Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/18/2022

  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.

  1. North Eastern destroyed my driveway while installing a pool and are hiding behind a disclaimer on their paperwork that they are not liable for damage. There is a big difference between damage and destroyed.
  2. North eastern took protective measures to protect their equipment damage by laying wood pieces and flags over four bolts that secure a basketball hope (see pics exhibit “A”) but could not give me the same protection for my driveway. North eastern initially discussed that my driveway could be damaged by the equipment but they did not describe the extent of damage nor a plan to ensure there was minimal damage such as scuff or tire marks in the driveway. Rather they destroyed my driveway to the extent that it became unsafe to load my newborn in and out of the vehicle or for myself and family to do so or the ability to safely drive and park my truck or take my trash out top the curb.
  3. North eastern continued to drive on the drive after the initial damage had started but continued to drive on the driveway without attempting to do the following:
  - Lay plywood down to mitigate the damage
  - Lay large boards down to mitigate the damage
  - Knock on the front door to inform my wife that the driveway is being destroyed and ask if they should stop
  - Call Terry or send Terry pictures
  - Consider using the grass to which they required my neighbor and I to sign in order for them to drive on the lawn
  - Drive on the lawn (where there was enough room for the equipment versus the driveway) to install the pool
  4. North eastern disregarded the severe damage to my driveway so they could complete their install and move on to the next install because they were approximately 2 months behind schedule, so they rushed and were careless
  5. North eastern took my $46,500 check and my $12,200 deposit and refused to fix my destroyed driveway and failed to inform me of the destruction they did to my driveway and took advantage of my wife who was home with a 5 week old baby.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/22/2022

  It is an unfortunate, however uncommon, circumstance
  whenever a homeowner’s property is damaged during the installation and
  construction of their pool. In this situation, the additional damage to the
  homeowner’s driveway (we say additional damage as we do have pictures of the
  area showing damage to the driveway prior to our equipment accessing it) was
  due to the traffic of our equipment and trucks using the driveway to enter the
  property and access the back yard & build location. This access point was
  discussed with the homeowner prior to the commencement of the project. The driveway
  would be our only access point and the homeowner was comfortable with us
  driving our equipment on it. Our job site superintendent and project layout
  person, Mike, also reviewed with the homeowner ahead of time the potential for
  damage, and the homeowner stated he was not worried about it as he was going to
  be replacing the driveway anyways.

  Our site superintendent Mike did make the homeowner aware of
  the additional damage to the driveway the morning of the pool installation, and
  he spoke with the homeowner multiple times throughout the installation warning
  him that the driveway was not going to hold up. The homeowner stated each time
  that it was fine and that they would be getting a new one installed in the
  spring anyways. During the process of the installation of the pool, the
  homeowner’s wife also came out and saw the damage to the driveway and told the
  workers the same thing, that she was not worried about additional damage
  either. She stated they were thinking about installing a concrete driveway
  in the spring, and now at least they would not have to pay a company to break
  up the current driveway prior to getting their new driveway installed.

  While we would not consider ourselves professionals within
  the driveway and blacktop industry, we have certainly seen our fair share of
  driveways and access paths over our 40+ years in business. The additional
  damage to the homeowner’s driveway is, in our opinion, indicative of a poor
  base, and if the homeowner is replacing his driveway, it is advisable to
  install a better base in that area prior to repaving the driveway. It is
  important to note that the use of plywood and plastic mats is to ensure that
  our equipment can get in and out of the property, not specifically to prevent
  damages to the path. No amount of plywood or plastic mats could have prevented
  the additional damage that occurred to this driveway. The damage to the
  driveway also does not render the entire driveway unusable as the homeowner has
  stated. The bump out area of the driveway, extending on the side of the home
  past the garage, was the area that was primarily impacted by the additional
  damage, not the entire driveway. We also have pictures (attached) that show
  that prior to our project starting, this bump out portion of the driveway was
  largely blocked off, indicating the homeowner was likely not using it for
  parking or loading/unloading vehicles prior to our project starting.

  These things can happen and are considered unavoidable
  damage, which is why we not only put it in our contract but also gave the
  homeowner a verbal warning as well. There are not one but two instances in
  our contact that state we are not responsible for damage to driveways. The
  first section states, “North Eastern will not be liable for any damage done to
  us by trees, lawns, shrubs, flowers, driveways…caused as a result of our work
  in installing or obtaining ingress or egress to the pool site and neighboring
  properties. In the event any damage shall be incurred because of such
  installation, owner shall be responsible for such restoration.” The homeowner
  signed this contract as well as our addendum, which states “If the point of
  entry for trucks or equipment is over your concrete or blacktop driveway or
  sidewalk, we regret to say, it is at the owner’s risk since we have no way of
  knowing how firm each individual driveway will be…we cannot accept any
  liability for damages of any kind.” Attached are scans of the documents signed
  by the customer.

  We were surprised when the homeowner requested compensation
  to repair the damage to the driveway, especially because our site
  superintendent went the extra mile to give the homeowner a verbal warning on
  top of it being stated in our contract that we are not responsible for damage
  to the homeowner’s driveway. The homeowner is already aware of our response to
  this complaint as we informed him that we would not be compensating him for the
  additional damage to the driveway, despite his statement that he will be
  “filing an action against NE in court and (he) will allow the judge to
  determine the definition of damage and (North Eastern’s) liability. (He) will
  start the filing today and…will be asking for attorney fees and (his) hourly
  rate due time missed for work.” (Excerpt from email sent by customer on 11/11/22
  - copy can be provided upon request).

  Although we do feel badly that this was the outcome, we
  fairly represented the risks to the homeowner both verbally and in our contract
  and are not responsible for repairing or compensating the homeowner for the
  damage to this area.