Lydia Rodriguez says she just wants to get her money back so she can have her home painted by someone else. Rodriguez accepted a bid from Gilbert Garza, of Gil's Paint Service to paint the trim on her home.
Garza said he would pressure-wash, caulk, scrape and paint the trim for $875. Rodriguez agreed to give Garza $400 to get started. For two days, Rodriguez says, Garza would show up and work a couple of hours then take off for lunch and not come back.
The third day Garza just stopped showing up and never came back.
He did, however, leave some of his equipment at Rodriguez's home. Through several phone conversations or voice mail messages Garza reportedly agreed to give Rodriguez her money back.
But two months have gone by and Rodriguez has not received a check. That's when she decided to call us. We went to one of three addresses Garza gave Rodriguez to send his equipment to. The lady there said she has lived in the home for 42 years and she has never heard of Gilbert Garza or Gil's Painting Service.
We also tried to find the two other addresses Garza reportedly gave Rodriguez, but neither existed on a map. We called Garza and left a message and he called back. During the conversation Garza said he didn't have to give Rodriguez anything. He says he bought paint and supplies but says he doesn't have to give that to Rodriguez either.
Rodriguez says she's not going to just give up on the money. She said she is going to keep calling Garza and if need be...she'll take him to court. She also says Garza can have his equipment back, when he brings her $400.
