Please add these text messages and pictures to our complaintThese are proof that [redacted] was well aware of problems very early in the process of building the houseWe will send these in separate emailsThank you [redacted] and [redacted]
01/30/18: (09:am) Mediator left a voice message for [redacted] to return my call.02/06/18: (09:am) ( [redacted] ) I have been building houses for a long time and I am here to tell you that these customers were very difficult to work especially as the construction concludedI have no interest in settling with them as I owe them nothing, in fact the truth be told they owe me at least $7,I am not motivated to settle anything as they have also done everything they could to destroy my reputation by sending out letters to my subcontractor and others in the community airing their side of the complaintAs you know there are two sides to every story and my side of all this is completely different than theirs I hate to say it, but I want nothing more to do with them and that is why I hired an attorneyI appreciate you hearing my side of the complaint and I realize that that you are closing out the case and I should get a letter in about two weeks
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: This is a Response to theBusiness Response to Our Complaint, by the Business Owner *** *** and his Lawyer, *** ***Most of the statements in the responseletter are either very misleading, or totally falseWe
will go line by line if necessary to dispute these statementsFirst of all we requested a "Modest" home, not a basic homeModestmeaning no high end flooring, counters, fixtures etc, In fact here is a list of everything that we purchased for the home ourselves over a period of time by bargain and sale shopping, to save ourselves money and to lower the cost ofbuilding our home: All Appliances including a stove top, wall oven, microwave, refrigerator, garbage disposal, and dishwasher.All of the flooring includingTile for the entryway, sun room,master bathroom and laundry room including the grout to install it allAll of theWood Flooring for the remainder of the home.The kitchen and bathroom countertops including the Corbels for the breakfast barAll of the sinks for the bathrooms and kitchenAll Faucets for all of the sinks in the home, a bathtub and plumbing that went with it including the faucets, and the shower tower with jets that was mentioned in the response that we purchased through ***.All bathroom,kitchen and entrylight fixturesincluding 5ceiling fans for every room in the house, and also the bathroom exhaust fanAllshower tileThe Wood Stain shadethat we were asked to pick out for the kitchen and bathroom and were told to leave in the corner of the garage for *** ***But then the cabinets were built out of wood that is only appropriate for painting so the stain on the cabinets are blotchy, some areas very dark, some very light and just an overall terrible job among other problems with the cabinets as seen in the pictures that we submittedFireplacesAll door knobs and deadboltsAll exterior lighting and even the Front Door Now with all of the purchases above that according to *** ***were included in the quote for the home, you would think that we would have some kind of credit for the items above that he did not have to shop for, purchase and have delivered.Not to mention the extra charges for of these items you mention in your letterthat the builder did not even purchase himself!We have all of the receiptsIn our previous complaint we already listed the items that we changed or added to the homeWe think that they were reasonable and not out of the ordinary considering the circumstancesThe requests were not ever-changing and we will address each as listed on the lawyer's response letterOur changes amounted to about $25-$30,at a generous estimate and without taking into account all of the things we purchased out of pocket that the builder did not need to purchase as listed aboveA Storm Shelter added for $2,500?The fact is that in the very beginning we had discussed a storm shelter with *** *** and his words were "I am not sure but I will see what I can do" Well when we had to go out of state to pick up some of our belongings we received a text message with a picture saying "here is your storm shelter!" We were surprised by this and assumed that he was able to get it done within the original quotehe did notsay "here is your storm shelter and its going to cost you $2,500".But now what good is the storm shelter or the basement for that matter when the shelter floods out into the basement? We would have preferred not having one if we knew it would cause us this much stress and the need for extensive repairsFrom researching the draws fromourmoney it appears that *** ***' hired workers have a receipt for cement workThe person who did the rest of the cement on the home told us that he did not do the porch over the storm shelter so it must have been the hired workers who did the cement for $1,per the receipt, not $2,These people had no business in our opinion doing cement work.We have pictures of the porch prior and it looks as though the cement was poured right next to the plywood on the houseThis means the wood will rot from the water and cause even more extensive damage to the homeWe are in the process of getting this assessed and quotes to repair it which will likely be quite expensiveYes we did have larger windows put in after we asked how much extra"about $30-$a window" we were toldWe said to go aheadsince we wanted the home to have the views we had originally bought the property forThere was never any mention of needing any kind of LVL beams or extra framing expenseAs a matter of fact with common senseit seems that it would take less framingwood since there is more window, but nevertheless we should have been told about those charges if they were needed, so we could make a fully informed decisionAlmost every single issue we have encountered has been due to not getting the information we should have from the contractorft ceilings were requested by us and we listed this on our original complaint with the attached letter that was sent to *** ***, along with our other requestsThis request was made before the walls even went up, the walls were not changedWould not a contractor give his customer the option of or ft ceilings? Tile in the Shower- We purchased every single piece of tile in the shower ourselves including the grout as mentioned above; and also the Tower with jets from ***Your statement is a complete falsehood that these things cost the builder $5,because they were purchased by usThe layout in the kitchen was not completely changedOne wall was changed, and if the contractor was a professional in the first place he would have told us that we did not have room for a breakfast nook next to a refrigerator before it was framedHe had the picture of the plans, and he knew what we wanted and where we wanted itBut as we went along it became more and more apparent that this builder just wanted to get the house done as quick as possible without regard to how it looked, without following our plans and pictures, without worry about workmanship, or if we would be happy with the end resultWhat we have left on the wall that was changed are bare wires hanging outside the cabinets and holes in the drywallfor the inside cabinet and under cabinet lights, and a window frame that is two different sizesThese pictures were sent with the first complaint6.There were never any standard cabinetsinstalled in the kitchenThis is another falsehoodand we have witnesses to support that.There were never any cabinets in the kitchen until we began feeling pressured by the builder to get some orderedWe were having trouble getting Lowes to come up with a design that would fit, and Cabinet World did not show up for an appointment to measure the kitchen, so when *** *** said "Maybe I can get you a cabinet builder, and they will be better than Lowes!", we thought that since he wanted to finish the house we would meet with the cabinet makerCost of $7,000? Another falsehood, try $12,for cabinets with the drawer faces splitting in half, gouges in the fronts of some, scrap wood used for a door that has ahinge hole drilled into it on the inside, a slide out sheet pan cabinet that almost wobbles off of its hinges every time it is opened, some door fronts are crooked or stick out further than others, the paint has drips, bare spots, and the white cabinets were not done in an oil base as we the customer requested, so do not clean up well and are getting stainedThe stained kitchenisland and master vanity are blotchy, streakywith light and darkmismatched spots all over, and with some areas not even sanded so when wiped off with a towel the lint sticks to the wood and stays on itThe stained cabinets were "skinned" with a thin board so they could be stained like we had requested in the first placeThis should have never happened, The cabinets to be stained should have been rebuilt in the proper wood.We mentioned our dissatisfaction with this and was hopeful it would be fixed, after all it was our money that was used and we should expect a satisfactory outcome forthe money we paid the contractorIt was not our fault that the cabinet builder and *** *** forgot they were to be stained and not paintedWe have text messages between us and *** ***that show we wanted them stained from the beginningBoth of them likely forgot what we wanted because most of the time the cabinet maker and *** *** just joked around and hardly paid attention that we were even in the roomWe included pictures of all of these problems in the first complaintletterAs for the driveway there was never any mention of gravelThis is another falsehoodFrom the end of the cement to the road, it was to match the road which was chip and sealThis was also discussed in the very beginningWe never changed our mind on the driveway nor was there any later discussion about the chip and seal until *** *** complained that a community board member wanted the chip and seal fixed in the road in front of our house, that the construction equipment had damagedAnother statement regarding the drivewayAn upgraded driveway with loads of topsoil? There are no draws from *** *** *** for loads of topsoilfor adrivewayOnly a receipt fortopsoil for the yard and that is tandem loads for $for the yardThe driveway was street level and the house was built to be brought up the street levelAre not all homes built with a driveway? There was no discussion about the driveway from the beginning so this is not trueMost homeowners would assume a driveway was not an optionThe small deck was changed from regular wood to composite after we researched the upkeep we determined that at our age we did not need the added maintenance and upkeep of a wooden deckWe felt that the nominal cost was worth it in the long runThe contractor said that the regular wood would be about $or $a foot, the composite that we found was $a foot and a no brainer for less upkeepSeveral times we tried to get the point across to *** *** that since we were older we wanted a home without a lot of upkeepThis wasrarely if evertaken into consideration by him,and there are many things that could have been done in this hometo make it easier for aging people like usto stay in their homeAgain a totally statement about the flooringThere was never any discussion about carpetAs a matter of fact our very first conversation about the home included a discussion about it having wood flooring*** *** said he used Pine for floors, and that was what he had in his own houseAfter we returned to where we were living we checked into flooring at a flooring businessThey said that Pine is never used for flooring because it is too soft and doesn't hold upWhen the contractor was told this it was obvious he was not happyAgain, we wanted a low maintenance home so did not want flooring that would be ruined in a short timeThere should not be a dispute about this anyway as we bought the manufactured wood flooring ourselves out of our own pocket at over $4,afterthe contractorsaid that he would need to put the floor down soonWhen he was asked how it would be protected since there was tile to lay and kitchen cabinets to go in, he said "don't worry it will be covered with paper"Well we returned from another trip to move our things to Missouri and when we got to the house and walked in there was nothing on the new wood floor.It had cement from to tile on it, dirt, nails, rocksIt also had many scratches and gougesThis was the first time we became angry about how things were goingWho wouldn't? The contractor was not there so he was called and informed of our unhappinessWhen he arrived he seemed angry at us, he walked away and went into the houseAt that point we were living in our travel trailer on the property because we had no other place to liveHe came to our door and we invited him inHe said that he was going to go and get paper to cover the floor and that he had chewed his crew out, but he still seemed upset with usHe said "don't worry it can be fixed" We asked how, replace the wood?, he said "no it can be re stained" We were flabbergasted, It was our money he was wasting, we should have been the ones upset, and he should have been apologizing, let alone replacing the scratched pieces of woodSo the charge of $3,mentioned in the response is ridiculous because we bought the wood, and the crewruined many pieces of itThe siding story is incorrect as wellWe met at the front of the home to look at samples and picked one that looked gray as we wanted our home gray and white and told the contractor this in the beginningAfter the siding arrived we looked at it and it looked greenWe never upgraded to any custom siding, its the same low priced stuff as you can tell by looking at it and touching itWe asked the builder to please see if it could be returned so we could get grayHe said that there might be a restocking chargeAfter reviewing the receipts from the Lumber Company there are just credits for the siding and other siding chargedThe $3,mentioned cannot be found in the receipts so this is not correctYes we upgraded the insulation after a suggestion from the banker stating how much more energy efficient it was so the extra cost of $4,was well worth itAnother falsehood regarding the Sun RoomFirst of all this was not near the end of the jobAs a matter of fact it was early spring of when we were dealing with the death in the family in another stateWe received a text of the framing of the house and noticed that they did not match the drawings which had a deck off of the master bedroom that we planned on enclosing ourselves at a later dateWe knew by this time that this builder was very disorganized and did not keep trackor pay attention tomany things thatwe mentioned to himWe called to ask why the deck was not in the picturesThe builder acted like he knew nothing about itWe sent another picture to him of the original one we had given him and he conceded that he forgot itHe said he would call us back about this problemWhen he called he said he would have to take care of it so we assumed at no cost to us! We should not have been charged for any tearing down of construction because it was not right in the first placeDuring that conversation he said "do you just want us to build the sunroom since we are re doing it?" Since we were already dealing with losing a member of the family and with so much as far as managing their estate and belongings we decided it would be good to take this project off our plateWe sent a picture of a white sunroom done in wainscot with no ceiling and just beams and nothing fancy to the builder.He called and said "the cost should be about $8,000"He said nothing about upgraded rustic beams or V joints! We said to go ahead with it thinking that we were going to get the same kind of sunroom as in the pictureImagine our surprise when we returned to Missouri to see a Sun Room done in Car siding wood all insideWe asked about the wainscot which is what we preferred and the builder said "oh I don't like wainscot"We couldn't believe our ears because who's house was it? We think it was more that*** ***just forgot about the picture and hired a subcontractor to do the room the way he wanted at almost double to quote to us! Of course we were not aware that he was using different materials and that it cost more than he quoted because we were not getting receipts from him, he was just drawing out our money freely and doing what he wanted with itIf this was a difficult job it was the builder *** *** that made it a difficult job because of his lack of communication, lack of organization, lack of memory,lack of high standards inhis finish work and so onThere are not any subcontractors that would support any of *** *** statements because we met only a few of them out of about a dozenThey did not even know usAll they knew of us was possibly what *** *** was saying about usWhen we contacted the subcontractors we had responses from themto check on their own work, and also heard negative comments about dealings with *** *** and how he wants them to do substandard work to save money, or that he refuses to pay them what they charge for their workWe see now that there is a history of problems with this builder and are surprised that there are not many complaints about himDuring our construction *** *** was finishing up other homes he was building and all he did was complain about the other home owners saying that "one was crazy and kept wanting to change things", saying the other "was a friend but after the home was done they would probably never speak to each other again"There were many other unprofessional and negative comments about his customers and the subcontractors to usThis gave usgood insight of how this builder treats his customers and subcontractorsNow in hindsight we can see thathis othercustomers were likely experiencing the same things we did with this builder, and were not happy just as we were notThe firstproblem we encountered with this builderwas the tile that was installed in the laundry room that we purchasedIt was a good thing that we purchased extraWhen we came to look at it there were pieces installed and grouted with the corners chipped offAlso at a doorway the grout lines got bigger and bigger until they were almost 1/inch and were originally 1/We asked his employee who installed it about the chips and his response was "well my saw chips the tile sometimes"So were we supposed to be happy with chipped tile because this persons saw didn't work right, or he and the builder didn't have the integrity to fix it in the first place? This was our first negative encounter with the builder and things seemed to go downhill from thereApparently he expected us to accept this type of workWe do not believe anyone who was paying to have a home built would accept this type of shoddy workAnother total falsehood was an inheritance and trying to depict us as some sort of globe trotting rich people.It isridiculous and frankly defaming to usWe did not receive an inheritance, if it is any ofthis builder'sbusiness, all that we received were funds used to pay off debts of the deceasedWe deeply resent this personal attack on our integrity and frankly evenif we did receive an inheritance what possible business is it of anyone else's? Another falsehood isa two and a half month European VacationWe saved after working all of our lives for a special vacation for both our retirement and birthdaysThis vacation was a discounted month vacation, and this isnone of anyone's business either, nor does it have anything to do with the problems in the house whatsoeverAs explained in our original complaint this builder did not inform us about needing more money untilshortly before we were to leave on our vacation, and the banker (his friend) told us that he did not have time to prepare the paperwork and that we could sign it when we returned from our vacationNot our problem, or our faultApparently the builder forgot to supply the banker with his utility expense for the final loan amount, not our fault eitherThere are late charges on some of the bills we noted in the draws after going through them so on top of everything else we are supposed to pay his late charges? We can assume from this that there is a history of late payments with this builder to his vendorswhich is no problem of oursThe closing of the house should not have happened with the pending problems in the home but we were somewhat pushed into a corner about it and pressured to do it with the assurance that the issues would be addressed during the year warrantyWe made the mistake of trusting someone and now this is what we have to show for itWe were told by the builder that he liked us and that if we had any problems with the house, even if it was past a year, he would take care of itWe are very disheartened and disillusioned by this whole experience that should have been a new chapter in the late years of our lifeThe home looks nice at first glance but there are so many structural and cosmetic problems that should have been fixed, it takes away the enjoyment of the home because now instead of enjoying it we are saddled with trying to get things fixed and done in it that should have been done in the first placeAll of the pictures we submitted with our original complaint show the problems in the home and pictures do not lie.Another total falsehood is that there are no defects in the homeWe will have an itemized list and quote from another builder for the defects including but not limited to: A leaking basement, potential rotting out of the plywood on the house from water damage, curved bottom window casings from too much spray foam insulation causing gaps on each side of the window and making them extremely difficult to close, among all of the other many things listed aboveThe final falsehood is that we have owned several home in Missouri and CaliforniaTotally untrue and againattempting to portray us as some kind of people that we are notWe owned one home in California for years until we retired and moved to MissouriWe bought a fixer upper in northern Missouria few years ago before we thought that maybe wewould be able to actually build a small modest home on the property we bought in Missouri years ago, in plans for our retirement.We are not experienced in real estate, and have never had a home built, so unfortunately were vulnerable to being taken advantage ofMisleading statements are being made about our character which is not appropriate nor does it pertain to the original complaintThis complaintiswithsubstantial merit, and it is unfortunate that the money spent on a lawyer was not used instead on making things rightwith our home and with usWe are forgiving Christian peopleWe went to the source first, (the builder), and when that was ignored we had no choice but to take other stepsAll of this stress on both ends could have been avoided hadthe problemsjust been fixedWe are still hopeful that some of our faith in this builder will return,and he will havea change of heart and take responsibility forhis work.We will be happy to accept the help getting the problems resolved, and will have more complete estimates to repair the problems available in the near futureSincerely, ** and **, Complaint ID *** *** *** *** ***
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Please add these pictures to the response letter dated November 9th 2017 that we sent to the Attorney General's office, and that we are forwarding to you today. This was a counter response to [redacted] construction letter dated October 26th 2017 that we faxed to you on December 30th 2017. This was only sent to the Attorney General's office and not the Revdex.com and we wanted you to have all of the up-to-date information in this matter. Thank you, [redacted] and [redacted]
01/16/18: (10:55
am) Mediator left a voice message for [redacted] to return my call.01/16/18: (11:45
am) (Mrs. [redacted]) we are driving in the car. Can we talk next week? If you could call us around 10 am that would work for us.01/23/18: (11:05 am) (Mrs. [redacted]) sent an e-mail that this whole process started in October of 2015.01/23/18: (10:05am) (Mrs. [redacted]) We feel like we were taken advantage of by a local contractor. We have paid this contractor $225,000 for a one bedroom home. There are many things wrong with it that the contractor claims no responsibility. We do not want this contractor in our home, but we want reimbursement for the things that the contractor or his sub contractor did, but did not do correctly and as a result, we had to pay out of our pocket to repair. I will send you a specific list of what I want to settle this complaint. 01/29/18: (Consumer Email)We have the things as listed below that so far have been repaired, or need to be repaired in our home. We are asking that these things either be reimbursed if already repaired, or we be reimbursement for the money we paid to the contractor for the poor workmanship that was done, and that will need to be repaired, replaced, or changed. This is not by any means an inclusive list of all of the cosmetic repairs done or that will need to be done. We will take that upon ourselves to do, or have done. We only hope that the major issues will be taken care of so that we can move on from this terrible experience. Safe-room leak, Roof Flashing, and Re-installation of 4 Windows:We have receipts for repairs so far to the safe room/basement leak that was done with flashing around the front porch edge that does not, or will never look as nice as a new home that was built correctly would look. Along with these repairs, the flashing was replaced on the front gable roof edge that was installed with different and not matchingwidths; and also the 4 windows that were installed incorrectly had to be uncovered and reinstalled: We have a receipt for $700.00 for the above repairs. We are hoping that the leak in the basement will be prevented with these repairs, but time will tell if we will need to have the cement removed on the porch to have it sealed and re-poured.Deck and Sunroom repairs: To repair/replace the damaged composite decking, the doorway floor gap off of the Sun-room into house, and the stain that bled through along the ceiling beams in the Sun-room, making it necessary to have the area sanded and painted to hide the poor staining workmanship. We estimate that these will be around $1000.00 to bring up to the expected standards. Wood Flooring:There are multiple gouges and scratches on the wood floor that we purchased out of pocket ourselves, and that was installed and damaged by the contractor's employees. This flooring at the very least needs to be sanded and stained in the damaged areas, or just replaced. We expect this to cost us anywhere from $500.00 to $5000.00 to either repair or replace the floor. We expect to be reimbursed for this since we have already paid for the flooring, and paid the contractor for the installation. Kitchen Cabinets:It is very obvious from the pictures that many of the door facings and fascias need to be replaced. So much that it would likely be necessary to just replace the cabinets, especially the kitchen island. We paid $14,000 for these unsightly cabinets with very poor workmanship. Judging by previous quotes for cabinets from Lowe's and other Cabinet builders we know that replacing the cabinets will likely cost the amount we paid for them if not more. We would like to replace the cabinets with cabinets like we expected to see in our home from the beginning.The cost we would like to be reimbursed to replace the cabinets is the full amount that we paid to the contractor of $14,000. The above repairs amount to approximately $16,200.00-$20,700.00. We would settle for somewhere in between this estimate so that we can have the home that we expected that would be built by this contractor. We have already made many repairs ourselves to the plumbing, the drywall, and the paint. The above repairs or replacements are over and above what we have done ourselves and things that we have already paid the contractor to do. There are other obvious things as seen by the pictures that we will have to do cosmetically to the home to bring it up to the standards of the newly built home; and that we expected to see in our home after paying the contractor over $220,000 for the home construction. Much of our money was spent without our knowledge or permission until after it was already withdrawn from our funds. With the above amounts the contractor withdrew, we still did not receive the installation of the fireplaces that was planned and that we purchased out of pocket ourselves; nor any pantry shelves or closet completions so that these spaces would be move in ready and usable. We have done this work ourselves so that we can use these spaces for what they were intended for.Along with these the above items, we purchased out of pocket many items that the contractor would have had to purchase to complete this home. If we included this in our expected reimbursement it would likely amount to between $10,000-$20,000. This brings our total up to close to $250,000 for the home and almost $100,000 over what the contractor originally quoted us to build the home. We feel that asking for an approximate $20,000 reimbursement is more that fair considering alternative options.The amount that we are requesting as reimbursement of our money is much less that we would expect that a lawsuit would demand to make all of these repairs; or that would provide necessary reimbursements for our own added expense and repairs. We only want the retirement home that we planned for, saved for, and expected in the beginning and no more. We hope that this contractor and his lawyer will realize that when the pictures are reviewed it is obvious that we received very substandard work for what we were charged; and that the contractor's reputation for building homes will be damaged unless he provides us with a reimbursement of the funds needed to bring this home up to a standard of a newly constructed home that we paid him for.Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
02/06/18: (10:20 am)
([redacted] and [redacted]) We are disappointed that [redacted] was not interested in
any kind of settlement. We were not trying to destroy his livelihood, but felt
that we were not treated right in this whole relationship and wanted to work
through channels to get it resolved with our contractor. Thanks for trying to
help us and we will be on the lookout the Revdex.com letter in about two weeks.
Please add these text messages and pictures to our complaint. These are proof that [redacted] was well aware of problems very early in the process of building the house. We will send these in 2 separate emails. Thank you [redacted] and [redacted]
Please add these photos of the kitchen cabinet workmanship to the previous pictures we have sent. We would like a refund of the $14,000 to enable us to have new cabinets installed. Thank you, [redacted] and [redacted]
01/30/18: (09:20 am) Mediator left a voice message for [redacted] to return my call.02/06/18: (09:05 am) ([redacted]) I have been building houses for a long time and I am here to
tell you that these customers were very difficult to work especially as the
construction concluded. I have no interest in settling with them as I owe them
nothing, in fact the truth be told they owe me at least $7,000. I am not
motivated to settle anything as they have also done everything they could to
destroy my reputation by sending out letters to my subcontractor and others in
the community airing their side of the complaint.. As you know …. there are two
sides to every story and my side of all this is completely different than theirs.
I hate to say it, but I want nothing more to do with them and that is why I
hired an attorney. I appreciate you hearing my side of the complaint and I
realize that that you are closing out the case and I should get a letter in
about two weeks
On Saturday December 30th we faxed the construction companies response to our response letter that we had sent to the Revdex.com and the Attorney General Office. Please confirm that you received this fax. For some reason the construction company only responded to the Attorney General's letter. This is the letter that we faxed to you. We are now emailing you our response That we sent to the Attorney General's office. We will also be emailing additional pictures of the construction problems in the home. Thank you, [redacted] and [redacted]
Please add these text messages and pictures to our complaintThese are proof that [redacted] was well aware of problems very early in the process of building the houseWe will send these in separate emailsThank you [redacted] and [redacted]
01/30/18: (09:am) Mediator left a voice message for [redacted] to return my call.02/06/18: (09:am) ( [redacted] ) I have been building houses for a long time and I am here to tell you that these customers were very difficult to work especially as the construction concludedI have no interest in settling with them as I owe them nothing, in fact the truth be told they owe me at least $7,I am not motivated to settle anything as they have also done everything they could to destroy my reputation by sending out letters to my subcontractor and others in the community airing their side of the complaintAs you know there are two sides to every story and my side of all this is completely different than theirs I hate to say it, but I want nothing more to do with them and that is why I hired an attorneyI appreciate you hearing my side of the complaint and I realize that that you are closing out the case and I should get a letter in about two weeks
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: This is a Response to theBusiness Response to Our Complaint, by the Business Owner *** *** and his Lawyer, *** ***Most of the statements in the responseletter are either very misleading, or totally falseWe
will go line by line if necessary to dispute these statementsFirst of all we requested a "Modest" home, not a basic homeModestmeaning no high end flooring, counters, fixtures etc, In fact here is a list of everything that we purchased for the home ourselves over a period of time by bargain and sale shopping, to save ourselves money and to lower the cost ofbuilding our home: All Appliances including a stove top, wall oven, microwave, refrigerator, garbage disposal, and dishwasher.All of the flooring includingTile for the entryway, sun room,master bathroom and laundry room including the grout to install it allAll of theWood Flooring for the remainder of the home.The kitchen and bathroom countertops including the Corbels for the breakfast barAll of the sinks for the bathrooms and kitchenAll Faucets for all of the sinks in the home, a bathtub and plumbing that went with it including the faucets, and the shower tower with jets that was mentioned in the response that we purchased through ***.All bathroom,kitchen and entrylight fixturesincluding 5ceiling fans for every room in the house, and also the bathroom exhaust fanAllshower tileThe Wood Stain shadethat we were asked to pick out for the kitchen and bathroom and were told to leave in the corner of the garage for *** ***But then the cabinets were built out of wood that is only appropriate for painting so the stain on the cabinets are blotchy, some areas very dark, some very light and just an overall terrible job among other problems with the cabinets as seen in the pictures that we submittedFireplacesAll door knobs and deadboltsAll exterior lighting and even the Front Door Now with all of the purchases above that according to *** ***were included in the quote for the home, you would think that we would have some kind of credit for the items above that he did not have to shop for, purchase and have delivered.Not to mention the extra charges for of these items you mention in your letterthat the builder did not even purchase himself!We have all of the receiptsIn our previous complaint we already listed the items that we changed or added to the homeWe think that they were reasonable and not out of the ordinary considering the circumstancesThe requests were not ever-changing and we will address each as listed on the lawyer's response letterOur changes amounted to about $25-$30,at a generous estimate and without taking into account all of the things we purchased out of pocket that the builder did not need to purchase as listed aboveA Storm Shelter added for $2,500?The fact is that in the very beginning we had discussed a storm shelter with *** *** and his words were "I am not sure but I will see what I can do" Well when we had to go out of state to pick up some of our belongings we received a text message with a picture saying "here is your storm shelter!" We were surprised by this and assumed that he was able to get it done within the original quotehe did notsay "here is your storm shelter and its going to cost you $2,500".But now what good is the storm shelter or the basement for that matter when the shelter floods out into the basement? We would have preferred not having one if we knew it would cause us this much stress and the need for extensive repairsFrom researching the draws fromourmoney it appears that *** ***' hired workers have a receipt for cement workThe person who did the rest of the cement on the home told us that he did not do the porch over the storm shelter so it must have been the hired workers who did the cement for $1,per the receipt, not $2,These people had no business in our opinion doing cement work.We have pictures of the porch prior and it looks as though the cement was poured right next to the plywood on the houseThis means the wood will rot from the water and cause even more extensive damage to the homeWe are in the process of getting this assessed and quotes to repair it which will likely be quite expensiveYes we did have larger windows put in after we asked how much extra"about $30-$a window" we were toldWe said to go aheadsince we wanted the home to have the views we had originally bought the property forThere was never any mention of needing any kind of LVL beams or extra framing expenseAs a matter of fact with common senseit seems that it would take less framingwood since there is more window, but nevertheless we should have been told about those charges if they were needed, so we could make a fully informed decisionAlmost every single issue we have encountered has been due to not getting the information we should have from the contractorft ceilings were requested by us and we listed this on our original complaint with the attached letter that was sent to *** ***, along with our other requestsThis request was made before the walls even went up, the walls were not changedWould not a contractor give his customer the option of or ft ceilings? Tile in the Shower- We purchased every single piece of tile in the shower ourselves including the grout as mentioned above; and also the Tower with jets from ***Your statement is a complete falsehood that these things cost the builder $5,because they were purchased by usThe layout in the kitchen was not completely changedOne wall was changed, and if the contractor was a professional in the first place he would have told us that we did not have room for a breakfast nook next to a refrigerator before it was framedHe had the picture of the plans, and he knew what we wanted and where we wanted itBut as we went along it became more and more apparent that this builder just wanted to get the house done as quick as possible without regard to how it looked, without following our plans and pictures, without worry about workmanship, or if we would be happy with the end resultWhat we have left on the wall that was changed are bare wires hanging outside the cabinets and holes in the drywallfor the inside cabinet and under cabinet lights, and a window frame that is two different sizesThese pictures were sent with the first complaint6.There were never any standard cabinetsinstalled in the kitchenThis is another falsehoodand we have witnesses to support that.There were never any cabinets in the kitchen until we began feeling pressured by the builder to get some orderedWe were having trouble getting Lowes to come up with a design that would fit, and Cabinet World did not show up for an appointment to measure the kitchen, so when *** *** said "Maybe I can get you a cabinet builder, and they will be better than Lowes!", we thought that since he wanted to finish the house we would meet with the cabinet makerCost of $7,000? Another falsehood, try $12,for cabinets with the drawer faces splitting in half, gouges in the fronts of some, scrap wood used for a door that has ahinge hole drilled into it on the inside, a slide out sheet pan cabinet that almost wobbles off of its hinges every time it is opened, some door fronts are crooked or stick out further than others, the paint has drips, bare spots, and the white cabinets were not done in an oil base as we the customer requested, so do not clean up well and are getting stainedThe stained kitchenisland and master vanity are blotchy, streakywith light and darkmismatched spots all over, and with some areas not even sanded so when wiped off with a towel the lint sticks to the wood and stays on itThe stained cabinets were "skinned" with a thin board so they could be stained like we had requested in the first placeThis should have never happened, The cabinets to be stained should have been rebuilt in the proper wood.We mentioned our dissatisfaction with this and was hopeful it would be fixed, after all it was our money that was used and we should expect a satisfactory outcome forthe money we paid the contractorIt was not our fault that the cabinet builder and *** *** forgot they were to be stained and not paintedWe have text messages between us and *** ***that show we wanted them stained from the beginningBoth of them likely forgot what we wanted because most of the time the cabinet maker and *** *** just joked around and hardly paid attention that we were even in the roomWe included pictures of all of these problems in the first complaintletterAs for the driveway there was never any mention of gravelThis is another falsehoodFrom the end of the cement to the road, it was to match the road which was chip and sealThis was also discussed in the very beginningWe never changed our mind on the driveway nor was there any later discussion about the chip and seal until *** *** complained that a community board member wanted the chip and seal fixed in the road in front of our house, that the construction equipment had damagedAnother statement regarding the drivewayAn upgraded driveway with loads of topsoil? There are no draws from *** *** *** for loads of topsoilfor adrivewayOnly a receipt fortopsoil for the yard and that is tandem loads for $for the yardThe driveway was street level and the house was built to be brought up the street levelAre not all homes built with a driveway? There was no discussion about the driveway from the beginning so this is not trueMost homeowners would assume a driveway was not an optionThe small deck was changed from regular wood to composite after we researched the upkeep we determined that at our age we did not need the added maintenance and upkeep of a wooden deckWe felt that the nominal cost was worth it in the long runThe contractor said that the regular wood would be about $or $a foot, the composite that we found was $a foot and a no brainer for less upkeepSeveral times we tried to get the point across to *** *** that since we were older we wanted a home without a lot of upkeepThis wasrarely if evertaken into consideration by him,and there are many things that could have been done in this hometo make it easier for aging people like usto stay in their homeAgain a totally statement about the flooringThere was never any discussion about carpetAs a matter of fact our very first conversation about the home included a discussion about it having wood flooring*** *** said he used Pine for floors, and that was what he had in his own houseAfter we returned to where we were living we checked into flooring at a flooring businessThey said that Pine is never used for flooring because it is too soft and doesn't hold upWhen the contractor was told this it was obvious he was not happyAgain, we wanted a low maintenance home so did not want flooring that would be ruined in a short timeThere should not be a dispute about this anyway as we bought the manufactured wood flooring ourselves out of our own pocket at over $4,afterthe contractorsaid that he would need to put the floor down soonWhen he was asked how it would be protected since there was tile to lay and kitchen cabinets to go in, he said "don't worry it will be covered with paper"Well we returned from another trip to move our things to Missouri and when we got to the house and walked in there was nothing on the new wood floor.It had cement from to tile on it, dirt, nails, rocksIt also had many scratches and gougesThis was the first time we became angry about how things were goingWho wouldn't? The contractor was not there so he was called and informed of our unhappinessWhen he arrived he seemed angry at us, he walked away and went into the houseAt that point we were living in our travel trailer on the property because we had no other place to liveHe came to our door and we invited him inHe said that he was going to go and get paper to cover the floor and that he had chewed his crew out, but he still seemed upset with usHe said "don't worry it can be fixed" We asked how, replace the wood?, he said "no it can be re stained" We were flabbergasted, It was our money he was wasting, we should have been the ones upset, and he should have been apologizing, let alone replacing the scratched pieces of woodSo the charge of $3,mentioned in the response is ridiculous because we bought the wood, and the crewruined many pieces of itThe siding story is incorrect as wellWe met at the front of the home to look at samples and picked one that looked gray as we wanted our home gray and white and told the contractor this in the beginningAfter the siding arrived we looked at it and it looked greenWe never upgraded to any custom siding, its the same low priced stuff as you can tell by looking at it and touching itWe asked the builder to please see if it could be returned so we could get grayHe said that there might be a restocking chargeAfter reviewing the receipts from the Lumber Company there are just credits for the siding and other siding chargedThe $3,mentioned cannot be found in the receipts so this is not correctYes we upgraded the insulation after a suggestion from the banker stating how much more energy efficient it was so the extra cost of $4,was well worth itAnother falsehood regarding the Sun RoomFirst of all this was not near the end of the jobAs a matter of fact it was early spring of when we were dealing with the death in the family in another stateWe received a text of the framing of the house and noticed that they did not match the drawings which had a deck off of the master bedroom that we planned on enclosing ourselves at a later dateWe knew by this time that this builder was very disorganized and did not keep trackor pay attention tomany things thatwe mentioned to himWe called to ask why the deck was not in the picturesThe builder acted like he knew nothing about itWe sent another picture to him of the original one we had given him and he conceded that he forgot itHe said he would call us back about this problemWhen he called he said he would have to take care of it so we assumed at no cost to us! We should not have been charged for any tearing down of construction because it was not right in the first placeDuring that conversation he said "do you just want us to build the sunroom since we are re doing it?" Since we were already dealing with losing a member of the family and with so much as far as managing their estate and belongings we decided it would be good to take this project off our plateWe sent a picture of a white sunroom done in wainscot with no ceiling and just beams and nothing fancy to the builder.He called and said "the cost should be about $8,000"He said nothing about upgraded rustic beams or V joints! We said to go ahead with it thinking that we were going to get the same kind of sunroom as in the pictureImagine our surprise when we returned to Missouri to see a Sun Room done in Car siding wood all insideWe asked about the wainscot which is what we preferred and the builder said "oh I don't like wainscot"We couldn't believe our ears because who's house was it? We think it was more that*** ***just forgot about the picture and hired a subcontractor to do the room the way he wanted at almost double to quote to us! Of course we were not aware that he was using different materials and that it cost more than he quoted because we were not getting receipts from him, he was just drawing out our money freely and doing what he wanted with itIf this was a difficult job it was the builder *** *** that made it a difficult job because of his lack of communication, lack of organization, lack of memory,lack of high standards inhis finish work and so onThere are not any subcontractors that would support any of *** *** statements because we met only a few of them out of about a dozenThey did not even know usAll they knew of us was possibly what *** *** was saying about usWhen we contacted the subcontractors we had responses from themto check on their own work, and also heard negative comments about dealings with *** *** and how he wants them to do substandard work to save money, or that he refuses to pay them what they charge for their workWe see now that there is a history of problems with this builder and are surprised that there are not many complaints about himDuring our construction *** *** was finishing up other homes he was building and all he did was complain about the other home owners saying that "one was crazy and kept wanting to change things", saying the other "was a friend but after the home was done they would probably never speak to each other again"There were many other unprofessional and negative comments about his customers and the subcontractors to usThis gave usgood insight of how this builder treats his customers and subcontractorsNow in hindsight we can see thathis othercustomers were likely experiencing the same things we did with this builder, and were not happy just as we were notThe firstproblem we encountered with this builderwas the tile that was installed in the laundry room that we purchasedIt was a good thing that we purchased extraWhen we came to look at it there were pieces installed and grouted with the corners chipped offAlso at a doorway the grout lines got bigger and bigger until they were almost 1/inch and were originally 1/We asked his employee who installed it about the chips and his response was "well my saw chips the tile sometimes"So were we supposed to be happy with chipped tile because this persons saw didn't work right, or he and the builder didn't have the integrity to fix it in the first place? This was our first negative encounter with the builder and things seemed to go downhill from thereApparently he expected us to accept this type of workWe do not believe anyone who was paying to have a home built would accept this type of shoddy workAnother total falsehood was an inheritance and trying to depict us as some sort of globe trotting rich people.It isridiculous and frankly defaming to usWe did not receive an inheritance, if it is any ofthis builder'sbusiness, all that we received were funds used to pay off debts of the deceasedWe deeply resent this personal attack on our integrity and frankly evenif we did receive an inheritance what possible business is it of anyone else's? Another falsehood isa two and a half month European VacationWe saved after working all of our lives for a special vacation for both our retirement and birthdaysThis vacation was a discounted month vacation, and this isnone of anyone's business either, nor does it have anything to do with the problems in the house whatsoeverAs explained in our original complaint this builder did not inform us about needing more money untilshortly before we were to leave on our vacation, and the banker (his friend) told us that he did not have time to prepare the paperwork and that we could sign it when we returned from our vacationNot our problem, or our faultApparently the builder forgot to supply the banker with his utility expense for the final loan amount, not our fault eitherThere are late charges on some of the bills we noted in the draws after going through them so on top of everything else we are supposed to pay his late charges? We can assume from this that there is a history of late payments with this builder to his vendorswhich is no problem of oursThe closing of the house should not have happened with the pending problems in the home but we were somewhat pushed into a corner about it and pressured to do it with the assurance that the issues would be addressed during the year warrantyWe made the mistake of trusting someone and now this is what we have to show for itWe were told by the builder that he liked us and that if we had any problems with the house, even if it was past a year, he would take care of itWe are very disheartened and disillusioned by this whole experience that should have been a new chapter in the late years of our lifeThe home looks nice at first glance but there are so many structural and cosmetic problems that should have been fixed, it takes away the enjoyment of the home because now instead of enjoying it we are saddled with trying to get things fixed and done in it that should have been done in the first placeAll of the pictures we submitted with our original complaint show the problems in the home and pictures do not lie.Another total falsehood is that there are no defects in the homeWe will have an itemized list and quote from another builder for the defects including but not limited to: A leaking basement, potential rotting out of the plywood on the house from water damage, curved bottom window casings from too much spray foam insulation causing gaps on each side of the window and making them extremely difficult to close, among all of the other many things listed aboveThe final falsehood is that we have owned several home in Missouri and CaliforniaTotally untrue and againattempting to portray us as some kind of people that we are notWe owned one home in California for years until we retired and moved to MissouriWe bought a fixer upper in northern Missouria few years ago before we thought that maybe wewould be able to actually build a small modest home on the property we bought in Missouri years ago, in plans for our retirement.We are not experienced in real estate, and have never had a home built, so unfortunately were vulnerable to being taken advantage ofMisleading statements are being made about our character which is not appropriate nor does it pertain to the original complaintThis complaintiswithsubstantial merit, and it is unfortunate that the money spent on a lawyer was not used instead on making things rightwith our home and with usWe are forgiving Christian peopleWe went to the source first, (the builder), and when that was ignored we had no choice but to take other stepsAll of this stress on both ends could have been avoided hadthe problemsjust been fixedWe are still hopeful that some of our faith in this builder will return,and he will havea change of heart and take responsibility forhis work.We will be happy to accept the help getting the problems resolved, and will have more complete estimates to repair the problems available in the near futureSincerely, ** and **, Complaint ID *** *** *** *** ***
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Please add these pictures to the response letter dated November 9th 2017 that we sent to the Attorney General's office, and that we are forwarding to you today. This was a counter response to [redacted] construction letter dated October 26th 2017 that we faxed to you on December 30th 2017. This was only sent to the Attorney General's office and not the Revdex.com and we wanted you to have all of the up-to-date information in this matter. Thank you, [redacted] and [redacted]
01/16/18: (10:55
am) Mediator left a voice message for [redacted] to return my call.01/16/18: (11:45
am) (Mrs. [redacted]) we are driving in the car. Can we talk next week? If you could call us around 10 am that would work for us.01/23/18: (11:05 am) (Mrs. [redacted]) sent an e-mail that this whole process started in October of 2015.01/23/18: (10:05am) (Mrs. [redacted]) We feel like we were taken advantage of by a local contractor. We have paid this contractor $225,000 for a one bedroom home. There are many things wrong with it that the contractor claims no responsibility. We do not want this contractor in our home, but we want reimbursement for the things that the contractor or his sub contractor did, but did not do correctly and as a result, we had to pay out of our pocket to repair. I will send you a specific list of what I want to settle this complaint. 01/29/18: (Consumer Email)We have the things as listed below that so far have been repaired, or need to be repaired in our home. We are asking that these things either be reimbursed if already repaired, or we be reimbursement for the money we paid to the contractor for the poor workmanship that was done, and that will need to be repaired, replaced, or changed. This is not by any means an inclusive list of all of the cosmetic repairs done or that will need to be done. We will take that upon ourselves to do, or have done. We only hope that the major issues will be taken care of so that we can move on from this terrible experience. Safe-room leak, Roof Flashing, and Re-installation of 4 Windows:We have receipts for repairs so far to the safe room/basement leak that was done with flashing around the front porch edge that does not, or will never look as nice as a new home that was built correctly would look. Along with these repairs, the flashing was replaced on the front gable roof edge that was installed with different and not matchingwidths; and also the 4 windows that were installed incorrectly had to be uncovered and reinstalled: We have a receipt for $700.00 for the above repairs. We are hoping that the leak in the basement will be prevented with these repairs, but time will tell if we will need to have the cement removed on the porch to have it sealed and re-poured.Deck and Sunroom repairs: To repair/replace the damaged composite decking, the doorway floor gap off of the Sun-room into house, and the stain that bled through along the ceiling beams in the Sun-room, making it necessary to have the area sanded and painted to hide the poor staining workmanship. We estimate that these will be around $1000.00 to bring up to the expected standards. Wood Flooring:There are multiple gouges and scratches on the wood floor that we purchased out of pocket ourselves, and that was installed and damaged by the contractor's employees. This flooring at the very least needs to be sanded and stained in the damaged areas, or just replaced. We expect this to cost us anywhere from $500.00 to $5000.00 to either repair or replace the floor. We expect to be reimbursed for this since we have already paid for the flooring, and paid the contractor for the installation. Kitchen Cabinets:It is very obvious from the pictures that many of the door facings and fascias need to be replaced. So much that it would likely be necessary to just replace the cabinets, especially the kitchen island. We paid $14,000 for these unsightly cabinets with very poor workmanship. Judging by previous quotes for cabinets from Lowe's and other Cabinet builders we know that replacing the cabinets will likely cost the amount we paid for them if not more. We would like to replace the cabinets with cabinets like we expected to see in our home from the beginning.The cost we would like to be reimbursed to replace the cabinets is the full amount that we paid to the contractor of $14,000. The above repairs amount to approximately $16,200.00-$20,700.00. We would settle for somewhere in between this estimate so that we can have the home that we expected that would be built by this contractor. We have already made many repairs ourselves to the plumbing, the drywall, and the paint. The above repairs or replacements are over and above what we have done ourselves and things that we have already paid the contractor to do. There are other obvious things as seen by the pictures that we will have to do cosmetically to the home to bring it up to the standards of the newly built home; and that we expected to see in our home after paying the contractor over $220,000 for the home construction. Much of our money was spent without our knowledge or permission until after it was already withdrawn from our funds. With the above amounts the contractor withdrew, we still did not receive the installation of the fireplaces that was planned and that we purchased out of pocket ourselves; nor any pantry shelves or closet completions so that these spaces would be move in ready and usable. We have done this work ourselves so that we can use these spaces for what they were intended for.Along with these the above items, we purchased out of pocket many items that the contractor would have had to purchase to complete this home. If we included this in our expected reimbursement it would likely amount to between $10,000-$20,000. This brings our total up to close to $250,000 for the home and almost $100,000 over what the contractor originally quoted us to build the home. We feel that asking for an approximate $20,000 reimbursement is more that fair considering alternative options.The amount that we are requesting as reimbursement of our money is much less that we would expect that a lawsuit would demand to make all of these repairs; or that would provide necessary reimbursements for our own added expense and repairs. We only want the retirement home that we planned for, saved for, and expected in the beginning and no more. We hope that this contractor and his lawyer will realize that when the pictures are reviewed it is obvious that we received very substandard work for what we were charged; and that the contractor's reputation for building homes will be damaged unless he provides us with a reimbursement of the funds needed to bring this home up to a standard of a newly constructed home that we paid him for.Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
02/06/18: (10:20 am)
([redacted] and [redacted]) We are disappointed that [redacted] was not interested in
any kind of settlement. We were not trying to destroy his livelihood, but felt
that we were not treated right in this whole relationship and wanted to work
through channels to get it resolved with our contractor. Thanks for trying to
help us and we will be on the lookout the Revdex.com letter in about two weeks.
Please add these text messages and pictures to our complaint. These are proof that [redacted] was well aware of problems very early in the process of building the house. We will send these in 2 separate emails. Thank you [redacted] and [redacted]
See attached photos
Please add these photos of the kitchen cabinet workmanship to the previous pictures we have sent. We would like a refund of the $14,000 to enable us to have new cabinets installed. Thank you, [redacted] and [redacted]
01/30/18: (09:20 am) Mediator left a voice message for [redacted] to return my call.02/06/18: (09:05 am) ([redacted]) I have been building houses for a long time and I am here to
tell you that these customers were very difficult to work especially as the
construction concluded. I have no interest in settling with them as I owe them
nothing, in fact the truth be told they owe me at least $7,000. I am not
motivated to settle anything as they have also done everything they could to
destroy my reputation by sending out letters to my subcontractor and others in
the community airing their side of the complaint.. As you know …. there are two
sides to every story and my side of all this is completely different than theirs.
I hate to say it, but I want nothing more to do with them and that is why I
hired an attorney. I appreciate you hearing my side of the complaint and I
realize that that you are closing out the case and I should get a letter in
about two weeks
On Saturday December 30th we faxed the construction companies response to our response letter that we had sent to the Revdex.com and the Attorney General Office. Please confirm that you received this fax. For some reason the construction company only responded to the Attorney General's letter. This is the letter that we faxed to you. We are now emailing you our response That we sent to the Attorney General's office. We will also be emailing additional pictures of the construction problems in the home. Thank you, [redacted] and [redacted]