Safe and Sound Limited and Will Binns

Or: how to not hire someone online and then get so upset you make a website about it.

On Novemeber 13th I found a contractor on the website angi.com; I made sure to select a highly rated (4.5) contractor, enter Will Binns, owner and operator of Safe and Sound Ltd.

My first impression of Will Bills was a charismatic and honest person who was polite and seemingly knowledgeable.

Unfortunately for me, I didn’t perform any further research; both Safe and Sound Limited on Google Maps and Safe and Sound Limited on The Better Business Bureau of Colorado have ratings that paint a very different picture, one which reflects my experience all to accurately… Unaware of what was in store, I sent him a message along with a picture to see if he thought that we was able to complete a small project. I was looking for someone competent to do little projects that I simply don’t have time for… I’m still looking. The entire experience was a comedy of errors, culminating in one door that isn’t even operational, and an overall job that can best be described as “embarrassingly incompetent” or “a mess that someone else will have to clean up”.

Will apparently used to be based in Colorado Springs (new address, same name, same phone number, same terrible work, ), but has since relocated to Aurora, which could be used to explain away why I didn’t find the poor reviews, but to be frank, he just talks a really good game.

While Will clearly thought he could handle installing two doors, he’s either astoundingly incompetent and completely unaware of the fact; or an unabashed liar. When I told him that I wasn’t comfortable paying him before the job was done he got agitated and verbally aggressive.

He either has absolutely no shame, and is aware that he’s scamming people (possibly relying on his physical size (will is not a small man, he carried each door upstairs by himself) to intimidate

I’m just imagining the old woman who hired a “nice” handyman and then got loomed over by an aggressive giant.

…or alternatively, really thinks that he does quality work (not that would make it okay for him to stand in some ladies’ house just looming over her until she paid him. I’m not sure which would be worse.

Will spent most of the time he charged for driving to and from Home Depot. Will forgot tools and had to borrow mine (a shop vac), and even with all of that he still didn’t manage to clean up after himself. I had to go back and vaccuum everywhere around the doors.

The funny part is I offered to pay him hourly,

and he declined. So he thinks that he can bid a flat fee and then spend most of the day driving to get stuff he forgot.

Of the two doors that were supposed to be installed, (the bathroom door), is not operational. The door frame is wedged in the wall at such an angle that it does not align with the door itself. As a result, that door will shut (unless slammed) and the door is so severely mis-aligned that it does not lock (or even latch!). The other door was installed grossly incompetently, and dangerously. He cut into the wall, leaving scars on the drywall. There are door shims (boards used for holding the door in place that are supposed to be cut off) sticking out from the door that he just caulked over, and walked away from. There’s no way this was an accident! You can see in the picture that he went back over the shims with caulking. He ran his finger over these and went “yep! that’s some quality work right here!” The trim has huge gaps that he attempted to fill with wood putty (and it looks like he used a shovel). There are nails sticking out such that someone walking though the door could injure themselves.