Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I entered into a kitchen remodel contract with Old Bay Remodeling on 4/2/21. There were significant delays in starting the work, which began on 6/13/2022. Last date of work was 8/2/22. The job has been abandoned with several outstanding items, including a large hole in a newly installed tile floor which the contractor stated he would repair. I attempted to contact the contractor several times in August and September with no response, except for an email where the contractor indicated that there was a 50% chance the radiant heating that he had installed was damaged and he would send an electrician. As of today, there has been no communication from Old Bay Remodeling and the work remains unfinished and the kitchen partially unavailable for use. The scope of work included removal of the kitchen floor and subfloor, installation of a concrete rat slab, installation of radiant heating and tile flooring, installation of a new sink, with the associated plumbing work needed to connect the sink, garbage disposal, dishwasher and install a water line to the fridge. On 7/10/22, after the new sink was installed and available for use, I notified Old Bay of a concern with water leaking under the sink and requested a plumber. Old Bay sent a worker (not a plumber) to reconfigure pipes under the sink on 7/12/22. On 7/14/22, I again notified Old Bay of plumbing concerns and issues with the sink not draining and requested a plumber (no response). On 7/16/22, I notified Old Bay of a major plumbing concern as large amounts of water were draining into my basement when we used the sink or dishwasher. On 8/2/22, Old Bay removed a section of tile and radiant flooring to isolate the source of the water, informed me that they were not responsible for the plumbing repair but would return to repair the floor and finish the kitchen once the plumbing was fixed. On 8/21/22, I contacted Old Bay to inform them the plumbing issue was repaired. No additional work has been completed since 8/2/22.

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Had contractor come out and give proposal for rooftop deck in September of 2021. Salesperson came out, looked at current deck and house layout, gave opinions for what could be done. Gave rough estimate of $25K, but said he needed to do more research. Came back two weeks later for second evaluation. Told at this time he forgot about the spiral staircase that would be neeeded, gave what he called a conservative estimate of $30K. Decided to move forward with a formal proposal. ****** proposal came in at $45K. Salesperson came over to explain price difference. Was told additional $15K was for if current deck needed to be redone, which they needed a civil engineer to determine. Proposal does not discuss this work, but had higher price. Was told proposal had to be signed with a deposit for Civil Engineer to come out and evaluate current deck. Once that happened, the price would be finalized. Agreed at this time of $2.5K deposit, 10% of original estimate, and if we needed the current deck updated an additional deposit may be needed.Over next 3 months, no contact from Old Bay Remodeling despite reaching out to them. End of January, reached out to have work cancelled and deposit returned. Told at this time that they had already begun work, including creating drawings, getting on contract with civil engineers, and obtaining permit. No civil engineer had come out to evaluate current deck, and we had not been consulted on design. Many problems were found with design (spiral staircase in wrong spot, support post in same location as A/C). Through conversations with contractor, also became apparent that there was no plans to lower the price to the original estimate despite the current deck not being updated. Asked for cost breakdown to show why the price was so high, company would not provide it. At this time, stopped all work with company, requested refund. Only was offered half of our money back. Filed formal complaint to ****. Additional details in attachments.

• Initial Complaint

  01/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I've tried to work with the company to work finish on my job and they refused to in the end sign a change order the sent out because of fees for consultant. Which is weird and also, they refused to work out current issues on mistakes they made on my project while continuing to not fix the mistakes that I had to put in a complaint with the MHIC ********* for? It's in my contract to do Arbitration and I'm just trying to make sure I do what's in my contract to make sure I don't break it Nore that I'm not cheated out of money to get my project done which Mr. Sarth I believe is trying to do. They were paid the 1st installment some time ago. in the amount of $19,118.70

  Business response

  02/07/2023

  Please schedule a mediation.

  Customer response

  02/27/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Arbitration. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********** and find that arbitration is necessary.

  Sincerely,

  Erica *****

  Business response

  03/06/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the consumer in reference to complaint ID **********  and find that arbitration is necessary.

   

  Business response

  03/08/2023

  Better Business Bureau:

  I have reviewed the response made by the consumer in reference to complaint ID **********  and find that arbitration is necessary.

   

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Details are provided in attached word document.

  Customer response

  01/05/2023

  BBBMD-PBX Voicemail Notification
  External
  Inbox
  
  asterisk@pbx.bbbmd
  Attachments
  Jan 4, 2023, 3:18 PM (19 hours ago)
  to me
  
  
  *****************,
  
  There is a new voicemail in mailbox 256:
  
  From: "*****************************" <**********>
  Length: 0:26 seconds
  Date: Wednesday, January 04, 2023 at 03:18:05 PM
  
  Dial *98 to access your voicemail by phone.
  Visit ************************ to check your voicemail with a web browser.
  One attachment
  Scanned by Gmail
  
  *****************
  10:30 AM (0 minutes ago)
  to anil.**********
  
  Greetings,
  
  thank you for reaching out regarding your complaint filed against Old Bay Remodeling. To date, the business has yet to respond to the complaint. I have made one last attempt to get a response before closing the complaint.
  
  If the business elects to not respond to the complaint., the complaint will be closed as "unanswered". I would then advise that you may wish to file a complaint with the ******** *********************** for Consumer Protection and ************************************ (see their contact information below).
  ******** *********************** for Consumer Protection
  200 *******************
  *********, ** 21202
  ************-phone
  ************-fax
  **************************** (email)
  **************************************************************************************************** (link to file online)
  -and-
  ************************************
  500 ***************************
  *********, ******** 21202-3651
  ************
  **************
  e-mail: ***********************************
  
  Once our office has more information, it will be forwarded. Please note that progress of your complaint can be viewed by using the following caselink: *********************************************************************************
  
  Best regards,
  
  --
  
  
  *****************
  
  Dispute Resolution Team Leader
  
  BBB of Greater ********, Inc.
  
  502 *****************************, *********, ** 21201
  
  Phone: ************
  
  Fax: ************
  See Attachment/File: msg0011.wav

• Initial Complaint

  08/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This business remodeled a couple of bathrooms in my private residence. Work started on 2/5/22 and two different contracts were signed with payments made in several installments. Most of the work was completed with the exception of installation of two custom glass shower doors. These were paid for in advance by me and the company hired an outside contractor to measure and create the custom shower doors. The doors were never produced or installed however. I contacted the company repeatedly over the following few months and they kept saying I had to wait and wait until eventually they told me the contractor they were using is no longer in business and they were not able to finish the job. I was told I would be refunded the amount for the two doors over one month ago but I have not received any refund or heard any word from them since. When I try to call the office now I get sent to voicemail.

• Initial Complaint

  03/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I paid $4884 down for a bathroom remodel in July 2021. They were too busy to order any items for the bathroom for 6 weeks. I told them they could not demolish the bathroom without ordering anything. I asked specifically for at least a bathtub 3 times. If they would have ordered anything I would have let them do it. I was afraid they would demo the bathroom and never show up again. They never gave me my money back. I asked 3 times for that too. That was 8 months ago.

• Initial Complaint

  02/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  In August 2021 I entered into an agreement with Old Bay Remodeling Company to remodel my home, and paid an initial deposit of $10,301.25. After 2 months of "no shows" and before I officially notified the owner of my desire to terminate our relationship, I decided to investigate the company and its owner more closely. 1.The Better Business Bureau suspended (and subsequently revoked) accreditation of Old Bay Remodeling. 2.The customer complaints to which the owner failed to respond were basically along the same lines as I experienced. The only difference is that I was able to withdraw my request for work before it began. 3. I learned that the owner uses different surnames. For example, the surname on the MHIC license is different than the surname on the correspondence I've had with the owner. Only one of these two surnames comes up when you search the MHIC site for an active license. 4. The owner interchanges company names in his documents. For example, the letterhead on the proposals is Old Bay Remodeling, and yet the company name in the "contract" on the reverse side of the proposal is "Old Bay Handyman, LLC. " Although both company names are listed on the MHIC license, there is no record of an active license when Old Bay Handyman, LLC is searched on the MHIC site. In October I terminated my relationship with this company, and requested a full refund of the $10,301.25. When no money was returned to me, I left a voice mail for the owner on Sunday, November 14. On November 15 the owner emailed a list of expenses totaling $3969.25 which he plans to deduct from my deposit. However, all of the costs are actually his expenses for doing business, and include design and sales costs, payment processing fee for the deposit, and "acquiring subcontractor bids and preparing permit applications," none of which are listed in the Scope of Work and Price Breakdown. Thus, I am requesting a full refund of $10,301.25

  Business response

  02/25/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/25) */ Homeowner's complaint to Maryland Home Improvement Commission was decided in our favor stating we followed all rules and regulations. All facts and figures were checked out a regulatory committee. Our response: We made multiple trips to homeowner's house including the designer to design his space and prepare permit drawings. Multiple change orders where written including a request for homeowner to allow his friend to do the electrical piece of the contract. Hours were spent on the phone and in person to editing the contract, draw and redraw the drawings etc because of the customer's requests. And One fine day, we get a phone call "Just Refund my money". The owner personally spent 45 mins on the phone trying to make him understand why we have put so much effort into his job already and can't be cancelled without a fees. If there is a valid reason, we can provide his refund. Then we got a bunch a make-believe reasons. 1. Homeowner says Old Bay Remodeling is not licensed. We sent him license copy 2. Homeowner says the salesperson is not not licensed. We sent him a copy of the salesperson license. 3. Homeowner said the owner is using different name to defraud him - We still spent time answering a question about someone's name 4. Next Reason was the contract was not valid - We spent time showing him the contract has everything required by MHIC 5. Next Reason was BBB accreditation was revoked. We made him understand there are thousands of review sites out there and BBB is one of them. We try to keep up with as many as we could. 6. Then a complaint is made to MHIC where a decision was made in our favor stating we followed all rules 7. Then a complaint was made to ****** through which the payment was made and was decided again in our favor. 8. Now a complaint is made to BBB. Which we are patiently replying to. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/03/01) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Please click on the link(s) below to view attachments or response: Case Received by BBB (02/24/2022) Explanation why the owner's response is not acceptable I did not request "multiple trips" to my house. The owner sent 2 salespersons to my house after he fired the salesperson who cosigned the agreement in August because he did not believe that salesperson's estimates. In an August 30th text to me the owner stated: "Larry is no longer working for us anymore - So can you talk to Christina if you have not talked to her already?" I received no change orders or "edited" contract, and was given a single set of drawings. No design agreement was submitted or received - only the Price Breakdown and Scope of Work which was approved by the owner on August 16, 2021. My request to discontinue doing business with this company and receive a full refund of my deposit was sent to the owner in writing on October 27, 2021 - not by phone. The "valid" reason I am requesting a full refund of my deposit is outlined in the complaint but basically it is because no work was done other than what was needed by the owner to price this job. 1. I requested and received a copy of the MHIC license but the issue was we could not find an "active" license under the name Old Bay Handyman LLC which is the company name on the signed agreement. 2. I looked for the salesperson's name under Home Improvement on the MHIC site but then found it under Sales. I did not receive a copy of the salesperson's license. 3. I did question the use of 2 different surnames on legal documents. All correspondence I had with the owner was under a different surname than the name on the MHIC license. I referred to his business practices (not him) as fraudulent due to many inconsistencies, including but not limited to the use of different surnames, of his communications with me. 4. The signed agreement does not meet the following MHIC requirements: "If a salesperson solicited or sold the home improvement, then the contract must also contain the name and license number of each salesperson." Larry L. was the sales person who signed the contract but he did not provide his license number. None of the Notice for Homeowners, except for the phone number of the MHIC, is included in the signed document. Date of completion is not given and, as mentioned above, the start date was variable. Although an arbitration clause is included in the signed document, it does not include the following language as specified by the MHIC: "A mandatory arbitration clause in a home improvement contract is required to include the name of the person or organization that will conduct the arbitration; whether any mandatory fees will be charged to the parties for the arbitration and list the fee schedule; whether the arbitrator's findings are binding; and a disclosure that a claim against the Guaranty Fund will be stayed until completion of the mandatory arbitration proceeding." And finally, the "contract" should be covered by the Door-to-Door Sales Act, as the salespersons always came to my house and there is no Notice of Cancellation in the signed document. 5. Regarding BBB suspension/revocation of accreditation, the owner stated: "There is a mix up with some other company and us on BBB - That is true and we have a meeting with BBB officials on the 28. The confusion will be removed after that. We have had only one arbitration and it was attended and decided in our favour." 6. I sent the above response regarding a resolution to the MHIC complaint to the MHIC investigator of that complaint, who replied: "I still don't understand how that is or how they came to that conclusion. Keep me posted." Thus, no decision by the MHIC or its "regulatory committee" has been made. 7. ****** operates as a "payment processor" only and serves as an alternative to paper processing methods such as checks or money orders. ****** does not receive nor settle disputes between sender and receiver of funds. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2022/03/09) */ All these claims were sent to MHIC and they rejected it. Everything including our company not being licensed, salesperson not being licensed, Contract not being valid etc were already presented to MHIC and they rejected it. That is a government licensing body looking at all this info and saying Old Bay Remodeling is not in the wrong. All this is public information - Anyone reading this with questions can call the Maryland Home Improvement Commission. The licensing agency can you all the information directly.

*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. ↩