The Direct Painting Group Reviews 14

We recently hired Rocco and company to decorate our apartment based on a recommendation from a neighbour. We moved out and stayed with friends for three weeks with the understanding that all furniture, paintings and fittings would be replaced and the apartment left like new with payments of extra money for deep cleaning and steam cleaning of upholstery. In practice on our return the place was left like a bomb site. There are a number of outstanding items and repairs of which Rocco is aware but chooses to ignore. We made the mistake of honouring the agreement and paid in full on time.
Overall this has been one of the worst experiences of our lives and this is a company to be avoided.

I spent over £7000 on having a 4 bedroom house fully decorated before moving in.

Had cheaper quotes, but was wowed by the reviews. First contact, site visit and communication during the works was outstanding. Polite, prompt and helpful. Accommodating with start date and agreed to a tight deadline.

The team were courteous and enthusiastic. Work completed in 2 weeks, with a few days to spare.

When I reviewed the job, there was some very obvious snagging, waste left in the garden, and details I had specifically requested were overlooked.

DPG were happy to fix snags and collect waste, but it was another 5 days before this happened. The delegated decorator was ill and I was told that nobody else could attend.

The bathroom walls started bubbling and blistering the night we moved in. More blisters appeared daily and got bigger. Soon blisters also appeared in a bedroom and cracks started to appear on the joins between the walls and the ceilings throughout the house.

I was worried that a new decorating job has started to fall apart and contacted DPG. They said it’s likely a damp issue. Firstly, this is a seriously dry house (I’ve lived with damp issues so can compare) and secondly – to that extent? On the very first night!?

I expressed that the blistering may be the result of poorly prepared surfaces or bad paint. Only then did DPG offer to attend with a surveyor to check damp levels and decide on the next steps. This discussion took a couple of weeks, as interest and response rate on their part was low at this point and the surveyor visit was booked for 2 weeks ahead!

Finally, on the day of the appointment (for which I had to take the morning off work) - it was a no-show! I stayed in all day and they did not turn up. Not even a message or a phonecall.

Shockingly, my follow-up e-mail was also ignored. I have now left it nearly a month, to give them the benefit of the doubt, but nothing. By this point I have no interest in them returning. Just a shame about the costs involved in rectifying their sub-standard decorating job. Plus very difficult to organise now that we have moved in, as my son is autistic gets anxious about having strangers in the house.

I’m a single parent, working full-time for a low salary – this is a crazy amount of money for me and I saved up for years to be able to redecorate our new home. It’s unfortunate to be this unlucky with who I hired.

To be fair, some areas have been done beautifully (the children’s bedrooms, some of the woodwork, the doors and the stairs banister).
Then there are very lazy areas – windowsills with paint cracking, metalwork where the layer of paint is so thin that you can still see the pipes through it, or where it’s been laid on so thick that it looks crusty and dripping. Skirting boards with paint splashed on sloppily and dried mid-drip. Areas that simply needed a vacuum before painting were not cleaned at all (hence the bubbling walls), the dust just mixed in with the fresh paint.

Forget about hard-to-reach areas that simply needed a thinner brush – hardly any painting has been done behind the pipework or in the visible gaps underneath wire trunking. Holes and gaps left unfilled, light and power switches and bases of ceiling light pendants were clearly not taped properly and just splashed with paint. If I touch the ceilings or try to wipe anything down, I get powdery paint on my hands! This is particularly odd in the kitchen and bathroom where the paint was supposed to be moisture proof, so I have no idea what was used.

To summarise – great customer service until you have paid, sadly followed by non-existent after-care. The decorating is ok and livable - obviously much better than having bare walls and old wood/metal work - but the overall care taken leaves a lot more to be desired – for a company that has such raging reviews. I feel like I could have done some of this better myself. Perhaps it depends on which decorator worked which areas, I don’t know – like I said, some areas are excellent and it’s a shame that this inconsistency dominates the whole project.

I have been a skilled tradesman for over 30 years. I have only had payment problems twice. Direct Painting Group are one of the worst companies i've worked for. Not only have they not paid me, but their jobs are of very poor quality and almost no consideration of health and safety. I was so shocked by their building practices and standards that i left after a few days. I would advise any trades man not to work for them and any house buyer not to buy a house they have worked on. Cowboy Builders is a title i would gove to Direct Painting Group.

If you want to use a company who dont pay their subcontractors then use this company. No response from them, it shows how their business is run considering they have two unpaid CCJ's against them. Unprofessional from start to finish. A small house painting company suits them, as they are completely unable to pay any invoices for works on larger projects.
Unethical and dishonest to say the least.

Couldn't be happier with how the rooms turned out.

Happy to say that I have used Direct Painting Group twice now and I have been fully satisfied both times!

Really happy with my choice. The decorators were friendly, helpful, and flexible. Thank you.

Great work! Really pleased with how the works turned out!

I wasn't paid in full! Director of the company is very unfair man. He promised to pay the rest and never done it. Also it is very hard to work for them as they push you all the time to finish the job without consideration reality of time frame. I would never recommend to work for this company as you will never be sure if you get paid and if you will ever have a job next day as it happened with me.

Excellent experience, good company to contract to complete work. Reliable, on time and project is finished to high quality.

Fantastic Throughout. Friendly team & A great finish.

Rocco and his team were excellent. Great communication throughout from initial quotes to job completion. Trustworthy tradesmen.

All of my initial enquiries were responded to quickly, I was talked through the whole procedure from start to end!
Everything was covered quickly and everyone seemed to know their job inside out.
There was no mess or damages left behind. Work was quiet enough, no excessive noise. Rocco and his team were careful around my children and pets!
Re decoration of three bedrooms, and now happy to book in work for kitchen after we've been fitted out! Outstanding..