Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  On July 22, I contacted C&C Lawn and Irrigation to troubleshoot my sprinklers which stopped working. I signed a quote for a $55 service charge which was to include a full irrigation system check which it said must be performed prior to a quote for repairs and that repairs would have to be scheduled for another day.On July 25, two contractors from C&C came who were running late and within just 3 minutes of answering the door they had already brought out a replacement sprinkler controller much larger than my own, which I thought was something to test the system. They ended up doing a rush job installing the new controller without first asking nor doing a system check, making one too many holes in my wall for it after drilling into something in the wall, never doing a system check after it was installed, and then left.The new system was unnecessarily overqualified for my lawn which included an expensive extension module and a rain/freeze sensor. Before the unit was mounted as they had already started hammering holes into my wall without asking, I stopped him to ask how much it cost and he said it's under $150, so I let him continue. During the installation of the rain/freeze sensor he told me it came with the unit at no extra cost.That afternoon I was billed and charged over $600, which included marked up prices for the new equipment. It took days to get ahold of *******************, the owner, who I asked to remove and refund me for the equipment. Later he said the employees denied giving me a price and that he'd refund everything if he checked their cameras and found out they were lying. In a follow up conversation he was very aggressive, saying things like "I don't care if they are lying" and "You're not getting nothing for free." He made threats of legal action, putting a lien on my house, and charging extra fees. Regarding the quote he said "You'd better put on some thicker glasses and read it again!" and "Even 90-year-old women can understand this document!"

  Business response

  08/15/2022

  So to make this matter be resolved in the simplest form, I dealt with this with clients ever so changing story over many recorded phone calls. My crew who installed this controller that was in fact faulty (old one), and installed a rain sensor as per city code. The client first states he thought we brought out a brand new controller to test to see if that was in fact the problem. I stated we don't just start throwing parts at a system to see if it will fix it or not. We knew the controller was faulty by testing it with our voltmeter before ever walking to our van to replace. As you will hear in the recording if need be. He signed our Irrigation Authorization Form.Which states, your paying a service Charge to show up to this property.Thats all its for. Its to cover the cost of getting there and back on schedule and office over head etc.....It does state we first start out by performing  a system check. This is not a service charge as he is combining the two different services in the call. We do a system check to see what wrong with this system. In the documents it states it cost $55 plus tax for the service charge, we then charge hourly at the rate of $135 per hour for 2 men on site. A helper and a tech.  His system check stopped at the controller when we found out it was not putting out power to turn on the zones. So we couldnt go any further. He had to install a new controller just to get things to turn on to see  if there were other issues. He was told this by my tech and it states in the Authorization Form he signed and dated with his IP address logged, that he is allowing us to install parts plus labor plus  the service charge UNLESS we wishes to have a detailed quote to which we would put notes in the account for the office to then send  quote to installl what we saw was definitely not working. He never asked for this quote and told them to get it going. HE also watched them install this and he also was ******* my crew and we did a perfect job installing and I guarantee any inspector will pass this install. He then began to rant about I was installing the most expensive parts available. This too is noted in the form he signed we install rain bird components unless you wish to have any other major brand installed. It is not the most expensive, it is the most user friendly. The rain sensor was to be installed due to city code and he did not have one already. HE followed and talked with my tech as he mounted the receiver on  his fence. My crew has no pricing info with them and we never give out a round about price, because the crew has no pricing info on material. They don't have the clients card to charge, the office does, why is he stuck on this $150 dollar number when it matches none of the components installed. He then began to say he was told this stuff was free. Untrue nothing we do is free. We don't give out free parts or labor. Sorry. We did fix his issue because we set up the controller and now zone 1 came on when no zones would come on at all. The tech then asked if he wanted anything else checked. Hence  back to the system check. HE quickly said no it was all fine before and had them leave. Not complaining, happy it was working. He got the bill and that's when the stories changed from he didn't receive a detailed quote, because he signed off to have us repair it as stated at the hourly rate plus retail costs of parts. He watched them install everything, when he said he though we used that new equipment to test to see if indeed it would fix the issues. Well, when we left, why did we leave all this stiff installed if we were testing it. It was tested with a proper tool to let us know for fact his controller is bad. He read back the agreement to me and clearly was changing words as i was going over the same document we send day in a out without a issue. But he was changing and combing words that did not read as it was stated. I can send voice records, I can have testimony of my crew. I can provide the agreement before we even scheduled him . He also got a form to provide credit card to charge for repairing on site at given rates. We have no trickery we have serviced this area for over 22 years and have a great reputation . I think I offered to yes come get the equipment. But I was going to charge him at least the labor the remove it. Possibly refund the service charge, but he clearly knew the drill as so many do. Its pretty clear how we charge. I wouldn't send this authorization form to thousands of repair clients for each and every repair each year if it didn't work and was legit. I understand people get confused, but when he changed his story from he thought it was just a service fee, and he would then get a detailed quote, he could  have had that if he ever mentioned it to me or my guys, why watch us bring out new equipment to fix his issue, and not say anything except to follow their every move and I will say it was one of the fastest installs for a controller  and sensor Ive seen them do . He was ******* them to cut down on labor he said that clearly to my techs. So I offered to refund all the components installed fully, but he was going to pay us to remove it. Its not our fault he let us do this and never say a word, but we were "just testing his system with brand new parts" and left them with out a word to take them.I can leave recordings here as attachments or does BBB want to review them first? I told him just on the recording he was contradicting himself. My guys heard about the lies he was telling and offered to clock out and go get the equipment and remove a no cost to me. Thanks, but the guys will get paid to remove what we were told to install. I will refund the equipment although it is used equipment now. His controller was thrown away. It did not work. I would not install that if I had it. To be blamed further for something we did not cause. So I just don't see me personally paying for this out of my pocket when its clear he is lying, and also trying to beat a proven , honest , straight forward process I ave had for years. Its been so busy the last two months with this drought an we have serviced **** ***** calls a month. With 1 client not sticking to his obligation as to what he signed off on. I would usually just remove this stuff and get the heck out of there and not ever return for further service. But I'm sorry I'm not in the mood to let all my other clients pay as agreed and let one guy off for clearly trying to go around the process. He also has no broken controller and couldn't understand why its int eh city dump the next day. Its trash, we fixed his issue, and I don't see me being liable when he has been stopped in so many stories that changed.

  Customer response

  08/18/2022

  Complaint: 17684112
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  
  

  **************** claims that I rushed the workers is not true at all. I was actually bothered by how much they were ******* and not properly checking the system. I even offered them water, but they both declined because they were in a hurry. The workers were running over an hour late when they arrived and if it's true that they service ***** to ***** calls a month, it's not hard to see why they were in such a rush. No system check was done prior to nor following the installation of the new controller and the video recordings from my security cameras verify that. After they left, I had to perform a system check myself on all the stations and decided if something wasn't working I'd have to call them back.

  
  I was limited in the description of my initial complaint to **** characters and wasn't able to include that a week after the installation of the new controller I found out that the sprinklers hadn't been running at their scheduled times during the night due to a problem with the system. I've taken a video that shows me setting up a scheduled sprinkler time and the rain sensor not detecting rain, but the system immediately disengages because it thinks its raining. The only way I can set the sprinklers to turn on at a scheduled time is to disable the rain sensor, making the rain sensor completely useless. I found out about this issue after trying to get an explanation of the bill from ************ over the phone and finding out exactly how much I could trust their business practices, so I was not going to call them back over this issue.
  
  As previously stated, I was told by the workers that the controller they installed would cost under $150, and since they were here for almost 45 minutes at a rate of $135/hour and didn't perform any system check as part of the quote, I'll only be willing to pay $251.25 for the work and equipment.
  Alternatively, C&C Lawn and Irrigation may schedule a time to uninstall and retrieve the installed equipment, but I want a full refund as this was a complete waste of time. I will also film the uninstallation and require reimbursement from them for repairs for any damage done.
  
  I'd like BBB to request the recorded phone conversations from C&C so BBB may hear how unprofessional, threatening, and insulting they are to their customers.

  
  

  Regards,
  
  *************************************

  Business response

  08/23/2022

  Im not sure but  I fully explained detail to detail and provided his documents he signed and warranty etc, Im not refunding the labor to install the equipment he had us do  and watch is install. I have phone recording of him changing the stoty and will find a way to post i guess if the site allows. I will remove the equipment for a fee of $55 the  service charge. HE told ius to fix the system . I have witnesses. I have audio confirming he clearly is twisting this situation. I dont have his old controller because eit was faulty and he want us to repair it and the rates given he signed off onn which we did and it fixed his issue. Thats my short version offer. Parts removed at service charge rate and refund all equipment used. Im not resposible for him changing his excuses on why he iddnt want this after he got the bill. HEs 3 third person in ***** years I belive with a not clear understand how it work. ****** explained like I did on the phone.

  Customer response

  08/24/2022

  Complaint: 17684112
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The phone recordings will show that I've never changed my story nor twisted what the contract says. On the contrary, ************ keeps flip flopping on whether he's going to give me a refund or not, deliberately distorting what his own contract clearly says, and attempting to gaslight me into believing it says something that it doesn't. I did not sign off on the work done nor the equipment installed. Had the bill reflected the price given to me, I would not be complaining.
  
  I was told the equipment cost under $150 and no system check was ever performed. As previously stated, ************ can schedule someone to come out to uninstall the equipment and give me a full refund, and if there's any damage done to my property, he will have to pay for the repairs. Because his workers did a sloppy install I am concerned about them removing the equipment. I've already wasted so much time with this and now I have to find someone else to install a new unit. Or he can refund me the difference of what I stated I would pay in my previous reply, and I will still have to find someone else to fix the unit.
  
  I should not have to pay for equipment that doesn't work properly nor for labor not performed that was to verify the system's properly working.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************************

  Customer response

  09/01/2022

  Complaint: 17684112
  
  I am rejecting this response because:The phone recordings will show that I've never changed my story nor twisted what the contract says. On the contrary, ************ keeps flip flopping on whether he's going to give me a refund or not, deliberately distorting what his own contract clearly says, and attempting to gaslight me into believing it says something that it doesn't. I did not sign off on the work done nor the equipment installed. Had the bill reflected the price given to me, I would not be complaining.
  
  I was told the equipment cost under $150 and no system check was ever performed. As previously stated, ************ can schedule someone to come out to uninstall the equipment and give me a full refund, and if there's any damage done to my property, he will have to pay for the repairs. Because his workers did a sloppy install I am concerned about them removing the equipment. I've already wasted so much time with this and now I have to find someone else to install a new unit. Or he can refund me the difference of what I stated I would pay in my previous reply, and I will still have to find someone else to fix the unit.
  
  I should not have to pay for equipment that doesn't work properly nor for labor not performed that was to verify the system's properly working.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************************

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