Neil Kelly Company

*** *** ComplaintBackground:We were hired by the client to investigate and fix if needed dry rot on the client's homeThis was at aback door, bedroom windows, and bedroom cornerThe house is a contemporary flat roof home withpanel exterior siding and trimThe job came in as a handyman lead,
was assigned to Natalie who sold itand ran itDennis R*** was the carpenterThe work was to be done T&M
We were there for 2-daysWe had to take some trim off (interior and exterior) around a door andwindows, and open some drywall to check for dry rotIt turned out that the leak had not causedsignificant damage so the client elected to have us put the trim back and patch the drywall and paint
There was some extra work that needed to be done, and when the client understood what theadditional costs would be the decided to have us stop workThey then disputed the time it took us tocomplete the workWe followed up with documentation, but ultimately they stopped responding to us.We were forced to file a lien, and then go to collections
The client alleges several things in their complaintI will try to respond to them point by point below:
Failed to perform the tasks contracted forWe did as much of the work as the client allowed.The work was T&M, so the client has the option to do as much or as little as they chooseTheychose to have us stop before the replacement process was complete
Made references to his wife's raceI interviewed the carpenter about this and he did ask thewife about her nationalityHe has a friend that is Chinese and was just curious if she was aswellThere was nothing more to it then friendly conversation
Didn't paint panel, spots missingWe did paint a siding panel with the owner's paint.Apparently there is a spot missing, but again it is a T&M contract and it is up to the client todecide if they want us to continue painting or not
Said we could patch drywall, but then couldn'tWe did patch the drywallI have attached somepictures of the work
Took time to purchase itemsTravel expense, materials pickup, are all billable in a T&Mcontract
Billed for time changing into work clothesThe owner's asked to have our carpenter removehis shoes rather than using floor protection every time he left and reentered the homeThistakes more time than using floor protection which is what we proposed and normally doTheclient did not want floor protection put down
Removed supplies purchased for jobGenerally, our clients expect us to remove any leftoversand debris from the job when finished with the workI am not aware of being asked to leaveany extra materials, and I am not sure what those would have beenHad we been told to leaveany scraps or leftover materials we would have done so
Spent an hour putting up plastic, failedWe put up plastic to protect from drywall dust on thefirst dayIt came down in the eveningWe replaced it on the second day and did our work
Inefficient with timeOn our end we had some wasted time with trips to the lumber yard whenthe work turned out to be a little different than planned, and also the client's wife interruptedour worker quite a bit to ask questions, take pictures, ask about other unrelated work, etc
NKC management only wanted to talk hours, not work performedI have attached a sample ofsome of our e-mail correspondence with the ownerIt seems professional and detailed to me
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this in person
Ted J***General Manager Seattle Operations***@neilkelly.com206-489-

As has been explained in numerous communications to the people behind this complaint, Neil Kelly sincerely tried to craft a plan congruent with their design preferences, their home's structure  and their budget.  The Retainers are a tool that allows us to bring our Design Associates, our...

Structural Services Team and our Design Consultant together to research and review feasibilities of the home , restrictions to be respected in the design and begin crafting a plan to meet their needs..  Because the clients' priorities were constantly changing and  their requests consistently grew beyond their budget, our team was never able to provide a plan they would approve.
In addition, the primary communicator during this process was [redacted].  He is not listed as a homeowner, but guided much of the conversation.  When we learned he operated an enterprise known as 'Catch the Contractor', we naturally become concerned about the intentions behind the request..and the constant changes in priority for the project.  We asked that the homeowners sign a document allowing them normal access to later review our performance on typical social media outlets, but not as part of a potential example for 'Catch the Contractor'.  They verbally agreed to the document but later declined to sign. 
 
We regret we could not work with the homeowners to design specific, sound improvements that would be accommodated by the home's structure and the client's budget.As expressed in an email to [redacted] and [redacted] on 9/1/16, all the work that was completed will be kept at Neil Kelly for 6 months and if they wish to re-ignite the process, we can begin where we left off.   I also provided a partial refund for the Retainer as a goodwill gesture even though the documents clearly specify the a non-refundable fee.
At this point Neil Kelly has invested time from this entire skilled  team that exceeds $15,000 in value .
I will provide an additional refund of $1,000 with the understanding that the work in file will be destroyed and that the clients will accept this as a final , sealed settlement.  If this is rejected, Neil Kelly will eagerly pursue arbitration.