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:03/14/2025

  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.

  Protecting the BLHOA Public Sewer & Water Utility System for 220+ Households
  
  My current problem is also a larger problem for our 220+ residences. Starting in May of 2023- all of my fiduciary rights & every HOA By-law, county and state law has been violated by our Utility Company allowing my neighbor to build an attached garage addition over association water & sanitary sewer effluent system lines not to mention 5 feet over a recorded utility easement. This immediately affects the inhabitability my home and my other neighbor's. The Bayles Lake HOA operates the utility companies.
  
  An investigation of this build by our own Bayles Lake Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) details a report to our HOA board and I quote, “You did everything wrong. As a matter of fact, we can't find anything that you did right”.
  Our own By-Laws state that where HOA and County laws are similar, “the more stringent of the two take precedence”. An investigation by an architect/ forensic investigator/ expert witness for attorneys, concluded that every By-Law, county and state building codes and laws were not followed. The survey used for the property did not show the recorded utility easements as required by law.
  ******** County issued a permit for the garage build. The application don't match the permit received. County requirements on the permit were not met. ******** County Public Health's website states that one cannot build over a septic system.
  ******** county says they have no jurisdiction over the build.
  
  ***** ***. who regulates digging, says Bayles Lake in not in compliance with a 2003 law.
  
  The Illinois Commerce Commission's handles utility company's issues with consumers. They have been monitoring the situation for more than a year.
  
  Bayles Lake is averaging a water main break every month. The sewer line in question under the garage addition build even broke in that very spot where the garage is, a few years earlier.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/31/2025

  Please see attached document.

  Please allow this letter to serve as our formal response to Mr. ********** March 13, 2025 Complaint (ID No. ********) to the Better Business Bureau. Mr. ********** complaint arises out of a dispute where his next door neighbor constructed a garage. His neighbor petitioned the Bayles Lake Homeowners As­ sociation (BLHOA) for approval to build the garage, and his petition was granted by a plurality of the vote of members present at the Board meeting. All Board rules and by-laws were followed. Contrary to Mr. ********** assertion that "every HOA By-law, county and state law has been violated" not a single law was violated. Nor is the garage built above any sort of water or effluent lines that will have any effect whatsoever on the community members. Mr. ********** comment about the BL Dispute Resolution Committee stating "you did everything wrong" is likewise false. Should the BBB investigate further, it will find no evidence of any of Mr. ********** comments.
  
  The garage of which Mr. ******** complains was constructed in compliance with all local laws and ordi­ nances, the permitting for which was approved and overseen by the ******** County Zoning Department itself. Interestingly, Mr. ******** left a voicemail for the then-BLHOA Vice President expressing his sup­ port for the garage and an interest in doing something similar. (Since it was a voicemail, the recorded message remains available for review.) The specifics of what transpired between the neighbors after this initial show of support is unknown to the Board.
  
  Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. ******** is on a crusade to tarnish the Board's reputation through repeated public bullying. In fact, Mr. ******** filed a lawsuit in October 2023 as a result of this same neighbor dispute and the court dismissed his lawsuit with prejudice (Case No. ********). To be clear, the court ruled in favor of the Board. As a result, it appears that Mr. ******** has chosen to continue his campaign by contacting the Better Business Bureau. To say that the Board is disappointed with Mr.
  
  ********** actions is an understatement. We are a small, tight-knit community, and many of our resi­ dents have lived here for decades. The Board takes its residents' concerns seriously and makes every attempt to ensure a peaceful and well-maintained living environment. Mr. ********** displeasure with the garage appears to be a matter of personal taste.
  
  
  As previously stated, should the BBB choose to investigate this matter further, it will find no evidence of any misconduct by the Board. No laws were violated, the garage is appropriately placed and constructed, and the ******** County Court has already made a finding of no liability on the part of the Board.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/11/2025

   I am rejecting this response because: Nothing was in the best interest of the Bayles Lake community. No By-Laws, rules, ordinances or laws, county or otherwise were followed per documentation attached.

  DRC report states: ...Bayles Lake Homeowners Association rules and regulations should have been complied with in this situation and that many of Mr. ********** point are valid. ...the Dispute Resolution Committee does not feel a variance was in the best interest of the Bayles Lake Community.

  BLHOA By-Laws Sec 3E pg 13: The Majoirty of the Board of Directors must approve any variances from these rules. Vote was 4 to 3 of a 9 member board. 2 board members not present were not allowed to vote No remotely. The vote does not comply with By-Laws.

  BLHOA By-Laws Sec 3E pg13: neighbors must sign a form where variance is contemplated. Voice mail that was eluded to was done ealry on for a 10'x10' kayak shed. When a 25'x25' string diagram became evident on the location, I issued an email to ALL board members that I did not agree. My email was asked for by then VP ***** ******.

  BLHOA Water & Sewer Line Mapping Document by Engineering Firm: While court discovery provided us with essentially a layman drawing done in crayon of a line on an 8x11 sheet of paper showing the entire subdivision and utility lines that BLHOA used to draw conclusions, I have found our official mapping done by a licensed engineering firm. The photocopy is shady but shows the water and "SANITARY SEWER EFFLUENT GRAVITY SYSTEM" lines. I have a sizeable original that is clearer. BLHOA has these as well. Any attempt to play this off as any lesser system is not factual. If and when this line breaks again, sewerage will back up into my house and my other neighbor's- making the homes unusable and unsafe. 

  Sanitary Sewer Effleunt Gravity System: About 10 years ago this line broke on HOA utility easement directly under where the garage build is. BLHOA Board hired excavator ***** **** to repair it. They agreed to install a PVC cleanout for future safety. This cleanout is clearly visible and was pointed out beofer vote to the president, a board member and vp. The center of this PVC is 8 inches from the foundation. Code is 10 foot. ***** **** was not consulted ever during the build permitting process.

  Engineering and Architects letters of enforceable code from utiltiy lines were given to President & VP before vote: Utility lines require 10' building setback. Both professionals were actually used in the past by BLHOA boards for capitol projects. Yet their information was dismissed.

  Bayles Lake Covenants pg 35 & 37: 10' stretch of land aka easement was granted by original BLHOA Covenants for public or quasi-public purposes/ utilties. No HOA board or member can change that.

  BLHOA By-Laws Sec 11 pg 16: 10 foot easement for underground utilities

  BLHOA By-Laws Sec D pg 8: The ******** County Zoning Ordinance is to be observed when building a home at Bayles Lake. In a case where the Bayles Lake Homeowners Association rules and regulations may differ from the County
  ordinance, the more restrictive of the two will take precedence. No county rules were complied with by the BLHOA board. 

  BLHOA By-Laws Sec 2C pg 10: The stick drawings provided does not comply with By-Laws or county permitting specifications. available upon request.

  BLHOA By-Laws: Sec 2G pg 10: The downspout from this garage is located 4' away from my property and floods it.

  BLHOA By-laws Sec 10 pg 16: Large 5' bushes are planted directly over sewer line.

  BLHOA By-Laws pg 24: To further complicate the problem: Garage was built over Original HOA & county permitted variance by 38 inches. Variance granted was 4' from side setback and it is currently 5 inches.

  BLHOA By-Laws Sec 2E pg 10: A current plot of the survey, completed by a professional land surveyor complete with easements and measurements from structures to plot lines, of the pertinent lot must be submitted... The survey for *** ***** *** submitted did not identify utility easements. Illinois laws, Minimum Standard Boiundary Survey & ALTA Survey require this. The IDFPR has been notified of this survey.

  ***** ***.: Per **** *** ** damage prevention manager: ..all owners of operators of underground utility facilites who fail to join state-Wide-One-Call Notice System as of January 1st, 2003 shall be subject to a penalty of $100 per day for each seperate offense. This potential fine is over $766,000. As of my last contact months ago, with Mr. *** **, the BLHOA has failed to register and comply as promised.

  I will also note: because of being bullied, jeered and taunted for days, going from our car to front door, we were forced to move out of our house for 3 months during this build. A former BLHOA administrator, 6 residents and security guard can attest to this.

  In summary, per BLHOA By-Laws, all residents when buying into the community, must adhere to BY-Laws, covenants and declarations. Safeguarding the utility company's operation and infrastructure is even more paramount in this case.  It is in the best interests and safety of all 220+  Bayles Lake households to do so.

  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/28/2025

  Thank you for forwarding the consumers rejection to our response letter of 31 March 2025. We stand behind the content of that letter.

  Best regards,

  ******* ***** President

  Bayles Lake Homeowners Association

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/02/2025

   I am rejecting this response because:

  This kind of response from someone in charge of a Utility Company servicing 220+ households is unacceptable. The total disdain for By-Laws, building codes and county and state laws is why a growing number of Bayles Lake residents are frightened and concerned about their financial investments and overall well being of living at Bayles Lake. Decisions made by a select few will have drastic implications for all.  Any possible uninhabitabilty of houses as a result will directly reflect our DRC report's statement, "does not feel the variance was in the best interest of  the Bayles Lake community".  I have recently joined a national HOA reform organization and wish to suggest to the BBB that your review raises these concerns (as aforementioned in my previous attachments) in their assessment for the public awareness.