topic Re: Contractor Problems in Community Chat

Contractor Problems

Jackhound Mom — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 09:27:35 GMT

This is long...

We bought an older home 4 months ago in a city that we had lived in before so we knew several neighbors and contractor companies.

The company I'm writing about does flooring & counter tops. They completed a large tile floor job for us last month and the sub contractor they hired did an excellent job.

Whenever we have a job done we provide a cooler full of assorted drinks and stay completly out of their way. We also either buy lunch for everyone or give a small tip as an added form of gratitude.

Because we have limited funds (retired military) we save up for one job at a time. We did choose one of the 2 lowest price granites.

Many things went wrong the day of the installation but bottom line they didn't bring drop cloths to protect the new floors which we requested before install, broke my 4 month old Delta faucet, and one of the guys took a very long smelly break in my bathroom!

When I called to complain the owner accused me of being unreasonable. Told me I was trying to get money off my bill, and lied about their compitition (Lowe's) which they also install for about a manditory bathroom break policy for all contractors. He also insulted me for buying their cheapest product!

I reminded him that we had not asked him for one thin dime off of our bill and that we gladly paid for our floors! We will now find another company to do our carpet job that we are saving for.

Thank you for letting me vent and I would appreciate your views on the bathroom issue. Most of my friends do not have a problem with contractors doing so. But some are like me.

Re: Contractor Problems

itsmagic — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 10:45:28 GMT

I had a new deck put on about a year ago and the contractor said before the job started that they would need the use of my bathroom during the four days it would take to complete the deck. I understand that so In your case I would let the bathroom incident go. But I would expect the contractor to replace the faucet that was broken.

Re: Contractor Problems

Mom2Dogs — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:05:24 GMT

I would insist they pay for the faucet....I hate it when this stuff happens. The owner of the store or contractor should have come to your house to see the work and the damaged faucet or at least to talk with his installers....to get snarky with you was totally wrong. The bathroom incident is gross but not much you can do about that

Re: Contractor Problems

Cats3000 — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:10:27 GMT

You can call the consumer protection agency in your state or city or county, depending on where you live, and file a complaint asking for compensation for the damage. They may be able to mediate the case.

You can also file a claim in small claims court asking for compensation for the damage plus court costs. Small claims courts have a dollar limit for cases they can handle.

If all else fails, you can always hire a lawyer and prepare to sue for damages in regular court.

Re: Contractor Problems

Lilysmom — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:25:57 GMT

@Jackhound Mom, they should replace and install faucet. The other stuff, let it go. Don’t use them again. LM

Re: Contractor Problems

ID2 — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:34:05 GMT

Your contractors were contracted from Lowes?? There's your problem plain and simple.

Re: Contractor Problems

jlkz — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:33:57 GMT

@Jackhound Mom

As to your carpet project: we had all three floors of a shore house recarpeted with high quality padding and thick carpet for a reasonable price. We priced similar carpet and padding from Lowe’s but after so many additional costs....cost per riser, lift up, take out, disposal, etc....we went with Home Depot.

Every winter ( ours was done in December ) Home Depot has a phenomenal price for carpet and installation to keep their workers employed during the slow time. They come out to measure ( we had our realtor/ manager as the contact point ) and for a flat price, they do it all as opposed to all the extras costs proposed by Lowe’s.

A suggestion: get one person at HD to be your contact point.....they should be full time employees and not part timers because the communication process is key.

The job was completed on time and all the carpeting was vacuumed. We had donated most of the old furnishings so it was easy to get most things off the floor and onto closet shelves.

Good Luck with your project.

Re: Contractor Problems

queendiva — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:36:15 GMT

@Jackhound Mom: Agreed. I never consider using the big box national chains for contractor jobs. Too many complaints about the quality of work. I feel your pain. Your hard-earned money and home disrespected.

If you are on Twitter you could take to Twitter with your complaint. That might get noticed and get you some satisfaction from corporate.

Re: Contractor Problems

NicksmomESQ — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:37:55 GMT

I’ve had a lot of contracting work done over recent years.If they break something they must replace it.I would report them to your local consumer agency if they refuse to pay for it.

As far as the bathroom.Yes of course they should be permitted to use the bathroom.It’s downright rude for them to leave it in that condition.It’s unprofessional.But I agree that there isn’t much you could do about it.

Be careful who you hire.I always check with my local consumer agency before I sign expensive contracts.

Re: Contractor Problems

queendiva — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:41:31 GMT

@Jackhound Mom: I had carpet replaced in October. Negotiated the best price with Empire Today if they are in your area. AAA rating with the BBB. I interviewed three companies before hiring and was able to negotiate the best price. They really wanted my business and they do install next day if that's what you want. I asked for a few days to move boxes/ small items from the install area.

Re: Contractor Problems

VaBelle35 — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:43:53 GMT

@Jackhound Mom I am in the middle of the exact same project and I feel your pain and I do not think you were unreasonable.

I went with a "Kitchen & Bath" place because they did both floors and countertops and supplied the plumber to remove and replace the two toilets.

I also researched them extensively in BBB, all the "review" forums as well as recommendations from people in my development who used them.

Like you, I was very concerned about my hard wood floors and my brand new oven/glass top stove of about a month.

The sales person assured me that they would put stuff down to protect my floors, etc. and the project manager (and I) took photos before they moved the equipment.

The countertop people were outsourced, but the flooring/plumber team were employees of the company.

The countertop people did not bring anything to protect my floors, but the flooring people took care of that since they were there at the same time.

As for the bathroom situation, that needs it's own thread ;o) But I have been trying to either keep them to one bathroom or keep them out of one bathroom while they are here.

Re: Contractor Problems

Peaches McPhee — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:00:05 GMT

There was a thread about a similar bathroom incident concerning workers in the home. It was amazing to me the number of people who prohibited workers from using their bathroom. If you gotta go, you gotta go. You cannot always time bathroom visits to a schedule. Leave this one alone.

Re: Contractor Problems

SharkE — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 13:54:52 GMT

I go along with that. Can't expect people that's gonna spend the day at a house not to have to go to bathroom. Turn on exhaust fan.

(hope he didn't have flu) Keep bleach on hand

Re: Contractor Problems

Janey2 — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 14:06:26 GMT

I had a problem with a contractor and he refused to make good. I contacted the Better Business Bureau to put in a complaint. When the complaint went up the contractor was here so fast to fix the problem I could not believe it. They do not want a bad review on the BBB's website. I always check the BBB before I hire someone.

Re: Contractor Problems

PamfromCT — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 14:18:42 GMT

We have had quite a bit done in our home of late. We are seniors in our original home and preparing for eventual resale. Our kitchen and two and a half bathrooms were remodeled. Whew! Won’t begin to tell you how long this took, but in our area no one wants to buy a home that is not current.

Yes, you can do your homework. We did. Our main issues arose from one subcontractor the company hired, which these companies all do. He not only failed to do his job, he did some real damage. So the company fired him, and they had to repair the damage and then continue the job.

End of story, everything is now done. To our satisfaction. It is exhausting, and doing your homework does not prevent all problems, sorry to say.

Re: Contractor Problems

Jackhound Mom — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 14:37:19 GMT

Thank you all so much for taking the time to write to me I read them all out loud for DH=Dennis and he is grateful also! We have and will take all your suggestions and use them and let you know the end result.

Happy and safe remodeling to all who have these kind of jobs in your future!

Cathy aka Jackhound Mom

Re: Contractor Problems

Jackhound Mom — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 19:26:58 GMT

We looked to see if this company belonged to the BBB and they do not. If they don't belong we can not file a complaint, right?

Thanks again! To the kind poster who gave us the "heads up" about Home Depot carpet deals. I only wish we had money saved up for this but the counters shot our wad. Maybe by next year we can take advantage of that

I sympathize with those of you who are also having projects done. It is very stressful and worse if you are older and have some health problems.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cathy

Re: Contractor Problems

shortbreadlover — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 20:03:15 GMT

i had a problem with a plumbing contractor. they sent akid who did not know what he was doing and he broke the toilet. he tied to sell me a repalce at acost of over $550.oo plus the cost to install. i had put the cost n a credit card and file a dispute with them. needless to say i won and did not have to pay for the work. it took my making a log and then also filing a complaint with te bbb(they did nothing) and with the div of con protection.

the company really hassled me. they told me that they would ruin my credit( fico of 730),that i was dishonest in not paying my bills. it was a nightmare.

Re: Contractor Problems

Montana — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 20:59:03 GMT

@Jackhound Mom wrote:
We looked to see if this company belonged to the BBB and they do not. If they don't belong we can not file a complaint, right? ...

@Jackhound Mom, you should be able to file a complaint on Yelp.

Re: Contractor Problems

BirkiLady — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 23:48:43 GMT

@Jackhound Mom Of course you can file a complaint against ANY company! The BBB is there to protect consumers. They keep records on all kinds of businesses . . . it doesn't matter if they are members of not. Just because a company pays dues to the BBB does not insure they will have a good rating! A good rating is earned by the reviews of satisfied customers comments. Contact the BBB with both good and bad comments. They need to know both situations about any and all companies. And, in the future, always check with the BBB before doing business with any company or contractor. They will provide you valuable insight. If you need some recommendations, the BBB will also be happy to give you that kind of information.