Dirtworks Inc

This customer called our office and requested material to fill in a couple of trenched areasShe said that we could go and look at the property which we did. We discovered that there was old building material sitting where she wanted the material (gravel) to be placed. We asked her to
meet us at the property so she could decide what she would like us to do with the building material, which she did. She decided the old building material could be pushed out of the way. She did not provide a map nor did she indicate that there was a sewer line or a waterline in the work area as we would have marked them. The material was brought in and spread as discussed with the customer.Later the customer called and said that her sewer line had been ripped out of the ground. She also stated at that time that it had been obvious but when we returned to the property to locate the sewer line it was found 6" below grade, with the cap on, undamaged and it was not located in the area where the material had been dumped. After that she did concede it was hidden. She called again to say the waterline had been covered and again saying it had been obvious but when asked where it had been located she did not know. We gave her some suggestions for locating the line and she said she would try them.We did not hear from her for about three weeks. We are sorry about the loss of her father and we were unaware of this at the time thus the mention of the amount of time that passed is for timeline purposes only.In any case, she called again - yelling and using inappropriate language, personal attacks and threats. She carried on for quite a while during which time we were not given a chance to speak or ask a question. She then hung up. This is a small office and it is easy to hear loud voices even from phone conversations and it is apparent when someone is unable to respond as well. There were about telephone conversations that occurred and each one was unproductive because of the customers inability to calm down. In spite of this, we did call back numerous times which most people would not even bother to do when someone is speaking to them this way and that alone is a good indication that we were making an effort to remedy the situation.It would, by the way, be rare, if not impossible, to find a small business of any kind where there wasn't someone willing to complain about them for some reason.We don't know if the customer located the waterline or where it was located. Was it also like the sewer line - hidden? Was it even in the area we worked to begin with? How did the customer decide repairs would be $1,500.00? Dirtworks would be glad to meet her at the property so she could show us where this damage occurred and we can assess the problem. We are not willing to pay for something without first being allowed to look at it. Nor will we pay for work that we would be able to complete ourselves.We highly doubt that this customer would pay for something that she was unable to verify so it is puzzling as to why she thinks a business would

This will be our last response in regards to this situation. Each missive the customer has written reveals a little more information that was not mentioned previously.The map which we did not receive for whatever reason is irrelevant. The fact is the water line which has been the main point of this complaint was not marked on the map in the first place.Also, the customer was physically at the property at our request and met with two people from Dirtworks and did not point out or mention a water line at anytime. This is also a fact.We spoke with the plumber and he said that when he was there he could not find a water line. He also said that a building had been moved onto the property - apparently in the area where Dirtworks had placed the material to fill the trenches.This seems to be another fact that the customer failed to mention. A building was moved onto the property. The customer has not been physically on the property herself since the day or the day after our work was completed. In the meantime there have beenother contractors working on the property in the same area -- moving in a building for goodness sake!! Yet somehow, a month later, this customer knows that a water line she did not mention or mark on a map or even know the location of herself was damaged by the first of several contractors who had been there.When there are multiple activities going on in the same area there is no way to know who may have caused damage to what or when.This customer is quite practiced at using excessive verbiage and accusations in an effort to prove a point but has no facts to back anything up.Because she did not mark the water line on the map, mention the water line while looking at the job before it was done or even know where it had been located when she called later it is questionable as to whether or not there was a water line to begin with. And because during the month that passed she had other unsupervised contractors working on the property and in the same area who could have just as easily caused damage to the area -- Dirtworks has decided we will not return to do any further work for this customer

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: There were a large number of inaccuracies in MrJ***'s response, which I will address in the order they appear in his response.1:SHE DID NOT PROVIDE A MAP. I have attached a scanned copy of the email and attachment that I originally sent to MrJ*** on 5/14/15. It clearly indicates (and mentions specifically) the sewer line. The water line is not mentioned or marked on the map, but in my defense, neither is the gas line and meter, which also were clearly visible sticking two feet out of the ground. Thankfully he did not hit that as well, or we would be having a much different conversation.2): SAID SEWER LINE HAD BEEN RIPPED OUT OF GROUND: I called and told him that the sewer intake to the line had been buried, not "ripped out." He was still in the area and was able to locate and uncover it, and there was no damage done to it, nor did I ever claim that there was damage.3): SEWER LINE 6" BELOW GRADE WITH CAP ON: The line intake was flush with the ground, and had no cap.4): SAID WATERLINE HAD BEEN COVERED: I told him the water line had been bladed off and broken - I did not tell him it was covered. His response seems to indicate that it was immediately after the sewer line issue, but the fact is that it was approximately a month later. I left for work in Juneau the day after his work and was unaware of the waterline damage until my plumbing and heating contractor asked about where to hook the house to water three to four weeks later. I have attached an email dated 6/19/to *** ***, *** ***, regarding the water line to establish the time frameAt this time I contacted MrJ*** and explained the damage to the waterline that was caused by his dozer operator. He told me repeatedly during that conversation that it was not his responsibility. I was going to follow up in writing with him, but it was three days later that my father had a massive stroke. I returned to Palmer on the 23rd, and my time was spend almost entirely at *** *** *** until my father passed away on the 11th of July. During that time I did not call MrJ***.5) HE CLAIMED TO HAVE CALLED BACK "NUMEROUS TIMES". During the time I spent at the hospital, my iPhone showed one missed call from MrJ***. I was otherwise occupied and unable to answer at the time.6) INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE/PERSONAL ATTACKS/THREATS: After my father's passing in the week and a half that I had before returning to my job in Juneau I called MrJ*** three times. All three times he repeatedly refused to take responsibility for the damage, talking over me and not listening to my position. The only thing that I said that could be considered a "personal attack" was when I told him that I had asked around the Valley about his reputation and that I would not have hired him in the first place had I known his reputation. The only "threat" I made was to take him to court, and to share my experience with him with everyone I know in the MValley(I have done so, and found two other people who had bad experiences with him - I believe that they would be willing to make statements in my behalf.) The third time I called and he wouldn't listen, I just hung up on him. He called me back, and at that point, yes, I absolutely did use foul language, although by this time I feel that it was exactly the appropriate language for the situation. 7) $ AMOUNT OF REPAIRS: I did not arbitrarily pull that number out of a hat. I contacted a long-time, REPUTABLE, local excavator (*** *** *** *** who went to my property, viewed the damage, and quoted me $to $to return it to it's former condition, wired with a spigot. My contact with Mr. *** is mentioned in the attached email to *** ***, and his cell and home numbers are written on the email for confirmation.Although he has clearly demonstrated his dishonesty (starting with saying that I had not provided a map), I will allow MrJ*** to make the repairs himself, or to pay for the repairs to be done by someone else, whichever he prefers, however, I do not trust him to be on my property without a witness on my behalf since I will be at work in Juneau until the end of October, which will be a little late in the season for the work to be done. I have a building contractor currently working on other tasks at the property and can ask if he would be willing to oversee MrJ***'s work.Sincerely,*** ***
***SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS REDACTED BY Revdex.com***

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:  Again, Mr. J[redacted] has made numerous inaccurate statements which I will address in order of appearance:1) His receipt of the map is easily verified.  It was emailed to his email address (which is active since I received his receipt from the same email address a few days later).  I will forward that email to Revdex.com (and to Mr J[redacted]) upon request so that IP addresses and the date it was sent can be verified.2) The water line was not marked on the map.  Nor was the gas line (which luckily he did not also hit).  I only marked HIDDEN utilities on the map (the sewer line which he buried). Again, since the water spigot and gas meter were visible two feet above the ground. I assumed me would see them (a professional would have walked around the site before doing any work.  It was obvious that there had been a dwelling on the property previously and since there was sewer, electric and gas it only stands to reason that there was also water to the dwelling.3)  The house that has been moved in is far forward in the area that Mr. J[redacted] smoothed out, and nowhere near the former waterline site.  I will have photos taken to illustrate this fact.4)  He says that the plumber said that he couldn't find the water line.  That is because Mr. J[redacted] had already destroyed it.  The plumber didn't come until after the dirt work had been done and the house had been moved in.5)  He asserted that I had not been to the property since he worked on it.  UNTRUE.  I spent the last week of June and all of July in Palmer, and went to the property numerous times.6)  He claims that I did not know where the water line was - UNTRUE.  The well was actually tested by my father and a local well service prior to my purchase to verify that the water flow was adequate (I will locate the name of the well service and the receipt for the testing and provide upon my return to Palmer).  Also, Mr. J[redacted] was the first contractor to work on the property, so I agree with his statement that it was in fact the first contractor who did the damage.7)  He claims there was unsupervised work done on the property after his work was completed.  UNTRUE. Although I was out of town, all work by other contractors WAS supervised.8) Mr. J[redacted] insinuates that the waterline did not even exist in the first place.  The existence of the waterline can be verified by [redacted] at [redacted] (who I went through to purchase the property last fall) and by the former owners (the [redacted] family) who live two driveways away.No earthmoving activities occurred between the time he did his work and two weeks ago - I currently have a carpenter there doing work, but the only dirt being moved is with a shovel, by hand.  Again, there is no doubt this damage was caused by his work and is his responsibility to either fix, or to pay to have it returned to it's former condition. I sincerely hope that the Revdex.com is able to help us come to a resolution to avoid the inconvenience that it would cause both of us if I have to go to small claims court to recoup my losses.Sincerely,[redacted]