[redacted] please accept my apologies for the scheduling issues you have encountered. This is absolutely no excuse but I did want to explain the reason we haven't been able to get your project completed. The problems are primarily weather related which started with us pouring concrete later than...
expected in the spring. The weather didn't cooperate in the early part of spring then in June and most of July when we are at our best, we had almost non-stop rain. That set us back in our production and scheduling. which we never recovered from. I checked on your refund and the staff told me yesterday that you called on 10-20-2015. that was the only record they have of you calling about a refund. I am the one who approves the refunds and yesterday was the first time I had heard any knowledge of your requesting a refund. the check was cut yesterday and is being mailed today for the $350.00. Our reputation for the quality of work and the size of projects we are capable of is one of the reasons we have been over booked when there are weather delays. If we can be of help in the future please let us know. Thank you
Mr. [redacted], Thank you for choosing A-1 Concrete Leveling for your chimney and foundation repairs. Typically, we don’t do the dirt, seed and straw until, at the very minimum, 45 days after the job is complete. This is because we want to allow ample time for it to settle. Especially with the spring...
weather conditions, rain will cause even more settling and we only come back one time to lay dirt, seed and straw. If we come back to soon there could be major settlement after repair. The time frame that you are holding us to is to tight, based on how we traditionally do this. We will gladly refund you $300, so that you are able to have the work completed at your leisure. Thanks again for choosing A-1 Concrete Leveling. Sincerely, Ron N[redacted]
We are rejecting this response because: The desired outcomes have not been attained. First, we have not received a balance of $0 in writing. The second and most important outcome that our home is fixed has not been resolved. We continue to have water entering our home through cracks in the outside wall and permeating into the inside wall. We still have water entering our home from the base of the steel beams that were installed. The patch work done to the walls and the installation of the sump pump has not rectified the situation caused by A-1. As indicated in the initial complaint, the original work done on our home created more issues than it resolved. We understand that the warranty is for the support system. We also understand that having water flowing into our home from the wall where the majority of the work was done and up through the floor where steel beams were installed is unacceptable by anyone's standards. We expected some residual impact of the foundation being leveled such as the cracked drywall and damage to the lawn. We are not complaining about these reasonable residual effects. We are complaining about unreasonable effects which resulted from negligence - lack of quality control, lack of response, lack of detail. According to the weather records as measured at the Port Columbus airport (less than 15 miles from our home), the actual mean temperature outside during the time period that the A-1 crew worked on our home (excludes the weekend and coldest day when A-1 did not work due to the mean temperature of 2 degrees) are as follows: 21, 8, 13, 18, 28, and 32. Temperatures plummeted to as low as 1 degree Fahrenheit on a day that the crew was at our home. We truly couldn't believe that they would do this type of work in these low temperatures. As stated in our original complaint, we are not professionals in this arena and followed the advice given to us by those that we thought were experts in this field. We trusted that they knew what they were doing. We argue that it is reasonable to conclude that the consistently well-below freezing temperatures may have contributed significantly to the issues we are still experiencing. We ask - Where was the quality control to perform the work during a more optimal time period? Where was the follow-up to check the quality of the work? Where was the response to issues that were reported? Point-by-point responses to A-1's statement:1. Thank you for the apology. We appreciate it more than you know. The issues are still not remedied. We have been monitoring the area since the sump pump was installed and took a video and pictures on 9/12/15 - the first rainfall after the sump pump was installed. We will try to attach the video. We have not reached out to A-1 directly after filing this complaint through the Revdex.com because we feel like it is time for them to take the initiative to resolve these issues. We are through calling, leaving messages, etc. with little or no response. We are the consumer, the customer, the victims. A company that claims to have integrity (as the TV commercials indicate) would follow-up and monitor for quality without having to be constantly called by the customer, especially in a case like this.2. The foreman on the project advised us that a sump pump was not necessary, but the steel beams were which is why we had the beams installed. He told us the drain pipe to the footer would be sufficient. Later we were told (by the owner) that the drain pipe wasn't even installed properly and that more dirt needed to be brought in because the dirt sloped toward the house (within a month dirt was moved around, but it continues to slope toward the house). We are not sure who to believe since representatives from A-1 questioned work done by their own company. As indicated in the original complaint, there was no water to be stopped when this project started. 3. We never said we didn't want it excavated again. We were told by the foreman that he was confident that he could eradicate the problem with a less invasive approach (addressing the problem from the inside), instead of digging up the yard again. We followed this advice. We were also assured that if it didn't work, they would re-excavate to fix the problem. We called many times to inform A-1 that it did not work over the course of several months without any response or action. It was only after we had another flood (and an upset voice mail we left directly to one of the owners) in which we received any action. No re-excavation occurred or was even offered to us, but instead a sump pump was installed. The same foreman who installed the sump pump told us that he would requisition additional dirt to re-grade that side of the house so that it would slope away from the foundation. This never occurred.4. When the owner called, he said they would come out to install a sump crock to address the problem. He NEVER mentioned anything about the cost at any point in time - not during the phone call, the scheduling, or the installation. We thought finally they were going to do something about this...we still didn't understand why re-excavation was not mentioned as an option anymore, but again we trusted the professionals. See original complaint for more details about this lack of communication.5. There was no follow-up of any sort to see if the issues had been resolved after the installation of the sump pump. Not even a courtesy phone call to either of us. As for the original estimate referred to by the owner it states, "A1 will need to attach new pvc footer tile to some type of drain for natural drainage or sump pump." There was no "recommended option" of a sump pump, only that access to natural drainage or a sump pump would be necessary. The pipe that was installed into the existing footer drain is what the foreman opted to do. Due to the fact that the ground was frozen solid in chunks of dirt when the project occurred, re-grading more than once is not unusual. We were never told that "we only come back once" to re-grade. The last thing we were told by the foreman when the sump pump and crock were installed was that he would order more dirt and re-grading. Obviously, he acknowledged that additional re-grading was necessary, but the second re-grading never occurred.6. This is a very unprofessional response by the owner. It is degrading and a personal attack, which is unfounded and unnecessary. We are trying to resolve a dispute professionally here. We acknowledge that both of us would take turns calling to report issues we were experiencing and asking for action to be taken. We would also call to find out when to the work had been rescheduled because they were always canceling on us even after we would take time off of work to be at the house. We even had a time where they didn't call and didn't show up. Yes, there were times when we were upset because we've had several floods. At no time did we call people names, degrade them, or act "rude". In fact, [redacted] cried on the phone because she was so sad about the lack of response and the ongoing damage occurring to her home. At times, members of the office staff were very understanding, but they didn't have any power to assist us. We were always told that they would pass on the information. It's not like we would call and they would jump into action. It would typically take several weeks before we received a return phone call and even that rarely transpired into any action.This complaint comes from BOTH [redacted] and [redacted]. We jointly sat down to write it and again, we are both sitting here to record our response. We would appreciate a timely response to address these ongoing concerns once and for all.
Regards,
[redacted] and [redacted] Note: We tried to attach the video of the area with the water still coming into the house, but we received a server error message (404). The file may be too large. In the past, we tried to share files via Dropbox, but neither of the two people we emailed with a link ever accessed the videos. If you are interested in viewing it, please let us know and we we upload it to the Dropbox folder and give you access.
[redacted] please accept my apologies for the scheduling issues you have encountered. This is absolutely no excuse but I did want to explain the reason we haven't been able to get your project completed. The problems are primarily weather related which started with us pouring concrete later than...
expected in the spring. The weather didn't cooperate in the early part of spring then in June and most of July when we are at our best, we had almost non-stop rain. That set us back in our production and scheduling. which we never recovered from. I checked on your refund and the staff told me yesterday that you called on 10-20-2015. that was the only record they have of you calling about a refund. I am the one who approves the refunds and yesterday was the first time I had heard any knowledge of your requesting a refund. the check was cut yesterday and is being mailed today for the $350.00. Our reputation for the quality of work and the size of projects we are capable of is one of the reasons we have been over booked when there are weather delays. If we can be of help in the future please let us know. Thank you
1.21.16 Revdex.com received notification from the company, via phone call, stating that the complaint has been addressed.
Mr. [redacted], Thank you for choosing A-1 Concrete Leveling for your chimney and foundation repairs. Typically, we don’t do the dirt, seed and straw until, at the very minimum, 45 days after the job is complete. This is because we want to allow ample time for it to settle. Especially with the spring...
weather conditions, rain will cause even more settling and we only come back one time to lay dirt, seed and straw. If we come back to soon there could be major settlement after repair. The time frame that you are holding us to is to tight, based on how we traditionally do this. We will gladly refund you $300, so that you are able to have the work completed at your leisure. Thanks again for choosing A-1 Concrete Leveling. Sincerely, Ron N[redacted]
We are rejecting this response because: The desired outcomes have not been attained. First, we have not received a balance of $0 in writing. The second and most important outcome that our home is fixed has not been resolved. We continue to have water entering our home through cracks in the outside wall and permeating into the inside wall. We still have water entering our home from the base of the steel beams that were installed. The patch work done to the walls and the installation of the sump pump has not rectified the situation caused by A-1. As indicated in the initial complaint, the original work done on our home created more issues than it resolved. We understand that the warranty is for the support system. We also understand that having water flowing into our home from the wall where the majority of the work was done and up through the floor where steel beams were installed is unacceptable by anyone's standards. We expected some residual impact of the foundation being leveled such as the cracked drywall and damage to the lawn. We are not complaining about these reasonable residual effects. We are complaining about unreasonable effects which resulted from negligence - lack of quality control, lack of response, lack of detail. According to the weather records as measured at the Port Columbus airport (less than 15 miles from our home), the actual mean temperature outside during the time period that the A-1 crew worked on our home (excludes the weekend and coldest day when A-1 did not work due to the mean temperature of 2 degrees) are as follows: 21, 8, 13, 18, 28, and 32. Temperatures plummeted to as low as 1 degree Fahrenheit on a day that the crew was at our home. We truly couldn't believe that they would do this type of work in these low temperatures. As stated in our original complaint, we are not professionals in this arena and followed the advice given to us by those that we thought were experts in this field. We trusted that they knew what they were doing. We argue that it is reasonable to conclude that the consistently well-below freezing temperatures may have contributed significantly to the issues we are still experiencing. We ask - Where was the quality control to perform the work during a more optimal time period? Where was the follow-up to check the quality of the work? Where was the response to issues that were reported? Point-by-point responses to A-1's statement:1. Thank you for the apology. We appreciate it more than you know. The issues are still not remedied. We have been monitoring the area since the sump pump was installed and took a video and pictures on 9/12/15 - the first rainfall after the sump pump was installed. We will try to attach the video. We have not reached out to A-1 directly after filing this complaint through the Revdex.com because we feel like it is time for them to take the initiative to resolve these issues. We are through calling, leaving messages, etc. with little or no response. We are the consumer, the customer, the victims. A company that claims to have integrity (as the TV commercials indicate) would follow-up and monitor for quality without having to be constantly called by the customer, especially in a case like this.2. The foreman on the project advised us that a sump pump was not necessary, but the steel beams were which is why we had the beams installed. He told us the drain pipe to the footer would be sufficient. Later we were told (by the owner) that the drain pipe wasn't even installed properly and that more dirt needed to be brought in because the dirt sloped toward the house (within a month dirt was moved around, but it continues to slope toward the house). We are not sure who to believe since representatives from A-1 questioned work done by their own company. As indicated in the original complaint, there was no water to be stopped when this project started. 3. We never said we didn't want it excavated again. We were told by the foreman that he was confident that he could eradicate the problem with a less invasive approach (addressing the problem from the inside), instead of digging up the yard again. We followed this advice. We were also assured that if it didn't work, they would re-excavate to fix the problem. We called many times to inform A-1 that it did not work over the course of several months without any response or action. It was only after we had another flood (and an upset voice mail we left directly to one of the owners) in which we received any action. No re-excavation occurred or was even offered to us, but instead a sump pump was installed. The same foreman who installed the sump pump told us that he would requisition additional dirt to re-grade that side of the house so that it would slope away from the foundation. This never occurred.4. When the owner called, he said they would come out to install a sump crock to address the problem. He NEVER mentioned anything about the cost at any point in time - not during the phone call, the scheduling, or the installation. We thought finally they were going to do something about this...we still didn't understand why re-excavation was not mentioned as an option anymore, but again we trusted the professionals. See original complaint for more details about this lack of communication.5. There was no follow-up of any sort to see if the issues had been resolved after the installation of the sump pump. Not even a courtesy phone call to either of us. As for the original estimate referred to by the owner it states, "A1 will need to attach new pvc footer tile to some type of drain for natural drainage or sump pump." There was no "recommended option" of a sump pump, only that access to natural drainage or a sump pump would be necessary. The pipe that was installed into the existing footer drain is what the foreman opted to do. Due to the fact that the ground was frozen solid in chunks of dirt when the project occurred, re-grading more than once is not unusual. We were never told that "we only come back once" to re-grade. The last thing we were told by the foreman when the sump pump and crock were installed was that he would order more dirt and re-grading. Obviously, he acknowledged that additional re-grading was necessary, but the second re-grading never occurred.6. This is a very unprofessional response by the owner. It is degrading and a personal attack, which is unfounded and unnecessary. We are trying to resolve a dispute professionally here. We acknowledge that both of us would take turns calling to report issues we were experiencing and asking for action to be taken. We would also call to find out when to the work had been rescheduled because they were always canceling on us even after we would take time off of work to be at the house. We even had a time where they didn't call and didn't show up. Yes, there were times when we were upset because we've had several floods. At no time did we call people names, degrade them, or act "rude". In fact, [redacted] cried on the phone because she was so sad about the lack of response and the ongoing damage occurring to her home. At times, members of the office staff were very understanding, but they didn't have any power to assist us. We were always told that they would pass on the information. It's not like we would call and they would jump into action. It would typically take several weeks before we received a return phone call and even that rarely transpired into any action.This complaint comes from BOTH [redacted] and [redacted]. We jointly sat down to write it and again, we are both sitting here to record our response. We would appreciate a timely response to address these ongoing concerns once and for all.
Regards,
[redacted] and [redacted] Note: We tried to attach the video of the area with the water still coming into the house, but we received a server error message (404). The file may be too large. In the past, we tried to share files via Dropbox, but neither of the two people we emailed with a link ever accessed the videos. If you are interested in viewing it, please let us know and we we upload it to the Dropbox folder and give you access.