Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  We hired Mikulin Contracting June 2022 Owner is Matt M. and James M. To date we have paid $29K We hired Mikulin to complete a new composite deck in the front which included new stairs, black aluminum spindles and rails, and lattice along the bottom for finishing. This was to be completed with **** ******* on the agreed upon colour/shade brick red to match our red brick home. Mikulin was also to remove the current interlock patio in the back, lay down new pavers. As part of their contract they were to remove all the debris. They took all the debris and remaining screening etc and threw it all over my newly soiled/seeded irrigated back yard. My back yard is no longer usable We do not have a front deck at all. Matt had requested that we paid $5000 more to complete the front deck. We refused to pay anymore money at this point 1 year later. Here we are today. The pavers were laid with cracks and chips. The back patio is uneven with no polymeric sand. Matt had stated that he would drop off the material and walk away if we signed a legal document stated we would not move forward in any legal capacity. We have refused to sign that. He also provided the **** ***** invoice for the 'order' of composite with rails to be ordered. After reviewing in detail the provided invoice we were well aware this was not an invoice for the scope of our agreed upon contracted front deck. This has gone on for 1 year. We tried to continue to work with Mikulin Contracting to have the work completed as we cant afford to hire another company. We parted ways when his staff hit our newly built side fence and door. The wood on my new fence and door were gouged and chunks of wood are now gone. *** ******* *** **** **** ***** * **** ** ****** *** ********  I have asked them for a partial refund on several different occasions so we could move on and they have refused and yet refused to complete the work as well without more money.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/08/2023

  My response will reveal the reality behind ******’s half truths and **** which she is attempting to get posted to your site.  We are currently suing her for libel, defamation, along with others.
  

  It is too bad that a business can go above and beyond for so many customers, for so many years, and then have a customer who cannot afford the job try to lower our good name because of her problems. We have offered to finish the job, we have offered to drop the materials off so she could get her other contractor to finish the job, but she cannot be satisfied. She states that the deck material quote prepared by 2 **** ***** professionals for her job is not hers but won’t state why. She asked us to put the dirt removed from her patio job into her backyard to fill a depression left from an old pool, then asked us to remove all of the dirt because it had too many rocks in it. Which we did to keep the customer happy, costing the company thousands more. The machine used to move the dirt rubbed the gate and gate post, which is a $100 fix, and she is making this sound like a major issue and the reason for us not continuing. The reality is that she is asking for a refund when we are owed the second last payment on a job with 1 day of work left, with final payment due upon completion. She has stated that she is not going to pay anymore, so we cannot continue without a payment/must follow the contract, as we have no confidence that she will pay/has any money to pay for anything upon completion.  
  

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

  Below is the letter sent to the customer, sent 3 weeks ago, which she has not responded to.  

  ****** and *****,

  Despite my consistent efforts to work with you and apply reason to appease the situation, I believe it has become increasingly clear that you have not been interested in anything more than ******** me for money and services rendered. 

  After your lengthy delay in obtaining the deck permit, we resumed work immediately after the permit was approved this May and again the day after the structure was passed in order to finish the job.  Subsequently, you asked us to not return to the site when we requested the sequential material payment that would be used to order the final phase building materials required to complete the job.  Without the aforementioned payment, you then requested of us to deliver said materials; all the remaining materials, to your property, and leave, as you decided if we were going to have the privilege to finish the job for free.  At this time, it became clear that you did not have the financial ability to pay for the completion since the fall and you had not intended to pay for some time.  I was being played fall through winter, and it was all premeditated because of your financial distress.   
  
  **** **** *** ******* in the fall when you asked for a full refund as soon as the patio was completely laid, and the deck framing was complete.  When we refused the unreasonable demand and insisted on finishing the job you began mistreating our crews and chasing them away.  Absurd actions for someone who supposedly wanted the job completed by our company ASAP.  Not so for a person attempting to manipulate the situation and forcefully create a case for job abandonment, or breach of contract, among other ***** claims. 
  
  Aside from installing the remaining deck materials when they are delivered, all other described work is complete with commonly expected touch-ups to be done thereafter.  The second to last payment is/was now due.  We have the right to ask for this payment before ordering the remaining deck materials, and with good reasoning especially since you stated to us that you did not intend to pay for any more of the remaining work, even after completion.  This is very concerning.  Since you admittedly can’t afford to complete the job as you stated in the BBB complaint why did you fire us and act as if we did not try to complete the work?  I am quite disappointed in your behaviour and desperate tactics.  It would have been best to just be honest about your situation and we could have worked with you.  We honourably stayed the course despite your abuses.  Eventually, I offered to pay for the deck materials and move on, and you seemed agreeable, however after waiting a week for your deliberation, you sent word that this would not satisfy your greed. 

  Now you have gone too far, and I must defend my good business.  Regrettably, your ********** social media posting campaign has caused irreversible damage to my business that you simply cannot afford to repay.  With each post, the story changes and it is obvious that you cannot even keep track of your own falsities.  Here are but some examples of the level of exaggeration of unfounded claims, which are immediately debunked by your own posted photos.  You claim the patio is cracked in multiple places, broken pavers were used for the job, there is absolutely no polymeric sand, and there has not been a deck whatsoever for over a year.  Well, we see a deck structure, and we see polymeric sand in the patio photo, and we see that the crack you are referring to is in-actuality a tiny pebble-sized chip at zoom level, located at the side of one stone among hundreds.  By the way, as minor as this is, it may not have even been our fault as you had many other trades and masonry workers on top, using the patio area to perform work and regularly traversing over the patio since the fall.  What is also evident from the photo of the groomed and level earth we distributed in the backyard (as you asked us to do), is that after 1 full year, we can see you have still not made any attempt to use the weed trimmer or mower that you have available to you in your garage to trim the 3-foot tall grass.  Such pride of ownership!  We should ignore this of course and focus on “your truth”.  Aside, we can see more of your household garbage is accumulating because we are not there to pick it up for you as a courtesy, and move your discarded items strewn about the yard as we previously did.  **** ** ***** ** *** ***** **** ******* ********* **** ******** ********* *** **** ** *** ****** **** ********* *** ********* ******** ***** ******** **** **** *********** ******* *** **** ** *** ******* ****** ** **** ******* ** ****** ** *** *** **** *** *** **** ******* **** ** **** ** ***** **** ******  ** *** *** ******** ** ********* **** ** *** **** **** *** ***** *****  ** *** ********* *********** **** **** ****** ***  *** *** ***** *** ******** ********  ****** *** ****** * ********* ******* ** ********* ***** *** *********   ***** **** **** ** ***** * ******* 
  
  Rather than immersing yourself, and your family, into the resulting financial pain and lasting suffering to come as you are forced to pay restitution by the courts when we expose your exaggerated delusions, I strongly advise you to renounce and remove your irrational and defamatory comments from every ****** website.  It is clear to anyone who will be fact-checking both sides of the issue that your claims are unfounded.  Remove the social media postings immediately or you will be forced to pay for resulting damages to my business.  **** *** ******** ** ******** ************ ***** **** ** ***** ****** **** **** *****  I have hired a lawyer and will take this to court if necessary.