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:20/09/2022

  Type:Order 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.

  My husband and I entered into a renovation contract with Sandy Hill Construction in January 2022. Construction was initiated at the end of April and was anticipated to last 6 weeks. The project has not yet reached substantial completion. Despite a clear list of items to be completed, Sandy Hill Construction removed all equipment from our home on July 18, 2022 and none of their staff have been on site since. In addition, in a phone call on July 19, 2022, the proprietor stated to us “I just don’t want to continue working for you people”, “I won’t finish the job”, and “I’m stopping all work”. He lost his temper and aggressively added “You are the worst people I’ve ever dealt with”, and “How can we get past this so I can just get the fuck out of your house?”. Despite multiple subsequent emails promising times that someone would in fact come to complete the work, this has not occurred. While the office manager has communicated with us, the proprietor has never answered our emails about the specifics of completion (a list of items to be completed that are under his oversight (not those of subcontractors)) nor provided a timeline by which they will be completed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/10/2022

  I categorically deny these comments. The communication with these clients was poor. Like many construction projects, issues arose. More work was added on. Clients were not always on site. I also had labour shortages. Sandy Hill Construction is currently seeking legal advice in dealing with these clients.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/10/2022

  
  
  ********** ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  a) many aspects are blatantly false (for example, that we were not available on site is untrue, and was not once an issue that prevented work from being completed). 
  
  b) more importantly, it directly contradicts the Mr. *******’s own written admission of wrongdoing just 4 days ago (see attached). This is evidence that Mr. ******* lied to the *** in his response dated October 4th, which speaks to his credibility in this matter. 

  
  I am confident that we have the written documentation to substantiate our claims and to dispute the assertions in Mr. *******’s response, and we have also sought legal counsel. As stated in our original *** submission, we wish to terminate our contract. We view the project to have been abandoned as of July 18, 2022 at which time the owner removed all of their equipment from our home and did not have any of their employees return to complete the work, despite several promises to do so. As Mr. ******* himself acknowledges in the attached letter, we have had to manage the subcontractors ourselves to ensure their work was completed, which required substantial time, effort and negotiation and for which, by his own admission,  Mr. ******* provided no support. Given the abandonment of our project by Sandy Hill Construction, we have initiated completion of the remaining work ourselves. 

  
  I also note that the company has not updated their mailing address with the *** - it differs from that on their website.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/10/2022

  As a long-standing member of the ***, I feel
  that I am being bullied by the client. This one client is
  attempting to discredit Sandy Hill Construction's good-standing reputation. For a
  few minor issues that had yet to be completed, which could have been completed
  within a few days, they decided to withhold the final payment. There was a miscommunication with the client, our kitchen designer,  and the kitchen designer's installer. This pushed the job back several times. Sandy Hill Construction was waiting for this work to be completed before re-entering the premise to complete the remaining work, as there may have been minor repairs that needed attention from the kitchen install process. With the
  pandemic, labour shortages and material delays, the job did keep getting pushed back but there was never any intention to not complete the job. A letter of apology was sent to the clients but they will not allow Sandy Hill to complete the work.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/10/2022

  
  
  ********** ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Mr. *******’s response demonstrates his appalling inability
  to take responsibility for his own behaviours and actions that have led us to
  terminate our contract. Of note, he refers several times to the kitchen
  install, however our kitchen was not part of our renovation. This oversight is
  a perfect example of how Mr. ******* repeatedly neglected the scope of work to
  be completed under our contract. The excuses he presents relate only to the
  remaining work to be completed after July 18, 2022, the day Mr. ******* removed
  all equipment from our home and the date for which we view the project as abandoned.
  It neglects that we advised SHC that they were in breach of contract on July
  11, 2022 and that we subsequently reminded him of this on July 18, 2022. It is
  these emails that prompted the phone call with Mr. ******* on July 19, 2022 in
  which he makes his intentions regarding project completion clear, including statements
  such as “I just don’t want to continue working for you people”, “I won’t
  finish the job”, and “I’m stopping all work”. During that call we were
  subjected to a previously-established pattern of verbal abuse by Mr. *******
  through statements including “I’m tired of you people”, “You guys are
  nightmares, you are the worst people I’ve ever dealt with”, “How do you live
  with each other”, “Read your ******* email”,  and “This is ******* mindboggling”. While the
  file is too large to upload, the *** may contact me by email to obtain a
  recording of this conversation. As previously stated, Sandy Hill Construction
  has abdicated their opportunity to complete our project.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** *******