Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Van Vleet committed to remodeling my home and performed poor work in nearly every trade. They provided me a warranty for one year which they are not living up to. They have left visible seams in wallpaper which they said they would fix, they installed a shower pan instead of tile as designed and quoted without providing a discount, and now I've asked them to follow up on a crack in grout which they are claiming is normal. We had reached out to a separate tiler and he advised that caulk needs to be added. They threatened to take out a mechanic's lien on my property due to withholding payment as the work had not been completed. After issuing payment in good faith, they are now unwilling to honor the warranty they had provided. Van Vleet provides poor workmanship for the premium they are charging.

  Business response

  08/31/2023

  Tile: We responded about the warranty that cracks can happen in tile and are to be expected to which the response we received was the complaint in the BBB.  We historically produce good work and honor warranty work and have since inspected the tile in questioned and agreed it needs to be repaired.  Caulk will be installed as required.

  Wallpaper: The wallpaper was accepted in writing during the construction process.

  Shower pan: The pan in question was a change from the design to the bid project.  The pan was in the accepted contract and bid for a washer & drier and drip dry area.  It was built as bid and accepted.

  Payment: The agreed upon contract includes payment terms.  Payment was requested for completed work but payment was not made per contract terms, thus as standard practice, a mechanics lien process was started.  Payment was provided and then work was completed.

  Quality and Service: We have many happy customers and those customers are quick to recommend us to others.  We am to provide high quality work with professionalism.

  Customer response

  09/01/2023

  Complaint: 20516024
  
  I am rejecting this response because: of several discrepancies with Van Vleet's response to my original concerns. 

  The first of which being the wallpaper in the powder bath. I've now gone ahead and included several emails where I communicated that the delivered state of the project was unacceptable. I even attempted to withhold payment until this was resolved which Van Vleet responded by threatening to take a lien out on my property. As mentioned several times in the emails I've now attached, I would like the powder bath to be delivered with the pattern lining up and the cornice being removed. I understand that during the installation of the ceiling tiles that the wallpaper was damaged and I can accept leaving the cornice in place, however having 2 wallpaper seams in a a powder room is unacceptable. 

  The second being that the shower pan was not agreed to for the laundry closet. I've attached the revised designs which includes tile samples that the quote was based on as well as drainage for this room being included. We did not receive a credit nor discount for Van Vleet moving forward with the less expensive design that was not approved by us. The tradesperson arrived with the shower pan while Van Vleet was not on site and began to install it. This was not communicated to us in advance, nor were we compensated for the lesser solution. 

  Appreciate Van Vleet for acknowledging that the grout needs to be repaired with caulk as our tile contact had mentioned. This request was originally sent to them via email and they negated their responsibility to make the repairs, so we are glad that there is a commitment to complete this repair, although a date or time have not been set. 

  We chose Van Vleet to complete our home remodel because of their commitment to effective communication and timeliness of completing projects. This was not our experience and are simply looking to have Van Vleet now honor the remodel they contracted after payment has been issued in full. If Van Vleet does not work with tradespeople that are skilled in the designs these projects were contracted under, then we are also willing to accept a refund. 

  
  Regards,
  
  Kelly Abdon

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  Wallpaper: I spoke with the installer this week who said the homeowner accepted her repair to the work with no complaints at the time of work a year ago.  The wallpaper installer does not believe that she can improve upon the installation as their are physical limitations to the patter, material, installation method etc. that are all constraints they must work with.

  Shower pan: due to the existing conditions of the home construction, a drain was not technically feasible being that there was not room to tie the drain into the washer drain as a new p-trap would not fit and there was no other near by line to join without additional costs to demo the floor and ceiling in order to find a way to make it work.  The plumber added a studor vent to the dog wash station which was not in scope at a cost that equaled the cost to add the drain to the laundry pan.

  We have purchased the materials and sent several e-mail trying to schedule the tile repair next week but have not received a response from the homeowner.  See attached.

   

  Customer response

  09/25/2023

  Complaint: 20516024
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have gone ahead and attached an email thread from a year ago where I am clearly stating that I was unhappy with the wallpaper installation in the powder bathroom. Given the rooms' very small size, the seams, bumpy walls, and paint covering damaged wallpaper are extremely noticeable. It seems that Van Vleet has hired contractors that were not skilled in the work they committed to doing. Now that the project has been unsatisfactorily completed, they are persistent that the work they completed was industry standard, when they guarantee customer happiness at time of contracting. In the email dated September 12th it seemed VV would repair the wallpaper, which they are now again backing out of. Since the contractor they have worked with to complete this work is unable to align the geometric wallpaper we have chosen, we would prefer to move forward with VV issuing us a check for $5,000 to have this completed correctly by another contractor whom is not affiliated with VV. 

   

  I've attached a second email where they provide ~3 working days of notice of when they are able to come on site to repair the cracked grout which they have now agreed to repair. I've reached out several times to attempt to reschedule as I require more notice to accommodate them coming to complete the repairs. VV is no longer responsive. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Kelly Abdon

  Business response

  10/02/2023

  As of last week, we offered to provide the requested $5,000 by the homeowner so they can hire their own contractor to make their desired changes.  We have received no response.

  Customer response

  10/02/2023

  Complaint: 20516024
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have accepted their $5k offer with no response. I had advised VV that I will close the BBB complaint once the check has been received. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Kelly Abdon

  Business response

  10/03/2023

  We agree, we received Abdon's response accepting the $5,000 at the same time we were sending the BBB response, this is just a sequencing of events and lag time error.  

  Customer response

  10/05/2023

  Complaint: 20516024
  
  I am rejecting this response because: VV continues to commit to refunding $5,000, however they are now asking me to close this case as well as remove a public Google review as a sign of good faith. In the past when I had asked them to honor the warranty as a sign of good faith while withholding $2,000, I was told they would not honor the warranty until they had received the check. Even after receiving final payment to remove the mechanics' lien they threatened me with, they still took nearly a week to respond to requests. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Kelly Abdon

  Customer response

  10/10/2023

  Hi Clay, 

  Yes, I have accepted the business' offer of $5,000, but have not received it yet. They had requested I close out the BBB complaint prior to receiving the funds, which I declined.

   

  Kind regards, 

  Kelly 

  Customer response

  10/11/2023

  Hi Clay, 

  While we have agreed that the funds should be refunded, they have not been received. Can the case remain open until the check has been sent? 

   

  -Kelly 

  Customer response

  10/30/2023

  Hi Clay, 

  I just wanted to follow up as I have not received the agreed upon refund in the agreed upon timeframe. Can we reopen this case? 

   

  Kind regards, 

  Kelly 

  Business response

  10/30/2023

   

  Check for agreed upon amount was hand delivered to the post office on Friday October 27th in the afternoon.  Kelly has been personally notified of this information.  Upon receipt of check issue should be resolved. 

  Customer response

  11/06/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  Kelly Abdon

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩