Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:16/08/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am building a garage and the building inspector told me I needed to hire an engineer to design the cement slab. I contacted Able Engineering. I was expecting to discuss my needs and use of the building with an engineer. This was not the case. I filled in a basic application and was asked for payment before seeing what the design was. After paying $747 I was sent what I assume is a generic plan. Part of the plan called for expensive insulation under the cement ( About $3000). As I'm not heating the garage I sent them an email on June 17 to ask why it was required. I was really looking for the least cost slab to keep my costs down. I got a quick response that they would get back to me. They didnt. It feels to me that once the money was sent in, the service ended. After 2 months I found a contractor to put in the cement pad and he asked why I was insulating it. I told him I had to because the engineers have said it was mandatory and I wasn't able to get an answer to the contrary. He also said there were other "upgrades " in the plan that were costing me money unnecessarily, like excess rebar. He advised I find another engineer that would allow me to build without the insulation and the savings on the insulation and rebar would save me close to $4000. So thats what I did. I found another engineer and his plan has the insulation optional, less rebar, cheaper cement, and cheaper on labour. I was actually able to speak with the engineer to explain soil conditions, building use etc which was very comforting.
  So in the end I didnt use Able Engineerings' plan. I have asked them for a refund. They have refused.
  Again, my feeling is that they ask for money upfront and thats where the service ends and I dont have any power to negotiate with them.

  Business Response

  Date: 16/09/2022

  I am responding to the below complaint filed against our company, ABLE Engineering Services Inc. on August 16^th, 2022 by a Mr. ***** **********:

  • On June 6^th, 2022 Mr. ********** completed our online project information survey which asks questions related to the scope of work associated with the job and provides our design team with the information they require to complete the job
  • On June 15^th, the job was completed and Mr. ********** received a phone call from our Internal Services team letting him know the design was complete, that we were sending along an invoice (as quoted) and that upon receipt of payment we would release his engineered design and Schedule A-3 to him
  • Mr. ********** proceeded to pay his bill and was sent the documents, as promised, on June 16^th
  • On June 17^th, Mr. ********** emailed our general inquiries email incurring about the insulation and rebar in the design. The email was forwarded from our Internal Services team to the design team
  • The design team did not get back to Mr. ********** in a timely manner. The email was received from our general inquiries line and unfortunately, fell through the cracks.
    • At no time during this period did Mr. ********** try to get a hold of us by phone, a follow up email, etc.
  • On August 12^th, we received another email from Mr. ********** stating no one followed up on his June 17^th request and that “Should I get no satisfaction, I will be lodging a complaint with APENS and then pursue through small claims court.”
  • We responded to Mr. **********’s questions regarding the rebar and insulation and explained that our fees for the work are not contingent on whether the client ends up using the design or not. Our work is complete when we complete the design. If we issued refunds or didn’t bill clients unless the design was used in construction we would be out of business. Our work happens during the design phase, the information is provided to us/we do a site investigation if needed, we do the engineering and supply the drawings and our work is complete (unless final inspections are required, which we do complete at that time). That is what we were hired by Mr. ********** to complete and we did.
  • We proceeded to offer Mr. ********** a refund in the amount of $200 + HST, the fee we allot for the final inspection piece of the job. Since Mr. ********** wasn’t going to use the design and wouldn’t require inspection work, we thought this offer was fair. Mr. ********** refused this offer and proceeded with this complaint.
  • At no time from the period of June 17^th to August 12^th did Mr. ********** call one of our offices or reach out further.
  • In conclusion, our work is not contingent on whether the design gets used. Our work is “design-phase” focused, so from time-to-time there are instances where clients change their mind about the design of their projects and ABLE designs are not used or are adjusted to reflect these changes. We do not and cannot issue a refund to clients if they decide to not use a design that we were hired to complete. From ABLE’s perspective, we completed the task we were hired to do. We understand Mr. ********** is upset about the delay in communication and that no one got back to him, we certainly try to respond to every inquiry in a timely manner, and can certainly appreciate his frustration. This was a mistake on our end which we take full responsibility for, however, we do not feel that this justifies a full refund.

   

  Should you require any further information please reach out to me directly by email or phone ************

   

  Thank you,

   

  ****

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/09/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  They did not consult with me on my project. The plan was not what I wanted. I had no way or reviewing it before I paid for it. Once the money was given, they would not communicate, as they fully admit. Yes, a further call was made to the only contact they gave me. No answer.  Admittedly. I gave up trying as they allude to. and I hired another firm that worked with me to supply a suitable plan. They did not and do not give out emails or phone numbers for any of their staff, so they are really focused on not communicating. I do not want to support this business and I want my money refunded. They do not deserve to keep it. 

   

  regards 

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