Christopher Jon Electrical, Inc.

Review: I invited Christopher Jon Electric to bid on the close-out of four objections that had been filed against my building by the NYC Dept. of Buildings. They issued an estimate that was vague and talked about performing further investigations to see if additional work was needed, which I was concerned they would use to try to jack up the contract price partway through, but I insisted repeatedly by phone, email and in person that any contract be all inclusive as to the close-out of the existing objections. I confirmed this in email stating, "I want some assurance that I won't have to pay in full until the objections have been fully closed out with DOB", and they confirmed in response, "We will not charge you full price until the work is complete... We can charge you for half and then when the job is complete (D.O.B and all, we will charge you the other half."

Christopher Jon and one of his technicians, [redacted], met me in the basement before work began and confirmed that the quoted price would include close-out of all existing objections, but they could not guarantee that DOB would not issue new and unrelated objections. They stated that if I made an initial payment under the contract of $900, they would begin by searching for all possible issues that DOB could raise, and it would be optional for me whether to address any issues they found unrelated to the objections, but that they would definitely get at least the existing objections closed out for the agreed contract price. I issued them a check for $900, they performed an investigation, and then offered me a contract proposal of more than double the agreed contract price. I stated that I didn't want any extra work done, I just wanted the existing objections closed out, and then Christopher Jon denied that he had ever agreed to close out the existing objections. However, I have emails confirming this, and I am 100% sure that he confirmed this twice verbally in addition to the written confirmation.Desired Settlement: I want Christopher Jon Electric to close out the existing objections for the agreed contract price.

Business

Response:

My responses will be in "quotes" next to the exact verbiage of [redacted] complaint. I am including both the original quote and the second estimate for official proof to my statements below.

I invited Christopher Jon Electric to bid on the close-out of four objections that had been filed against my building by the NYC Dept. of Buildings. "As per [redacted] he had contacted several electricians and recieving only three responses, electrician #1 did not provide a bid, electrician #2 gave an approximate number of the total cost not an actual bid, and Christopher Jon Electrical gave a detailed bid IN WRITING with pricing next to each item."

They issued an estimate that was vague "please see Quote #[redacted], which explains the investigations needed in order to remove the objections and determine for yourself if this is vague" and talked about performing further investigations to see if additional work was needed, which I was concerned they would use to try to jack up the contract price partway through, but I insisted repeatedly by phone, email and in person that any contract be all inclusive as to the close-out of the existing objections. "I understood [redacted]'s concern about jacking up the price midway because other electrical firms operate this way. I guaranteed him that we would perform the investigation for a 900.00 as per the qoute # [redacted] and when we completed this investigation he would have an EXACT price itemized in estimate #2 so he can see what was needed with costs to remove the objections. This would safeguard him from any potential ploy on my companies part to try to increase the p rice on him after we started installation and repair. After the investigation was completed and he saw the FULL SCOPE of work that would be needed to remove the objections on his property, he grew violent and starting screaming in my office. I politely asked him to step outside so we could discuss what he did not understand about the second estimate #[redacted]. After a 45 minute conversation, I uncovered that from the beginning, he wanted to LOCK us into a fixed cost to perform work without knowing what it would entail to repair it. I asked him: How can I provide a removal of a violation if I do not know what the full scope is? He could not provide me with an answer, instead he kept repeating that he wanted us to perform the work for the original qoute [redacted]. Please keep in mind quote [redacted] included investigation of the existing property to DETERMINE the full scope, which is the only part of the estimate he contracted us to move forward with."

I confirmed this in email stating, I want some assurance that I won't have to pay in full until the objections have been fully closed out with DOB, and they confirmed in response, We will not charge you full price until the work is complete... We can charge you for half and then when the job is complete (D.O.B and all, we will charge you the other half. "We only charged him $900 dollars for the investigation to determine the full scope, not a penny more. We did not move forward with removal of the objections because [redacted] stated the scope of work required was above his budget".

Christopher Jon and one of his technicians, [redacted], met me in the basement before work began and confirmed that the quoted price would include close-out of all existing objections, but they could not guarantee that DOB would not issue new and unrelated objections. They stated that if I made an initial payment under the contract of $900, they would begin by searching for all possible issues that DOB could raise, and it would be optional for me whether to address any issues they found unrelated to the objections, but that they would definitely get at least the existing objections closed out for the agreed contract price. " I stated that we would perform the investigation and upon our findings I would conclude what items cooresponded to the objections and these would need to be corrected for the inspection to pass. Again, once he saw the FULL SCOPE he realized he was over budget and attempted to lock me into the original estimate which could not be provide the full scope.& quot;

I issued them a check for $900, they performed an investigation, and then offered me a contract proposal of more than double the agreed contract price.

"This is an untrue statement. To remove the objections was $2340 estimate #2358; quote 322746 was for $3219.00, so technically the estimate was less from this standpoint."

I stated that I didn't want any extra work done, I just wanted the existing objections closed out, and then Christopher Jon denied that he had ever agreed to close out the existing objections.

"I explained to [redacted] that we could not remove the objections without moving forward with #2358. When estimate number 2358 is analyzed, it is clear that I broke the estimate out into two parts. The Not Included section had EXACT pricing in the event the inspector decided to fail other electrical violations upon the second visit to the property. It is common for an inspector to find other items on a second visit and then issue a second violation. [redacted] stated that this would be my problem to fix if he found other electrical items. I responded that if the inspector was to find other items, which were already stated in the not included section price by price, he would have to fix it. He grew angry that he would have to pay extra because the inspector would find new items upon a second visit. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, THE EXTRAS ANDREW MAY HAVE HAD TO PAY WAS ITEMIZED IN THE NOT INCLUDED SECTION; COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY."

However, I have emails confirming this, and I am 100% sure that he confirmed this twice verbally in addition to the written confirmation. "I would like to see an email from myself, [redacted] (owner), that stated anything other than what I have stated above."

I am including both estimates for [redacted] and any other new customer of ours to view so the reputation of CJE can be maintained. The truth will be displayed when the estimates are viewed by anyone.

Owner

Attached here is Quote 322746, with items circled to provide easy observations to correspond to my response to [redacted].

Please review all pages to observe the Not Included section of the estimate to provide clarity of the detail of the estimate to Prevent "hidden" charges.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

CJE still refuses to honor our original contract or issue me a refund for the funds I paid in reliance upon that contract.

My reply to CJE's statement is provided in brackets, after CJE's responses in quotes:

I

invited Christopher Jon Electric to bid on the close-out of four

objections that had been filed against my building by the NYC Dept.

of Buildings. "As per [redacted] he had contacted several

electricians and recieving only three responses, electrician #1 did

not provide a bid, electrician #2 gave an approximate number of the

total cost not an actual bid, and Christopher Jon Electrical gave a

detailed bid IN WRITING with pricing next to each item."

They

issued an estimate that was vague "please see Quote #[redacted],

which explains the investigations needed in order to remove the

objections and determine for yourself if this is vague" and

talked about performing further investigations to see if additional

work was needed, which I was concerned they would use to try to jack

up the contract price partway through, but I insisted repeatedly by

phone, email and in person that any contract be all inclusive as to

the close-out of the existing objections. "I understood [redacted]'s

concern about jacking up the price midway because other electrical

firms operate this way. I guaranteed him that we would perform the

investigation for a 900.00 as per the qoute # [redacted] and when we

completed this investigation he would have an EXACT price itemized in

estimate #2 so he can see what was needed with costs to remove the

objections. This would safeguard him from any potential ploy on my

companies part to try to increase the p rice on him after we started

installation and repair. After the investigation was completed and he

saw the FULL SCOPE of work that would be needed to remove the

objections on his property, he grew violent and starting screaming in

my office. I politely asked him to step outside so we could discuss

what he did not understand about the second estimate #[redacted]. After a

45 minute conversation, I uncovered that from the beginning, he

wanted to LOCK us into a fixed cost to perform work without knowing

what it would entail to repair it. I asked him: How can I provide a

removal of a violation if I do not know what the full scope is? He

could not provide me with an answer, instead he kept repeating that

he wanted us to perform the work for the original qoute [redacted].

Please keep in mind quote [redacted] included investigation of the

existing property to DETERMINE the full scope, which is the only part

of the estimate he contracted us to move forward with."

[REPLY:

The "estimate" attached by [redacted] Electric was

not the final contract. The final contract was marked up and left in

his office with notations confirming that it would cover close-out of

all objections with DOB, with half of the payment to be released only

after all objections were removed. This was further confirmed in

email by CJE. CJE performed an inspection of the premises prior to

issuing its initial estimate and had an adequate opportunity to

discover any issues that DOB would be likely to raise upon

re-inspection. [redacted] personally assured me that the $900

would count toward the total contract price and that he would assure

close out of the existing objections, but that he could not assure

that DOB would not raise new objections until performing a more

detailed review of the premises. He also assured me that all panels

and breakers would be labeled as part of the $900, which never

happened. As for [redacted]'s allegation that I "screamed"

and "grew violent", this is simply absurd. While I

verbally disagreed with him, I certainly never "screamed",

acted violent, or threatened violence in any manner. I

merely insisted that if he would not honor his contract, I would be

forced to bring a legal action. I even went so far as to attempt to resolve the dispute through the Revdex.com mediation process prior to moving forward with a legal action to give CJE an opportunity to right the wrong without incurring substantial legal expenses.]

I

confirmed this in email stating, I want some assurance that I won't

have to pay in full until the objections have been fully closed out

with DOB, and they confirmed in response, We will not charge you full

price until the work is complete... We can charge you for half and

then when the job is complete (D.O.B and all, we will charge you the

other half. "We only charged him $900 dollars for the

investigation to determine the full scope, not a penny more. We did

not move forward with removal of the objections because [redacted] stated

the scope of work required was above his budget".

[REPLY:

We had a written agreement that he would remove all objections for

the price of his initial estimate. The further investigation was to determine if there was any other work that was recommended

and might prove necessary to avoid any new DOB objections. However,

after accepting the $900 pursuant to our original contract, CJE

issued a new estimate demanding more than twice as much money as

originally provided in the contract to assure close out of the

existing objections]

[redacted] and one of his technicians, [redacted], met me in the basement before

work began and confirmed that the quoted price would include

close-out of all existing objections, but they could not guarantee

that DOB would not issue new and unrelated objections. They stated

that if I made an initial payment under the contract of $900, they

would begin by searching for all possible issues that DOB could

raise, and it would be optional for me whether to address any issues

they found unrelated to the objections, but that they would

definitely get at least the existing objections closed out for the

agreed contract price. " I stated that we would perform the

investigation and upon our findings I would conclude what items

cooresponded to the objections and these would need to be corrected

for the inspection to pass. Again, once he saw the FULL SCOPE he

realized he was over budget and attempted to lock me into the

original estimate which could not be provide the full scope.&

quot;

I issued them a check for $900, they performed an

investigation, and then offered me a contract proposal of more than

double the agreed contract price.

"This is an untrue

statement. To remove the objections was $2340 estimate #[redacted]; quote

[redacted] was for $3219.00, so technically the estimate was less from

this standpoint."

[REPLY:

There were two more pages to the second estimate that CJE provided.

The $2340 was for work that he thought/hoped might be sufficient to

obtain close-out of the objections, but he retracted his assurance

that he would get the existing objections removed for the originally

agreed price. In order to assure close out, he stated that I would

have to agree to all the work in the second estimate, which was more

than $5,000.]

I

stated that I didn't want any extra work done, I just wanted the

existing objections closed out, and then [redacted] denied that

he had ever agreed to close out the existing objections.

"I

explained to [redacted] that we could not remove the objections without

moving forward with #[redacted]. When estimate number [redacted] is analyzed, it

is clear that I broke the estimate out into two parts. The Not

Included section had EXACT pricing in the event the inspector decided

to fail other electrical violations upon the second visit to the

property. It is common for an inspector to find other items on a

second visit and then issue a second violation. [redacted] stated that

this would be my problem to fix if he found other electrical items. I

responded that if the inspector was to find other items, which were

already stated in the not included section price by price, he would

have to fix it. He grew angry that he would have to pay extra because

the inspector would find new items upon a second visit. PLEASE KEEP

IN MIND, THE EXTRAS ANDREW MAY HAVE HAD TO PAY WAS ITEMIZED IN THE

NOT INCLUDED SECTION; COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY."

[Reply: the second estimate was contrary to our original agreement

that he would remove all the existing objections for the agreed

price.]

However, I have emails confirming this, and I am 100% sure

that he confirmed this twice verbally in addition to the written

confirmation. "I would like to see an email from myself, [redacted] (owner), that stated anything other than what I have stated

above."

[Reply: If Christopher Jon's employee, who furnished me the

original estimate, was not authorized to make representations or

agreements on CJE's behalf, she should not have been doing so.

However, I reasonably relied upon her written representation in entering into

the contract, and that email formed a part of our agreement and was

verbally confirmed by [redacted] himself. His employee who authored the email had

actual, implied and/or apparent authority to make that contractual commitment,

and CJE is legally bound by it.]

I am including both

estimates for [redacted] and any other new customer of ours to view so

the reputation of CJE can be maintained. The truth will be displayed

when the estimates are viewed by anyone.

[Reply: In addition to the documents CJE uploaded, he also issued

a "101% Satisfaction Guarantee", a copy of which is

attached, stating "If you are not 101% satisfied with the

services provided by [redacted] Electrical Inc. We will refund

you all of your monies." I am not 101% satisfied. I am 0%

satisfied. I either want my money back or I want CJE to honor the

original contract by closing out the objections]

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

My company has served over 10,000 residential customers in the last 16 years. This is the FIRST customer that has chosen to smear my companies reputation so he can recieve a FREE service. I am going to refund the 900 dollars to

avoid further smearing of my reputation and prevent future customers from recieving OUTSTANDING service from my employees. I truly hope that [redacted] finds an electrician that can solve his electrical violations especially being that

he has recieved all the violations that have to be fixed from my company for FREE. For those that read this, I can only hope that you will due your due diligence and check out all the positive reviews we have on customer lobby. Our

company is one of high ideals, values and we take customer service very seriously. It can be a shame when one person can attempt to ruin and smear that reputation because they want a Free service. [redacted], Owner