I am here to confirm the warnings of previous posters on Homestars and Yelp about Tim and his company Complete Lock & Door, in Toronto.
Summary: Tim, owner and operator of Complete Lock and Door, has failed to do the work as agreed to, and repeatedly failed to return the refund of XXXX.XX that we paid him, after his own offer of refund. See below for details:
DETAILS (scroll down to "THE BOTTOM LINE" if you want to skip the finer points):
We contacted Tim in April 2018 to discuss the purchase+installation of a Baldwin lock and handle into our custom wood door, which at that time had not yet been completed or delivered. Tim replied in a timely manner and visited our house shortly thereafter, which was under construction at the time. Very kind and polite, yet confident in his expertise in the field, he discussed with us different options and confirmed that our initial choice of lock and handle set - which we had originally contacted him about - would provide the ultimate in security protection as far as the front door was concerned. Satisfied with his quote, we paid Tim a deposit of XXXX.XX (again, in April 2018) to secure his services; the Baldwin unit would be purchased by Tim, and then installed at a later date to be determined, after installation of our door was complete as part of a home renovation, at which point the remaining balance would be paid.
We had issues with the actual door (nothing to do with Tim and his Co.) which delayed us getting in touch with him for the installation. We exchanged text messages in October, November and December of 2018, all of a pleasant nature, regularly updating him with progress reports on the door; he would always sign off with words to the effect of, "No problem, let me know when the door is in so I can come do the installation."
Won't Meet Phone Call Appointments:
We informed him, by text message, on January 7 2019 that the door had been installed and that we'd like to arrange a time to install. It's this that started a journey-to-nowhere that has lasted til the time of writing (July 30 2019).
In that first month (week?) alone, from January 7 2019, Tim failed to make the following phone calls which he had promised to, via text:
- January 8, 11am-12pm
- January 9, 11am-12pm
- January 10, 12pm-1pm
- February 11 (unspecified time; "I'll call you shortly" was his text at 5:42pm that day)
- February 12, 11am-12pm
My wife made time for each and every one of these calls, only to get texts in the evening apologizing and asking for whatever date+time he offered next next.
Work Cancellations:
For actual installation dates, he cancelled twice:
1) March 21, with 1h20m notice (WE text him beforehand to confirm), citing both death in the family on March 1 AND cold weather (which one is it, man?)
2) April 4; he cancelled on April 3, text message saying "to [sic] cold and windy", asking to reschedule for the following Thursday, April 11. In a subsequent phone call, he mentioned, "in case there's a blizzard or vicious cold tomorrow." We reminded him that this was the purpose of the general weather forecast, and that the forecast for April 4 called for partly sunny skies and a high of +9C.
The Offer:
It was actually March 21 that set the stage for the real interesting part of the story. His text message to inform us that he would not be able to do the install included the key line: If you find that [reschedule to April 4] unacceptable I will return your deposit with interest." At this point, I was completely done with him - all the unreturned calls, unreturned texts....this nonsense had gone too far, and I wanted my money back. My wife however, sees the good in people and wanted to give him one more chance, so we decided to go ahead with April 4. Knowing his screw up, he offered to do install and waive the remaining balance, as he had wasted an entire day for my wife on March 21 (at the time, we were not living on site and she had commuted to get there for Tim's arrival).
Tim and I had two phone conversations following his cancellation on April 3. During call #1, I demanded the refund that Tim offered on March 21. He told me that he could't do that, citing a "2 week reconsideration period," after which he said, "think about it," and hung up on me without letting me answer. During a follow-up call that evening (can't believe he picked up the phone), he again brought up this 2 week reconsideration period, which, he reminded me, that I "had agreed to" earlier that afternoon (no Sir, I absolutely did not agree to that), explaining that he gives customers 2 weeks to reconsider a demand for a refund, with the majority of those customers coming back to him. I told him, "You offered this refund 2 weeks ago. I've already had my reconsideration period. I was done with you but my wife was being too nice. We want our money now, thank you." By the way, Tim (I know you're reading this!) - this "2 week" garbage makes you look real bad: either you were being untruthful to us, or you were giving away the fact that many of your customers are unhappy with you. Next time, try coming up with something that doesn't put you in a lose-lose situation!
The Refund (or lack thereof):
At the end of our phone call on April 3, Tim relented and said he'd return the money "at your door, in cash". Unfortunately, he went completely radio silent after this call . We called, we texted. No answers. Finally, a line of communication was opened on May 6 where he promised the return of our refund plus interest.
Tim himself can confirm that the following SEVEN promised dates to return the money, all of which have come and gone UNFULFILLED:
1) May 6: promises for May 24
2) May 22: Can't do May 24. Promises on following week, "until [pay] cheques arrive".
3) May 27: "no [pay] cheques in the mail; have no money to pay you." Promises to update me everyday.
4) Don't hear back from Tim until June 4. Promises to have it by end of following week, June 14.
5) June 13, texts saying June 14 not possible; his XXXXX who had a stroke. I reply with disapproval. Tim calls back, yelling at me that he is "pissed off" (repeated several times) that I am lecturing him, and that I will have the money "next week". Man, what a way to ruin my enjoyment of the Toronto Raptors' Finals Game 6 where they won the Championship! Anyways, of course, payment does not happen. Subsequent texts on July 3 and July 9 go unanswered. I call him on July 14; he answers, says he'll call back next day.
6) July 15, promises to have money delivered by July 23. Reminder sent July 19.
7) July 23: Cannot do it. Will take care of it on Thursday (July 25). Today, July 30 - Nothing.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Tim was fast to reply to us to get the initial meeting and to nail down the deposit. He actually seemed like a real nice guy! When it came time to do the actual work, he was extremely hard to get a hold of. I have given a log of missed calls that he promised to take (see above), but this does not include the many unanswered phone calls and text messages.
When I did manage to get Tim on a call, I have been, among other things: hung-up on, yelled at (oh man, June 13 was pure gold!!), cussed at with F-bombs and being called an a-hole (followed, ironically, by being told to "relax") and told that he "won't accept negativity" when I calmly asked him on July 15 why I should believe he will deliver the money as he had promised to six previous times, all to no avail.
Tim has failed to come to do the job. Through his rambling, incoherent texts, I have heard excuse after excuse after excuse (sometimes within the same text - see above in details!). In these excuses, he has mentioned health issues. He has mentioned just about every relative possible: wife, mother-in-law, brother, sister, his four children, his grandchildren. He blames other customers for not paying on time (Tim, how about the paycheque you received from Alex K, who wrote you a nice review on Yelp on July 18 2019 for a job that you actually showed up for??). He blames the cold in April, even though we were trying to secure a date with him from January-March. He will butter you up with sweet nothings about "you are good people," "karma will return the favour." Absolutely, yes we are good people, Tim. We have tolerated your [read all of the above] for half a year!
Tim has taken our money. He has FAILED TO RETURN that money after SEVEN promised dates of refund. In desperation, I even told him that we'd be willing to waive the interest. We just wanted, at the very least, a return of our capital.
A message to Tim: I too have had direct relatives die. We all have. I have had health concerns too, which I have gone into surgery for. I also have had people not pay me on time (looking right at YOU, my man). Through that all, Sir, I have never, EVER, failed to pay my bills.
Based on other accounts on Homestars and Yelp, it seems that Tim has established a disturbing pattern behaviour which involves taking (a) customer's money, not starting/completing the job and not returning the money. This simply CANNOT be ignored. This man has *Red Flags* written all over him.
Having been one of his latest victims, I can only stress the following warning - if you are considering hiring Tim and his company Complete Lock and Door, tread very, very, carefully.
