Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  Date of Transaction:
  8/5/22-ongoing - $12,500 deposit paid
  
  What the business committed to provide you:
  Kurt and Kim L***** of NH Earthworks committed to excavating our property to correct water drainage/ runoff issues
  -Build retaining walls to control water flow- 3 walls built
  -Rough Grade the driveway- bring driveway to original grade
  -Hydroseed the whole property which is ½ an acre minus the septic area
  -Kurt told us he would build a another retaining wall at the corner of our home
  -Kurt told us he would put drains and stone along the home to control some of the water coming off of the roof
  -Kurt told us the home would have a final landscape that you see similarly to new construction properties in the area. He showed us a photo.
  -Kurt told us hw would start work as soon as he got a deposit, this would be done by the fall of September 2022-He said he could do the whole job in 4 days. Later on he claimed he couldn’t do the job because we were having siding done on the home, but he could have worked alongside any work being done on the home. It should be noted that the owner was on site 24/7 working on the house until January 2023.
  -Kurt told us he had a big crew of workers and multiple machinery to get the job done quickly.
  -Kurt told us he would put in frost piers that would be used to build our porch. They were ordered, paid for and never put in. (We will pick up soon on our own.)
  
  What was done:
  -Three retaining walls and some grading was done by a single worker,Brandon, in a rental excavator. There was one other worker, Dave, who worked for a few hours, otherwise just Brandon on sight working.
  -Kurt brought over another machine, but it was always broken or had a flat tire. Once the tire was fixed he would have his “friends” come borrow it over the weekend. We stored it for him from September 2022-January 2023
  -Some trucks full of fill were delivered and a some trucks of loam.
  -Large rocks that Kurt got free from another job he was working on in Laconia were delivered to our job for the retaining wall. Other rocks we had on site were used to build the retaining wall.
  
  Issues with the work done and not done:
  -We were willing to pay NH Earthworks top dollar to resolve our drainage problem as he told us he would.
  -Kurt said the fall of 2022 was a great time to seed the property. This never ever happened.
  -Kurt had lots of excuses as to why he couldn’t start and finish the job. He tried to blame us and was very unprofessional towards us.
  -Bottom line is he did not do the work promised.
  -The work done is null and void at this point as the rains of last year and this year have eroded the work he did do in the fall. He missed the mark to plant as promised. We have lost all of the money washing the soil away. Please see current photos.
  
  Whether the business has tried to resolve the problem
  -We met with Kurt L***** in November and he told us he would get back on track and get the job done. That never happened.
  -We got a call from Kurt L***** in January 2023 saying he was ready to continue with the job. ---We told him the ground was frozen and there is no way he could put frost piers in and do the excavation work with snow on the ground and with it being frozen. I sensed that Kurt L***** was in need of money and was hoping to get another $12,500 of the original quote.
  -Kim L***** called me and said sorry this has worked out the way it did. She told me Kurt hurt his back. More stories of why they didn’t get the job done. She said she promised to come out and finish the job in the spring and hydroseed the property.
  That was the last I heard from Earthworks. They never contacted us or showed up in the spring. In fact the small bucket that attached to their tractor that was left behind was taken off our property while we were at work. They did not tell us they were coming to the property.
  
  Resolution Sought:
  -We would like to be refunded the $12,500 paid
  -We have water and mud coming into our basement that we are addressing currently. All of the soil in the front retaining wall has washed away and needs to be rebuilt. The retaining walls need to be rebuilt.
  -All of the work that was done is null and void in our opinion. All of the soil and the retaining walls have washed away this past year because of the lack of doing what was promised to us and the lack of seeded the ½ acre. All of the fill and loam has washed down our street or into our neighbor’s yard.
  -We have had to hire another person to do the job. They said the amount of work done is about only $3000 worth of work and in their opinion we should be refunded the whole amount because no grass was seeded and it is all washed away.
  
  More documentation available if needed:
  -ie: phone call documentation,
  -texts between Kurt L*****, Kim L***** and between both ******* and ******, videos.
  -Work being done by ourselves and another third party - receipts of fill, loam, seed, labor costs in order to finish this job by winter 2023, the way it was originally intended and promised to be done.
  
  I am a teacher and my husband is an electrician and we are doing a lot of work on our own. This company has by far been the most dishonest and most unprofessional company we have had during this build.
  
  Thanks for your help in this matter. I do hope it gets resolved.