Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  07/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company was a disaster to work with. Poor communication and no follow through with explicit directions for the work. They destroyed my property and didnt even install the electric pole to countys code when failing two inspections. One was for not installing two ground rods - they only did one. The other failure was due to them installing the meter and panel at incorrect heights when I said install the pole to pass inspection because I will be doing landscaping a lot later. When I told her that the county said the heights she went by are wrong, she said the county was wrong. Absurd. Next, I told her to not trench and trenching was not needed for the wiring too, since I was bringing in a skid steer to put a lot of dirt over the wired area which would cover the 18 inch requirement of coverage. We agreed in a contract to a price at $8358.49 which didnt include the trenching that I said was not needed and I paid them in full for this amount. They are trying to charge me $1500 extra now because they chose to bring a trencher onto my land when I said to NOT trench. The trencher was on my property for a maximum of 30 minutes and theyre trying to charge me $1500 when you can rent one of those machines for less than $200 at ********** for 4 hours. During that 30 minutes, they trenched an area never even used that I had to spend time covering up later. Now, Im getting monthly bills from them adding interest to this bogus amount as well because the owner ***** is saying a change order was done when nothing was agreed upon by me to do this unnecessary trenching. Its unethical and Ive paid them in full to work which wasnt even done according to the contract either. At this point, its harassment. I never signed any change order or said to do anything theyre trying to charge me extra. A change order represents a mutual agreement to change the work, schedule, price, or other term of the contract. A change order must be written out and approved by all parties,

  Business response

  07/25/2022

  ****** asked A-One Electric for a bid to install a metal service pole so I gave her one.  Then she asked for another bid because I wasn't going to have to do any trenching because she was going to lay down 30" of dirt everywhere so I gave her a bid without trenching.  When she hired us she said she needed it done that week so I hurried up and got the materials out there and when we started she couldn't even tell us where the property line/utility lines were located which took up a lot of time getting the crew started working.  

  We kept asking her where she wanted the power pole and I would quote her an electrical code but she didn't want to hear it and kept requesting the power pole in different places that was not allowed by City code.  We even set the pole in concrete where she told us to and then said that was ugly there because she could see it out her front window.  We asked when she was going to set the dirt out because we couldn't pass inspection without the dirt covering up the conduit, she never gave us a date.  I told ******* that we had to either cover up the conduit for the main power line or dig a trench, she did not respond.  My electricians were very frustrated because of the lack of information.  Since she said she needed it done that week we had no choice but to rent a trencher in order to get the work done.  A trencher did cost $200 but we had it 4 hours.  This time included picking it up, driving to the job site, unloading and trenching, loading it back up, cleaning it, and driving it back to ********** and waiting for someone to check us in.  My time is not free and she new we charged by the foot.  She did say she would have done the trenching but she was always busy and having to go somewhere.  She also offered to pay for the trencher at one time too but the labor we was not interested in paying.  Believe it or not, the cost of the estimate that she had me do with out the trenching part but we had to trench anyway was almost the same amount as the first bid and the same amount as the other electrician that bided the job.  

   The power pole was set to the height that was needed so that it would be correct once the dirt was laid out that she said she was laying out.  I told her she wouldn't pass inspection without covering up the pipes with the dirt she said but she kept insisting on getting an inspection even though I told her she would pass with out the dirt.  This is not my fault she kept calling for an inspection.  I have been doing this for almost 40 years and I have a hard time when people don't listen to what is being told them.  If we had set the power pole at the level that is would have passed inspection then the panel would have been close to the dirt after she laid the dirt.

  By the way, I am not the only one she refuses to pay.  The electrician who wired the house has not been paid several thousand dollars 

  Customer response

  07/26/2022

  Complaint: 17539235
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The reason people have change orders for work is so theres no question about the validity of statements. Everything in the owners response is a lie. There was no communication. Claiming I didnt know where my property lines were when I sent her my septic design on top of the property boundaries is another lie. Ive attached the communications to show that I said to not trench, my property boundaries, her criticism of the previous electrician, the reasons why the pole failed inspection and her telling me when to order the inspection. Nothing had to do with exposed conduit because there were numerous yards of conduit showing during inspection from not even being trenched in it's entirety like she's trying to charge as if she did. The inspection was ordered because she said it was ready for inspection and told me which county inspections to order. Her 40 years of experience should know the code and shouldnt have failed both inspections if her story was valid. Every single communication was responded to so its absurd she tries to say I didnt respond. I was there and if I was asked a question verbally, then I answered. She makes it sound like a question was asked and I just stared at her without a response. Its as crazy as it sounds because theres no texts of any sort which didnt have a response. Just more lies from this company from their poor communication. I think its ironic shes trying to bring up another electricians work when she got the job because she and other electricians criticized the incorrect work the first electrician did. In an attached text she wrote, Sorry, I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut when I see bad/incorrect work because she called out multiple things he did wrong when she came out to bid and said you could tell he didnt know what he was doing. The other electrician has been paid everything except for the retainage for still not finishing the work he was originally contracted to do and still hasnt done correctly which is why he wasnt chosen to do the permanent work. I have paid for all contracted work to AOE and will not pay frivolous extra charges not agreed from the original contract of work which wasnt even done fully either. Unlike her response which is full of fabrication, I have attached proof for all of my statements because its the truth. You cant argue with the truth and facts. 
  Regards,
  
  Chelsea True

  Business response

  08/30/2022

  I am not very computer literate so I had problems downloading the text messages between me and her.  I do have them where she states that she would cover everything with 3' of dirt and how when I asked questions I didn't get answers and that is why we had bad comunication between us.  I do have other text messages to prove my point but I can't seem to get them downloaded at this time.

  When she signed the contract stating there would be no digging, she lied. She was told that the pipe had to be 18 deep from the top of the conduit and she knew that there were areas that she was not going to be able to put 18 - 3 of dirt.  All secondary electrical conduit must be buried 18 to the top of the conduit.  I knew this but she insisted that we didnt need to dig.  When we start a job and are told that it needed to be done by the end of the week then we do what we have to do to get the job done and then the rest of the job is left up to the homeowner (i.e.spreading the dirt out before inspection).
  

  We rented the trencher because of the many areas that were not going to be able to get the **** of dirt put on top of the conduit.  This was because of the height of the foundation in some areas.  She stated that we only spent 30 minutes trenching but that is probably off a little.  We spent time, gas, and use of a vehicle to get the trencher.  Getting the trencher at ********** takes time such as having to wait at ********** for someone to help us, find a trencher that was actually working and the paperwork they give you.  Then we had to drive to her house, which is 25 35 minutes away, unload it and get it to the point we can trench.  When that is all said and done then we had to load it, clean it, and take it back which is another 25 35 minutes, wait for someone to check me in.  It was barely gotten back and checked in before our 4 hours were up.  This is worth far more than the $200 that the trencher cost us (which she said she would pay).
  

  She said that we left trenches and holes on the ground and we did, because we had to reroute our conduit and pull up concrete and a 4rigid pole from where she told us put it to a second location that she want it placed.
  

  She said she needed the power on by the end of the week because she was going to have some kind of property value inspection or insurance inspection or something to that effect.  I kept telling her that she would not be able to get an inspection and pass unless she put the 30-  3 of dirt down.  I even told her that before she called for an inspection on the day she asked which inspections to call for.  I told her to put the **** or dirt around the power pole at least before an inspection was called or it would fail but she did not .  She was determined to get her power on right then. That is why I ask for her to let me know how the inspection went because I didnt figure it would pass.  I have seen bad inspectors pass things that should not pass though so either way I wasnt going to be surprised.
  

  The reason for not having the second ground rod was a basic mistake by my guys. 
  

  She said I criticized some of the work that was done by another company and I did because I think a home owner should know what is going on with their new home.  I saw a ufer ground sticking out of the top of the porch and they put a pipe in the top of the breaker box without a ***** hub.  There were other instances that I think my electrician may have told her but I do not know what those might be. 
  

  I talked to the master electrician from the main company that wired the in house. We talked about the power pole we put in and the situation at this property.  I asked her why she didnt get the original electrician to install the power pole and she said he didnt know how to build a power pole but when I talked to him he said he put in a bid for the power pole with trenching on it which was only around $100 different than my original bid with trenching. That master electrician also told me that she owed him somewhere around $7000.

  The invoices will go out until paid in full for our work.

  Customer response

  08/30/2022

  Complaint: 17539235
  
  I am rejecting this response because:There's nothing to continue to defend here. Everything the business is saying is a lie with 'she said this she said that'... that's not proof - it's all lies like everything else. She says I wasn't responsive, yet she claims I said quite a bit of stuff I never even said with her random stories. Nothing makes sense with her. Unlike them, I've attached proof already to show the facts. I've paid them in full for the contract I've signed for horrible work and I will not be paying anything else. I never made any change orders for trenching verbally or in writing and I will not be paying for this scam of hers. I have all of the proof to show that I said to NOT do what she attempted to do before it was ever attempted, so this whole ordeal is absurd and unethical.
  
  Regards,
  
  Chelsea True

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