranged from $1,500-$2,000 including labour and materials.

At the same time I received a quotation from Sunstate DESIGNS INC for $15,000 for the same scope of work but with the application of their HOMEGARD coating. They anticipated the work would take 6-7 days and they would apply 3-4 coats as well as the primer. There would also be a supervisor to oversee the work of their painters.

This was way above what I was prepared to pay as I was simply unable to afford it nor did I believe it represented fair value. The price I was willing to pay was $5,000 and after much negotiation they agreed to this. I was initially sceptical that they could tolerate such a price reduction however they justified this on the proviso that I would display a sign for their services on my front lawn as this was the first job they had done in the area and that and my property could be used as an example to solicit further new business locally.

A further condition to the above price was an upfront payment $2,500 on commencement of the works and the balancing $2,500 payable on completion. I signed a contract with Sunstate DESIGNS INC on the 10th of December 2007 which outlined the scope of works and agreed to apply the HOMEGARD coatings and the colour which I had picked from one of their brochures. On further reflection I was uneasy paying any money upfront and before the works commenced I informed the company that I would be happier paying the full $5,000 on completion of works to my satisfaction and in accordance with the contract. Sunstate DESIGNS INC agreed to this albeit verbally. The works subsequently commenced on the 11th of December.

Day one & two 11/12th of December 2007
On the first day, two employees of Sunstate DESIGNS INC came to my home to begin the works. They power washed my property in anticipation of preparing it for primer. On the second day the covered my windows and further prepared my property for coating.


Day Three 13th of December 2007
On the third day they began applying the primer which they completed in the morning but I became concerned when they immediately began applying the main coating on top of the primer. In my experience, albeit limited, I would have thought they should leave the primer dry for a period of 12-24 hours however they assured me that this was unnecessary. At this stage I took them at their word.

At this point the workers produced several 5 gallon containers of coating which contained their HOMEGARD coating and the logo of the company. Later in the day I went out to their truck to discuss certain aspects of the job and I was shocked to find cans of Scotts Paint in the back, the paint they were using as coatings on my property. Scotts Paint is a local manufacturer of regular paint which retails to the public at $19.99 a gallon. I would assume that a contractor could purchase this at a more competitive price.

While completely taken aback I did not mention this to the painters, however, I am certain they knew I saw the cans of Scotts paint. Rather than take it up with the painters I decided to call the salesperson at the offices of Sunstate DESIGNS INC. I was told they were out of town so I left a message but I heard nothing for the rest of the day.

Day Four 14th of December 2007

On the morning of the fourth day of works I visited Scotts paint to see if I could find the colour of paint that was being used. I found an exact match and I took a sample and the code for the sample. On my return I examined the paint cans once more, which now had had their labels removed. However they were also using their own 5 gallon drums with their logo on and on examination I was amazed to find the Scotts paint code SP 8538 printed on the lids of all their drums. This was the same code from the sample I had just picked up. Luckily I still have these drums.

As of yet I had heard nothing from Sunstate DESIGNS INC but at 5pm the painters told me they had completed the work and asked that I sign a certificate to say it had been completed to my satisfaction and demanded a cheque for $5,000. I was shocked to hear this as they had only applied 1 coat of primer and 1 coat of this mysterious coating and the job was estimated to take 6 days and not the 4 so far. I refused either to pay or to sign their certificate and I demanded to speak to Sunstate DESIGNS INC as soon as possible.

The painters immediately contacted their office to explain the situation and this sparked a series of conversations with the companies CEO whom I can only describe as threatening, aggressive and bullying.

I simply asked him to prove to me that they had put the HOMEGARD coating on my property as agreed and he refused to pursue this conversation. Instead he immediately threatened to put a lien on my property and destroy my credit rating as he put it. What astonished me was that throughout the various conversations he never once attempted to assure me that they had done what they had agreed to do but simply focused on the fact that I had signed a contract and that he would sue me. This I found astonishing as the job had just been completed and he was already being this aggressive.
True to his word, on Monday the 17th of December he called to my home with a construction lien on my property demanding payment within 30 days offering the simple words youve been served. Again he made no attempt to assure me that they had done the job they were contracted to do.

Conclusion
My issue with Sunstate DESIGNS INC is not that they did a poor job but that they did not apply the coating they had undertaken to do. I am satisfied with the quality of the workmanship and if I had contracted them to provide a regular paint job I would have agreed to a lower price and would have happily paid them. The reality is that a fair price for the work they have completed is $1,500-$2,000 and not the $5,000 they are demanding. If they would agree to a fair price of $2,000 I would pay them immediately.

Mary
spring hill, Florida
U.S.A.