Cote's Construction

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 Thank you for your response [redacted] requests a copy of the original contract and the mechanic’s lienCan we mail them to you? If so, to what address? Or do you want us to scan and email them? Please advise We have photographs showing the work stated in the contract to be done, that was not done If you would like them please let us know how – electronically or mail.A visual inspection of our house will show that Mr [redacted] is not truthful when he states that, “the framing and foundation of the house was in significant disrepair and has major structural problems.” We were home during the work and did not see anyone taking pictures of our house before, during, or after so be sure you get pictures of our – not another – house from Mr [redacted] should he submit any to you.A visual inspection of our house shows our concerns very clearly [redacted] did ask that the wall-hung clothes dryer be installed in the place from where Mainstay Builders removed it 6-weeks prior only because it was re-installed incorrectly by Mainstay Builders Should we pay twice for the same work especially when it was done incorrectly the first time? Mr [redacted] ’s contract states that Binding Arbitration will be used to settle any dispute but he chose to file a Mechanic’s Lien – a court action He ignored his own contract on that as well as other pointsWe paid him in full after he claimed he fixed our primary concerns on August 18th and he agreed that was the final, full payment under our contract (check #for $7,970) Meanwhile he had already prepared another invoice – invoice #is dated August 17th - that we received in the mail days later Would you like a copy of it? On our original complaint we listed the amount disputed as $7,as that covers invoice #plus interest Depending on how long this takes to resolve that amount may also cover some of the work we had done, by another contractor, to replace rotten trim on one window that was not replaced by Mr [redacted] as per his contract Rotten trim on two other windows still must be replaced We have no idea how much it will cost to fix or replace the siding that has opened up because it was not correctly overlapped by Mainstay Builders Getting a quote for that is complex since we must find a contractor who will do such repair work and involve the siding manufacturer, [redacted] We contacted [redacted] and are awaiting their replyOur primary request is that Mr [redacted] void invoice #(plus interest) and remove the mechanic’s Lien from our home and propertyWe have already absorbed additional costs to have work done - that his contact said he would do but - he didn’t do We welcome your questions We welcome inspection of the house and the work Mainstay Builders did here We appreciate your effort to resolve this Mr [redacted] should not have an A+ Revdex.com rating if he bids low, does not honor his contract, and then bills additionally for work that was done incorrectly or could have easily been considered in his original bidRegards, [redacted] Dear Beth,I have sent to you by email this morning (4/11/15) - [email protected] - documents (Mechanics Lien, Invoice 734, Contract and photos) you requestedPlease let me know if you do not receive them We will be away from internet, computer, email and phone from April 15-24.Thank you,James [redacted] Dear Beth,Thank you for replying requesting our documents electronicallyThe scans of the Contract, Mechanic's Lienand Invoice are attached as well as of pictures we took during and after constructionFour morephotos, taken in August, after Mr [redacted] claimed he completed the job as per his contract, will be sentin the next emailWe are on DSL and photos will not ngo outn in one email.Our primary complaint is Invoice and the debt collection method MrWrite used (i.eMechanic's Lien thatis a court matter, not Binding Arbitration as per his contract (article 5.4)Invoice represents work Mr[redacted] claims he did, without our permission and not in writing (article 5.3) to change his contract from(Exhibit A) 'Nail any loose Tsiding' to 'Screw any loose Tsiding.' Invoice also specifies 11CUt outrotten areas and patch with COX Plywood." A photo in next email shows he did not do thisInvoice alsostates "cut back siding so it is off deck." He did not do this.We are aware that if a contractor "willfully exaggerated the amount due, and the homeowner can prove it, thecontractor is liable for treble damages.~~ Our photographs and an on-site inspection of the work done/not donewill show we have already paid more than the contractor 'earned' since he did not even do some of the workunder his original contract signed and dated May 15, 2014.We have already absorbed additional cost to have another contractor replace rotten window trim on onewindow and aluminum wrap the new trim without dispute to Mr [redacted] We now must have this work done onat least more windowsStill, we paid Mr [redacted] his full contract price on August 18, 2014.But now invoice 734- dated August 17, 2014- is charging -20% more than his contract bid for work heclaims he did and work done to work he didn't do correctly the first timeHe also claims 11Redo trim onback window after it was removed by owner 8/8/This is not true [redacted] asked Mr [redacted] 's employee IFthe trim was rotted, after it was already covered in aluminum, since rotted trim was to be replaced beforeinstalling aluminum over the trim as per Mr [redacted] 's contractWhen the employee removed the trim we foundit to be rotten (but not replaced) and additional rot below was also discoveredWe didn't expect Mr [redacted] tofix that under the original (May 15, 2014) contractSo we asked Mr [redacted] for an additional bid to repair the'additional rot.' He provided a bid for $to do that work but we decided, by then, to hire another contractorto do that workWe can document that work with photos and the other contractor's invoice.We will be out of town and internet, computer, cell phone not available to us from April 15-This is a visit toa relative planned several months agoWe hope our inability to respond to your emails, within days, duringthat time will not jeopardize our complaintPlease advise.Thank you, [redacted] PHOTOS attached

Dear Sir or Madam, The purpose of this letter is to state the position of Mainstay Builders LLC in response to a complaint filed by *** and *** ***Mainstay Builders placed a mechanics lien on the property of *** and *** *** for lack of paymentMainstay installed all siding
and trim in the correct wayThe framing and foundation of the house owned by the ***'s, was in significant disrepair and has some major structural problems when it was constructedI, on numerous occasions informed and showed them the structural deficienciesWe spent much time making this siding fit over these major bulging and shifted areas of framing and we were able to make it look very goodMainstay has many before, during, and after pictures that show in detail all the work that we would be happy to share. I have been in the construction industry for over years and have many happy customers*** and *** *** have neglected to make payment on the work they asked Mainstay to completeAfter repeated efforts to collect this debt, Mainstay had no other choice but to file a Mechanics Lien for the unpaid Material, Labor, and Interest in the amount of $4,Mainstay Builders disagrees with all the statements made in the owner's letterMost or all of the statements are untrueThe only belligerent persons were the ***'s who repeatedly harassed my employees and my staff through-out most of the projectMyself and all of my employees kept our mouths closed and treated the ***'s with respectMainstay Builders received no Money that was not earned and is asking for nothing that is not owedSincerely, *** B*** Mainstay Builders LLC

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Please see attachment. The statements and claims made by Mainstay in their rebuttal are factually untrueI respect the services hard working and honest Contractors provide; however, this has not been my experience with MainstayGiven the detail and facts provided in my and the other customer’s complaint in 2015, it is clear that Mainstay has engaged in unethical business practicesNo company should be able to charge indefinitely and indiscriminately without meeting their obligations and being accountable for lack of proper project management and poor planningIf necessary, I have evidence/documentation that supports my statements that rebut the claims made in Mainstay’s response, which are: Mainstay provided a quote for the job in question, and we agreed on the priceI understood that there may be overage, which Mainstay insisted would not be more than 10-15%Mainstay did not start the job until months after the agreed upon start dateI paid Mainstay a third of the quoted price prior to the job being started (and months prior to the actual start of the job), and a third of the quoted price at the actual start of the job (months after the first payment)Mainstay continued to bill us for work that bore little relationship with work that was being performed, and as the last third of the quoted price was remaining, and the project was nowhere near complete, and he kept billingI paid the last third of the quote, plus more than 25% over the actual quoteI kept asking Mainstay to provide full information about the outrageous billing for a project that was agreed on would cost a certain amount, and that amount had been spent plus overages, yet the project was far from complete. Mainstay claims that I refused paymentI never refused payment but requested that Mainstay provide us with full information about the billing for a project that had exceeded the quote price by more 25% over was agreed on, yet the project was far from completeI tried to work with Mainstay, requesting that this full accounting happen so that the stalled project could move forward, while also managing the budget for the jobI tried communicating with them directly and through attorneys in order to make sure I would continue to meet my obligation to the company for the services provided, which had essentially stopped in early to mid-October Mainstay stopped working on the project November 8th, 2017, having done no work in the 2-weeks priorAs of December 6, 2017, I fired Mainstay Builders via email and certified mail, as they had abandoned the job on November 8th and continued to be unresponsive to me and my attorney. Mainstay claims that all work was done wellIn fact, Mainstay cut, damaged or left exposed every utility that was supposed to be worked on (e.gburst water and gas lines, damaged cable line, unsecured guy wires, left sewer pipe exposed in below zero weather). Mainstay’s work was substandard, at best, and life endangering at worst, leaving us with no access to our garage or house, which we had before they started the job, and an unstable embankment with no structural support that’s threatening to cave, taking down trees and power lines if it were to happen. Peter W***, owner of Mainstay, refused to be accountable and justify the continued billing of a stalled job by avoiding communication and interactionInstead, he just continued billing for work that was not being done and could not be performed by the lone person he had working on the job, and who did not have the skills or abilities to perform the required work. I am sorry MrW*** is unable to take responsibility for getting in over his head with this project, but as a professional, customers rely on his knowledge and integrity before and during the construction process. Regards, *** ***

The purpose of this letter is to address the complaints filed by *** and *** ***Mainstay Builders LLC stands by all statements made in our first letter to the Revdex.com concerning *** and *** ***'s complaintsAll bills sent to the ***'s are fair and accurateMainstay completed all of the original work and all additional work properlyMainstay Builders has attached before and after pictures taken of the ***'s houseWe stand by all of our workWe printed the pictures on large photo paper so the quality of work and detail is easy to seeMainstay Builders replied to all of the pictures sent by the ***'s individually in the attachedpaperworkAs I stated on two of the photos sent by the ***'s there are two small issues which Mainstay is responsible forMainstay always addresses and fixes any unacceptable work or call backs from our customersHowever if a customer's account is delinquent Mainstay Builders will not make any repairsAll of these pictures are of the ***'s housePlease feel free to check the license plates on the cars in the garage Mainstay Builders is willing to offer $dollars for the two items that we are responsible for as shown in the attached picturesMainstay offers to settle the remaining amount after the deduction for 70% of the original costThe amount owed to Mainstay is $4,in totalWe offer to remove $for the above stated totaling $4,We offer a discount off the remaining balance of 30% which Totals $3,Mainstay Builders is willing to accept $3,to settle this debtSincerely, *** B*** Mainstay Builders Llc

Mainstay Builders was Contacted by Ms*** to design and figure out how to re work the existing driveway into her house because it was too steep to use safelyMainstay discussed a few ideas and then hired an engineer to figure out a design for the new drivewayDuring the process of building the
driveway, eight different utilities interfered with the work and had to be movedThe cost of the utility moves and their required tree trimming next to power lines is set by the utility companies only at the time it needs to be done and can add up quicklyBecause of the complexity of the project the agreement between Mainstay Builders and Ms*** was that, Ms*** was to pay for the actual time and materials it took to design and complete the projectShe was to be billed in week intervalsA copy of all receipts for materials, utility moves, and tree removal paid for by Mainstay were supplied to Ms*** with each bi-weekly invoice and were not marked upThe agreement was that Ms*** was to pay each bi-weekly invoice within days of receiptOn the second to last invoice Ms *** did not pay within the day periodMainstay Builders asked for the payment due and did not receive anything from Ms***Mainstay Builders was not asked to stop working and tried to finish the project for Ms***Eventually Mainstay Builders needed to buy the remaining materials to complete the project, but without payment we could notMainstay Builders Made a final request for Payment and it was not received so we had no choice but to stop working and wait for a payment. Mainstay Builders and all of those employed by Mainstay Builders who worked at Ms***'s project were always kind and respectful to Ms***When trying to collect the overdue balance we asked nicely a few times times by email and left a few messages for Ms*** on her phoneAll of these attempts were done politelyMs*** eventually stated that she was not going to Pay Mainstay Builders. All of the work done by Mainstay Builders was done wellThe proper base material was installedThe retaining walls that had been completed to that point were done very wellMainstay Builders was not able to complete the project due to non-payment but we stand by all the work completed up to that point. I discussed with Ms*** at the first meeting, that I did not know what would be possible to do if anything because of the location of the property and the close proximity to the roadMainstay Builders decided to take on the challenge of coming up with a plan and then executing itWe did not charge for a large portion of the leg work it took to coordinate with all of the utilities, engineers, and code officials to put all of the pieces together that made the project possibleThis added up to more than hrs and was never charged to Ms***I am sorry that Ms*** is upset, But the majority of the cost of the project was Materials, Fees, Engineers, tree removalWe like help our Customers out as much as possible, even supply some labor at our cost if it makes it possible to complete a project, but we cannot supply materials and 3rd party costs for free. Sincerely, Peter W*** Mainstay Builders