Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/02/2025

  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.

   
  Complaint: 23148324
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Regardless of how long it took to get design plans done, we paid for this in full, every invoice was paid and in the end the design is our vision and the plans belong to us as we paid for this, no where does it state or did it state that the plans did not belong to us, our home, our addition, our vision and we had ********* provide drawings via a third party vendor that he made money on this, every thing he did there was an invoice for his time as well, specifically written in his invoices. In the end and bottom line, the drawings belong to us
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/09/2025

   To Mr. ********* statement, yes, the plan's final cost was approximately $15,000.00 as the revisions made on the plans are what made this final cost as high as it was.The original set of plans prior to changes were set at $9,000.00, which included New 4-car garage with second-floor Living (2 bed/2bath and deck), New Living Room extension, Game Room Addition, Added Entry and Lanai, Kitchen Remodel. The back and forth is explained in the timeline, and was out of courtesy of our office providing the homeowners the customer service he deserved. The permit process was per their request, as the homeowners wanted to start quickly. Typically,we get a signed contract before any movements to ensure the follow-through of the project, however, Mr. ******** was certain that he was moving forward with us, they just needed to get the plans and contract worked out to exactly what they wanted. Additionally, Mr. ******** did pay for all permitting costs,therefore, we continued. Throughout this timeline, we provided multiple contracts,and none of them were accepted. $2,027,873.65 was the total for the first proposal offer per the plans, of which $257,595.00 of that was to supply,coordinate, and supervise the bowling alley. We then offered a 2nd contract and scope of work, the original plans were reduced significantly.$789,606.01 was the total proposed, of which $24,000.00 of that was to supply,coordinate, and supervise the bowling alley. The homeowner did not accept option #2. A 3rd option was the ********* 20% contract that was more suited for them,and we could not get a straight answer as to whether or not they wanted to move forward, as they were still wanting to make changes.
   One year and 4 months, a lot of planning, communication, site visits, meetings, administration,etc., and not one ***** was paid for our time. While the drawings are paid, the plans are of a proprietary design. Caroline Contractors provided the designs for what they are now (original plans to all proposed changes), as Mr. ******** was unable to facilitate what would be possible per cost and construction abilities. If Mr. ******** would like to sign a contract with us, pay the deposit, and move forward, as he said he would, we will be more than happy to provide the ESeal Engineered Stamped plans. Mr. ******** also has the right to pay Caroline contractors for the time spent, covering 1 year and 4 months. Once paid, we will release the ESeal Engineered Stamped plans.

  -Design meetings: 40+ hours
  -Document Review and Estimating: 40+ hours

  -Travel: To and from the building department, homeowners'property, etc. 5+ hours

  -Contract meetings: ******** residence and ******** business office 10+ hours

  -Building **** Meetings: 20+ hours

  -Zoning- Imperative so the lot would be in compliance so homeowner could put addition in specified location on his property. 5+ hours

  In short, we have gone above and beyond for Mr. ******** to meet his needs as a client, and we provided exceptional service. In 32 years of business, this has never happened to us. Mr. ******** did not have the decency to call our office and let us know that he decided to move forward with a new contractor. We found out when we received an email from the new contractor to sign a change of contractor form. Caroline Contractors contacted Mr. ******** to inquire about the emails that were received. Mr. ******** explained, They have decided to go a different direction as he felt that Caroline Contractors did not understand his vision and didnt think we would do a good job. After a few phone calls, we also found out that the contractor ******** decided to move forward with is a company that he has hired previously to do work within his business.This is a classic example of wanting work for less than the actual value and to perhaps trade work for payment. Cost is not the reason, as Mr. ******** explains. After 1 year and 4 months, we understood the cost and showed him every step of the way with re-designing his project multiple times, all costs provided for what he was asking. The 3rd and final contract, being a Cost Plus 20% option, meant Caroline Contractors was giving Mr. ******** at costpricing with 20% on top for our overhead. To discredit Caroline Contractors and jeopardize our integrity and hard work is morally unacceptable. We refuse to continue to work for free, and we certainly will not provide handouts to individuals who complain falsely. We wish Mr. ******** well, but we are no longer willing to work for free anymore.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/11/2025

  Mr. ********* Please provide your documentation that shows Caroline Contractors being paid for the hours spent over the course of 1 year and 4 months. What you paid for are proprietary designs based on moving forward with us to build your home. The hours worked, stated previously, would have been written into a contract if we knew you had no intentions of moving forward with us. Each contract and scope of work that we created for you was based on your "yes looks good, give me a new contract to review so we can move forward". Both design contracts that you signed and paid for state specific allowances included which are Non-refundable 60% deposit for schematic design, design development and two (2) preliminary meetings, production of construction documents of final approval of plans. You wanted to move forward with surveying, permitting, and more planning which gave us the understanding that you were moving forward as the permit for your property is under Caroline Contractors licensing, you just needed numbers that worked. We were more than willing to work with you, provide you with more design ideas and construction guidance. The hours spent on this was worked into these contracts, hence why we did not ask you to sign a separate contract to cover these specific hours. The mutual understanding was present. Mr. ********* you are a business owner as well and you understand how these business practices work. You yourself would not work for free, so why would you expect us to do so? As we requested, please pay for the hours worked, and we will gladly provide you the proprietary design plans. Kind Regards, Caroline Contractors, LLC