Empire Contracting Group

I am a real estate agent, developer and property manager with over 60 properties and 30+ years of experience in the Cincinnati area. I've been involved in trying to resolve a 2 of these complaints with Empire and staff. I watched them try to bend over backwards to handle this professionally and they did and offered far more than I would have. We have had many issues over the past couple years and some things could have been handled better. The one thing I can say is Empire will be there til the end and not give up. My experience over the years is when a contract screws up a job they disappear. Several of these reviews are weather related and I dealt with it all the time when I use to build houses.

Empire contacting group started working on my mmy 87yr.old mother's house last August,it is now February 2020 and they still haven't finished this house.. we've had siding laying in our yard for over a year.it all started when they sent the 1st crew.. unprofessional a bunch of kids..the second crew.just as bad.when we tried to contact the company we got the run around..they twice pulled the crew working on our house in the middle of working to start other jobs..we should have taken them to court. We still mite this is The Worst company we have ever seen.. definitely will not be recommending this company to No one.. unprofessional unreliable over all terrible terrible company..

It was rough start to the job, however I believe that empire has done what they can do due to insurance negotiations. All in all my house looks better and the work provided is great.

On 6-19-2019 @ 1330hrs. I (***) signed a contract with the Empire Contracting Group to repair the siding/metal fascia/gutters on my home that were affected by the Memorial Day tornadoes in the ***, OH area. At that time, I selected the siding materials that I wished to be installed by a competent and professional crew. Per ECG's contract, they are supposed to start the work within 30 days of material section (paragraph 4) but did not start the work until 8-28-19 which was 70 days later.

The total job was estimated at $6,119.87 and I paid their representative (John Noel) $4,283.29 on 7-24-19 which was 19% more than the initial amount due (50%) as outlined in the contract - paragraph 1.

Tear-off of the old siding started on 8-28-19 and the siding crew started on 9-02-19. Fortunately, the crew only completed about a 1/4 worth of work on the north side of my house and stopped for the day. My son (***) who used to install siding examined the crew's work. He immediately could tell they did not know how to properly install siding (they were putting it on backwards) and contacted Noel about his concerns/requested a different crew. *** texted Noel photos of the crew's unacceptable work. Noel told him that he would respond to my home on 9-03-19 @ 1000hrs., examine the work and use a different installer if necessary. On 9-03-19, Noel never came to my home and allowed the same crew to continue working. On 9-03-19 @ 1815hrs. my son (***) came over, saw that the north side had been completely sided and checked the work. The crew installed the siding backwards with all exposed edges cut and not square (should display the factory edge), did not properly trim out the windows with J channel and improperly nailed the siding that would void the manufactures warranty. *** then spoke with the crew about their shoddy work, they became confrontational and were asked to leave my property - they complied.

From 9-03-19 thru 9-04-19, *** called Noel six different times with no answer attempting to remedy the poor installation. On 9-05-19 @ 0912hrs. Noel finally called *** back and they spoke about fixing the crews errors. Noel agreed that the workmanship was unacceptable but tried to have the same crew come back out to finish the job (*** was told by one of the crew members that they had already been paid in full for the work on 8-30-19). *** notified Noel that this crew was not permitted to work on my house (2nd time this was instructed) and Noel conceded that he wouldn't be able to hire another crew for at least two weeks. Since my house had already been left vulnerable for the past week and an additional two weeks was to long until the next crew, *** offered to Noel that we can forgo the contract and I would seek another contractor. Noel agreed with this proposition and he would reimburse me my money minus the cost of materials. Noel told *** that he would obtain the siding invoice (for transparency), obtain the funds and he would contact him on 9-06-19.

From 9-06-19 thru 9-10-19, *** has called Noel (7) times with voicemail messages and has yet to receive a response. On 9-06-19 @ 1421hrs., *** called the ECG main phone# and spoke with the owner (Josh Baldwin). Josh was notified of the issues with the siding job along with Noel and Josh claimed that he would investigate this matter and called *** back on 9-07-19.

From 9-07-19 thru 9-09-19 Josh never contacted ***. On 9-09-19 @ 1230hrs., *** called ECG's main phone# and spoke with Josh about resolving this issue. Josh offered to reimburse me my money minus the cost of materials and labor. *** told Josh that he will not be paying for an inferior siding job that is only 1/3 completed. Josh indicated that he would need to see the siding work in person and would come by my home on 9-09-19 or 9-10-19. Josh never called either day or came by my house to check the siding. On 9-10-19 @ 2129hrs., *** texted Josh and John (15) photos of the improperly installed siding. Josh replied via text that I would will need to file an Assignment of Claim form or he will hit me with a stop work order penalty. *** explained that he only stopped the crew (twice) because they did not know how to properly install siding and he didn't want them wasting any additional material. *** texted Josh that we have been more than patient and fair with his company and if we can not come to a resolution by 9-12-19 then I will be forced to consult an attorney. Josh concluded with texting "A counter suit will be filed if I don't get to filing first. Our estimate will far exceed the current scope of loss with legitimate and reasonable line items supplemented. Our communication ends here".

As of writing this complaint, I have been extremely patient with the Empire Contracting Group and tried multiple times to remedy their poor service without contacting your company. I selected my materials 84 days ago, they've been paid more than they should have 48 days ago and my home has been left 2/3 exposed (no siding) for the past three weeks.

I have also had two independent contractors examine the work that has been performed on my home (have two more scheduled later this week) and both indicated that the siding/J channel was installed wrong, needs to torn off and replaced.

I have lost complete confidence in the Empire Contracting Group and no longer wish to utilize their services. They breached our contract by not starting the work within the listed 30 days (was 70 days) and the crew that started to complete the siding was unequivocally inferior. My resolution is to pay for the unused materials (they put up two boxes worth so far that needs redone) after an invoice is provided by ECG and be reimbursed for the remaining balance from the $4,283.29 that they've been paid. I do not feel it would be reasonable to pay for the labor that is in complete conflict with the manufacture's instructions and warranty.

In closing, I am an elderly female that lives alone and I am currently battling cancer. I do not tell you this for sympathy reasons but this on-going problem has taken a physical and mental toll on me. I appreciate your time with reading this lengthy complaint and thank you in advance for assisting me in resolving this matter quickly.

Thank you again for your time,
***

P.S. I have listed my son's (***) phone number and email address as I would like him to represent me in this complaint. *** can provide you with my home/cell phone# if you wish to speak to me.

I give Empire 2 stars because once the job was actually done, it was fine. However, the job was not done by anyone who had ever worked with/for Empire before. Dealing with Empire has been beyond frustrating and I would recommend looking elsewhere for concrete work, even if the job eventually gets done,it's just not worth the hassle.
Took forever to finish a small concrete job. Kept getting the runaround from the owner about why it was taking so long. Eventually, they hired out a subcontractor to do the job (after 6 months of asking).
This was my initial review of the entire process:
We met with Josh on October 4th and gave him a check to begin the project and sign the contract to repair two squares on our driveway, a new walkway and enlarge our front porch. A few weeks went by and on October 20th I sent a text to Josh to ask him if he had an update on when work might begin on our project. Josh responded on October 22nd and said he needed to speak with "Sean." After not hearing from Josh, I reached out again on October 24th to see if Josh had heard from Sean. I did not get a response so I sent another text to Josh on October 29th. After still no reply, I sent an additional text on November 1st that said, "Please provide update on start date for driveway/porch/walkway Thanks" As of today, November 2nd, we have still not received a response from Josh almost one month after we signed the contract. Please advise or we will have to cancel our check and go with another company. Thank you, *** Update - December 19, 2018 Unfortunately, the situation has gotten worse. After posting the above review Empire reached out and were very polite and discussed a remedy to the situation. I got a call from the operations manager on November 6, 2018. I have asked for updates on when we could get on the schedule approximately three times since then, with no response. I wanted to like Empire based on the other positive reviews, and everyone I spoke with has been nice. Unfortunately, if you don't let customers know when you will get to the project, it doesn't matter how nice you are. At this point I am requesting a refund of our initial payment and we have to start the whole process over, which is very disappointing.

Empire Contracting Group was hired on 10/17/18 to complete a stamped concrete patio. The terms of the contract were predicated on their ability to complete the patio by flex date. I gave the sales rep a $2750 deposit to secure my spot in their schedule and guarantee the work timeline. Two different people called me within the last 3 months promising that I am next on the schedule. it is now 1/8/2019 and no work has been performed . I finally send several emails asking when the work will be scheduled but no answers . I called several times and I finally got a hold of the Admin . She told me that she was going to call me back that same day but still no answer. I left another message with the Admin and demanded my deposit back and have yet to receive a call from this company. This company seems very unstable and their failure to respond in this matter is highly unprofessional.

Empire was retained on 9/28/18 to complete a stamped concrete patio. The terms of the contract were predicated on their ability to complete the patio by mid-November. I gave the sales rep a $1000 deposit to secure my spot in their schedule and guarantee the work timeline. On Oct 31st I had received no further communication and when I finally reached someone at their office I was told the sales rep was no longer with the company. I left a message for the owner and after another message left with the Admin, I received a call from JB (owner) who told me they were backlogged but would try to get it done by the end of November. I have since called their office 4 times and left 4 messages. After the 2nd message was ignored I demanded my deposit back and have yet to receive a call from this company. On my last call I was told that more people have quit the company and they are struggling to complete jobs. I have now sent a demand letter for full refund of the deposit. This company seems very unstable and their failure to respond in this matter is highly unprofessional. JB

I entered into a contract with Empire Contracting Group for finishing of my attic and construction of a large dormer to the rear of said attic at my residence. I paid them a deposit of $5,906.40 to secure my spot in their schedule. Work was set to begin 6/28/18 and be completed by 7/27/18. Work did not commence on time. The crew first arrived and started clearing out the space on 7/3/18, on which date I paid them an additional $19,687.50 per our contract.

They worked approximately 5 partial days since then, clearing the attic of insulation and laying some plywood for the workers to walk on safely. They brought some wood for joist reinforcement, but reinforcement was not initiated.

Since that time, the owner of the company came to my home and stated that they employee who had drawn up my contract was no longer with the company and had put the company in a bad position with several jobs, mine included. He promised the work would start up again soon.

On 8/7/18, no further work had been completed, but an architect was scheduled to come to my home for measurements. That afternoon the owner of the company called me and stated that the employee who had drawn up my contract had underbid the work by $25-30K, and that the cost of the architect should have been outlined as my responsibility. The owner stated that he was willing not to make money on my job, and that he wanted to do the right thing. He said that he was willing to refund my money, but that he would try to find an architect (which he said was required) that had reasonable fees. He promised to call me back with a decision by the end of the next business day. He did not call, nor did he inform me that the architect appointment had been cancelled.

As of 8/15/18, I have been emailed by his office manager, stating they are still looking for an architect, but unable to reach anyone by phone. The business owner's voicemail is full. The office manager and sales manager do not answer when I call and the office manager has not returned emails or calls.