Champion Waterproofing & Piering, LLC

On Friday 6/19/2015 a crew of four was sent to address this problem.  The crew tested out the waterproofing system and...

began to investigate the problem.  While inspecting the problem we found a crack the was not previously addressed.   The crack was leaking water.  We sealed the crack and made sure all other parts to the waterproofing system worked properly.
We apologize for the issue and are certain no other issues will arise with this building.  Customer service is very important to us and we deeply apologize for the inconvience.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Attached is a home inspection report [Filename: InspectionReport] explicitly recommending I repair the cracks in my foundation.  This home inspector has no financial incentive to recommend or discourage said repair.
However, in both ChampionResponse files (email's sent from Mr. [redacted] himself) Champion Waterproofing claims the cracks are not covered under my warranty.  Mr. [redacted] claims in both emails not only an unwillingness to repair the crack.  Mr. [redacted] admits an inability to repair the crack, waterproof my crawlspace and maintain the integrity/ strength of the foundation walls.  Even though a home inspector claims otherwise is possible.  Therefore Mr. [redacted] claims that in order to effectively waterproof my crawlspace the crack must stay.  Any waterproofing system requiring me to maintain a flaw that a home inspector recommends I repair is not an acceptable waterproofing system.
Mr. [redacted] even threatens to void my waterproofing warranty if I repair the crack myself.
Mr [redacted] also claims water pressure rises through the ground into my crawlspace at a very high rate.  Because of that claim he discourages I repair the crack.  How does water coming through the bottom of the crawlspace determine whether or not presser is placed on the walls?  It doesn't make sense.  Also my basement is obviously adjacent to my crawlspace.  The only water leakage I have in my basement comes from my crawlspace.  So Mr. [redacted] claims that water seeps up from the ground at an alarming rate ONLY in the 1200 square foot area occupied by my crawlspace.
 
 
Regards,[redacted]

I am really confused.  All the dates and details in this complaint are incorrect.  We installed jacks under an I beam in this crawlspace.  That is what we were hired to do.  Once finished, the customer couldn't have been happier.  Loved our crew and the work!  No...

complaints.  The jacks worked fine for 2 years.  In this time the ENTIRE house was remolded top to bottom.  All flooring was removed, floors where leveled, and new floors put back.  During the construction of this home 1 of the jacks got jostled out of place and bent.  This happens to floor jacks when the floor above is removed.  This is no big deal, it can be fixed.  We had every intention of replacing this for him, FOR FREE at that.  Below is the time line on what occurred. 
5/12/2015 - customer called and notified that jack had moved and bent.  Again, this jack had been in the crawlspace 2 years wor[redacted] just fine.
5/19/2015 - A crew arrived at the home to fix after customer and owner discussed the problem and came up with a solution.  The solution was a new jack under a new concrete footer.  We arrived, put a "temporary" jack to brace the I-beam, and poured a concrete slab for the new jack placement.   Common rule is at minimum of 2 WEEKS CURE TIME     FOR CONCRETE.  We needed to wait 2 weeks to come back and put the jack on top of the new concrete.  We left the job and everybody way happy, extremely happy at that.  No problems, no complaints, no issues.  They were to wait 2 weeks and we would return and place the jack on the new fully cured concrete.
6/1/2015 - I received a letter from an attorney requesting $7,000 be paid back to the homeowner.   It had been 13 days since we left, 9 business days.,   The concrete was not even fully cured, we need at least 14 days. 
6/1/2015 - Called homeowner 2 times to schedule install and question complaint
6/2/2015 - Called homeowner and left message
6/3/2015 - Called homeowner and left message 
6/4/2015 - called homeowner
If this homeowner would like me to come out and replace the jack that broke, please tell me him to answer his phone or call us back.  This whole thing is confusing me.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I will address each aspect of their response individually: 1) “their sump pump failed due to electrical failure” -  The cause of sump pump failure was not due to electrical failure. I spoke with the master plumber at Zoeller Pumps who confirmed this was not possible based on the information available.  At no point did we lose power at our home (confirmed by LG&E), no circuit breakers were tripped, and the pump was continually running the entire weekend. The owner of the company is likely referring to how they wired the power cord of the sump pump and connected it to an outlet also providing electricity to both our washer and dryer.  In order for “electrical failure” to have occurred, these appliances would have had to be turned on and running.  Electrical failure could potentially occur if the sump pump, washer and dryer were drawing more amperes than available within the circuit, but this would short the circuit and trip the circuit breaker. As mentioned, this did not happen… no circuit breakers were tripped, the sump pump was running all weekend, and we never lost power. 2) “they are attempting to blame this on workmanship too, not the case” This was 100% due to workmanship. As stated in my original complaint, Champion Waterproofing installed the sump pump not to manufacturer’s standards. I have proof that they installed the sump pump and connected it to a one-inch line instead of the required 1.5-inch piping. In the instruction manual for the specific Zoeller pump installed (attached), they warn “do not use a discharge pipe smaller than the pump discharge”.  The pump discharge was 1.5 inches and connected to 1 inch piping. Again, the owner told me himself that they used 1 inch pipe with their original installation. Without going into the specific physics of fluid flow through pipes/tubes (which I can do and will do, if needed), it is common sense that decreasing the diameter of the pipe would decrease the flow rate considerably and would “choke out” the pump to a point it is not able to perform near its standards. I never disputed the fact that our sump pump “failed”. That is why I filed a claim through our insurance under “sump pump failure/backup”.  The reason why it failed is because it was not installed to manufacturer’s standards, thus a failure of workmanship and thus the issue at hand.   3) “His neighbor then called our office and proceeded to physically threaten the women in our office along with violently threatening me” - My neighbor returned home to find our discharge line pointed at his driveway and basement window. He was very upset and informed us of his dissatisfaction with the situation. As mentioned in my original complaint, I did not authorize the discharge line to be located there and was promised I would be able to walk the property with their worker and determine the most suitable place to dispose of the water. This never happened, as the worker ran the discharge line without my knowledge nor my consent. The conversations had between my neighbor and Champion Waterproofing do not involve my [redacted] and I, as that appears to be a completely separate issue not applicable to my complaint.   4) “My office usually only has our bookkeeper and office manager in the office during the day. Upon hearing these physical threats I advised them to lock the doors for their safety” - First of all, I never threatened anybody, including the owner and his staff. The doors at his office building were locked not due to physical threats, but instead when I offered to simply pick up a copy of our contract or even a voided blank contract so that I could read the fine print. Upon arrival to their office building, I was nothing but respectful to [redacted], their bookkeeper and was shocked to find out that the owner would threaten to fire his worker if she considered opening the door and giving me a copy of my contract. In fact, at the end of our encounter, upon explaining to her our situation and the dissatisfaction with how we had been treated by the owner, she started to cry. At that time, I explained that it was not her fault and that I did not hold her responsible. To suggest that I physically threatened the workers is a complete and utter insult and representative of the character of the owner.   5) “Every customer is given a copy of the contract and all our contact information when we finish the job. The same goes for this customer. They have a copy” - We were provided a warranty and an “owners manual” upon completion of the job. After our basement flooded and my desk was underwater, we were unable to locate our contract and simply requested a copy.  To this date, now almost three weeks after the flood, we have yet to received a copy despite numerous requests. We were promised it would be sent in the mail over two weeks ago.   6) “I did the absolute best I could to help out as fast as I could” - As mentioned in the original complaint, I called Friday night and numerous times on Saturday and Sunday and did not hear back until Monday at 10 am (>50 hours after the first attempt to contact Champion). On Friday, at first glance of water in the basement, we read through our owners manual and followed the instructions provided, which states, “Every effort has been made to insure that you have no leakage in the future. However, due to the nature of your water seepage problems, a new leak could occur. If this happens, please do not be upset. Call us anytime Monday through Saturday and we will make you our first priority.” We called them Friday, Saturday and Sunday and were essentially left in the dark, helplessly watching the water rise in our basement and waiting for someone to return our messages.   7) ”They had the opportunity to work with us, and let us use some of our resources to help put the basement back together. They have declined any help that was offered. They are more interested in threatening myself and my company. I offered over and over to help out any way that I can.” - The owner did offer to put us in contact with contractors that could redo the basement “at cost”; however, this was a still a considerable cost to us and one for which we should not be responsible.  He offered this one time and ultimately refused to continue to work with us the moment I requested the copy of our contract. We chose to pay thousands of dollars to protect our basement and our personal property contained therein, but instead, we received the complete opposite result. Our investment in Champion Waterproofing resulted with our personal property and family heirlooms ruined and ultimately hauled away in a dumpster.  Let’s not forget the fact that we had to remove our 4-month-old daughter from her home because of no heat, hot water, and unsafe living conditions. The owner claims he offered “over and over” to help but never suggested helping us find alternative accommodations for our family. Aside from the dispute at hand, what my [redacted] and I find to be exceptionally disheartening is how the owner handled this situation and treated us from the moment he entered our home. As mentioned above, the owner believed the sump pump failed due to electrical issues. He knew we filed an insurance claim and that a field adjustor would visit our home within the next few days. The owner actually asked me to alter the configuration of the sump pump wiring prior to the field adjustor’s arrival. I was taken aback by this peculiar request and made to feel very uncomfortable with this request and his intentions. 8) “He has refused any help and the last form of communication I received was a text stating I would hear from his attorney” - Yes, I have contacted a lawyer, as I believe anyone in my situation would do, but I have not filed a formal suit. It clearly states on the Revdex.com website that complaints can be filed when “talking with a lawyer”.  My [redacted] and I are trying to avoid a legal suit and just want to be made whole again.  We firmly believe that our damages are a direct result of failure of workmanship and plan to pursue this matter to the fullest extent.                   
Regards,
[redacted]

[A default letter...

is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

To whom it may concern,
We have tried numerous times to help this particular homeowner out. His crawlspace takes on so much water that 1 Zoeller 1/3hp sump pump could not pump out the water fast enough.   The Zoeller 1/3 hp pump is the industry standard for this application (a crawlspace...

less then 1,200 sq. ft).  After realizing the pump couldn't handle the amount of water we installed a 2nd sump pump at no cost for the pump, or the labor.  During the next flood, with both pumps pumping full speed, his breaker tripped.  This was made clear so I recommended an electrician be called.  
I, the owner, sat in this customers crawlspace during one of the record rains we had this past spring.  The water was coming up from below the crawlspace floor faster then I have ever seen.  I expressed this to the customer.   He know has 2 pumps, separate discharge lines with shorter pumping distances, an interior drainage system around his crawlspace, and a vapor barrier.  We have been out there to help him more then 6 times.  We cannot offer better customer service.   It appears a refund is the only way to make this customer happy however I am not prepared to offer a refund simply because a customer demands it.  
We upheld this customers warranty throughout all of these issues and will continue to uphold the warranty.

We are sorry he feels this way.  He is making unreasonable demands in an unreasonable time frame.  We try our best to meet all our customers needs but unfortunately we cannot please every customer. Customer Service Department.Champion Waterproofing and Piering.

I am confused.  The paragraph below was taken directly from his inspection report.  It says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about needing to repair the cracks in his crawlspace.  
If normal surface storm water continues to enter through this or other cracks in the crawlspace, the installed sump pumps should be more than adequate to remove waterfrom crawlspace without causing structural damage or spilling into the basement from the crawlspace access door.
Again, his basement and crawlspace are completely waterproofed.  The inspection report agrees with all that was done.  The inspection report also clearly states that their is NO MOISTURE in his crawlspace.  I am not sure what this homeowner wants.     We have done our job.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Owner

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
It has already been established that Champion made no effort to try tell me to fix the exterior drain.  The story has changed so many times over the course of the process, I am losing track.Story 1.  It was the electric's faultStory 2.  It was because the pump was not on a dedicated circuit.Story 3. I told them that the drain was not a problemStory 4. I would not let them fix the drain even though they wanted to.____________Aside from the exterior drain, there are still other problems that need to be addressed.1. I need documentation to show that the warranty is void because the pump is not on a dedicated circuit.  I checked my warranty and could not find this anywhere.2. I would like to understand how the water near the crawl space is our fault.  After the leak, the job foreman said THEY probably created a pocket to let the water in while digging in the crawl space.  How would I have known this ahead of time and why didn't Champion fix it themselves when the foreman tool responsibility for it?_____________I am not trying to get free work done as originally stated by the owner.  At this point, I will not let Champion back in the house.  I just hope that someone reading this takes the time to do their research before deciding what company to use. Champion's history on Revdex.com speaks for itself.  While they somehow still have an A+ rating, they have more negative reviews than positive. The house in question is my elderly mother-in-laws.  It is likely she will not be able to stay in her house much longer, so I wanted to have the house nice for her.  Champion however saw it as an opportunity to lie, steal, and cheat us out of money in hopes that we would continue to pay them time after time each time it leaked since it was never their fault.From my perspective, there is nothing else that Champion can offer me.  I will let the lawyers handle the matter in future the next time the basement floods.  It is a shame because this could have been resolved long ago if Champion would have taken responsibility for a poor job and poor plan of action.
Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted]
 
I would like to add the...

following to the complaint (ID [redacted]) if possible.After straightening up the miscommunications with Champion Waterproofing, I was contacted by the owner, offered an apology, and received what I requested. This was handled very  well and I commend his professionalism. Thanks.

I will be happy to install the new jack.  I do not manufacture jacks, I buy them from [redacted].  They are the industry standard floor jacks.  The same ones seen in 99% of all homes.  The one we installed apparently broke.  We agreed to replace it at no cost.  We can still replace it if he would like.  Again, I DO NOT MANUFACTURE jacks, nor do I warrant them from brea[redacted], I just buy them and install them.  I am sorry this jack "twisted".  Let me know when you would like us to come out and replace the jack.  My contact information is below.  Please call.
[redacted]
502-493-4822 (office)
[redacted]@championwp.com