David Ritson DBA Dave's Painting and Handyman Services LLC JENNIFER BELT He said he would perform certain repairs, took my money, then quit on the job. TOLEDO OHIO

David Ritson advertised on Craigslist as a discount handyman, who is of Christian Faith, and a local professional in Toledo with years of experience. He came across as nice and genuine. He would take 50% upfront and accept the rest upon completion.

He provided an estimate for quite a bit of work on a vacant rental property. I am out of state and relied on him to get the job done. His initial estimate was for $4000. He would do full interior painting, remove and replace the wood laminate floor, replace broken cabinets, replace sinks, replace all outlets and do some minor wood repair on the front and back porches. I sent him $2500 upfront to cover his labor and some of the materials.

Halfway into the job he informed me that he WAS NOT going to replace the wood laminate floors ($950 of quote) and needed money to do additional work not listed on the quote. I told him that he had already been paid 50%+ of the labor and that he needed to finish. He threatened to quit and leave the house abandoned and the work not finished. He assured me that if I paid him another $600 for the additional work and gas, that would be it until the work is complete. I sent the money to him via FedEx, so we could move on.

Of course, he continued with his threats again, even after I paid him. It was at this time I realized that I had to move on and made arrangements to visit the area to find someone else.

When I came out and met with him, he tried to smooth talk me and ask for more money. I refused and he threatened to not complete the work. I went over the work he did and the painting was decent, but he completely ignored the wall outlets, covers, cabinets and sink. When all was said and done, I was out over $1500 in work not done. I told him I was going to file a complaint and he kept making excuses.

I have since posted warnings on Craigslist, which he has had taken down. Finally, I decided to post here so people can see what they're dealing with. Note that I paid his girlfriend, Jennifer Belt, with checks and Paypal, so I have a paper trail and bank account info. I submitted a dispute with Paypal for some of the money and they are difficult to deal with. Since my CL posting about his ripoff activities, I have been contacted by other out of state investors who have told similar stories.