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:23/08/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 paid Bing Professional Engineering Inc. $11.9K (half of service fee) in End of Aug, 2023, for house design services and building Permit.Before we paid to him, Bing shows us he is a architect, and stated that the 2000sqft bungalow would not exceed $600,000. After we paid, he started to request us to provide design sketches instead of designing it for us. He then found a different person to do the design drawings. When we asked about the house cost, he said, "I usually wait until the design is complete before asking about house quotation." Sensing something amiss, and also we found he made mistaken for our Septic system location, so we asked him to revise the design, he demanded an additional $900. To ensure that construction could happen this year in May, we agreed. Later, we found many more issues in the floor plan and requested him to edit and to maintain better communication with us. He proposed another price increase, which we refused and suggested further discussion for a better solution. He insisted on the price increase and stop all services, at the same time, he blocked my email address. He refused to communicate for further solution.When attempting to locate his office contact info, we discovered that the registered business address and the address on his business card were both fake, and he is not regist architect.The most egregious act: On March 28th, we contacted the *************************** to inquire about the permit progress. It was then that we learned, to our shock, that they had been in communication with BingFeng, a fact he had deliberately concealed from us. He had even gone so far as to arrange for someone to impersonate me on Feb 14th, instructing OSSO to halt the project without our knowledge or consent.We also found Over asking price: When we needed to do Geothermal, he told us to find someone else to do the mechanical design. He was asking price of $3800 for the mechanical design, while others with qualifications asked for $1800.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2024

  - About our company (Bing Professional Engineering Inc.)
  The company was set up by Bingfeng Li, Peng in 2015, and it has been actively serving Ottawa/kingston market for 10 years with over 2000 customers. Our company holds Professional Engineering consulting certificates from Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and Ontario Association of Architects(OAA). we are also Registered Builder from Tarion. See pages 1,2,3 for our certificates. The company is multi discipline engineering firm containing professional engineers, licensed architect and designers. It specializes in providing architect and engineering service to residential, commercial/industrial buildings.
  
  -reasons to stop engineering service for the new building design at 3201 old almonte road, Carp as follow.
  1)Architect design starts from concept floor plans based on client preference, reference drawings or their sketches. Once the floor plans are approved by client, design professional will continue to do site plan, elevations and construction detailed drawings based on approved floor plans. Any changes after concept floor plans are approved will cause redesign of following drawings, some of essential changes will seriously impact following designs, delay the project and waste of our contracted working hours. As circled on Page 4 of the signed contract with client, it is not allowed to change concept floor plan after they are approved by client, we also verbally explained how it is important to client before they signed contract. The attachment listed how the client behaved during design process as follow.
  -Page 6: on Nov. 6,2023, client approved concept plans which gave us green light to move forward for construction drawings.
  -Page 7: on Nov.16,2023, client started to ask for changes on approved floor plans. Since the changes are minor, we accepted. But since then, client continued to ask for changes numerous times between Nov. 2023 and Feb.2024. even if it has caused much delay and re-design work hours, in order to finish project, we helped client out without claiming extra cost.
  -Page 12: on Feb. 2024, client suddenly required a essential change to remove the 2nd floor above garage, which will cause huge changes in grading plan, floor plans, elevations, sections and all construction details, it means our design work in last several months were useless, we have to redo such designs. After internal meeting, in order to finish this project, we decided to ask for a minimal payment of $900 to cover part of hour lost. while we planned to start the design change, because client feel the garage roof look ugly ( it is normal in the industry), client further asked for relocation of attached garage, which is another essential change to our finished design, and heavily impact design schedule, finished construction details. At this moment, we have lost too much design hours and deposit is not able to cover our design time. With another internal meeting, we decided to ask for 2nd minimal payment to cover a small part of our loss, the main purpose of this charge is to just remind client their changes have impacted design process and are not revised for free. Client rejected the second payment proposal and insisted on this change is part of first essential changes. We have sketch record from owner showing the scope of the first essential changes which did not include 2nd essential changes they raised.
  -At this time, we can not continue service for this client, they did not appreciate professional’s work, broke contract 10 days right after the floor plans were approved by them. This is only customer that we decided not to continue our engineering consulting service in last 10 years with over 2000 projects.
  -As directed by our company lawyer, we are collecting all fake statements made by this client in public, when it is time, we will sue this client on court for all costs incurred due to spread rumors on our company.
  -Page 18 and 21. this is side evidence that this client treated the septic design company exactly the same way to us. They gave approval to the design company to move forward for construction drawings, and then the client changed their mind and asked septic design company to use another system, this change caused design hour loss, when the septic design company asked for reimbursement, the client rejected it and stated it was mistake made by septic design company.
  In summary, this client does not show any respect to all design professionals, and always regret their approval afterwards, which caused financial loss to all contracted parties. I would identify they are less educated, dishonest,arbitrary people, and recommend all trades stay away from them.  

  
  Answers to client statement of the Problem.
  -We paid Bing Professional Engineering Inc. $11.9K (half of service fee) in End of Aug, 2023, for house design services and building Permit.
  Answer: this is contract deposit that we use to cover 50% of engineering cost for all our clients. The client’s frequent change requests after they approved the floor plans have caused our engineering cost more than such amount of deposit.

  -Before we paid to him, Bing shows us he is a architect, and stated that the 2000sqft bungalow would not exceed $600,000.
  Answer: please show the evidence how I showed them I am a architect. Since our company is authorized architect firm by OAA, Staff holding architect license in our company is eligible to take such jobs. I am a business owner and project manager doing business development and also doing part of design work as Engineer from PEO. We are multi discipline engineering firm doing such design work at daily base.  The current market construction cost is about $250/sqft, therefore $600,000 for 2000 sqft bungalow is reasonable estimate before as rule of thumb. You may consult other construction contractors if this estimate matches the current market price to verify if my statement is right
  -After we paid, he started to request us to provide design sketches instead of designing it for us. He then found a different person to do the design drawings.
  Answer: at beginning of design , it is common practice to let client draft a concept sketch such as how many bedrooms, washrooms, where is kitchen, living room, dinning room, laundry room so that we will develop the first floor plans to reflect client’s preference and also our recommendations of improper arrangement. And then we go from this first set of floor plans to further develop details that are reviewed by client for several rounds until they feel satisfied. Client is also welcome to bring their preferred plans so that we know what client likes. It is unrealistic in this industry to develop plans without client’s input for their interest and preference. The designer is not another person, he is licensed architect in Ontario and is our full time staff.
  -When we asked about the house cost, he said, "I usually wait until the design is complete before asking about house quotation."
  Answer: it is correct. $600,000 for 2000 sqft bungalow I told them is general information based on current market price before they signed the contract and started their design. The cost for particular project will relay on the complete design drawings. For example, since this client asked the basement to be fully above ground, it is like a 2 story house with 4000 sqft livable space , certainly the construction cost including footings,renovation,plumbing and electricity will be increased a lot compared to normal 2000 sqft bungalow with regular unfinished basement. For any particular project, of course I could not give them construction cost without complete drawings, and no one does.
  -Sensing something amiss, and also we found he made mistaken for our Septic system location, so we asked him to revise the design, he demanded an additional $900. To ensure that construction could happen this year in May, we agreed. Later, we found many more issues in the floor plan and requested him to edit and to maintain better communication with us. He proposed another price increase, which we refused and suggested further discussion for a better solution. He insisted on the price increase and stop all services,
  Answer: this is totally fake presentation trying to confuse judge. Septic system location is not determined by architect since we are working on building. The location of septic tank is decided by home owner and septic tank design professional. This client blames on us without basic knowledge. I have listed email records in attachment why we charge extra to them. As professionals, we also have all design records from this client showing their change requests. Any lying they presented here will become evidence in future court. The reason of another extra cost request was also explained in the first section of this letter.
  -at the same time, he blocked my email address. He refused to communicate for further solution.
  Answer:Please show the record that their email sending to me was blocked. I have never blocked any one and I even do not know how to do it in my email box.
  -When attempting to locate his office contact info, we discovered that the registered business address and the address on his business card were both fake, and he is not register architect.
  Answer: we have office change that has been registered with Ontario Architect Associate that our office was moved from unit 204, 150 katimavik road Kanata to unit 5, 6 Antares Dr. Nepean.ON. The office at unit 204 is our owned office for many years, it was sold in May 2023, and moved to unit 5. please show the evidence how and when you attempted to locate our office, who you talked to. The current owner at our old office bought this property from me and we have very good relationship, the new office is opened during work days with staff working there. All our business certificates are exhibited in the new office.
  -The most egregious act: On March 28th, we contacted the Ottawa Septic System Office to inquire about the permit progress. It was then that we learned, to our shock, that they had been in communication with BingFeng, a fact he had deliberately concealed from us. He had even gone so far as to arrange for someone to impersonate me on Feb 14th, instructing OSSO to halt the project without our knowledge or consent.
  Answer: I only received one call from OSSO that this customer owed the application fee to OSSO and staff from OSSO asked me how to have this payment made. Since the submission of septic design to OSSO was done by septic tank designer and home owner, it has nothing to do with us, I told the staff  to call septic designer to figure it out. Please show the evidence if it was me to impersonate the customer to halt the project on Feb 14th. Since this customer can address the exact date that someone impersonate her, she must have solid evidence, please show it.
  
  -We also found Over asking price: When we needed to do Geothermal, he told us to find someone else to do the mechanical design. He was asking price of $3800 for the mechanical design, while others with qualifications asked for $1800.
  Answer: in our design proposal, we clearly specified we will provide mechanical design for duct work, which is furnace system powered by gas. This is very common heating system for 99% of residential houses in Canada. Client has never stated they will use Geothermal heating system until 2024. there is only a few of professionals who can provide such design. This is why we recommended the client to find others to design it. Since these 2 heating systems are totally different, the design service fees for them are not comparable. Even for design of furnace heating system, it can be done in different ways associated with different price, the design can be either done by mechanical technician or professional engineers. For example, the simple duct layout can be done with cosmetic single line layout without considering interference with house beams, columns, all these potential clashes will be left on site to allow contractor resolve themselves. This way will leave many uncertainties and it is cheap price design package.   
  
  Based on our review on Customer’s Statement of the Problems above, unless the customer can provide solid evidences to prove their statement, we believe most of their statements are fake and slandered on Bing Professional Engineering inc. We have sent this record to our lawyer to create documents for lawsuit. It is always welcome for BBB to investigate further in this case and verify who should be reported in BBB system as dishonest person.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 16/09/2024

   
  Complaint: 22184379
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I have tried uploading my real response but it is not working, the "Proceed" button on this page is not functioning.

  I will send an other email with my real response and my evidence attachments to explain the details

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Wendy Huang

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/09/2024

  Complaint: 22184379
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Dear BBB Team,
  
  We sincerely appreciate your efforts in helping us reach out to Bingfeng Li and for obtaining his response. However, his reply does not provide any real solution to the issue at hand. Instead, it contains dishonest representations of the facts. He selectively used a single email from the incident as evidence, distorting the truth to falsely accuse me. If the full context of the email chain is considered, it becomes clear that his claims are inaccurate.
  Due to the limited space in my initial complaint, I had to be concise. Now, I will do my best to clarify the entire situation in detail:
  
  1. Regarding the septic system location, Bingfeng Li made a significant error:
  Initially, we planned to use a local septic system design, but Bingfeng recommended another company he was familiar with. At the time, we trusted him completely and agreed to his suggestion.
  On November 11, Bingfeng started contacting the septic system design company he recommended, then on November 17 he marked the location he chose for the septic system on the plan. (See attachment 001, 002, 003, 004) I repeatedly raised concerns that this location did not comply with the requirements I saw on our Scoped HdroG report for our land(see attachment PDF01), which I had already sent to him. One of my main concerns was that the septic system was being placed too close to our water well. On the Scoped HdroG report for our land, it clearly requires that a septic system be placed at least 50 meters away from any water well, but the location Bingfeng selected was within that 50-meter limit. (See attachment 013) Despite this, he insisted that his chosen location was appropriate, citing his professional expertise.
  On December 1st, Chang Sun (whom Bingfeng identified in his response as his employee) confirmed with us and continued the process to let them and the septic system design company handle it directly (See attachment 005). 
  By December 18, the septic system designer provided 2 system options for me to choose from. Before this and from then on, the two companies had been communicating directly. (See attachment 006-01, 006-02)
  By January 15, the designs between Bing and the septic system designer were not aligning. The septic system designer pointed out that Bing needed to discuss the situation with us (See attachment 007, 008-01, 008-02). Bing then tried to persuade us to agree to raise the house by 55 cm, which would have completely changed my original vision of a bungalow. (See attachment 009) I refused, which led to us having to choose a different septic system. On January 16, the septic system designer mentioned that by choosing to switch the system for a solution to the problem, it would cost an additional $620. (See attachment 010)
  During a phone call, Bing tried to make me believe it was my fault for choosing the wrong system and said I should pay the extra fee. However, the system I selected was one of the options provided by the septic system designer. This phone call left me confused since it’s a such a sudden blame came out of no where, and I emailed the septic system designer to clarify the situation. The septic system designer responded with an explanation, and at that time, both the designer and I agreed that a meeting with all three parties was necessary to resolve the issue. However, Bing refused to attend the meeting (See attachment 011-01, 011-02, 011-03, 012 in red).
  On January 19, we held a meeting with the septic system designer, and it was only then that we realized Bing had chosen the wrong location. The location he selected not only failed to meet the 50-meter well setback requirement but also posed a direct risk to the quality of our drinking water. The septic system designer recognized that this was not our fault and redesigned the system at no additional cost. Bing has never admitted to his mistake, and his unprofessional handling of the situation severely damaged our trust in him.
  Moreover, I want to emphasize that Bingfeng's decision to place the septic system within 50 meters of our water well was not only a serious threat to our water quality; it is also on the high land of our property, which is not where a setic system should be located, which this caused a result of must raise the house level for 55cm up.
  
  2. Regarding the design proposal with Bingfeng Li:
  After signing the full house design proposal with Bingfeng Li and making the payment, he never provided us with a comprehensive project plan, nor did he systematically consult us about our preferences, such as what kind of equipment we would like to use for the mechanical design. As a result, we began consulting professionals from other companies. When I took the floor plan provided by Bingfeng to consult on other mechanical designs, I discovered that the total area of the design was nearly 5000 square feet—far exceeding the 4000 square feet we had clearly outlined in the design proposal (with the main floor and basement combined). He never informed us about this oversized design, and based on his plan, we would have needed two heating systems, which would have been well beyond our budget.
  We were left with no choice but to ask him to revise the design and reduce the square footage. On February 6, Bingfeng demanded an additional $900 for the changes, which we agreed to so we could push the project forward. In this email, it’s clear that he was aware of the 4000 square feet requirement, and lied to make us believe the house plan is still within our request, yet it is certainly not. (See attachment 014) At that point, according to their latest drawing from Janurary 30, the house is 2200 + 2645 = 4845sqft, almost 5000. (See attachment 015) Meanwhile, he still refused to acknowledge his mistake regarding the incorrect septic system location.
  Later, we found that his revised design was not what we wanted and even introduced potential hazards. When we asked him to modify it again to address these issues, the changes just kept missing the mark, as if he could not hear us, which led to more back-and-forth editing. Then he request an other additional fee.
  At that point, we were unable to tolerate his ongoing demands for additional fees, especially when he wasn’t designing according to the signed proposal or our budget. Whenever we identified a problem and requested corrections, he would force a blame on us and continuously charge us more. After I refused to agree to the extra fees, on February 25th, he informed us that he would no longer provide services. When I attempted to email him again, he blocked my email address. (See attachment 016) Right after I have sent him a message through WeChat (a phone app similar to messanger), no response. It’s only after I have asked my daughter to forward my email, he gaved a response of refusing communication nore service, and never came back with his lawyer. (See attachment 017-01, 027-02) We have offered many times on improving our communications, we even told him we can communicate in Chinese if they want; Since it seems communication in English was not successful. Yet he refused to make any effort. This is clearly a runaway action.
  3.Regarding Bingfeng Li's page 6 and the repeated mention of the "approved floor plan" from November 6, 2023:
  In his response, Bingfeng Li repeatedly refers to the floor plan that I supposedly approved on November 6, 2023. However, the email he sent me at that time stated: “If there were no changes for room layout, my recommendation is to start building elevation, location of doors can be changed during construction.” Our reply at that time was solely regarding the room layout, as this was the only aspect they had been discussing with us. There was no mention or explanation given about any potential extra charges if changes were made later. Also, taking a look at his “evidence page 6”, what I said, word by word is “we can start to elevations” as he has suggested, I have never said to proceed to construction drawing development, it’s an exaggerate.
  In the signed design proposal, it states that additional fees will apply only after the "finalized" plan has been approved and changes are requested. However, at no point did they ever mention or use the term “finalized” in our discussions. Through out the process, he has been telling us they can work simultaneously on different parts of the whole project to help the project move faster.This creates the impression that they deliberately avoided making it clear when the design would be considered finalized, leaving us unaware of when we would be subjected to extra charges.
  This omission feels deceptive, as it appears to be a way to mislead us into thinking changes could still be made without additional costs, only for us to later be told that any adjustments would incur extra fees, not mattering even if they are the one who made an error. I believe this lack of transparency and communication about when the plan was considered finalized is a serious issue and deserves further scrutiny.
  
  4.Regarding Bingfeng Li's claim about numerous changes:
  Bingfeng Li mentions that we requested numerous changes throughout the design process. However, the majority of these changes were the result of him not following our original requirements. We repeatedly had to explain what we actually wanted, often asking to correct the same issue multiple times. This caused significant delays and added stress, as we spent a great deal of time trying to fix the mistakes in his designs.
  It often felt as though they did not fully understand or pay attention to our preferences, even though we had clearly communicated them. We have all the relevant emails to prove that our requests were consistent and that we had to spend a substantial amount of time correcting errors that could have been avoided if our instructions had been followed in the first place.
  5. Regarding Bingfeng Li's failure to adhere to our requirements and budget:
  A professional designer should base their work on the client's needs and budget. However, Bingfeng Li did not follow our specifications or budget constraints. For instance, we clearly requested a one-story bungalow. Despite this, his response suggested that he thought we wanted the basement to be fully above ground, effectively creating a two-story design—something we never requested. When we discovered that the septic system did not align with the house design, Bingfeng proposed converting to a two-story design, which I refused, as we specifically wanted a one-story bungalow. (See attachment 009, 001-03)
  It is important to note that Bingfeng was fully aware that increasing the house size would significantly raise the budget, including the cost of two heating systems instead of one. His strategy seemed to be waiting until we discovered these issues later so that he could then demand additional payments. He keeps delaying the cost issues and pushing for extra fees, showing he's taking advantage of our trust and ignoring the budget.
  6. Regarding Bingfeng Li's misrepresentation of qualifications:
  Before we made the payment, Bingfeng Li arranged a meeting at the construction site and showcased his past projects, claiming he had designed notable buildings such as the Ottawa Kowloon Supermarket and Ottawa Fo Guang Shan, etc. He even mentioned, “Let me think about how to make the front of your house look beautiful…” His electronic business card prominently displayed his photo, and under the name "Bingpro," it labeled him as an “Engineer & Architect.” 
  This is a strategy he uses to trick people in believing he is a Architect, while not leaving any trace. It did work during our house project, all these claims he has warped himself in, led us to believe he was a certified professional architect. And ordinary people like us will not carry a voice recording on us all the time. This is why he is so confident in his response to ask us to present an evidence. But, here is the plot twist, we did find the concrete evidence of him claiming to be an Architect. (See attachment 012)
  During the project progress, his actions seem inconsistent with those of a certified Architect. After he has left irresponsibly, on the advice of friends, we checked with the Ontario Association of Architects and discovered that he is not a registered architect. Had we known this earlier, we would not have engaged an uncertified individual to design our home.
  Meanwhile on the other hand, throughout the process, the septic system designer was professional and helpful. After Bingfeng stopped communicating, the septic system designer assisted us in locating Bingfeng’s company and ensured we were informed about the situation. We visited two addresses for Bingfeng’s company and found that “Bingpro Professional Engineering” was not listed at either location. (See attachment 018-01, 018-02, 018-03)
  7. Regarding the Ottawa Septic System Office (OSSO) and the permit issue:
  There was a serious issue involving the Ottawa Septic System Office (OSSO). They mistakenly contacted Bingfeng Li, instead of me, to inform us that the permit had been approved and that we needed to pay for it. However, Bingfeng did not relay this important information to us. It wasn't until March, when we inquired with the septic system designer, that we discovered Bingfeng had not informed us of this development.
  The septic system designer then helped us contact OSSO, where we found out that someone had falsely claimed to be us and notified OSSO that the project was on hold. OSSO has allowed us to retain a recording of this phone call as evidence, which we are prepared to present in court if necessary.
  8. Regarding Payment and Refund Request:
  We paid 50% of the total fee, yet the work completed by Bingfeng Li amounts to less than 20% of what was outlined in the design proposal. Additionally, there were numerous errors in his work. Despite Bingfeng Li's unacceptable behavior, we have always approached this situation with reason, understanding and open for communication. Although the $11,900 we paid resulted in two PDF files that are essentially useless, and he faked himself as Architect, we will choose to continue remain respectful and reasonable in our approach.
  We are requesting a refund of $7,200 as a reasonable compromise, reflecting our understanding and fairness.
  We appreciate and are grateful for BBB's assistance in this matter. If BBB can offer alternative solutions to resolve this issue, we are open to considering them.
   
  Sincerely,
  
  Wendy Huang

  Business Response

  Date: 28/09/2024

  Hi BBB,
  This client intentionally ignored our evidences provided in the first response, and trying to cut part of communication records and reverse chronological orders to create their fake presentation. They will continue to do so if I responded them every time. Here is our response corresponding to their continuous false statement.  
  1.Regarding the septic location.
  We are not professional engineers doing septic tank design, but without architect floor plans developed, septic tank engineer is not able to be involved. They only can start the septic design when site plan and floor plans are ready, as I said in previous files, the location of septic tank will be determined by septic designer and client, NOT Architect. When client asked us about septic tank location, we only can give our best estimate based on our past experience, but client and septic designer can change them with their discretion. I have told client the septic tank location can only be determined when septic design and grading design are confirmed. the attachment 01 shows our discussions in wechat, a social media in Chinese community. But I still like to give some answers for their questions.
  *50 meters distance between septic system and water well. The document client referred to is the report for the lot severance purpose before they bought the lot, it is not used for building permit design that we contracted for, we are not required to review this file for building design. it is septic tank designer’s discretion if septic design will follow it or not. Even if the client wants to use this document, the pre condition to maintain minimum 50 meter spacing is based on the fact the septic system is proposed at the front of the lot (see attachment 02), which is clearly stated in the report. the locations clients preferred are far away from lot front, therefore, this 50 meters rule does not valid anymore. The well regulation in Ontario has stated the distance of 15 meters for drilled well and 30 meters for dug well. New wells we are doing nowadays are all drilled well, so 15 meters spacing is required by code(see attachment 03-well regulation). this is where our estimate come from. But again, this is not our job and we did not quote design fee for septic system and water well. BBB can disclose our statement in public or show to any architect on Market if it is responsibility of Architect.
  *Regarding basement raising up, they stated they were forced to do so due to discrepancy between architect and septic designer company on January 15, 2024, please see the attachment 04, which was communication between us and client on September 16, 2023, client wants to raise the basement to the ground because her kid, young couple need to live in basement all day long. They want to have normal living space as if ground floor.  As you can see, the inquiry for raising basement from this client was requested at least 3 months before septic design engineer was involved. This client re-combine the historical email records to confuse BBB. The another evidence as shown in attachment 05, this drawing was dated 2023-11-18 with basement above ground, which is also much earlier than the date of January 15, 2024 they stated. Based on this fake statement, I wish BBB has feeling that this client is dishonest and cheat everything if people did not perform further investigation, it is reasonable to assume their other statements in both letters are not trusted and fake.
  *Regarding to the meeting we rejected to attend. the purpose of the meeting from this client is going to argue who should be responsible for choosing improper system as they thought between them, I do not want to be involved because I believe septic design company was right, and I do not want to be part of this argument. The reason that eventually septic design company did not charge them is because it is small amount and consulting companies usually let it go if the client was unreasonable person.  Our company did that too in some special cases.
  2.Regarding the design proposal.
  *Floor area. This is another cheating this client made that you will see how these people behave. In the preparation of design proposal, we only can estimate the total floor area based on client preference. That is why we wrote in contract with “about 4000 sqft”. during design development, we always write down floor area on the drawings to tell owner how big the area is. But we can not stop client to change the floor plans they prefer, it is their house. In their statement, they said they just found the total house area of 4850 sqft on January 30, 2024 on the latest drawing, please see the attachment 06,07 as sample of our drawings in progress dated 2023-10-02 on this project. such big fonts of floor area on each drawing is always there from very early design stage, who can complain they missed them if they have already reviewed the drawings. This client is trying to mislead BBB that they are victimized because this design company did everything behind them. So BBB, If you agreed the evidences I show here are solid, evaluate yourself how these people behave dishonestly. Do you still patiently trust them?  
  *Regarding to the extra payment we required, I have already clarified it in the previous letter, It is not reasonable to repeat. The client broke the contract from Nov. 6, 2023 that we did not charge them until Feb 2024 they requested essential changes.
  *Regarding to email blocking their message, it shows me and my employee both blocked their emails, it is ridiculous. Based on their statements on the letters, I believe they puzzled it themselves. They can show this to court if court need this.
  3.Regarding to “approved floor plan”. the contract was fully discussed before it was signed, we explained all contents of the agreement and they understood exactly. That is why in the previous letter, I copied email records showing we have confirmed the floor plan with them. If they pretend they were not noticed, court will only believe if the contract is signed or not. Please refer to my documents in previous letter, here is a couple of sentences I cited from there to show BBB how you feel.
  Designer: Nov. 6,2023, “Please confirm if site plan and floor plans are acceptable so that elevations can start”
  Client: Nov. 6, 2023,  “Everything looks good for now, we can start to elevations”
  Client: Nov. 16, 2023, “My sincere apologies of the sudden interruption, we are wondering if the floor plan can still be changed slightly”. this is starting time they asked for many changes for 4 moths without extra charges until essential changes were requested.
  you can see the client did know the floor plans can not be changed after it is approved by them, otherwise, why they need to apologize, why they  said “can still be changed slightly?”. During concept design phase,  how many times they asked for changes, they have never said “apology” or “change slightly” because they know it is their right. That is why I said they certainly knew that. Do not look at this case lonely, look at their fake presentations above, you will have your own judgement.
  4.Regarding our claims about numerous changes.
  Prior to further investigating whose fault caused these changes case by case, they were satisfied for all designs on Nov. 6 2023, and all changes were requested by them after approval. If there were many mistakes and we did not follow their instruction as they said, why they approved the plans. we are not supposed to do any design changes after Nov. 6 2023 on our own cost. But in reality, we helped them change the design many times for 4 months after their approval without extra charge.
  5.Regarding to failure to adhare to their requirements and budget.
  This is repeat fake presentation same with that in item 1 above. As I said, raising basement is their own request and design drawings with above ground basement was developed On September 16, 2023, which is nothing to do with septic design on January 2024 they referred. they stated in this letter that “they never request the basement above aground”, check attachment 04,05,06 again.
  6.Regarding the questions of my misrepresentation of qualifications.
  the client signed the contract with our company, Bing Professional Engineering Inc. Our company is certified by OAA to provide the  architect professional services to public, check the signed contract by client in which my title is P.ENG, Chief Engineer (attachment 08). and I use my engineer title in ALL emails (over 100 emails) even before the contract was signed (see attachment 09, the email before contract was signed). Is there any cheater lying in front of people for their identity and use true identity in all paper works?
  *My electronic business card. If they knew it is my business, it is common that the name on it is abbreviation of our company’s full name Bing Professional Engineer Inc.- BingPro. Any problem with that?
  *In their attachment 012, he pointed out that I claimed as architect, if you continue to read, I said “only thing WE need is the....”. I always present our company since I am the owner of the company, what is the problem if our company hold architect license with licensed architect in office. And right after that paragraph, it shows my personal title is Chief Engineer. Will this client want to say they do not understand what is the “Chief Engineer”?
  *Our company locations and licenses.
  Hi BBB, what is the first action if someone doubt any company in qualification? The easiest way is to check its website (bingpro.ca) and find useful information. Our website is opened 24/7. check the website and call related associations to verify. In attachment 10, it is the home page of our website, it shows our certificate numbers both from Ontario Association of Architects and Professional Engineers Ontario. Why did not this client call associations by providing such certificate numbers?
  About company locations, they mentioned they visited two places that do not have our company name on it. I have explained it in the previous letter, and questioned them if they talked to anyone in the locations, this client refused to answer this question. It is clear that they just took a couple of photos outside without confirming it with people working there. After covid, we have decided not to allow people walk in without appointment. So we do not want to show our company names in public. It is our company strategy in business, no one says company has to show their name in public. Check the attachment 11, it shows our company’s name and all certificates in listed office on our website.
  7.Regarding the Ottawa Septic System Office.
  I have clarified in the first letter, the only time I received a call from Septic system office is that they want to ask client to pay application fee, I told them I have nothing to do with their septic system design and asked them to call client or septic design company. I am not interested in acting someone else and doing things without benefits to me.
  Since this client gave order to septic design company to submit septic design application while they were still changing the floor plans, I knew the septic design they submitted is useless because septic design has to be done based on FINAL floor plans, any changes on floor plans after septic design application submission will cause the complete septic design invalid. If I knew this, why I called the septic office to hold this useless permit? Is there benefit we can get from there?  Since we did nothing on their septic design and submission, why am I responsible to inform this client. It is common replay that I asked the office directly contact either client or septic design company. What is the problem with that?
  8. Regarding payment and refund Request.
  The contract price is $23,800+HST. the paid deposit was $11,900, equal to $10,531+HST, which is less than required 50% of deposit.
  The break down list:
  *Architect ($14,000+hst): we have done required works and extra works client requested from Nov.6,2023 to March, 2024. therefore, minimum 50% of design fee $7000+hst to be claimed.
  *Grading/Servicing plan($3500+hst): minimum 20% of design works were done, 20% of design fee $700+hst to be claimed.
  *Structural ($2500+hst): structural comments and recommendation were given during architect design period, minimum 20% of design works were done, 20% of design fee $500+hst to be claimed.
  *Mechanical ($3800+hst): since this work did not started yet. We will charge $0 on it.
  *Expense on project management to respond their complain letters for 20 hours so far. Based on our hourly rate of $120/hr. $2400+hst to be claimed.
  
  In total, $10600+hst=$11978 is going to be claimed. Since client has paid $11,900, they owe $78 to Bing Professional Engineering Inc.
  In order to show our respect to efforts BBB has made, if they agreed, we can wave the expense of project management, therefore, $2634 can be refund. Since this is based on our minimum charge for each discipline, we will charge our actual cost for each discipline and overhead of project management if the client chose to continue the argument.
  Based on our evidence provided in the last 2 letters, I believe BBB has your own judgement on this case. Many of topics in the 2nd letter were repeated from the fist letter even if we have provided our evidences such as company’s qualifications. I will not respond this client if they continue to repeat. Since these people have no work and they can spend numerous hours on it and waste of your time and ours. I would rather pay time to our lawyer if this client continued to entangle. Please accept that I downloaded their statement and sent to our lawyer as evidences.

  Regards

  Bing

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/10/2024

   
  Complaint: 22184379
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I accept the refund of $2,634. Please e-transfer it to my email: [email protected] before October 11, 2024.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Wendy Huang

  Business Response

  Date: 09/10/2024

  the payment has been made, the dispute has been resolved. Thanks BBB's platform. see the attached payment record.