One thing I want to make clear is that MrA [redacted] did NOT bring up the topic of demolishing the stairwell until AFTER his proposed solution of adding a French drain and filling the erosion cavity under the stairwellAt which point he recommended contacting a mason (when DES was perfectly capable of performing the fix as recommended by the Owner Mark) DES did a great job with the scope of the work, but failed with regard to providing a solution which would solve the issue we hired them to come for (solving our sump pit issue)We realize there were other things that were not related to the stairwell that were added on to the French drains and rock bed which DES did a great job with When scoping out the project, MrA [redacted] mentioned an alternative option to stopping the water flow causing our issue by installing more French drains further up on our hill to stop the waterThis was the only other scope discussed that he mentioned they could do in a phase if we wanted that doneNo cost estimate was discussed and no budget was given by us to David as we didn't have one at the time of entering the contract (yet another remark)We are thankful additional work was not done here as this would have not solved any issue Rather than continuing to point out all the clear deceptions of David's stories for days, we would like to notify future customers who have an complex issue, to request the Owner Mark L [redacted] instead of David A [redacted] to avoid having the project not get scoped appropriately and to avoid spending money on other things which still don't fix your issueClearly a 2k expense would have been something we would have done given we spent 5,on all other thingsIf this would have been recommended, we wouldn't have had a flooded basement Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing the date's at which Mark L [redacted] came out to WORK on a COUPLE of occasionsHe only came to meet with us ONE time, and when he did he said he would have recommended a different solution (tearing out the pit, pouring in new concrete) and apologized for this recommendation not being provided by DavidWe have learned that for complex projects, consumers should request Mark or look to another service provider as David did not have the experience nor the professionalism with his defensive remarks to save his reputation
Drainage and Erosion Solutions performs work specified on our contracts and is discussed in great depth with our clients prior to signingWe have documented pictures of this entire project, with each system performing as guaranteed and beautiful landscaping, downspouts extended in PVC, new Fescue sod, French Drain, ft dry creek bed, grading, etc[redacted] contracted Drainage and Erosion Solutions to perform a variety of landscaping, drainage and repair work in different areas of his property to manage surface water runoff, erosion and behind the property where it was going over his patio down his stairwell.Drainage and Erosion was contracted to perform the following tasks:- Remove/dispose mature Holly trees and grade yard around house and patio for positive drainage away from house and stairwell (they were using sand bags to dam water from flowing down the stairs)- Install a ft dry creek bed from house down to lower yard to contain a river of water flowing towards their house.- Extend downspouts to exit into dry creek bed using PVC pipe and cleanouts.- Install ft exterior French drain along patio and stairwell area.- Testing of all downspouts and a ft extension of a downspout in the front of the house.- Installed sq ft of Fescue sod and amended topsoil.- Installed mulch and disposed/transplanted over mature Azalea bushes.All work was performed at a price of about $5,with a discount given per the client’s request.What [redacted] fails to mention is that he contracted a previous company to install a sump pump/crock in his stairwell which was faulty, and somehow hoped that solving all the other issues he had inherited with his new house, would solve the unrelated problem of a poorly designed and installed system which was allowing sediment to leach from down in the stairwell (completely unrelated to the work we performed)He asked us to inspect under his upper stoop and repair a cavity and clean out his existing faulty sump pump crock.I warned [redacted] from the beginning of the possibility that he may have to call the company who installed his sump pump back and have them repair it because the problem seemed unrelated from the beginning and would be a separate cost if we were to install the entire system.We immediately responded to [redacted] several times to reiterate what we said about the faulty pump which we were never contracted to remove and repairMark Lane, owner, returned at no charge, because [redacted] insisted we help him and even worked on the pump with [redacted] to get it to function correctly, by trying to adjust the fittings and drilling relief holes.We offered to remove the faulty sump pump system and install a new system, at a discount cost to help him out but they said they didn’t want to spend more money [redacted] indicated that they had been unable to get a hold of the company who installed their sump pump crock/system incorrectly, so they would keep trying.We are glad that [redacted] was finally able to get a hold of the company who initially installed the faulty sump pumpWe are very fair and go above and beyond what we promise our clients on most jobs.Sincerely,Drainage and Erosion Solutions Fairfax LLC
This is the response letter prepared by our designer, Evan A***: **and [redacted] , It has come to my attention that you have reached out to the Revdex.com regarding the integrity and functionality of a drainage system that Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC installed in your yardI am deeply sorry you feel in such a wayLast we had spoken was after we had returned to expose the pipe you had assured me was leakingAfter we excavated and found that there was upwelling water in that area and not a leaky pipe, I had written up a discounted contract offering a solution to the newly found problemThe drainage system we installed, and I explained to you, was to re-grade along the foundation for positive drainage and extend downspouts and a sump pump discharge to improve yard area and reduce the amount of surface water flowing through the backyard area, and also reduce the amount of water that your foundation drain was encounteringWhen on site, the multiple times you had me come out to inspect the system, I actually noticed a great decrease in the amount of water coming from the sump pump after and during a rain eventPlease remember when I explained this project might need to be evaluated in several phases, and the most critical phase in any well designed drainage system is how to handle focalized volumes of water gathering around the foundation and uphillI am sorry you have not tried to reach out to me before making the decision to goto the Revdex.comI am here to stand by my clients, but also my projectsI hope you consider giving us a second chance to mitigate the existing small amount of work left to completely solve your drainage needs Thanks, Evan A [redacted] Project Manager/Drainage Specialist ***@drainageanderosion.com Mobile#( [redacted]
We have tried numerous times to try to resolve this dispute after the initial contact was made by the client at the end of June.Our representative went out to inspect the issue, but a new homeowner had already performed some work on the basement and a follow up appointment was set with the owner to evaluate further before warranty work was performed.I spoke with [redacted] to set a time to go out and continue the evaluation/warranty claim today and she began cussing at me and only wants a full refund, so I declined to continue the conversation.We have not had an opportunity to inspect or repair the waterproofing fully, including the ability to excavate the area we worked on, and the new homeowner is not cooperative.We need to perform warranty work and will not honor the warranty if the third party they contracted begins work where we performed work before allowing us to correct any problems, if they exist.Please contact Mark L [redacted] at ###-###-#### to set up a warranty call.thank you, [redacted] A***Operations Manager
This person did not contract Drainage and Erosion Solutions to perform work.We are surprised Revdex.com would even publish this review.We tried to help and offered to inspect what they were referring to.We were not allowed to perform warranty work, even after offering to perform warranty work to this new homeowner, to areas we worked on.They are demanding money from our company, even though they did not pay us for any work, yet contracted new companies to fix our work?This person cusses on the phone when we try to schedule a service request,and has been hostile each time we've tried to help them.Something doesn't make sense...Drainage and Erosion Solutions
We have informed *** *** on many occasions that we would refund her deposit and reimburse her for the returned check feeWe can do this either through a credit card refund or a certified checkShe has spoken with our office manager, Jeanette G***, as she described in her letter*** ***
speaks for me and has followed my instructions to resolve this issue. I have not had time to speak with *** *** myself, but I have authorized the refund and reimbursementFor some reason, she will not allow us to move forward with either option (credit card or check) until we agree to pay her interest, which will are under no obligation to do and will not do*** *** needs to inform us as to the exact amount of the bank fee she was charged so we can add this to the refund amountFor the record, her request of 15% interest is not proper and is an illegal amount of interest to chargeI believe she meant to say 15% APR, which would total about $were we to agree to pay this.In order to expedite this matter, we will obtain a certified check tomorrow in the amount of the initial deposit plus a bank charge fee of $(assumed amount) and mail this to her.Kind regards,Ken F*Owner
This is the direct reply from our project manager, Evan A***, who is most familiar with this project:***, I see you rejected our comment and I was prepared for that. I see you said in your comment that you stated "French drains do not equate to a small amount of work." I was wondering who was the drainage professional that made that determination and stated that our system is not working. The small 20', or possibly less, of french drain equates to approximateley $for us to install itIn the end without the mobilization charge that would be discounted, and the charge to cut across the large asphalt driveway that is actively damning water in the low area of your backyard for approx 20' to adapt a 4" drain pipe to terminate to wood line would be around $1300, with a 10-year warranty, just like the functioning system at your home
The reason I did not provide a proposal is because the manner you and your husband took toward me after I had told you that it might be a little more work after repeatedly returning to inspect the fully functioning systemSo I did what anybody naturally would do and back away from the volatile situation that you and your husband started brewing between DES and yourselfs. Remember that you are on a hill and just so happens that currently the wettest part of your yard is also the lowest, thus more drainage needed if we have not placed any drainage in that areaHow can we warranty something that is not installed?
I find it hard to believe your yard is worse so I want you to test the system yourself with a hose on a dry day and tell me were all the water is goingIt will slowly trickle through the large 6" Diameter SOLID, Glued, PVC pipe to a drainage Outlet constructed using 1" to 3" river jack gravelWhen at capacity the 6" pipe will disperse the large amount of water from all the uphill focalized volumes of water, sump pump discharge and roof water runoff upward through the pdrain emitterWhen the active outflow subsides it will then collect at the pdrain emitter and seep through the weep hole you described in your reply. Please note again that the water accumulating at the pmight take a day or two to runoff because the soils are already fully saturated from diverting your sump discharge away from the middle of your backyard to outside your yard so that makes the percolation rate much slowerAlso keep in mind that none of the drainage systems installed by DES allow water to infiltrate from the low Corner of your yard, which makes our warranty non-applicable. Again, I will be happy to resolve this situation only if we can move forward in a more friendly mannerI do hope to hear back from you soon.
Thanks,
Evan A***
Project Manager/Drainage Specialist
***@drainageanderosion.com
Mobile####-###-####
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may...
update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted] From: [redacted] <[redacted]net>Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 8:23 PMSubject: Fwd: Complaint #[redacted]To: [redacted] <[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org>, Ken F[redacted] <[redacted]@drainageanderosion.com>[redacted], I received my deposit minus a cancellation charge. Considering everything -- Fair enough.Thanks [redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID...
[redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted] has stated many things that are not true and not detailed on the contract we have signed, and could not be further from how our discussion went on the times we met and performed the work. They hoped that solving the numerous issues they had in their yard, including landscaping work we performed would somehow fix a poorly designed sump pump system in their basement stairwell that was leaking sediment and water from the seams.Had we been contracted specifically to demolish his entire staircase and rebuild the system his previous contractors botched, the contract would reflect that. We discussed that a few times and the cost would have been triple that of the work we were discussing which would not have addressed the other problems around their entire house. They chose to fix all the other issues and not demolish and reconstruct the stairwell and faulty system previously installed for a much higher price. On estimates, we make it a point to discuss all options, costs and ways to approach drainage issues, especially if it involves work that was already performed by a different company previously and is incorrectly installed.D.E.S. graded planter beds on the opposite side of his house, extended downspouts on the opposite side of the house. He asked us to control water and mud coming from a side property that had been recently built and caused changes in water flow and erosion in his yard. How can this be construed as useless? We built a massive dry creek bed at discount for them per their request, which had nothing to do with the issue they are referring to. At this point they are fabricating so many things that are irrelevant to what we were contracted for there is nothing really to discuss.He took us around his house and contracted us (per clear details on contract) to repair the erosion, surface water damage and new drainage patterns in his yard caused by a new mansion built uphill from him, hoping it would alleviate the poorly designed sump system in his stairwell without having to spend more than their 6k budget. They hoped that all these improvements and repairs to surface water in his yard would address a very poorly designed and built sump pump system in his basement stairwell, where we did not even work.It is preposterous to say the drainage features D.E.S. installed including several buried extensions for downspouts, substantial dry creek bed, extensive grading, new sod, removal and replanting of bushes, mulch, massive erosion repair under his basement walkout among other things CLEARLY detailed on the written contract, are not functional.We still don't understand why [redacted] insist we pay for additional work not detailed on our contract and expect us to demolish and reconstruct a system someone else incorrectly installed, that is unrelated to the improvements we made to their property drainage. We also don't understand why he chooses to state we said many untrue things and makes a variety of unfair assumptions about our expertise and capabilities.To say we never pointed out his faulty sump system and why silt was washing through his exterior crock that we never were contracted to fix is not true. We definitely discussed that faulty work by the previous contractor on several occasions and asked him to contact them to review their work. He stated they were not coming back, and he had tried to contact them multiple times as they were the ones who installed it.We guarantee all our work for at least 5 years, everything we install we stand behind. We have hundreds of clients each year who are very satisfied, and we are proud of our track record. We will never repair previous faulty work a different company performed without a detailed contract stating that work and limitations to warranties due to previous faulty installation.We have hundreds of amazing A+ reviews on many customer satisfaction websites such as [redacted], Revdex.com, [redacted] and many more. There is not one waterproofing, patio, or drainage system that we have failed at, or have not adjusted to work perfectly. We are very fair and our reviews speak for themselves. This client is unfair and needs to call the company who installed their stairwell system for a refund not D.E.S.Mark L[redacted], the owner of the company, went out on a couple occasions and did work for FREE to help them, and this is how we are treated? I invite anyone reading this unfair review to look at all the amazing and glowing reviews we have on [redacted] and others. I will personally send references if anyone needs them. This is an unfair and abusive demand. We don't understand how [redacted] chose to be so adamant about taking our money, when we didn't install the faulty system they are referring to and we were not contracted to repair it. We will not be issuing any refunds or paying for any work we did not perform, and we stand behind all the features we installed at the [redacted]'s property - downspout extensions, grading, dry creek beds, french drains in yard, sod, buried conduits for electrical wires, and other improvements detailed on contract for $5,450.David A[redacted], Operations Manager
This is the response letter prepared by our designer, Evan A[redacted]:
**. and [redacted], It has come to my attention that you have reached out to the Revdex.com regarding the integrity and functionality of a drainage system that Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC installed...
in your yard. I am deeply sorry you feel in such a way. Last we had spoken was after we had returned to expose the pipe you had assured me was leaking. After we excavated and found that there was upwelling water in that area and not a leaky pipe, I had written up a discounted contract offering a solution to the newly found problem. The drainage system we installed, and I explained to you, was to re-grade along the foundation for positive drainage and extend downspouts and a sump pump discharge to improve yard area and reduce the amount of surface water flowing through the backyard area, and also reduce the amount of water that your foundation drain was encountering. When on site, the multiple times you had me come out to inspect the system, I actually noticed a great decrease in the amount of water coming from the sump pump after and during a rain event. Please remember when I explained this project might need to be evaluated in several phases, and the most critical phase in any well designed drainage system is how to handle focalized volumes of water gathering around the foundation and uphill. I am sorry you have not tried to reach out to me before making the decision to goto the Revdex.com. I am here to stand by my clients, but also my projects. I hope you consider giving us a second chance to mitigate the existing small amount of work left to completely solve your drainage needs.
Thanks,
Evan A[redacted]
Project Manager/Drainage Specialist
[redacted]@drainageanderosion.com
Mobile#([redacted]
[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 Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
[redacted],
I’m not even certain how to begin to position a response to
your inflammatory comments, which are positioned to act as your remediation to
a problem reported by your client.
Clearly, you have no interest in fixing the issue that has been reported
to the Revdex.com, or you would have made a more concentrated
effort to address a way to fix the core of the problem by physically committing
to a repair of the problem instead of trying to continue to market yourself for
additional money via more work (though a very unique approach in attempting to
do so by insulting your client and submitting inflammatory remarks). Though you appear to believe that my husband
and I are incapable of assessing whether or not water is draining from a pipe,
I assure you that we are both highly educated individuals. My husband could easily give you a good run
for your money on any aspect of engineering, whether mechanical or technical in
nature.
I don’t wish to engage in an embattled game of insults via
email exchanges such that you clearly intend to present, the insult of paying
for a service which clearly was not rendered is enough of an insult. The issue is simple and remains the problem
at-hand. My husband and I paid you and
your company to fix a drainage problem, and the problem was not fixed. As a matter of fact, your fix has exacerbated
the situation. There were no caveats and
no conditions applied by you or by your company towards fixing the problem we
asked to have repaired. We did not set a
dollar amount, nor did we set any constraints as to what the repairs needed to
entail. We simply defined our
requirement to a company which claimed to have the expertise to fix our problem. You submitted a proposed fix via your
proposal. We paid you to do the work,
and the services you provided did not fix the problem you were hired to alleviate. It’s that simple. Not sure how else we can describe the
problem. If you paid someone to fix your
transmission and the person accepted your money and worked on your
transmission, only to have it break down again the month after it was repaired,
I highly doubt that you would accept a response of, “well, I did the work and
fixed the problem, it must be something that you are doing.” This is precisely what you are conveying in
your response. Taking pictures of eight
feet or so of the pipe lying in the dirt does nothing to respond to the problem
that there is no drainage occurring from the pipe you installed and it is
draining into our yard instead. Sound
familiar? It should, it’s the same
problem we have been defining to you for the past seven months or so.
To be clear of the facts,
· * You have never met with my husband and me
together at the same time such that you claim in your note where you believe we
were terse with you or presenting a combative or “volatile” situation toward
you.
· * You never stated in writing or otherwise that
your proposed fix may not resolve our problem (though you certainly accepted
our payment).
· * You never stated in writing or otherwise that it
may take multiple attempts to repair the problem. If you had, we would have requested that this
be injected into your proposal as a condition of the repair for which you would
have held accountability towards.
· * You/Drainage Erosion Systems never provided any type of
“maintenance” description toward your work such that you claim was required by
the homeowner to prevent whatever problem that is occurring that you continue
to be unable to define and/or to correct.
To contradict your comment/suspicion, my husband has run a
hose down into all three points of the drain interfaces (both down spouts and
the sump pump discharge) and the water fails to discharge from your installed
“drain emitter,” regardless of how long you leave the hose on or how high the
water volume or pressure is. It does not
take a rocket scientist to determine that water intake should follow the path
of the pipes and exit via your “drain emitter.”
The “drain emitter” is dry as a bone, but our yard remains saturated.
Are we frustrated? We
have tried patience, kindness, and professional ethics. Nothing we have attempted has invoked a
repair, just excuses and insults. Most
individuals would have exhausted their patience after having had your “team”
come to their house multiple times to get the pipe installed in the first
place. Then again, most companies would
have stood behind their work and provided client services to extend follow-up
in ensuring that the issue their client had reported and been paid to fix,
related to the work they performed, was sufficiently addressed. That did not happen, so here we are as we turned
to an agency that we felt might provide assistance in getting the issue
properly addressed.
Regards,
[redacted]
Drainage and Erosion Solutions performs work specified on our contracts and is discussed in great depth with our clients prior to signing. We have documented pictures of this entire project, with each system performing as guaranteed and beautiful landscaping, downspouts extended in PVC, new Fescue...
sod, French Drain, 100 ft dry creek bed, grading, etc.[redacted] contracted Drainage and Erosion Solutions to perform a variety of landscaping, drainage and repair work in different areas of his property to manage surface water runoff, erosion and behind the property where it was going over his patio down his stairwell.Drainage and Erosion was contracted to perform the following tasks:- Remove/dispose 4 mature Holly trees and grade yard around house and patio for positive drainage away from house and stairwell (they were using sand bags to dam water from flowing down the stairs)- Install a 120 ft dry creek bed from house down to lower yard to contain a river of water flowing towards their house.- Extend downspouts to exit into dry creek bed using PVC pipe and cleanouts.- Install 20 ft exterior French drain along patio and stairwell area.- Testing of all downspouts and a 20 ft extension of a downspout in the front of the house.- Installed 600 sq ft of Fescue sod and amended topsoil.- Installed mulch and disposed/transplanted over 10 mature Azalea bushes.All work was performed at a price of about $5,000 with a discount given per the client’s request.What [redacted] fails to mention is that he contracted a previous company to install a sump pump/crock in his stairwell which was faulty, and somehow hoped that solving all the other issues he had inherited with his new house, would solve the unrelated problem of a poorly designed and installed system which was allowing sediment to leach from down in the stairwell (completely unrelated to the work we performed). He asked us to inspect under his upper stoop and repair a cavity and clean out his existing faulty sump pump crock.I warned [redacted] from the beginning of the possibility that he may have to call the company who installed his sump pump back and have them repair it because the problem seemed unrelated from the beginning and would be a separate cost if we were to install the entire system.We immediately responded to [redacted] several times to reiterate what we said about the faulty pump which we were never contracted to remove and repair. Mark Lane, owner, returned at no charge, because [redacted] insisted we help him and even worked on the pump with [redacted] to get it to function correctly, by trying to adjust the fittings and drilling relief holes.We offered to remove the faulty sump pump system and install a new system, at a discount cost to help him out but they said they didn’t want to spend more money. [redacted] indicated that they had been unable to get a hold of the company who installed their sump pump crock/system incorrectly, so they would keep trying.We are glad that [redacted] was finally able to get a hold of the company who initially installed the faulty sump pump. We are very fair and go above and beyond what we promise our clients on most jobs.Sincerely,Drainage and Erosion Solutions Fairfax LLC
One thing I want to make clear is that Mr. A[redacted] did NOT bring up the topic of demolishing the stairwell until AFTER his proposed solution of adding a French drain and filling the erosion cavity under the stairwell. At which point he recommended contacting a mason (when DES was perfectly capable of performing the fix as recommended by the Owner Mark).
DES did a great job with the scope of the work, but failed with regard to providing a solution which would solve the issue we hired them to come for (solving our sump pit issue). We realize there were other things that were not related to the stairwell that were added on to the French drains and rock bed which DES did a great job with.
When scoping out the project, Mr. A[redacted] mentioned an alternative option to stopping the water flow causing our issue by installing more French drains further up on our hill to stop the water. This was the only other scope discussed that he mentioned they could do in a phase 2 if we wanted that done. No cost estimate was discussed and no budget was given by us to David as we didn't have one at the time of entering the contract (yet another false remark). We are thankful additional work was not done here as this would have not solved any issue.
Rather than continuing to point out all the clear deceptions of David's stories for days, we would like to notify future customers who have an complex issue, to request the Owner Mark L[redacted] instead of David A[redacted] to avoid having the project not get scoped appropriately and to avoid spending money on other things which still don't fix your issue. Clearly a 2k expense would have been something we would have done given we spent 5,450 on all other things. If this would have been recommended, we wouldn't have had a flooded basement.
Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing the date's at which Mark L[redacted] came out to WORK on a COUPLE of occasions. He only came to meet with us ONE time, and when he did he said he would have recommended a different solution (tearing out the pit, pouring in new concrete) and apologized for this recommendation not being provided by David. We have learned that for complex projects, consumers should request Mark or look to another service provider as David did not have the experience nor the professionalism with his defensive false remarks to save his reputation.
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID
[redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory . The refund
amount should include the bank fee of $35 and initial payment of $3,466 (at
minimum). It is only fair for the company to pay interest (yes, APR) for the company’s
delay in issuing the refund.
For the record, [redacted] and the company’s account manager said the company could not issue
a certified check. I requested a certified check numerous times because the
company's bank check bounced for insufficient funds last week and because I was
initially told the company could not issue a refund via credit card and
had to issue the refund via check. If the company could have issued the refund via credit card, then the refund should have been issued via credit
card weeks ago when the company first agreed to honor my request for a refund and we could have avoided thissituation. However, throughout
the process (until last week), the company said this could not be done.
It is very unfortunate that
I had to go through Revdex.com for the owner tofinally take my complaint serious and respond directly to my request.
I am happy to hear the company
will now be able to issue a refund via certified check. The certified check should be
mailed to me at [redacted]. Since the
first check supposedly was sent to the wrong address, I also request to receive
confirmation from the company of when the check is mailed and to where it is
mailed (perhaps using the [redacted] tracking system). Regards,
[redacted]
One thing I want to make clear is that MrA [redacted] did NOT bring up the topic of demolishing the stairwell until AFTER his proposed solution of adding a French drain and filling the erosion cavity under the stairwellAt which point he recommended contacting a mason (when DES was perfectly capable of performing the fix as recommended by the Owner Mark) DES did a great job with the scope of the work, but failed with regard to providing a solution which would solve the issue we hired them to come for (solving our sump pit issue)We realize there were other things that were not related to the stairwell that were added on to the French drains and rock bed which DES did a great job with When scoping out the project, MrA [redacted] mentioned an alternative option to stopping the water flow causing our issue by installing more French drains further up on our hill to stop the waterThis was the only other scope discussed that he mentioned they could do in a phase if we wanted that doneNo cost estimate was discussed and no budget was given by us to David as we didn't have one at the time of entering the contract (yet another remark)We are thankful additional work was not done here as this would have not solved any issue Rather than continuing to point out all the clear deceptions of David's stories for days, we would like to notify future customers who have an complex issue, to request the Owner Mark L [redacted] instead of David A [redacted] to avoid having the project not get scoped appropriately and to avoid spending money on other things which still don't fix your issueClearly a 2k expense would have been something we would have done given we spent 5,on all other thingsIf this would have been recommended, we wouldn't have had a flooded basement Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing the date's at which Mark L [redacted] came out to WORK on a COUPLE of occasionsHe only came to meet with us ONE time, and when he did he said he would have recommended a different solution (tearing out the pit, pouring in new concrete) and apologized for this recommendation not being provided by DavidWe have learned that for complex projects, consumers should request Mark or look to another service provider as David did not have the experience nor the professionalism with his defensive remarks to save his reputation
A refund check was mailed out today
Drainage and Erosion Solutions performs work specified on our contracts and is discussed in great depth with our clients prior to signingWe have documented pictures of this entire project, with each system performing as guaranteed and beautiful landscaping, downspouts extended in PVC, new Fescue sod, French Drain, ft dry creek bed, grading, etc[redacted] contracted Drainage and Erosion Solutions to perform a variety of landscaping, drainage and repair work in different areas of his property to manage surface water runoff, erosion and behind the property where it was going over his patio down his stairwell.Drainage and Erosion was contracted to perform the following tasks:- Remove/dispose mature Holly trees and grade yard around house and patio for positive drainage away from house and stairwell (they were using sand bags to dam water from flowing down the stairs)- Install a ft dry creek bed from house down to lower yard to contain a river of water flowing towards their house.- Extend downspouts to exit into dry creek bed using PVC pipe and cleanouts.- Install ft exterior French drain along patio and stairwell area.- Testing of all downspouts and a ft extension of a downspout in the front of the house.- Installed sq ft of Fescue sod and amended topsoil.- Installed mulch and disposed/transplanted over mature Azalea bushes.All work was performed at a price of about $5,with a discount given per the client’s request.What [redacted] fails to mention is that he contracted a previous company to install a sump pump/crock in his stairwell which was faulty, and somehow hoped that solving all the other issues he had inherited with his new house, would solve the unrelated problem of a poorly designed and installed system which was allowing sediment to leach from down in the stairwell (completely unrelated to the work we performed)He asked us to inspect under his upper stoop and repair a cavity and clean out his existing faulty sump pump crock.I warned [redacted] from the beginning of the possibility that he may have to call the company who installed his sump pump back and have them repair it because the problem seemed unrelated from the beginning and would be a separate cost if we were to install the entire system.We immediately responded to [redacted] several times to reiterate what we said about the faulty pump which we were never contracted to remove and repairMark Lane, owner, returned at no charge, because [redacted] insisted we help him and even worked on the pump with [redacted] to get it to function correctly, by trying to adjust the fittings and drilling relief holes.We offered to remove the faulty sump pump system and install a new system, at a discount cost to help him out but they said they didn’t want to spend more money [redacted] indicated that they had been unable to get a hold of the company who installed their sump pump crock/system incorrectly, so they would keep trying.We are glad that [redacted] was finally able to get a hold of the company who initially installed the faulty sump pumpWe are very fair and go above and beyond what we promise our clients on most jobs.Sincerely,Drainage and Erosion Solutions Fairfax LLC
This is the response letter prepared by our designer, Evan A***: **and [redacted] , It has come to my attention that you have reached out to the Revdex.com regarding the integrity and functionality of a drainage system that Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC installed in your yardI am deeply sorry you feel in such a wayLast we had spoken was after we had returned to expose the pipe you had assured me was leakingAfter we excavated and found that there was upwelling water in that area and not a leaky pipe, I had written up a discounted contract offering a solution to the newly found problemThe drainage system we installed, and I explained to you, was to re-grade along the foundation for positive drainage and extend downspouts and a sump pump discharge to improve yard area and reduce the amount of surface water flowing through the backyard area, and also reduce the amount of water that your foundation drain was encounteringWhen on site, the multiple times you had me come out to inspect the system, I actually noticed a great decrease in the amount of water coming from the sump pump after and during a rain eventPlease remember when I explained this project might need to be evaluated in several phases, and the most critical phase in any well designed drainage system is how to handle focalized volumes of water gathering around the foundation and uphillI am sorry you have not tried to reach out to me before making the decision to goto the Revdex.comI am here to stand by my clients, but also my projectsI hope you consider giving us a second chance to mitigate the existing small amount of work left to completely solve your drainage needs Thanks, Evan A [redacted] Project Manager/Drainage Specialist ***@drainageanderosion.com Mobile#( [redacted]
We have tried numerous times to try to resolve this dispute after the initial contact was made by the client at the end of June.Our representative went out to inspect the issue, but a new homeowner had already performed some work on the basement and a follow up appointment was set with the owner to evaluate further before warranty work was performed.I spoke with [redacted] to set a time to go out and continue the evaluation/warranty claim today and she began cussing at me and only wants a full refund, so I declined to continue the conversation.We have not had an opportunity to inspect or repair the waterproofing fully, including the ability to excavate the area we worked on, and the new homeowner is not cooperative.We need to perform warranty work and will not honor the warranty if the third party they contracted begins work where we performed work before allowing us to correct any problems, if they exist.Please contact Mark L [redacted] at ###-###-#### to set up a warranty call.thank you, [redacted] A***Operations Manager
We have an unavoidable delay in refunding [redacted] ***'s deposit due to cash flow issuesHe will be sent a check hopefully in the next two weeks
This person did not contract Drainage and Erosion Solutions to perform work.We are surprised Revdex.com would even publish this review.We tried to help and offered to inspect what they were referring to.We were not allowed to perform warranty work, even after offering to perform warranty work to this new homeowner, to areas we worked on.They are demanding money from our company, even though they did not pay us for any work, yet contracted new companies to fix our work?This person cusses on the phone when we try to schedule a service request,and has been hostile each time we've tried to help them.Something doesn't make sense...Drainage and Erosion Solutions
We have informed *** *** on many occasions that we would refund her deposit and reimburse her for the returned check feeWe can do this either through a credit card refund or a certified checkShe has spoken with our office manager, Jeanette G***, as she described in her letter*** ***
*Owner
speaks for me and has followed my instructions to resolve this issue. I have not had time to speak with *** *** myself, but I have authorized the refund and reimbursementFor some reason, she will not allow us to move forward with either option (credit card or check) until we agree to pay her interest, which will are under no obligation to do and will not do*** *** needs to inform us as to the exact amount of the bank fee she was charged so we can add this to the refund amountFor the record, her request of 15% interest is not proper and is an illegal amount of interest to chargeI believe she meant to say 15% APR, which would total about $were we to agree to pay this.In order to expedite this matter, we will obtain a certified check tomorrow in the amount of the initial deposit plus a bank charge fee of $(assumed amount) and mail this to her.Kind regards,Ken F
This is the direct reply from our project manager, Evan A***, who is most familiar with this project:***, I see you rejected our comment and I was prepared for that. I see you said in your comment that you stated "French drains do not equate to a small amount of work." I was wondering who was the drainage professional that made that determination and stated that our system is not working. The small 20', or possibly less, of french drain equates to approximateley $for us to install itIn the end without the mobilization charge that would be discounted, and the charge to cut across the large asphalt driveway that is actively damning water in the low area of your backyard for approx 20' to adapt a 4" drain pipe to terminate to wood line would be around $1300, with a 10-year warranty, just like the functioning system at your home
The reason I did not provide a proposal is because the manner you and your husband took toward me after I had told you that it might be a little more work after repeatedly returning to inspect the fully functioning systemSo I did what anybody naturally would do and back away from the volatile situation that you and your husband started brewing between DES and yourselfs. Remember that you are on a hill and just so happens that currently the wettest part of your yard is also the lowest, thus more drainage needed if we have not placed any drainage in that areaHow can we warranty something that is not installed?
I find it hard to believe your yard is worse so I want you to test the system yourself with a hose on a dry day and tell me were all the water is goingIt will slowly trickle through the large 6" Diameter SOLID, Glued, PVC pipe to a drainage Outlet constructed using 1" to 3" river jack gravelWhen at capacity the 6" pipe will disperse the large amount of water from all the uphill focalized volumes of water, sump pump discharge and roof water runoff upward through the pdrain emitterWhen the active outflow subsides it will then collect at the pdrain emitter and seep through the weep hole you described in your reply. Please note again that the water accumulating at the pmight take a day or two to runoff because the soils are already fully saturated from diverting your sump discharge away from the middle of your backyard to outside your yard so that makes the percolation rate much slowerAlso keep in mind that none of the drainage systems installed by DES allow water to infiltrate from the low Corner of your yard, which makes our warranty non-applicable. Again, I will be happy to resolve this situation only if we can move forward in a more friendly mannerI do hope to hear back from you soon.
Thanks,
Evan A***
Project Manager/Drainage Specialist
***@drainageanderosion.com
Mobile####-###-####
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may...
update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted] From: [redacted] <[redacted]net>Date: Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 8:23 PMSubject: Fwd: Complaint #[redacted]To: [redacted] <[redacted]@myRevdex.com.org>, Ken F[redacted] <[redacted]@drainageanderosion.com>[redacted], I received my deposit minus a cancellation charge. Considering everything -- Fair enough.Thanks [redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID...
[redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]
We have agreed to refund his deposit.
A refund check was mailed out today.
[redacted] has stated many things that are not true and not detailed on the contract we have signed, and could not be further from how our discussion went on the times we met and performed the work. They hoped that solving the numerous issues they had in their yard, including landscaping work we performed would somehow fix a poorly designed sump pump system in their basement stairwell that was leaking sediment and water from the seams.Had we been contracted specifically to demolish his entire staircase and rebuild the system his previous contractors botched, the contract would reflect that. We discussed that a few times and the cost would have been triple that of the work we were discussing which would not have addressed the other problems around their entire house. They chose to fix all the other issues and not demolish and reconstruct the stairwell and faulty system previously installed for a much higher price. On estimates, we make it a point to discuss all options, costs and ways to approach drainage issues, especially if it involves work that was already performed by a different company previously and is incorrectly installed.D.E.S. graded planter beds on the opposite side of his house, extended downspouts on the opposite side of the house. He asked us to control water and mud coming from a side property that had been recently built and caused changes in water flow and erosion in his yard. How can this be construed as useless? We built a massive dry creek bed at discount for them per their request, which had nothing to do with the issue they are referring to. At this point they are fabricating so many things that are irrelevant to what we were contracted for there is nothing really to discuss.He took us around his house and contracted us (per clear details on contract) to repair the erosion, surface water damage and new drainage patterns in his yard caused by a new mansion built uphill from him, hoping it would alleviate the poorly designed sump system in his stairwell without having to spend more than their 6k budget. They hoped that all these improvements and repairs to surface water in his yard would address a very poorly designed and built sump pump system in his basement stairwell, where we did not even work.It is preposterous to say the drainage features D.E.S. installed including several buried extensions for downspouts, substantial dry creek bed, extensive grading, new sod, removal and replanting of bushes, mulch, massive erosion repair under his basement walkout among other things CLEARLY detailed on the written contract, are not functional.We still don't understand why [redacted] insist we pay for additional work not detailed on our contract and expect us to demolish and reconstruct a system someone else incorrectly installed, that is unrelated to the improvements we made to their property drainage. We also don't understand why he chooses to state we said many untrue things and makes a variety of unfair assumptions about our expertise and capabilities.To say we never pointed out his faulty sump system and why silt was washing through his exterior crock that we never were contracted to fix is not true. We definitely discussed that faulty work by the previous contractor on several occasions and asked him to contact them to review their work. He stated they were not coming back, and he had tried to contact them multiple times as they were the ones who installed it.We guarantee all our work for at least 5 years, everything we install we stand behind. We have hundreds of clients each year who are very satisfied, and we are proud of our track record. We will never repair previous faulty work a different company performed without a detailed contract stating that work and limitations to warranties due to previous faulty installation.We have hundreds of amazing A+ reviews on many customer satisfaction websites such as [redacted], Revdex.com, [redacted] and many more. There is not one waterproofing, patio, or drainage system that we have failed at, or have not adjusted to work perfectly. We are very fair and our reviews speak for themselves. This client is unfair and needs to call the company who installed their stairwell system for a refund not D.E.S.Mark L[redacted], the owner of the company, went out on a couple occasions and did work for FREE to help them, and this is how we are treated? I invite anyone reading this unfair review to look at all the amazing and glowing reviews we have on [redacted] and others. I will personally send references if anyone needs them. This is an unfair and abusive demand. We don't understand how [redacted] chose to be so adamant about taking our money, when we didn't install the faulty system they are referring to and we were not contracted to repair it. We will not be issuing any refunds or paying for any work we did not perform, and we stand behind all the features we installed at the [redacted]'s property - downspout extensions, grading, dry creek beds, french drains in yard, sod, buried conduits for electrical wires, and other improvements detailed on contract for $5,450.David A[redacted], Operations Manager
This is the response letter prepared by our designer, Evan A[redacted]:
**. and [redacted], It has come to my attention that you have reached out to the Revdex.com regarding the integrity and functionality of a drainage system that Drainage & Erosion Solutions, LLC installed...
in your yard. I am deeply sorry you feel in such a way. Last we had spoken was after we had returned to expose the pipe you had assured me was leaking. After we excavated and found that there was upwelling water in that area and not a leaky pipe, I had written up a discounted contract offering a solution to the newly found problem. The drainage system we installed, and I explained to you, was to re-grade along the foundation for positive drainage and extend downspouts and a sump pump discharge to improve yard area and reduce the amount of surface water flowing through the backyard area, and also reduce the amount of water that your foundation drain was encountering. When on site, the multiple times you had me come out to inspect the system, I actually noticed a great decrease in the amount of water coming from the sump pump after and during a rain event. Please remember when I explained this project might need to be evaluated in several phases, and the most critical phase in any well designed drainage system is how to handle focalized volumes of water gathering around the foundation and uphill. I am sorry you have not tried to reach out to me before making the decision to goto the Revdex.com. I am here to stand by my clients, but also my projects. I hope you consider giving us a second chance to mitigate the existing small amount of work left to completely solve your drainage needs.
Thanks,
Evan A[redacted]
Project Manager/Drainage Specialist
[redacted]@drainageanderosion.com
Mobile#([redacted]
[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 Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
[redacted],
I’m not even certain how to begin to position a response to
your inflammatory comments, which are positioned to act as your remediation to
a problem reported by your client.
Clearly, you have no interest in fixing the issue that has been reported
to the Revdex.com, or you would have made a more concentrated
effort to address a way to fix the core of the problem by physically committing
to a repair of the problem instead of trying to continue to market yourself for
additional money via more work (though a very unique approach in attempting to
do so by insulting your client and submitting inflammatory remarks). Though you appear to believe that my husband
and I are incapable of assessing whether or not water is draining from a pipe,
I assure you that we are both highly educated individuals. My husband could easily give you a good run
for your money on any aspect of engineering, whether mechanical or technical in
nature.
I don’t wish to engage in an embattled game of insults via
email exchanges such that you clearly intend to present, the insult of paying
for a service which clearly was not rendered is enough of an insult. The issue is simple and remains the problem
at-hand. My husband and I paid you and
your company to fix a drainage problem, and the problem was not fixed. As a matter of fact, your fix has exacerbated
the situation. There were no caveats and
no conditions applied by you or by your company towards fixing the problem we
asked to have repaired. We did not set a
dollar amount, nor did we set any constraints as to what the repairs needed to
entail. We simply defined our
requirement to a company which claimed to have the expertise to fix our problem. You submitted a proposed fix via your
proposal. We paid you to do the work,
and the services you provided did not fix the problem you were hired to alleviate. It’s that simple. Not sure how else we can describe the
problem. If you paid someone to fix your
transmission and the person accepted your money and worked on your
transmission, only to have it break down again the month after it was repaired,
I highly doubt that you would accept a response of, “well, I did the work and
fixed the problem, it must be something that you are doing.” This is precisely what you are conveying in
your response. Taking pictures of eight
feet or so of the pipe lying in the dirt does nothing to respond to the problem
that there is no drainage occurring from the pipe you installed and it is
draining into our yard instead. Sound
familiar? It should, it’s the same
problem we have been defining to you for the past seven months or so.
To be clear of the facts,
· * You have never met with my husband and me
together at the same time such that you claim in your note where you believe we
were terse with you or presenting a combative or “volatile” situation toward
you.
· * You never stated in writing or otherwise that
your proposed fix may not resolve our problem (though you certainly accepted
our payment).
· * You never stated in writing or otherwise that it
may take multiple attempts to repair the problem. If you had, we would have requested that this
be injected into your proposal as a condition of the repair for which you would
have held accountability towards.
· * You/Drainage Erosion Systems never provided any type of
“maintenance” description toward your work such that you claim was required by
the homeowner to prevent whatever problem that is occurring that you continue
to be unable to define and/or to correct.
To contradict your comment/suspicion, my husband has run a
hose down into all three points of the drain interfaces (both down spouts and
the sump pump discharge) and the water fails to discharge from your installed
“drain emitter,” regardless of how long you leave the hose on or how high the
water volume or pressure is. It does not
take a rocket scientist to determine that water intake should follow the path
of the pipes and exit via your “drain emitter.”
The “drain emitter” is dry as a bone, but our yard remains saturated.
Are we frustrated? We
have tried patience, kindness, and professional ethics. Nothing we have attempted has invoked a
repair, just excuses and insults. Most
individuals would have exhausted their patience after having had your “team”
come to their house multiple times to get the pipe installed in the first
place. Then again, most companies would
have stood behind their work and provided client services to extend follow-up
in ensuring that the issue their client had reported and been paid to fix,
related to the work they performed, was sufficiently addressed. That did not happen, so here we are as we turned
to an agency that we felt might provide assistance in getting the issue
properly addressed.
Regards,
[redacted]
Drainage and Erosion Solutions performs work specified on our contracts and is discussed in great depth with our clients prior to signing. We have documented pictures of this entire project, with each system performing as guaranteed and beautiful landscaping, downspouts extended in PVC, new Fescue...
sod, French Drain, 100 ft dry creek bed, grading, etc.[redacted] contracted Drainage and Erosion Solutions to perform a variety of landscaping, drainage and repair work in different areas of his property to manage surface water runoff, erosion and behind the property where it was going over his patio down his stairwell.Drainage and Erosion was contracted to perform the following tasks:- Remove/dispose 4 mature Holly trees and grade yard around house and patio for positive drainage away from house and stairwell (they were using sand bags to dam water from flowing down the stairs)- Install a 120 ft dry creek bed from house down to lower yard to contain a river of water flowing towards their house.- Extend downspouts to exit into dry creek bed using PVC pipe and cleanouts.- Install 20 ft exterior French drain along patio and stairwell area.- Testing of all downspouts and a 20 ft extension of a downspout in the front of the house.- Installed 600 sq ft of Fescue sod and amended topsoil.- Installed mulch and disposed/transplanted over 10 mature Azalea bushes.All work was performed at a price of about $5,000 with a discount given per the client’s request.What [redacted] fails to mention is that he contracted a previous company to install a sump pump/crock in his stairwell which was faulty, and somehow hoped that solving all the other issues he had inherited with his new house, would solve the unrelated problem of a poorly designed and installed system which was allowing sediment to leach from down in the stairwell (completely unrelated to the work we performed). He asked us to inspect under his upper stoop and repair a cavity and clean out his existing faulty sump pump crock.I warned [redacted] from the beginning of the possibility that he may have to call the company who installed his sump pump back and have them repair it because the problem seemed unrelated from the beginning and would be a separate cost if we were to install the entire system.We immediately responded to [redacted] several times to reiterate what we said about the faulty pump which we were never contracted to remove and repair. Mark Lane, owner, returned at no charge, because [redacted] insisted we help him and even worked on the pump with [redacted] to get it to function correctly, by trying to adjust the fittings and drilling relief holes.We offered to remove the faulty sump pump system and install a new system, at a discount cost to help him out but they said they didn’t want to spend more money. [redacted] indicated that they had been unable to get a hold of the company who installed their sump pump crock/system incorrectly, so they would keep trying.We are glad that [redacted] was finally able to get a hold of the company who initially installed the faulty sump pump. We are very fair and go above and beyond what we promise our clients on most jobs.Sincerely,Drainage and Erosion Solutions Fairfax LLC
One thing I want to make clear is that Mr. A[redacted] did NOT bring up the topic of demolishing the stairwell until AFTER his proposed solution of adding a French drain and filling the erosion cavity under the stairwell. At which point he recommended contacting a mason (when DES was perfectly capable of performing the fix as recommended by the Owner Mark).
DES did a great job with the scope of the work, but failed with regard to providing a solution which would solve the issue we hired them to come for (solving our sump pit issue). We realize there were other things that were not related to the stairwell that were added on to the French drains and rock bed which DES did a great job with.
When scoping out the project, Mr. A[redacted] mentioned an alternative option to stopping the water flow causing our issue by installing more French drains further up on our hill to stop the water. This was the only other scope discussed that he mentioned they could do in a phase 2 if we wanted that done. No cost estimate was discussed and no budget was given by us to David as we didn't have one at the time of entering the contract (yet another false remark). We are thankful additional work was not done here as this would have not solved any issue.
Rather than continuing to point out all the clear deceptions of David's stories for days, we would like to notify future customers who have an complex issue, to request the Owner Mark L[redacted] instead of David A[redacted] to avoid having the project not get scoped appropriately and to avoid spending money on other things which still don't fix your issue. Clearly a 2k expense would have been something we would have done given we spent 5,450 on all other things. If this would have been recommended, we wouldn't have had a flooded basement.
Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing the date's at which Mark L[redacted] came out to WORK on a COUPLE of occasions. He only came to meet with us ONE time, and when he did he said he would have recommended a different solution (tearing out the pit, pouring in new concrete) and apologized for this recommendation not being provided by David. We have learned that for complex projects, consumers should request Mark or look to another service provider as David did not have the experience nor the professionalism with his defensive false remarks to save his reputation.
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID
[redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory . The refund
amount should include the bank fee of $35 and initial payment of $3,466 (at
minimum). It is only fair for the company to pay interest (yes, APR) for the company’s
delay in issuing the refund.
For the record, [redacted] and the company’s account manager said the company could not issue
a certified check. I requested a certified check numerous times because the
company's bank check bounced for insufficient funds last week and because I was
initially told the company could not issue a refund via credit card and
had to issue the refund via check. If the company could have issued the refund via credit card, then the refund should have been issued via credit
card weeks ago when the company first agreed to honor my request for a refund and we could have avoided thissituation. However, throughout
the process (until last week), the company said this could not be done.
It is very unfortunate that
I had to go through Revdex.com for the owner tofinally take my complaint serious and respond directly to my request.
I am happy to hear the company
will now be able to issue a refund via certified check. The certified check should be
mailed to me at [redacted]. Since the
first check supposedly was sent to the wrong address, I also request to receive
confirmation from the company of when the check is mailed and to where it is
mailed (perhaps using the [redacted] tracking system). Regards,
[redacted]
We have an unavoidable delay in refunding [redacted]'s deposit due to cash flow issues. He will be sent a check hopefully in the next two weeks.