Arams Refrigeration

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:I appreciate the apology from the business However it is completely apparent that nothing was ever communicated directly to me about where the cost point was during any of the design process The whole purpose of me going to a professional is for them to tell me exactly what is going on and where the cost point is If the budget is not feasible, immediately, not after the fact, notify me of what is going on It is not also up to the business to make any determination without properly notifying the paying customer I believe this is standard practice and would expect nothing less Especially when my own money is going to a design process that clearly was never feasible from the start, yet I was never notified That is the underlying issue I consider this matter closed Regards, [redacted] ***

We hope the information provided to the client will give him the breakdown needed to make decisions regarding his proposed projectAs I remember, the initial area of concern was the covered wood deck being converted to living area which involves heat/ac, framing, insulation, electric tie-in, drywall, custom glass, trim, int/ext finish, etcWe indicated this alone would likely use up over half of his ballpark budgetThe next area was the basement renovation involving major plumbing, heating, framing changesIf he limited his desires to these areas we may have been in the area of the $100,ballpark he envisioned.The requests for additional work followed as described previouslyThe added work naturally raises the cost of the project substantially and should be obvious that it would be beyond his initial ballpark at this pointIt was pointed out he could proceed with certain facets of work now and do others later as he saw fitIn fact the $259,that is being mentioned is a culmination of various work requests over the time period and is broken down by individual line items for this purposeSince the design plans were about half finished, it would be senseless to stop in the middle and give the client nothing for his moneySo it seemed like the best course was to finish the design process and provide him with a workable design plan.I would like to conclude with an apologyI’m sorry for the misunderstandings that occurred.Best Regards, John B***

June 12, 2015The client engaged our firm to develop a design for substantial renovation of the first floor and lower level prior to his occupancy of the vacant dwelling. It was mentioned a bit later about a home inspection that was done by others and asked if we would be interested in making some...

repairs. Being a building contractor, we agreed but did not have details of the report at that time or know what the cost might be for this additional work. We verbally gave him a DESIGN ESTIMATE of $2,000 to $3,000 and he signed a design/drafting agreement with a $2,000 deposit to get the plans started. This is a contract to design and develop a buildable plan based on customer input. Architectural hourly fee was clearly stated and agreed.While he mentioned a initial ballpark figure of $100K for the renovation it was never indicated to be an absolute figure. We explained to him that only once a design is complete could we compile estimates from our suppliers and have sub-contractors estimate their work. Renovating an old home is not like building a new home, there are unknowns related to plumbing tie-in, heating capacity, electrical modifications, even demoltion/removal of the existing parts of the structure. While design was under way the customer added numerous features and expenses to the project such as converting an unfinished area to finished with plumbing/hvac/elec, redesign and adding a large soaking tub to an existing bath, and replace entire kitchen cabinetry ,tops, flooring. While not urgently needed, he chose to add total roof replacement and total painting inside and out to the project cost.Once the customer agreed to the final design, plans were issued and contractors visited the job site to evaluate their involvement in the project. Bids were compiled, material take-offs were done and estimates formulated to finalize a total cost for the project based on the customer’s material selections and specifications. A final cost for the project could not be projected in advance for all the renovation work described and additional requests made.All the above mentioned work was performed over a period of several weeks and involved meetings at our office and several at his home with three staff and eleven different subcontractors. Total cost to the client of $2,167 for which $167 is still outstanding. Figuring the manpower and hours spent, the cost to our firm exceeds the amount billed the customer and we only try to recover our expenses and not profit on the evaluation and estimation process.We feel our firm gave this client an accurate estimate to complete his project in accordance with his wishes. We listened to the customer to provide him the design and features he desired. The value of design plans, sub- contractor contacts/estimates and cost proposal the client now has in his possession is substantially greater than the amount he paid. We are certainly sorry he had a misunderstanding of procedures, since we strive for customer satisfaction. We feel his complaint against our firm is unjustified and should be removed by the Revdex.com.Thank you for your consideration,John ** B[redacted]

We hope the information provided to the client will give him the breakdown needed to make decisions regarding his proposed project. As I remember, the initial area of concern was the covered wood deck being converted to living area which involves heat/ac, framing, insulation, electric tie-in, drywall, custom glass, trim, int/ext finish, etc. We indicated this alone would likely use up over half of his ballpark budget. The next area was the basement renovation involving major plumbing, heating, framing changes. If he limited his desires to these areas we may have been in the area of the $100,000 ballpark he envisioned.The requests for additional work followed as described previously. The added work naturally raises the cost of the project substantially and should be obvious that it would be beyond his initial ballpark at this point. It was pointed out he could proceed with certain facets of work now and do others later as he saw fit. In fact the $259,000 that is being mentioned is a culmination of various work requests over the time period and is broken down by individual line items for this purpose. Since the design plans were about half finished, it would be senseless to stop in the middle and give the client nothing for his money. So it seemed like the best course was to finish the design process and provide him with a workable design plan.I would like to conclude with an apology. I’m sorry for the misunderstandings that occurred.Best Regards, John  B[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
What this letter ultimately fails to mention is the final estimate of $259,000 that in the end well exceeded any "ballpark" estimate. What it also fails to address is the simple fact that the company, specifically the owner hung the phone up on me when I was trying to speak regarding this issue, stating "This is not my first time around the block and I don't have to listen to you." The ultimate question is how a "professional" would have no idea that the final estimate would be 2.5x the "rough" budget.  To me this represents dishonestly at a minimum. The generated response is an example of plain vanilla language that represents a company that never even attempted to explain themselves and their actions.  What should have happened from a professional standpoint was simply that they could have just said from the beginning that the budget was not reasonable.  They should have immediately stopped the planning process, notified me that it was not feasible, instead of wasteing $2000 of my dollars and my valuable time, on a project that was well outside my budget. Sub-contractor estimates do not even factor into this situation being the companies' general contracting estimate exceeded the original budget.  Simply an apology would bring this matter to a close. 
Regards,
[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I appreciate the apology from the business.  However it is completely apparent that nothing was ever communicated directly to me about where the cost point was during any of the design process.  The whole purpose of me going to a professional is for them to tell me exactly what is going on and where the cost point is.  If the budget is not feasible, immediately, not after the fact, notify me of what is going on.  It is not also up to the business to make any determination without properly notifying the paying customer.  I believe this is standard practice and would expect nothing less.  Especially when my own money is going to a design process that clearly was never feasible from the start, yet I was never notified.  That is the underlying issue.  I consider this matter closed.
Regards,
[redacted]