Highland Heights family claims painter walked off the job, never returned

Highland Heights , Ohio (WOIO) -A local couple is out of more than $1,000, with partially-painted walls throughout their entire home.

Aaron and Kristina Gipson said they had an agreement with James Ellis, the owner of A Painter’s Touch and More in Lorain.

The Gipsons put 50% down, $1,200, in advance to secure their spot.

Ellis would be given the other half when he finished painting the rooms.

According to the Gipsons, he walked off the job in April.

“They said they were going to grab paint and then they never showed back up,” said Kristina.

The Gipsons said they tried contacting Ellis but he never responded their calls.

For four months, the walls in their home have been a reminder of a bad business deal.

“We can’t show our house like this, we have holes in the walls that he was suppose to fix, paint that’s half done,” said Kristina

The family had seen some of his previous work which is why they reached out to him to do business.

“The work that he did was great, we heard about him through my brother-in-law, they did a really good job, there were just concerns as far as the delays,” said Aaron.

19 News went to the address listed for Ellis, and we were told he was not there.

He called us back shortly after we left his home. He agreed to do an interview and takes full responsibility.

“At the time, I was going through some stuff and I had to just walk away from everything, but I am not a bad person and I don’t want to be a bad business owner, that’s not me,” said Ellis.

We reached at the Better Business Bureau. They don’t have any information about Ellis’ business.

However, they have created a file after 19 News notified them about consumer issues with the company.

The Gipson family said they regret any interaction with Ellis.

“Do you research on the company you’re trying to contact, definitely do your research and find more than a few reviews just to protect yourself,” said Aaron. “We always wanted to give small business our business but this kind of throws into question a lot of things that happened to us.”

Throughout 19 News investigation, we learned there is a second victim who is out of more money.

We also dug into court records, and will continue our investigation into this business.

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