E&G Investment Services Inc

[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 as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: The information provided by the contractor in his response is fabricated from start to finish, and is a gross misrepresentation of the facts of what actually transpired.The time frame for project completion was set by the contractor, not by me, and the contractor reassured me that the project would be finished on time repeatedly, and as late as May 5 (10 days prior to the contract due date). I did not start limiting the time to completion after the contract was signed - as the contract that was attached states at the very top, the two months time to completion was stated in the original contract. Importantly, the time to completion (project due 5/16) was not an arbitrary period, but was driven by my wife's due date (5/20) as she was pregnant with our first child at the time. This was made abundantly clear to the contractor prior to contract signing, and the contract would never have been signed had I not received multiple guarantees and reassurances that all work would be completed early or on time. There was no cave discovered under the basement. However, when the contractor began working in the basement, he felt that the existing concrete subfloor in the basement was too thin. AT THE CONTRACTORS SUGGESTION item number 5 in the contract was modified and involved completely removing the existing subfloor an pouring new concrete, rather than pouring concrete on the existing subfloor to level it out, as was originally contemplated. At the time that the contractor recommended this change, he gave me a price for the additional work ($4,500, paid separately prior to the work being done and documented) and reassured me that this change would have no impact on the project timing. Written change order and receipt for payment are attached.I have no idea what the contractor is referring to under the "second advantage". No basement radiator lines or shut off valves were requested or installed, all work related to the heating system is contemplated under contract items 6-9, which is what was done (although none of the lines were insulated as stated in item 9).The second payment was made a day after the contractor requested it, and was made as a favor to the contractor in the spirit of keeping things moving. The contract is very vague on when the second payment is due, stating only that I am to pay "34% when roughened is completed". When I asked the contractor to clarify this point at contract signing, he stated that it means that the second payment will be due when all the concrete work, plumbing work, boiler installation and framing is completed. As it occurred, the contractor started demanding the second payment with all of these items incomplete. The contractor proceeded to threaten me to stop all work until payment is received, at which point I gave in, again, in the spirit of keeping things moving, and after receiving yet another guarantee from the contractor that everything will be completed by the due date "and most likely at least a week early". as the contractor put it.The contractor's comments related to the various violations he is now claiming are especially troubling. As a homeowner, I don't have the knowledge of or the responsibility to be informed about various building codes and permit requirements - this is why I hired a licensed contractor. The contractor made frequent references to building codes in our interactions (such as item 21 of the contract) so my understanding was that all of the work being done was to code and complied with whatever requirements may exist. I have begun to learn that this was not the case through subsequent conversations with other contractors as I begin to try to resolve the mess that this contractor left behind, as I had multiple contractors express shock and disbelief that a licensed contractor would undertake a number of contracted items without obtaining a permit.Overall, as it relates to payments and money owed, I am providing a copy of the same contract with comments on what has and has not been completed. As can be seen, there are a number of items that were left incomplete or not started at the contract due date. To date, I have paid the contractor over 71% of the total contract amount (aside from the change order, that was paid for separately), but would argue that the project was not 71% complete at the end of the contract period. Furthermore, I have already had to come out of pocket and have documented thousands of dollars spent on materials that were supposed to be provided by the contractor and more than $10,000 spent to CORRECT the work that was done by the contractor, including obtaining the necessary permits for some of the work, without even beginning to work towards project completion. These observations all contribute to my original description of the claim - the contractor took on this job without the proper staff or knowledge to complete the work that was contracted, especially as it related to the plumbing and HVAC work. The contractor was then forced to subcontract individuals that only worked some evenings and weekends, which considerably delayed the project timing. Once that work was largely complete the contractor tried to rush through the balance of the contract, cutting a lot of corners, in attempt to complete the project on time. The contractor's staff caused considerable property damage through general carelessness and using improper equipment. Once the contractor received the contract termination notice, he fabricated a claim concerning the extra work that he had to do, and continues to believe that he is entitled to the full contract amount plus some additional amount despite the fact that the project wasn't finished, a lot of what was done needs to be corrected, and my property was damaged. As the original contract clearly states, "any alterations from above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written order and will be extra charge over and above estimate". The contractor clearly demonstrated an understanding of this provision when he requested a written request for the additional concrete work, and requested the payment associated with the change order be made prior to any work being done. If the contractor felt that any other changes were requested over the contract period (there weren't any), he had the full right to request a written change order and up-front payment for the change(s) prior to doing the associated work.Finally, the contractor's comment related to me owing money to a previous contractor is untrue and quite insulting.
Regards,
[redacted]

In response to this complaint we recognized a lot of deficiencies and advantages from this home owner and also violations to the Montgomery county codes and rules, to start with He sings the contract as it appears on the attachment included with this response, he start limiting the time to get this...

work completed, the timeline to complete this project was agreed for two months which my time frame was well calculated, a soon as we started the project we find a cave under the basement he decided to remove all the old concrete from the basement and dig down an extra foot and half so that way he was going to have a higher ceiling he says, and after that we were going to put gravel and pour new concrete, there was the first advantage he took over my company because that extra work was estimated fir $11,500 he did not paid for digging as moving the dirt away from the basement and putting gravel and that cost me over $7,000 and then and he only paid half of the price for pouring and leveling the basement, the process of this extra work that was NOT contemplated on my contract took out of my original contract time frame about two and half weeks that he has knowledge that this extra time used for this extra work should be added to the original contract as an extension because needed to be completed at the beginning of this project. SECOND ADVANTAGE: decided to separate all the old radiator lines with separate shut off valves And by main valves as basement (1) second level (2) and third level (2) to be used and controlled at different times time consumption extra week additional cost of $4,000 that was no on the contract and was NOT paid by this home owner, with the payment schedule under the contract he made the second payment like a week after requested, HE NEW EXACKLY what he wanted to do and to get, am NOT the only contractor that he has taken advantage over there is the previous contractor that this home owner owes money to,VIOLATIONS:The home owner denied to submit drawing to the Montgomery County which it is a requirement Denied to apply the following permits: Building permit, Electrical permit, Plumbing permit, under ground work permit, and special usage to be able to install a kitchen in the basement All of this is a violation of county codes and regulations.After all of this he only wait at the end of the two months period deadline for the original contract and told me the due date was that day, He reject extending the contract and he reject paying what he owes me that's why I have to file mechanics lien on his property until get paid