Chicago Woodworkers Chicago, IL

Chicago wood refinisher allegedly walks off with materials

COMPLAINT: Patricia Campos, Chicago

“I hired Peter's Wood Refinishing of Chicago to strip, refinish and re-install original vintage clear pine woodwork. They were also to mill and install woodwork to match any missing pieces. I paid 50 percent before they started work. They took some of my original molding for stripping, but didn't show up again. I left many messages, but they didn't respond for several weeks.

"Eventually, a carpenter did return, but the wood he put up was full of knots and didn't match the original woodwork. A month later, they sent a crew to complete the job, and they didn't appear qualified to do carpentry. They didn't finish the work. After they left, I discovered that 80 linear feet of my vintage molding was missing. When I confronted the owner about the missing woodwork, he denied having taken it, but offered to mill a replacement for free and install it for $500.

"I reluctantly agreed, but when they installed it, the work looked rushed and unprofessional, and doesn't match the grain. They also put a bag of wood from my house in the van, and later I noticed two vintage windowsills were missing.”

DESIRED RESOLUTION: “I would like them to return my missing vintage woodwork and I would like the carpentry issues corrected.”

RESPONSE: Araceli Perez, president, Peter's Wood Refinishing

“I will fix what she's not happy about. As for the missing wood, we did not take it, but I can mill other wood to satisfy her request. My company's priority is a happy client.”

STATUS: RESOLVED

Editor's Note: Perez offered to waive her outstanding $500 balance, and she accepted.