American Concrete Leveling Corp.

Between July 5-7, 2017, American Foundation Specialists (aka American Concrete Leveling Corp.) did a repair of my basement foundation, which involved excavating around the outside of my basement, and then using hydraulic jacks and pounding with heavy sledge hammers to push back one my concrete block walls Concrete was then used to fill the block wall During this process, one of my 8-paned glass block windows was cracked and broken in several places I have contacted the owner(s) of this company by both phone and mail (separate letters so far) to resolve this damage, but have received NO satisfactory response The last time I spoke with *** *** (owner), he was extremely RUDE and unprofessional during our phone conversation and actually slammed down the phone on me I have copies of all letters written, documentation on phone calls, and estimates from other contractors of the cost to repair this damage (between $250-$300)

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]10-21-17I have several responses to the message received in regard to this complaint (#[redacted]) from [redacted] at American Foundation Specialists, so I will address them in the order received by him:#1  “She was told the glass block windows were installed prior to her purchasing the home. The replacement of the old wooden window to a glass block window disguised the bow in the wall, which would have shown with the old wooden window frames on an angle.  [redacted] told her that the windows may break because they were cemented in after the wall was bulged inwards.”My response:  No mention about any original wooden windows (I have owned my home for 25 years now), the present glass block windows (there are two of them on that wall) or the possibility of damage to either of them was EVER made to me by Mr. [redacted] at either our first meeting (between just he and I) where he gave me an estimate of the work involved, or at the second meeting where we signed the proposal – when I actually had my fiancé present to help me make a decision on this major project.  Nothing at all about the glass block windows was ever mentioned to us verbally or in writing on either the estimate paperwork or the contract proposal (although the possibility of the need for a sump pump was mentioned) that I signed.  If the glass block windows would have been mentioned at all, I would CERTAINLY have at least asked Mr. [redacted] if he had or knew a glass block person/contractor who could help us with that issue if and when it arose!  Having absolutely no experience or familiarity with the process of straightening a cement block wall, Mr. [redacted] must have just assumed that I knew about the possibility of this type of damage occurring – but I did not.  I’m pretty sure that I would have questioned it if it were mentioned, as I was very conscious of the costs that I was about to incur with this job.  #2  “[redacted] has been to her home on two different occasions and at both visits told her American broke the corner of the glass block panels during the straightening of the wall.”My response:  [redacted] was only at my house ONE time (on 8/2/2017) to look at the damage to my window.  And yes, I agree that he did tell me that American broke the glass block while straightening the wall. #3  “The basement wall repair turned out absolutely perfect.”My response:  Although I have already stated that I was satisfied with the work done on my basement walls, the repairs were FAR from “absolutely perfect”.  In reality, there were several cracks that had been repaired and tuck-pointed which were not totally filled (but which I did myself before I painted everything), open space between the bottom of some of the steel bracing beams and the floor, a bucket of water had been spilled during the job and had stained one of my carpets (which I cleaned and dried out myself), and the second glass block window also sustained cracking around the mortar as well as the stucco facing on the outside of the house.  My main concern with filing this complaint was the actual breakage of the three (of eight) window panels in the glass block window that I had complained about to the company – because there is no way that I can fix or deal with that myself and I did not want any moisture seeping in through it.  I felt that the broken window was the main thing that I really needed repaired. #4  “If she repairs the window, American will pay 1/2 of the bill, somewhere between $125 to $150 dollars, after the window is installed by someone else”My response:  Although I feel that because I was never made aware of the possibility of breakage to my windows during the wall straightening, either verbally or in our contract (which, of course, I have copies of), American Foundation should take responsibility for the damage.  There are a couple of clauses on the back of my proposal contract, which I feel might be applicable in this instance: #7)… “All verbal agreements between American and buyer are void unless written and signed by both parties”; and #13)… American not responsible for damage to paneling, carpeting, tile, or drywall at any time, however American will protect work area as best possible”.  Nothing whatsoever is written or noted on ANY of my paperwork about any possible window damage.  It is becoming quite obvious to me that this appears to be a situation where it’s going to be his word against mine as to what was really divulged or disclosed before the job was started.  So I guess, like most customers that have been overpowered by the big company, I will have to take whatever I can get.  And they know it.  But in the end, I think that it will all come down to the contractual paperwork – and what is written (or not written) there.The confidence and trust that I had in this company or anything told to me by [redacted] has been irreparably damaged, and so I wonder … how will I ever get them to pay even HALF of the cost (between $125-$150) for replacing this window??  What if the cost turns out to be more than that??  Will I be able to trust their word when they say that they will pay it??  Do I submit a receipt to them for the repairs and just trust them to send me a check??  What assurance do I have that once I have paid for the repair/replacement I will get reimbursed by this company without having to spend even more time and money to make it a legal court issue?? #5  “The customer just doesn't want to pay for extra work needed that's her problem not American's.  American has spent more than $ 300.00 in time & labor regarding this window problem.“It's just extra work for extra pay that the customer doesn’t want to pay for.”My response:  It was never a matter of me not wanting “to pay for extra work needed” – I never argued about ANY payments or costs for this job, I never had a concern about extra permit costs or possible sump pump costs, and I was happy to pay not only a substantial deposit, but wrote a check with full payment immediately after the job was done. I was never trying to swindle any extra money from this company that I didn’t honestly feel that they should help me with.  I am 64 years old and I have ALWAYS paid my bills on time and been responsible for whatever debt or damage I have incurred during my life, and I guess I just expect other people – especially business people – to do the same.  In addition, I don’t understand how they can even possibly claim that they have spent ANYTHING in time and labor regarding this window – as [redacted] only came to my house ONE TIME when I called him to come and see the damage to the window and only returned my phone call ONE time after I had written a letter to notify them of the problem.   #6  “… that’s her problem not American’s.” My response:  Those key words are reflective of the attitude that I have been confronted with ever since I first brought attention about my cracked window to this company.  When Mr. [redacted] came to my house to see it, he first tried to convince me to just “leave it like that”.  When he realized that I wasn’t going to “leave it like that”, he told me that he had glass block windows laying around that he could replace it with (but never said that I would be charged for that replacement).  I waited for a month to hear back from him about that, but never did, which prompted me to write my first letter to the company.  When he DID call me on the phone after receiving that letter and I tried to explain my position to him, he became very angry and rude to me - and actually slammed the phone down to disconnect our call after he yelled “I’M THROUGH WITH YOU!”  I spoke with the company secretary after this phone incident, who assured me that she would get back to me about it, but again, I got no response, even after writing a SECOND letter.It would have been SO SIMPLE if he had just addressed the issue immediately with some genuine concern for a good customer and an honest effort to help me correct the problem fairly.  A sincere apology for the damage and an attempt to work together in negotiating a fair settlement would have gone a long way to resolving this issue without any outside complaints or animosity.  To date, I have received neither of those things.Because of this unprofessional treatment, unanswered phone calls and written letters, and mostly the failure of American Foundation to come to any solution with me, I felt that my only other recourse was to file this complaint with the Revdex.com in an attempt to reach a reasonable resolution in another way.  With this kind of spiteful attitude from a company and their statement that they no longer want to work for me, I can’t help but worry how, if I (or a new owner of my home) should ever need to receive the 20-year guaranty coverage on this work in the future it will be handled to satisfaction.  I worry that other customers who contact them for services will be misled, misinformed, or otherwise disappointed with the services they have to offer – just as I have been.Lastly, I would like to say this.  I do NOT feel that this complaint has been resolved because knowing how this company has already treated me and how they now say that they don’t want to work with me, I do not know how I can ever trust this company to do what they say – and pay half of the cost for this window to be replaced.  How is that supposed to work??  I have already spent over $13,000 of my personal retirement savings with American Foundation for the basement job and now it will be an extra financial hardship to try and come up with more money to repair the window damage, which I’m not even sure I will be able to do before winter comes.  I am NOT trying to get any “extra work for no pay”  - I am just trying to be treated fairly and with respect.Even so, I would be more than happy to put this behind me and move on.  I am certainly not satisfied with any of their response to this complaint … but if they are willing to pay half of the cost and can give me some assurance about that, then maybe that’s all I can expect from a company like theirs.Your help is greatly appreciated,[redacted]

Marie, I can assure you that we will pay $125 to $150 for the window replacement.  I am sending you a letter that states this.  I am sorry for all of this confusion.  I hope that this will alleviate some of the problem.  Thank you for your work.   Sandy

In regards to the glass block window problem, [redacted] is correct that every time she calls American, [redacted] responds the same day back to her. From the beginning of the basement repair, she hired us to straighten her East wall back to original position. She was told the glass block...

windows were installed prior to her purchasing the home. The replacement of the old wooden window to a glass block window disguised the bow in the wall, which would have shown with the old wooden window frames on an angle.  [redacted] told her that the windows may break because they were cemented in after the wall was bulged inwards. [redacted] has been to her home on two different occasions and at both visits told her American broke the corner of the glass block panels during the straightening of the wall. The problem with the customer is that she feels we should pay for something that was installed on a crooked wall. The basement wall repair turned out absolutely perfect.  Now there is a glass block window problem, caused by the wall being straightened.  If she repairs the window, American will pay 1/2 of the bill, somewhere between $125 to $150 dollars, after the window is installed by someone else as American doesn’t want to work for her. Please remember, American didn't break the window, as the wall was being straightened the window glass block broke with a crack in the corner, with the pressure caused by hydraulically straightening the wall.  After answering all her calls and going back to the house when she wants us there. [redacted] from American told her American will pay her 1/2 of the repair, although American is not liable for window breakage.  The customer just doesn't want to pay for extra work needed, that's her problem not American's.  American has spent more than $ 300.00 in time & labor regarding this window problem. To this date I have no idea why we should pay for anything. This complaint should never have reached the B.B.B., because it's not the contractor's fault.  It's just extra work for extra pay that the customer doesn’t want to pay for.Sorry for the inconvenience,[redacted]American Foundation Specialists

Review: In November 2012 I had American do work on my basement wall which need to be excavated. During this procedure they had to cut out part of the concrete in my driveway. They agreed to repair the cement in the driveway, and I informed them that we were going to have the entire driveway redone with new concrete in the Spring. Therefore they filled the space with gravel. There were several gaps in the brick of my home with was never filled with mortar. [redacted] of the company told me that it wasn't an because when the new concrete was laid it would cover up them gaps. In April 2013 I called American for a concrete estimate, in which [redacted] then came out. I let him know about the tuck pointing issue and he said he would have his workers come put and correct the problem. According to him it could take anywhere from 3-6 weeks for it to be done. His workers were to complete it when they were working in this area. June comes along and the work is still not complete. I called American again, and spoke to his receptionist who said they would have someone come out and correct it within 2 weeks. July comes along and it still isn't repaired. I called American again, and the receptionist took my information and said someone would return my phone call. 3 weeks later I call back and spoke to [redacted] who said she had my phone number on her desk for a few weeks and didn't know why. [redacted] then said she would have someone out to repair the tuck pointing issue in a few weeks when their staff would be working in the area. It's September they still haven't come to fix the issue and I called again. They promised they would have it done soon. It is now October and I still haven't heard or seen anyone. The repair still hasn't been fixed. My husband called today 10/15/13 and was informed that someone would be out soon to repair the problem. He was denied to speak to [redacted] and the woman told him " do what you have to do" when he told her he was filing a complaint. When we signed the service contract with them to have the basement wall repaired, they were very friendly fast and efficient. Now that we have an issue, they are very reluctant to responding to our phone calls and to having to fix the problem.Desired Settlement: I would like for American to come out and repair the mortar that needs to be filled in an appropriate time frame. It would be nice for them to return a phone call informing me that they are aware of the issue and when they will be able to complete the job.

Business

Response:

Dear

[redacted];

In

response to this complaint;

On

October 15th, [redacted]’s husband called the office and spoke to me

about the tuckpointing work that needed to be completed at the above

address. Mr. [redacted] asked to speak to

the supervisor or manager, but not to [redacted].

Since [redacted] is [redacted], there is no manager or supervisor above him, so

that was not possible.

My

understanding was that this was a small area by a stoop. This area was not part of our contract, and

[redacted] of American, agreed to do this work for free, because

[redacted] had purchased apparel from Mr. [redacted], so, it was more of a favor, than

something that was contracted for.

The

work contracted at the above address was done for Mrs. [redacted], who I

believe is Mrs. [redacted]’ mother. At the

time that the work was done, [redacted] was a tenant.

During

my conversation with Mr. [redacted], he was very vehemently arguing the fact that,

after several phone calls to our office, this work had not been completed. Mr. [redacted] also stated that he had contacted

his attorney and was going to contact Katrina Cravey regarding this issue, if

it was not completed by October 16th at 5:00 pm. He stated that his attorney had told him to

give us one more chance. He then asked

me, rather sarcastically, “And what am I supposed to do when you have not

completed this by tomorrow at 5?” Because

I was having a bad day, I said what I was thinking, and responded, “Well, then

I guess you gotta do what you gotta do”.

I do owe Mr. [redacted] an apology.

After

speaking with Mr. [redacted], I immediately contacted our job foreman, and told him

that this work MUST be done by Wednesday at 5pm. He stated that a crew member was on his way

back to the office, so he would contact him about this work.

The

crew member, [redacted], was given the work order and left the shop to complete the

repairs. This was at approx.. 4pm,

Tuesday. I told him to contact Mr.

[redacted] on his way there. The repair was

completed Tuesday, October 15th, by 5 pm. While [redacted] was doing the repair, [redacted]

came out of the house and talked to him.

He asked for clarification of the area that needed tuckpointing. [redacted] showed him the area, and also asked

if another area that was not part of the agreement could also be done. [redacted] did the tuckpointing, and also the other

area of tuckpointing that was not part of the agreement, and [redacted] told him

that it looked good and that she was satisfied.

I am

not sure why a complaint was filed AFTER the work was completed.

Hopefully,

this will resolve the issue.

[redacted]

American

Foundation Specialists

Choose someone else to do the work on your foundation! We thought we were getting a great deal, however, the savings weren't worth the time I wasted trying to get the work in our basement completed. When I finally got people on the phone, I was told the work would be done one range of dates and when I spoke to someone else I was told the work would be done another time. Our basement was torn up for 2 months because of how long it took from the time it was measured until the time we finally got an inspector scheduled. In addition, workers tore up the exhaust pipe from our dryer when moving it and tried to hide it with duct tape. They left cigarettes in our basement. They also installed wood support beams over a light in the ceiling so that we could never replace the bulb. We had poor service from it took to schedule, to the time on the phone trying to get someone to schedule us, to the actual workers. Very disappointed.

Review: On 9/6/12 I contracted with [redacted] due to seepage in a south wall. In Nov 2012 American was to excavate the area down to the footing, at the area approximately 15ft - 16ft and rewaterproof. The process was to include installing new exterior draintile and connect to the existing system at the trench. Also an extended guarantee on the work for 20 years. During excavation American Foundation damaged the draintile in the area working, did not replace and reconnect the draintile, now each time a heavy rain occurs I get water seepage thru the basement floor in the area where their work was done. In May 2013 I contacted [redacted] at American Foundation regarding the water seepage thru the floor, he said the asphalt company Pro-Seal, I hired to cover the surface area had not done their job right. June 2013 the asphalt company came back to redo their work, covering additional surface area. June 2013 after a heavy rain, I again had water seepage thru the floor of my basement in the area of [redacted] work. I again called [redacted]-crew leader, he came out, removed the floor drain, reached his arm down into the drain to see if the trap was open, after telling me my lateral to the street needed flushing, it may be clogged with roots due to the age of the building. I had the lateral flushed out & it was found to not be clogged. Finally in May 2014 I called [redacted]-crew leader a third time after getting water seepage thru the floor again, he said he was on a job site and he would call me back after 5pm , 2 weeks later I had not gotten a response from [redacted]. I have clay chipping from the draintile in the extra dirt from the excavation that was placed in my backyard. I need [redacted] to correct this problem they caused. I never had water seepage thru my basement floor before their work was done. Help me resolve this issue with [redacted]Desired Settlement: [redacted] to excavate down to the footing 15ft - 16ft. replace the draintile and reconnect to the existing system at the trench as the contract stated. Stop this water seepage thru my basement floor each time a heavy rain occurs. Deliver the service [redacted] was contracted and paid $3750.00 to do.

Business

Response:

Reply

to the Complaint Dated May 28th,

2014 from [redacted] on September 6

On September 4, 2012 at 8:30 am, [redacted] called our office stating that she had a seepage issue that she would

like our company to look at. An

appointment was scheduled for Thursday, September 6th, at 10:00 to

11:00 am. Our representative, [redacted], met with Ms. [redacted] to inspect the seepage issue behind the stair area

of the south wall.

At the time of this inspection, Ms.

[redacted] was told that it appeared the water was entering high up on the wall

and that the correct repair would be to excavate the wall and re-waterproof it

from the outside. This repair would

consist of excavating down to the footing, removing the old drain tile,

installing new drain tile and connecting the drain tile back together, chipping

out any cracks and back plastering with cement, then applying a waterproofing tar

to the wall and a sheet of plastic over the tar, and back filling with stone

100% so that the asphalt company could re-asphalt with proper pitch away from

the foundation.

On October 5th, Ms. [redacted]

called the office and stated that she wanted to go ahead with repair on the

south wall. An appointment was scheduled

for October 9th, at 12:00 to 12:30 pm. [redacted] stopped at Ms. [redacted]’s home, wrote a

contract for this repair, and collected a deposit in the amount of $1,500.00.

This work was completed on November 20,

2012. The balance due was paid in full

on that date. During the repair, some

siding by the back door was damaged.

This was repaired on November 29, 2012.

In May of 2013 Ms. [redacted] called the

office and stated that there was seepage coming up through the basement floor

in the approximate area that we worked.

[redacted] made an appointment and went to the house, where Ms. [redacted] showed

him the area. [redacted] checked the area that

we had repaired and found that there were no signs of seepage or dampness on

the south wall at that time. There

appeared to be some seepage through the floor cracks 2’ to 4’ away from the

area that we repaired, however, this was not related to our repair. [redacted] explained to Ms. [redacted] that the water

issue that she was now having was possibly due to her inside drain tile system,

which may not be working correctly. The

water was rising under the floor and coming in through the cracks in the floor. [redacted] told her that she may need inside drain

tile and a sump crock & pump, as per city code.

[redacted] stated that she did not have

the finances for that type of repair.

[redacted] also at this time noted that the asphalt was not pitched away from

the foundation and mentioned this to [redacted].

[redacted] stated that she may want to contact her asphalt company and have

them correct the pitch, as this was not helping the seepage issue in the

basement.

In June of 2013, [redacted] again received

a call from [redacted] regarding seepage through the floor. He again scheduled an appointment with Ms.

[redacted]. When he arrived he noticed that

the asphalt company had been there at some point to try and give [redacted] better

pitch away from where the repair was done.

When he went into the basement again,

Ms. [redacted] showed him where the seepage was coming through the floor. Again, he

explained to Ms. [redacted] that the inside system was not working correctly. Again, he talked about needing some inside

drain tile and a sump crock and pump, and why she was getting water up through

the floor.

She asked if there was anything else

she could do or try and she said, “Could I have roots in my lateral to the

street and should I have the lateral to the street checked or cleared?” [redacted] told her that she could try having the

lateral checked, but felt this would not fix her issue. But, if that is what she wanted to try, it

would certainly be less costly than an inside drain tile repair and installing

a sump crock and pump. Please remember

that this job was done in 2012, and as of June of 2013, the repair done by

American solved the seepage problem on the south wall that was occurring prior

to 2012.

In May of 2014 [redacted] again called

[redacted] and said she was still having an issue with water coming up through the

floor. [redacted] told her that he would call her back to set up an appointment. When he tried contacting Ms. [redacted], he was

unable to leave a message because the voice mailbox was full. [redacted] tried for 3 days at different times

during the day, and her voice mailbox was full.

However, [redacted]’s telephone number would have showed up as a missed call,

every time that he called.

Also, the clay tile chips that Ms.

[redacted] refers to is in the clay soil that American removed from along her

basement wall. Per her request, American

was to place the excavated clay ground in her backyard for grading purposes. However in this ground there were pieces of

the old drain tile because American excavates down to the footing therefore

breaking the drain tile. American

replaced the clay drain tile with a PVC type drain tile that is used today and

connected this new drain tile to the existing exterior drain tile system.

[redacted] was notified of this issue on Thursday, June 5th,

2014. Mr. [redacted] started to call Ms.

[redacted] on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at all different hours. He left the message that he was concerned

abouth the “new” issues and finally, Ms. [redacted] called [redacted]’s cell phone on

Monday, June 09, 2014, and stated that she works till 5:30pm or 6:00 pm, Monday

thru Friday. [redacted] scheduled an

appointment for Wednesday, June 18th, 2014, after 6:00 pm.

[redacted] will meet and go over all

concerns that Ms. [redacted] has and will try to assist or help her with her new problems and issues

of seepage. A report will be written at

the time of the inspection and a copy will be emailed to the Revdex.com on Thursday,

June 19th, 2014. I hope Ms.

[redacted] and the Revdex.com will wait for the final decision.

In Summary;

Ms. [redacted]’s issue with water

coming up through the floor is a separate and non-related issue to the

foundation repairs that were completed in 2012.

American Foundation would be willing

to meet with [redacted] and give her a free estimate to repair this unfortunate,

but new issue. If Ms. [redacted] could

furnish a telephone number that she can be reached at, along with the best time

to contact her, we would be happy to quote her repairs.

[redacted], the owner of [redacted], will

stop out at Ms. [redacted]’s house on June 19th, 2014 to assist or help

Ms. [redacted] with her seepage problem.