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Olson Foundation Repair

10612 Blue Ridge Blvd Unit A, Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64134-1928

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Olson Foundation Repair Reviews (%countItem)

During the inspection period of purchasing our home Olson Foundation Repair assessed a water issue that was disclosed as "water leakage" in the crawl space. *** said we needed a swale to improve the grading & keep water from under the house. After purchasing the home, in Aug '18, Olson started the work. I paid the $2825 in full when they said the job was complete. After the next rain the water problem continued under the house & we had water sitting in little pools throughout the swale vs. having the water running away from the house.They left an open pipe that was in the foundation wall, that during harder rains, poured foul smelling water under the crawl space. As the foundation expert it was Jim's responsibility to take into consideration all possible water sources but Jim said it wasn't his "fault" that the pipe wasn't addressed.(The pipe was clearly visible.)As a result of the work done, water pooled around our AC unit causing the back of the platform to sink toward the house.In March we still had standing water under the house. After 10 months of us calling & emailing we are $2825 in the hole, the swale didn't fix our water problem & it has yet to have a proper run-off. My husband took off work 6-27 to meet Jim at the house(Jim said he would only talk to ***)*** asked me to look at the work they did compared to the other times they've been out.I asked Jim about the visible high places in the swale.He declared it was done properly & became very irritated threatening to bill us for additional work he said his guys did.(The swale is the only work I agreed to per written or verbal communication.)He started pointing his finger and yelling at which point I became very uncomfortable & told *** I was going inside that he would have to deal with Jim.Jim then told his guys to "Load it up, we're leaving!"He left the swale & sunken AC unit as it was.As of 7-17 we still have water getting under our house. Olson Foundation took our money and left us with the problem.

Olson Foundation Repair Response • Jul 24, 2019

To whom it may concern:

I am writing this letter in response to a complaint lodged by ***. As I’m sure you are aware, there is always 2 sides to every story. I have been in business for over 33 years now, and have always tried to run my business with honesty and integrity. I have always had an A+ rating with the Revdex.com and with other reporting agencies.. I have found that even in doing this,, you will eventually run into some people that no matter what you do or say, you can not please them. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases. I have known *** and *** for years, have attended the same church, and even had kids that were the same age. So to say that this was very unexpected, is an understatement.

This all being said, several months ago, my son and other inspectors.,including a home inspector, met *** and her real estate agent at a home that she was planning on purchasing because of concerns about water in the crawl space. As my son inspected the home,, he noted and told her that the grade was poor around the home and undersized gutters could be what was part of the issue. He told her that poor drainage is a large percentage of water issues, and is the first line of defense in stopping water, but at no time did he tell her that it was the sure way of stopping water, but it is the first line of defense and was witnessed by her real estate agent. My son has been working for me for 11 years and has been bidding for me for 4 years. One of his first lessons was to never guarantee that grading is going to stop water in basements, because in my 33 years of experience, I know that sometimes there are more drastic measures that are needed. She proceeded to buy the house and hired us to do the grading work. Our first time that we visited her house to do the work and after the work was completed, she gave my job foreman a check and everything was thought to be ok. After a couple of rains,,she called our office and said she was still getting water in her crawl space. My son went back over to her house, and at the tim, told her that the work that was performed could be improved, and that we would send someone back over. We sent the same foreman back and he worked on it again, at which time he told us that she was being rude to him, which I took lightly because I thought I knew her better. She contacted us after another rain, to say that there was water in her crawl space again. As most people who live in this region are aware of, this year was one of the wettest in history and made it very difficult to perform any type of grading or digging jobs through the course of the Winter or Spring into June. This time I went out and inspected the property, and wasn’t sure why water would get into the crawl space, but did inform her that she had clogged gutters and that they were undersized. I sent a man back out again to work on the grade to try to make her happy, not just once, but 3 more times, and on the last time, at my own expense, I had my men get in her crawl space and trench all of the way around and place gravel in the trench so that if water did get into the crawl space ,it would make its way to an undersized sump pit (paint bucket) with an undersized pump which I made her aware of. After another heavy rain, she called again and said that they had gotten down in the crawl space in the midst of the rain and the gravel and sump pit were inundated with water because the undersized pump could not keep up. She also sent me a video of a pipe on the back wall of crawl space that was pouring water into the crawl space at a rapid pace and ended up being the source of the problem. When I saw the video, I asked her if the home used to be on a septic, to which she responded she didn’t think so, because it wasn’t on the sellers disclosure. My son and I went back out to visit the sight again, and after visiting with a neighbor, found out that all of the homes in the neighborhood used to be on septics, and we concluded that this was a septic line and that it needed to be cut off and capped out in the yard. She also informed me that the swale on the north side of yard was not draining fast enough in large rains ( her neighbors back yard is almost all concrete and draining toward her house. At this point, I told her because of utilities that we couldn’t dig any deeper because of digsafe guidelines and that if she called the utility companies and had the move the underground lines, we would come out and deepen the swale. At this point, I thought we had come to an amicable solution and even offered one of my men on a Saturday to come out and dig up the septic line and cap it and do a couple of small chores for her that she needed done. Then we got an email saying that she had a plumber come out and cap the line and put a larger sump pit and pump in the crawl space, which I told her needed to be done. Also in the letter, she was very derogatory and called all of my efforts "little bandages". Even the extra work I did in her crawlspace at no charge. Of course this was a slap in the face to me, because I felt we had genuinely tried to accommodate her in every way. At this point, I informed her that our working relationship was over and that I would only deal with her husband (because he was still being rational) and that I would no longer speak to her about the situation. *** later called me, and once again, I thought we had the situation resolved and I even told him that I would come over and do the swale on the North side myself. He asked me if I would call his wife and invite her back into the fray,which at the time I didn’t really want to, but I did hoping that it would defuse the situation. My only request was that she be present during the work so that we could address all of the concerns, and that this situation would be put to bed. He told me they would, so I called her and left her a message. I showed up on our last visit only to not have neither of them there. I called ***, and he told me he was on his way, but *** would not be there, which was not our agreement. I went ahead and started the work, and when *** showed up, he showed me his concerns and my crew and I addressed every concern that he had. I noticed that a *** had arrived but never came out, so I asked *** if she was going to come out, and he said he would go see if she would come out so he went inside and never returned. I went and knocked on the door because I was paying a crew to stand there while I waited for him to return. When he didn’t return, I told my crew to pack up because we had another job to go to. After my men had loaded the truck, *** came out and asked if I could lift the AC unit and put dirt under it. Because of the age of the unit and all other circumstances involved, I told him I couldn’t do it because I didn’t want to be held responsible it the line sets broke. He went back inside and I was telling my guys what needed to happen on the next job before they left ,when *** finally appeared and started picking our work apart. First, the work was done right and to ***s approval and now my guys are packed, and she decided to come out then to inspecwt. After starting a somewhat cordial conversation, she became derogatory, and accused my son of not telling the truth. At that point, I put,my finger in the air ( not pointing at her but trying to make a point and defending my son, which would never lie to a customer). At this point she accused me of pointing my finger in her face and yelling at her (false) and insisted her husband do something about it and stormed inside. I talked to *** for another 15 minutes and assured him that I was not pointing in her face but was trying to make a point that my son would never tell her what she claimed, and that he wasn’t a liar. I even told him to tell her if she took it that way, that I would apologize and didn’t mean it that way. I also offered more than once to have the pastor of our church to mediate this, but she declined, and said that we should be able to resolve this. Obviously we couldn’t, which is why I suggested a third party from our church which is a biblical principle. I told *** that as far as I was concerned, we were done, and had performed what our job was, up and beyond what we bid. As far as billing for any extra work, I told her that we did extra work in her crawlspace at my expense and didn’t bill her for it. Regardless of the septic line pouring into the crawlspace, the grading around the house was poor at best, and needed addressed and agreed on by everyone including the realtor and inspector. If she has a problem with anyone, it should be with the previous homeowner, because they did not disclose the problem on their disclosure. At this point, this case is closed as far as I’m concerned and I have a clear conscience that I’ve done everything possible to,please her short of returning he all of her money, which will not happen because services were rendered for work that was necessary, regardless of the septic which has nothing to do with our work performance.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at . Thank you for your consideration of this problem, Jim OlsonTell us why here...

Customer Response • Aug 14, 2019

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]

Complaint: ***

I am rejecting this response because: I am not "one of those cases." The personal information he gave about our families has nothing to do with business. However taking that into consideration is why I, regretfully, paid in full before knowing the job had been done properly. We knew Jim on a casual friendship basis but had never had him do work for us. Mixing friendship with business is a bad idea.

When his son *** came out to do the original bid, Jim was not there. *** absolutely made me believe that the swale was the solution to our water problem. Period. I would not have agreed to the swale had it been made clear that it was a "maybe" fix.

The job foreman Jim referred to that came out to do the work the first time no longer works for Jim. It's a small world and a long story...but the ex-foreman, asked about our house the other day. He said he told Jim in the beginning that our yard was too flat and the swale wouldn't work. He had some very strong opinions about the way work is done at Olson Foundation.

Jim stated that *** said the "work that was performed could be improved" when what he told us that he wasn't happy at all with what his foreman had done and that it in no way was it done properly.

He did send the foreman back out and the foreman was upset that I had called to ask the office why the water wasn't running off the swale properly. He didn't like me questioning his work and told me that when someone upset him that he tells them "to go play in the middle of 435." So no, I wasn't a huge fan of the guy's people skills or lack there-of. However I had every right as the customer to call with questions about the work I was paying for without being scolded by the employee, or anyone at Olson Foundation, for asking a question.

The 2nd guy Jim sent out, Jorge, was a really nice guy. He has good people skills. It was on one of the many times Jorge was out that he said they could raise the AC unit. He noticed that it was sunken back towards the house.

All the times that Jim mentions coming back to our house were all requests by myself or my husband. Jim and *** both let us know very clearly that every time they came out it "cost them money." At which I reminded them that I was a paying customer and wasn't asking for anything that I hadn't already paid for.

The too small sump pump was in the sellers disclosure. Jim did not have to make us aware of this.

The septic line was something Jim guessed at. *** suggested that they should run a camera to make sure that's what it was but that wasn't followed through with.

As for having one of his men come back on a Saturday to cap the possible septic line and do a "couple of small chores"... Jim said he would send him out (2 weeks later) but we were having heavy rains and the job couldn't wait that long. Jim said it would be at additional charge to us and that we could pay Jorge directly. This was not offered at no cost to us as is insinuated in Jim's response. Because timing was a factor we called *** to assess the situation. They ran a camera and said it was an old septic line leaking under our house and it was necessary to act quickly. So we did.

The last bit in Jim's response about the interaction at our house the last time he was here is not accurate. I won't take the time to address each discrepancy but there are several. *** didn't disappear into the house and make Jim and his crew wait on him. I wasn't hiding out as insinuated. I didn't accuse *** of lying and Jim was talking at a very high volume (yelling) and pointing his finger to name a few.

I did ask questions about the work they had done that I guess Jim interpreted as "picking our work apart." It seems to be a thing at Olson Foundation that customer questions aren't welcomed.

But it's a "he said-she said" game at this point.

The bottom line is, this is all typical of other reviews I've read online about Olson Foundation. The customer, usually the wife, is blamed for being irrational. The work is not done to satisfaction. In one review the customer said they were threatened with small claims court and Jim absolutely did threaten to bill us for work he did that he said was "extra."

Jim clearly feels he has gone above and beyond to "help" us. But to quote other reviews, "In hindsight I would never have hired them." and "It didn't go well."

Regards

Olson Foundation Repair Response • Oct 17, 2019

This response is to respond to the second letter from ***.

I know that she claims that family has nothing to do with business, which in today’s world is almost always true, but relationships are what my business is built on. Obviously, there are many points that *** has revisited from the original complaint and that I have responded to. We have tried our hardest to resolve this situation with the ***’s, but obviously, are at an impasse. However, there are 3 things that I need to make sure everyone is clear on.

1) She is using the guy who was the original problem as a material witness. The same one that she had obvious problems with. He was let go because of this job, and we sent a second man out to fix his problems. As for me saying it was costing me money, it had nothing to do with the original quote, but the fact that I had my men dig a trench around her crawlspace and haul in gravel to allow water to make it to her inadequate sump pit and pump. She stated in her response that she was aware that the existing pit and pump were a problem, so obviously, she knew it needed replacing, which is what she ultimately had done. I had given her a price for that also.

As for her saying that we were going to have someone come out and scope the septic line, there is obviously a major breakdown in communication. We are not a plumbing company with equipment to do that, nor is a plumbing issue our responsibility. I’m assuming that’s why she had a plumber come out immediately. I did offer my men on a Saturday to come out and dig up the line and cap it at my own expense, which should show that we were bending over backwards to accommodate her. Obviously, it wasn’t good enough for her and she hired the plumber on the spot to take care of the issue which was a plumbing issue. As for me, guessing at the septic line, it was after my conversation with her next door neighbor only to find out that all of the homes in their neighborhood were on a septic made my guess pretty calculated to say the least.

2. When I saw the age and condition of their air conditioning unit, there was no way I was going to be held liable for breaking the line set or anything else that could go wrong, and told them that they would have to have the unit removed professionally to add dirt. Please note that this was never in our original bid, and if it was, we would have told her the same thing.

3. I have witnesses to the whole event, and would be happy to let you talk to them. I never yelled at her, nor did I point my finger at her. After her accusing my son of saying something that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt he would not say, and saying he was not being truthful, that’s when I pointed my finger in the air pointing up (not at her) because I was making a point that my son wasn’t a liar. After her accusation, I told both of them that I was not pointing at her, and even told *** to let her know that was not how it was meant, and was sorry if she took it that way.

As for *** going into the house, please ask him, not ***, if he went into the house. He was in there long enough that I finally told my guys to load the truck and move on to the next job. Ask *** if our original agreement was to have *** present when work was being done, so there were no more complications. She never came outside until my guys were loading and ready to go. *** is right that there are some comments on other sights (not Revdex.com) that do not investigate, and therefore all we can do is respond to them which we have. It is difficult to please 100% of the people 100% of the time, but I can assure you that we attempt to, 100% of the time. That is why if you check our record with the Revdex.com, we are in excellent standing.

I’m not sure any more responses are needed from me, and I’m not going to spend any more time with this. I also offered multiple times to have a third, independent party mediate this, and she refused.

Customer Response • Oct 31, 2019

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]

Complaint: ***

I am rejecting this response because:

To Whom It May Concern at the Revdex.com:

I have tried to keep to the point with my comments but I must clarify some of what Olson has said in his responses that are not accurate. While I realize that you need to hear both sides of the story, at the end of the day, regardless of how we relate the story and how Olson relates the story, we still have a swale that is not functioning as originally and contractually agreed upon. Our disagreement on how it all happened doesn't matter when the contract says we'll have a (functioning) swale and after we paid the money...there is not a swale that functions properly.

I must correct Olson's account of him offering to "dig up the line and cap it at my own expense, which should show that we were bending over backwards to accommodate her" because it's completely false. And why would he offer that when he also said in the same response that, "We are not a plumbing company...nor is a plumbing issue our responsibility." ? He offered to send his guy (not a plumber) out on a Saturday, two weeks after I spoke with him, knowing we had standing water under our house, and told us we could pay his guy directly (not Olson Foundation) for the work. Saying he'd get to it two weeks later and telling us to cover the cost is not "bending over backwards." Which is when we called *** who sent a guy (an certified plumber) out the very next day to take care of our problem. It was obviously the intelligent thing to do on our part in order to take care of our home. Because no, it wasn't "good enough for her (me)" to let water continue to run out of the pipe and sit under my house for two weeks!

Olson mentions that the age of the AC was why he chose to let the unit stay sinking backwards while ignoring the fact that it started to sink because of where his guys had redirected the water with the swale. Which would be why it wasn't in the original bid as it wasn't a problem before the swale work.

Asking the Revdex.com to "...please ask him (***), not ***..." and "Ask *** if our original agreement was to have *** present..." suggest that I am not to be believed or trusted with relaying the story of our trouble with his company. I'm not sure what Olson's problem is with dealing with women. In a complaint on another site he made a similar comment about the wife in that situation.

I would also point out that Olson gave a detailed play-by-play of the original inspection period of our home to current day, (current as of the day he wrote it.) He was not present at any of those 1st appointments so at best he was repeating 2nd or 3rd hand information and we all know that is a great way to get facts, if not partially wrong, completely wrong. I would ask the Revdex.com to not publically publish Jim's little memoir of the purchase of our home. I believe it to be gossiping and unprofessional to offer other peoples personal information the way he did. Jim didn't actually personally enter the story till days/weeks later.

Olson's original foreman, who though his manners were quite lacking, ended up being very right about the swale. It's interesting that in the last response Olson said, "He (the foreman) was let go because of this his job..."

In conclusion, we are still dealing with problems while Olson is very adamant that the swale was done correctly. As recent as the last couple of days with this bit of first snow on the ground, we have a mini frozen pond under our back gate, at the "end" of the swale.

To the Revdex.com, thank you for your time. I had hoped to avoid more of the same tired discussion with Olson by reporting our story to you, a neutral third party. If our story helps even one other customer to avoid the troubles we've experienced, to be a little less trusting in their business dealings and not pay in full until the job is done as it should be, it seems that is all we will have left to benefit from this business transaction with Olson Foundation.

Regards

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Address: 10612 Blue Ridge Blvd Unit A, Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64134-1928

Monday:
08:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Tuesday:
08:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Wednesday:
08:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Thursday:
08:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Friday:
08:00 AM - 04:30 PM
Saturday:
Sunday:

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+1 (913) 538-6351

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