Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  I am writing to file a complaint against D L Contracting LLC (****** ******), a basement contractor who has failed to complete the work on my basement project.
  
  I signed a contract with D L Contracting LLC on 01/07/2022 in which he agreed to complete the work for $38,000 dollars. He has collected $33,500, but he has not completed the work.
  
  I have tried to contact him on several occasions to get an update on the project, but he has not responded to my phone calls or texts. I have also tried to contact the subcontractors who he hired, but they have not been paid either as agreed upon.
  
  I am now requesting that the BBB intervene and help me resolve this matter. I would like *** ****** to complete the work on my basement project immediately. If he does not complete the work, I would like to be refunded the full amount of money that I paid him.
  
  I have attached a copy of the contract and a list of the project details.
  
  Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
  
  Sincerely,
  ******** *****  Enclosures:
  Copy of the signed contract
  Proof of payment to the contractor
  Current status of the project

  Business Response

  Date: 06/29/2023

  To whom it may concern;

  I have never told this customer I wasn't going to finish what We started.

  To me its amazing  that all the attention and blame falls on the contractor, I've been in business  over 30 years. This is the first complaint I've had from any my customers. 

  
  

  First of all, the start of this project  was delayed  because  of Mr. ******** ***** ********* inability  to draw up his  blue prints. He didn't want to spend the money on Architect. 3 trips to Clayton to be Denied and the blue prints have to be redrawn. Almost 3 weeks delayed. This was on my dime and time.

   

  We finally  get started on the project and we're moving rite along . When he tells me in the same week he will be going to his home land India  for 2 weeks We will not be able to work on his project while he's away.  He will say that he cut his trip short so we could get back to work. ( whatever).

  I've stopped and started over, I've add things ,changed  things around for him because  he changed his mind or watched a DIY video. I will not be bullied  I will gladly  take this to court I will gladly  drag this out over the next year to a year half. 

  To me this is the most surprising the BBB not only takes his side because of a letter and some pictures that don't even tell the entire true story. It's always  the Contractor fault. How come the BBB doesn't  stand up for the rites of contractor ?  What if D/L Contracting  sent the Complaint first,

  I wonder what would BBB would've done .

  
  

  
  

  As a proud veteran of this country and US citizen  I' ll  be asking some more difficult questions  of Mr. ******** ********* . Again I never said I wouldn't finish his project.  He's made me wait time again it's his turn to wait till I get the time. Feel free to contact me anytime you have my #.

  
  

  D/L Contracting LLC.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/30/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting Mr. ****** ****** (D/L contracting LLC) responses and my responses are given below, 
  1) Permit Delay - I am an Engineer and have experience in building drawings. I prepared the building plan by consulting with my neighbors who recently worked on a building plan for their basement.  I did the drawing since I know the plan and not to save money by hiring an architect, even St. Louis county allows the owners to draw their plan.The St. Louis county shared the comments on 02/23/2022, I corrected the plan and resubmitted on 03/03/2023 (8 days). The entire communication was through emails and wondering why Mr. ****** ****** visited the Clayton office 3 times. I attached the entire email communication for your reference and Mr. ****** ****** was copied on those emails. 
  

  2) India Visit - Mr. ****** ****** was supposed to complete the basement project by 04-17-2022 (please see the basement contract) and my original India trip was booked for 05-20-2022 to 07-06-2023, I even asked Mr. ****** ****** if he would be able to complete the project before my trip and he responded that it will be done as specified in the contract, however Mr. ****** ****** did not complete the project and mentioned that he will complete it by May 2022, hence I had to cancel my booking and booked a new itinerary for 06-18-2022, however Mr. ****** ****** did not complete the project by May 2022 and he even did not show-up from 04-28-2022 to 06-15-2022 and he just showed on 06-16-2022 for working on the multimedia cable setup. I am surprised to see Mr. ****** ******’s comment that my travel has caused some delay in the project, I actually lost $1022 for air ticket modification and even more I cut short my trip just because of this project. I attached the evidence of original air tickets, modified itinerary and modified air tickets. I also attached the time period of Mr. ****** ****** activities in the basement project.
  

  3) Changes to the Project - I am surprised to see this comment as we did not ask for any new changes and tried to make sure the project was implemented as per the county approved plan and building code. Mr. ****** ****** did a lot of mistakes in the project and he is blaming us for those, A few examples are given below,
   - Framing changes - The framing was not installed as per the building code and Mr. ****** ****** changed those before inspection
   - Alley Door framing - Mr. ****** ****** failed to install door framing for the alley which was specified in the approved plan. We notified this and Mr. ****** ****** corrected this missed item.
   - Incorrect framing measurement - Mr. ****** ****** did not install the wet bar/storage framing as specified in the approved plan (7’ gap provided instead of 6’6”). We notified this and Mr. ****** ****** corrected this incorrect installation.
   - Multimedia cable - Mr. ****** ****** did not install the drywall properly and that caused the damage to the multimedia cable. We notified this and even purchased a new cable for installation for Mr. ****** ******’s mistake.
  There are many more mistakes that are still there and are listed below,
   - A lot of Electrical switches/Lights and Receptacles trims are not properly drywalled and mesh tape around the fixtures are not mudded/sanded properly and the tape is visible.  
   - Drywall, mudding and sanding was not done properly and we can see the mudding transitions with the bare eyes. I attached a few pictures for your reference. 
  Whenever we point out these mistakes Mr. ****** ****** commented that he has 30 years of experience (whatever). 
  

  4) True Story - I am ready to hire a 3rd party inspection company to inspect my property i.e. the basement work done by Mr. ****** ****** if he thinks a few pictures will not tell the entire true story.
  
  5) Actual Delays - Mr. ****** ****** made a lot of excuses that he and his wife were not well and took money well before the payment schedule. Mr. ****** ****** says he will work on the project whenever he secures money for completing the project even though we overpaid him. I attached a few text messages for evidence. 
  

  6) Project commitment - Mr. ****** ****** threatened a few times that he will not do the project if we pay him some advance money. The project is going on for more than 1.5 years and still it is not complete yet. Mr. ****** ****** initially committed to complete the project by 04-17-2022 as per the contract date, later he moved it to May 2022 and then July 2022. Finally he said he will complete it by January 2023, however Mr. ****** ****** has not responded to our texts, calls and emails for the last 4 months. Mr. ****** ****** made a lot of false commitments and not showing any interest in completing the project and blaming us for the delays. 
  We paid $20000 as an initial payment to Mr. ****** ****** and he mentioned that this money is needed to pay the subcontractors and buying materials, we believed him since he mentioned him as a veteran, however he disproved our beliefs as he did not pay the subcontractors and subcontractors sent payment notices to me and also materials like flooring, doors, cabinets etc were not purchased as he mentioned.
  

  7) Legal - I am more concerned to see Mr. ****** ****** says he will drag this in the court for a year or year and half which diminishes the laws of our country. I am a proud US citizen and I am confident that our laws are created to support the victims and retain justice.  
  

  8) Next Steps - I have waited for more than 1.5 years and do not want to wait for Mr. ****** ****** to complete this project. My basement poses a health hazard and my home is messed up with materials which is a safety concern. I started collecting quotes from other contractors to finish the project. The labor work alone is around $15000 and the materials like Flooring, Doors, Cabinets which would be around $6000 i.e. toal around $21000 is required to complete the project. I will demand Mr. ****** ****** to pay the extra money which is approximately $16500 ($21000 - $4500 which is outstanding for Mr. ****** ****** as per the contract) once I complete my project. Also Mr. ****** ****** has to settle the subcontractors (***** ******** *** ***** ********** ***) outstanding payments as well.
  
  I hope I have clarified my position very clearly and please let us know if BBB needs any additional information, evidence and I am happy to provide. Thanks so much for your coordination and help in supporting the victims like me.
  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******** ***** *********