Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/11/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore 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.

  In December of 2021, I hired Calvin, who said he works for "the union" in Fort Walton Beach, to install 4 security cameras, 2 WIFI doorbells, and 2 porch lights and replace 3 porch lights with motion sensor lights for $2100. He brought a "crew" with him, who he introduced as his supervisor, Kenny from Holt, FL, and a coworker, Justin from Milton, FL, also Kenny's son-in-law. After they finished and left, I found all boxes, including warranty information and QR codes for registration, in the trash bin, and 2 of the motion sensor lights and 1 porch light, all installed by Justin, would not work. Also, neither doorbell would even light up, as the activation instructions said they should. When Calvin and Kenny returned several weeks later to make repairs, they rewired the motion sensor lights but refused to fix the porch light, with Kenny saying that it was probably a burned-out bulb (it was not). Calvin then found that the doorbells require existing hardwired doorbells in order to operate and said he would send me an estimate of the cost to install those and also an outdoor outlet my husband wanted within a couple of weeks, and he and Kenny left the junction boxes they had put at the front and side doors open with the hot wires sticking out, a safety hazard (I received an electrical shock when I was cleaning one of the doors and bumped the wire). I never got the estimate. We must now hire another electrician to correct their failures. All communications with Calvin were via text message. Details, including dates, are included in the supporting .pdf document included with this complaint.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/04/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/12) */ Everything was complete except for the doorbell which was explained to Mrs. **** she didn't have the correct product because her house didn't have a doorbell already in the house but she asked us to try and install what she had purchased. Everything was working except the doorbell when we left a week or so later we received a call from Mrs. **** saying that one of the lights outside wasn't working so we scheduled a time and date to return and fix the problem. We tried to get the doorbell working but it still was the same one and once again we asked her to purchase new ones and give us a call and we where going to do it without charge but she said no she found someone else. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/08/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The information provided here by the business referring to "us" and "we" and referring to phone calls and discussions that never took place does not appear to have been written by Calvin L. Slack, who I only communicated with via text message. It gives the appearance of having been written by Kenny. I did not enter a contract with Kenny; I was never even given his last name. He was supposed to be Calvin's helper, like Justin. Kenny's behavior through this whole situation gives the impression that he is conducting business using Calvin Slack as a patsy. The response given is unacceptable, because it is patently untrue. I made no phone calls. Except for when they were at my home, during which time I called my husband and put him on speaker to talk with them, all communications were via text messages to and from Calvin, which I can provide. I can also provide photos of the open, hot electrical wires that Calvin and Kenny left hanging from the light fixtures at our entrance doors on 1/8/22, a safety hazard, one of which I was shocked by while moving it to clean around the door. First, there was no discussion about the doorbells - there were two, not one -- on 12/4/21, when they were installed and wired in, Kenny only discussed running conduit from the porch lights and installing junction boxes to mount the doorbells because, as he said several times, "I don't want to drill your walls full of holes." And he made a trip to a nearby Lowe's to get the materials and transformers for the lower voltage requirements (which he apparently took with him on 1/8/22, as they are no longer here). Text message conversations from 12/29/21, when my husband returned from his trip and began trying to activate all the electronic equipment, to 1/2/22 indicate that the requirement of pre-existing hardwired doorbells was not discovered by Calvin and Kenny until they returned on 1/8/22. During their visit on 1/8/22, while I had my husband on speakerphone discussing with Kenny his issues in trying to activate the doorbells, Calvin researched the doorbell requirements on his cellphone via Internet and found the pre-existing hardwired doorbell requirement. Second, it was not one light but three, all installed by Justin, that would not work after they left on 12/4/21. And again, Kenny refused to repair the third light. Third, they were not going to do any additional work at no charge. What they said was that Calvin would send me a quote within a couple of weeks for the additional work, to include an outdoor outlet my husband wanted installed on our patio. When I did not receive that quote after three weeks, I texted Calvin on 1/29/22. Two days later, he replied that he would get it to me later that day, but he did not. Fourth, I did not tell Calvin I found someone else to finish the work. I told him I did not want them back in my home because of their attitude, especially Kenny's. And I requested a partial refund because of their botched work, at which time Calvin stopped responding to my text messages. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2022/09/02) */ I've made my response to this matter. Thanks Consumer Response /* (4200, 14, 2022/09/02) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The business has offered no resolution; instead, it is standing by its 8/12/22 reply despite my having documentation proving that it has lied to the BBB. Unchecked, the three men in this business will continue to deceive others for profit, including unsuspecting homeowners, the union they are supposedly members of, and businesses who employ their services. Therefore, I ask that the Better Business Bureau resolve this matter as effectively as it can. I have copies of the text messages I noted in the case description and rebuttal ready to send upon your request and instruction for submission. Complaint Response Date bumped because: Holiday