Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 06/28/2023, I contracted with Dave Benson Construction, *** for a basement bathroom remodel. I gave them a deposit of $10, 555.20. The scope of work was to relocate the toilet, washer/dryer to the other side of the room, install a shower, tile, flooring, cabinets and finishes, & a new hot water heater. ****'s son, ****, was acting as the *** He failed to communicate on numerous items, & also failed to communicate with the subs. There was a huge lack of leadership and planning, no sketch, no nothing to ensure that everyone was on the same page. There was no design help, or discussions on finishes, other than tile will be on the floor and shower walls. **** mentioned his mom did all the design work, but I never heard from her, or was given her contact information. I reached out to him numerous times on where I should look for things; i.e. tile, cabinets, hardware, etc. as I was getting no direction. The subs that were used performed shoddy work. The plumber, *************************, did not pull a permit, buried his work without showing us, stole copper piping, etc. We unburied it, had it inspected; it not only failed the inspection, but the work was deemed illegal and not to code. We had to spend $2600 to tear out and redo the work. **************** left bare ******************* in open boxes, hid a 220v junction in a 110v receptacle, etc. costing me an additional $2700. I fired Dave Benson Construction on 07/07 via email. **** called me on 07/13, listened to what I had to say & said he would refund a portion of my deposit. I sent him an update on 07/17, after the plumbing and electrical were fixed and inspected. None of the work done was performed at a satisfactory level. I have not heard from him since 07/13.Given the fact that I had to have the plumbing and electrical work redone, I feel that I should get back my deposit in it's entirety of $10, 555.20. *I am unable to upload the photos I have, but I can email them upon request.

  Customer response

  08/04/2023

  On 08/03, I received an email directly from ***** Benson, ****'s wife, VP of the construction company. I believe they have now resorted to bullying, threatening, and extortion. They refuse to return any money until I withdraw my BBB complaint. Please see the attachments. What are the next steps? Should I be contacting a lawyer?

  Thank you,

  ***********************

  Business response

  08/09/2023

  In over 16 years of business this is the first ever BBB complaint we have received, and we will do our best to help answer the issues. We sincerely regret any miscommunication or misunderstandings that *** have happened. Homeowner was a previously satisfied customer who we were trying to help and fit in our schedule, which she said appreciated in her email.  She knew we did quality work and asked us to return. Our goal is always to maintain quality work and communications no matter the size of the job. There are sometimes situations that arise where extra communication is needed to maintain relationships and can be learning experiences. We always welcome constructive criticism as training opportunities.
  On 6/28/23 homeowner signed a legal contract with our company and gave a deposit of $10555.20 to start the project. The homeowner had restrictions on the project and asked that the room to be remodeled be left operable each night as it is her only laundry room. Our supervisor and subs complied with her request each night even though it made it difficult to do work arounds. 
  Starting the job our supervisor did walk throughs with the subs and the owner if she was available. All work was discussed and agreed upon, subs were included in all needed communications.
  Homeowner did not provide her own nor ask about getting any architectural drawings, and they are specifically excluded in our quote.  We are happy to have our architect work with any customer to create drawings for any project, but they were not requested.
  Supervisor said that he and the homeowner had several conversations both verbal and via texts regarding design assistance, where to look for materials. We offer design assistance to help customers make decisions with the retail designers we work with, provided at no charge.
  -when offered the contacts/ options assistance the homeowner did not show interest at the time. We know people sometimes like to do this on their own and that is what was assumed.
  -if the owner had questions our supervisor gave her suggestions of what retailer to visit for the best choices and design help. We also would have been happy to have our person go with her, but she did not request such help.
  Our plumber and electrician are both long-time experienced subcontractors,both work under masters licenses for their trade. We have used them for many years, all their work is high quality and have always passed inspections on every job.  There would be no reason to tear out any work done and redo at the homeowners expense.
  We honored her request to stop work except for the electrician finalizing his open permit, which was passed via Virtual inspection and the homeowner was emailed of copy of that inspection/permit. Everything the electrician did was legal, up to code, he even discussed the items with the homeowner and there was no need to redo anything as it all passed inspection.
  The plumber was there once to do a walk through, then back Thursday July 6 . It is an approx. 80 sq. Ft. room. He discovered a major problem with fitting the plumbing into the layout, did not have the right tools to continue and had to stop his work. He made sure the room was operable for the owner per her request, did construction debris clean up (per our quote)  and then left for the day. Clean up included an approx. 5 copper pipe, per owners measurements. 
  -because he was only there for a few hours when he discovered the plumbing issue, plumbing was incomplete and of course would not pass any inspections. 
  -homeowner sent an email Friday July 7 requesting that we stop work on project.  We were surprised at this because there were no prior communications that she was not happy with the process.
  -On July 13 the owner of our company contacted the homeowner and discussed what happened. Even though she had a signed contract, it was agreed to discontinue the project at her request and that we would get the final invoices ready, and the copper pipe was also available to return to her any time. Her comment was that it was no big deal; she would just like to be asked first.  
  Homeowner sent an email update on July 17, which we responded to once we gathered final invoicing from subs, statements from subs and supervisor and at that time we decided to have our lawyer draw up a formal legal Termination Agreement to protect all parties involved since she was requesting to break a legal signed contract.  All responses to her updates, final invoicing and the Termination Agreement were sent to her via email on August 3. We have not received a reply as of August 9.
  NOTE: As a courtesy, none of the plumbers labor or materials were billed to the homeowner since homeowner was not satisfied with what was done. The copper pipe in question was pulled from the dump pile and offered back to the homeowner. We are happy to get her a refund check for the balance of her deposit and get her the pipe back. We are waiting for the signed Termination Agreement to proceed. 

  Business response

  08/09/2023

  We did our best to answer her issues in a factual, step by step manner for better understanding of both parties in this construction process. We are willing to settle this issue in a fair and reasonable manner for both parties concerned, again this is our first time working through this kind of complaint and we are more than willing to work with the homeowner for the best resolution. We just have not heard back about how she would like to work through the resolution or what we can do to help reach a settlement. 

  Business response

  08/11/2023

  We revised the language in the Termination Agreement to eliminate the requirement of the BBB complaint to be removed. An email was sent to  *********************** 8/11/23 with the revised agreement attached. We would love to be able to provide **** with her refund check for monies owed and the copper pipe if she wants it. We would like to have a signed legal termination agreement since we had a signed legal contract in the beginning to protect both parties as we go forward. We are waiting for her response. We have had great relationships with hundreds of customers over the years and would still like to maintain a good relationship with **** going forward. This is our first complaint ever and we would like to do our best to resolve for everyone's best result. 

  Customer response

  08/11/2023

  Here is my response to the Message from Business, as well as both emails I received today, and the revised Termination Agreement.

  Customer response

  08/11/2023

   
  Complaint: 20405459
  
  I am rejecting this response because: See uploaded response, and other docs uploaded in more information.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  08/14/2023

  This is our first time ever dealing with a termination complaint and we would like to help move all involved in the right direction towards resolution. We have been from the beginning willing to resolve this in a more than fair manner for services rendered and welcome constructive criticism. We will get you the lien releases from our subs. We will give you the lien release from Dave Benson Construction, ****  once the termination agreement is signed. Once termination agreement is signed and returned, we can send a check for the balance owed to you of $4, 741.03.

   

   

  Customer response

  08/26/2023

   
  Complaint: 20405459
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is not a "Termination Complaint." This is a complaint based on negligent, illegal and improper work. I have asked for and never received an actual itemized list of what my deposit was spent on, as would be required in any court of law, so I still contest their amount of my deposit to be returned. I asked **************** to provide me with their invoice for their portion of work, and they refused because they were "working for **** Benson." Based on other work I have had done to move this project along, I am willing to accept $8000.00 of my deposit back, along with the lien releases from *************************, **************** and **** Benson. After I receive those I will sign the termination agreement and be done with this.

  I would also like to resolve this in a fair manner, but that does not include me being taken advantage of any further. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  08/31/2023

  We stand by our prior proposal as fair and equitable to both parties. Services were rendered, work was ************* and passed inspections to the point we were allowed to finish. We have from the beginning been willing to resolve this issue in a more than fair manner for services rendered. 
  The final itemized billing has already been discounted and the customer was not billed for any of the plumbing labor or materials.  We are ready and available to meet with you at your convenience to give you lien releases from our subs and from Dave Benson Construction, ***** have you sign the termination agreement and give you the balance owed to you of $4741.03 from your deposit. 

  Customer response

  09/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20405459
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  DBC's offered proposal is neither fair nor equitable. It's very magnanimous that they did not bill us for what the plumber did, but that doesn't get us back to zero. I still had to pay an additional $2600 to fix what he had done. We are at the point where lighting can be installed, and *******'s sub-par work rears it's ugly head with breakers tripping because they wired incorrectly in not only the switch box, but also the fixture boxes according to *******************. I have tried to compromise, to no avail. I am afraid I may have to take things in a different direction, as this is getting us nowhere.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  09/18/2023

  We are very open to resolve this issue in a fair manner. We feel our previous offer is generous, fair and equitable for both parties. Since we have not been able to come to a settlement between parties,  we would like to take advantage of the BBB mediation arbitration offer. Please let us know what the next steps are. 

  Customer response

  09/29/2023

  I absolutely did not want this complaint to be closed; I have left several voicemails for Suwai to call me, and have not heard from him. I did not respond to the last communication from Benson, because I thought ***** would return my call in a timely fashion. Now the reason for the closure of the complaint makes Benson look like they were perfect, and I was the flake, when they were the ones that were not willing to compromise, and I'm sure they now think they have gotten away with s******* me over. I am most unhappy about this turn of events.

  Customer response

  09/29/2023

   
  Complaint: 20405459
  
  I am rejecting this response because I am not confident that DBC is willing to compromise to resolve this issue. I have made a counter offer to accept $8000.00 of my deposit back based on subsequent work being performed in the bathroom. I would be more than happy to sign off on the termination agreement after I receive that check and the lien releases. I would love to be able to mark this claim as resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Customer response

  09/29/2023

  Additionally, DBC has failed to provide me with an actual invoice of all materials purchased, and hours worked after numerous requests. They did not use any new materials that would have been purchased with my deposit. They used left over lumber from a job with the name of ********, and some of the 2x4s were covered in black mold. (Photos were already sent). **************** told me twice they would provide me with a copy of their invoice, then refused after speaking with DBC, saying that "technically, they were working for DBC, not me." 

  Thank you,

  ***********************

  Customer response

  10/05/2023

  The crux of the matter is twofold; 

  1) The only invoice they provided me was generalized and vague. It does not show the number of hours & days worked. We have no way of knowing the supposed hours worked when the tear down was never finished, the rebuild was never completed and full days were never worked. It does not show the cost of the materials they allegedly bought to work on my project. They brought lumber with another job's name on it, and 2x4s with black mold. Not new materials. 

  2) They don't want to take responsibility for the work that their subcontractors performed. Their work was negligent, improper, and illegal breaching the contract we had signed. Their plumber's work did harm, had to be ripped out and redone, costing me time and much more money. The electrician's work passed a Skype inspection on his phone, (not an in-person inspection), with only a narrow field of view. Subsequent electricians had to correct some of their work as well for even more money.

  Customer response

  10/11/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Mediation. 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 Mediation is necessary.
  
  Below is the details on our availability for a Mediation Hearing:
  
  Please Place list any dates you are specifically NOT available in the next 6 weeks: 
  
  10/16 & 10/30
  
  
  Please Place an "X" next to the Day of the Week you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  ____Mon. _X___Tue. __X__Wed ___X_ Thurs. __X__ Fri.
  
   
   Please Place an "X" next to the Time  you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  ____ Morning __X__Afternoon 
  
  I understand that BBB will do its best to accommodation the information I have selected.  I understand that mediations are scheduled to start between the hours of 8 am and 3 pm, and must conclude by 5 pm.
  
  Thank You.

  Regards,

  ***********************

*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. ↩