Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/07/2024

  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.

  Poor workmanship, highly unprofessional, and no quality guarantee of work. Skipped multiple steps during driveway install. 3 months later, driveway now has multiple crumbling craters throughout. Blamed my wife and me for defects, claimed that happens when you turn your wheels in your driveway (not sure how we can avoid turning our wheels in a CURVED driveway).Refused to provide requested partial refund, and threatened to have my wife charged with harassment for attempting to receive resolution to this matter privately via email (which she did with my knowledge/on my behalf).Breached contract on multiple fronts.In retaliation for my wife giving them an unfavorable (but factual and honest) ****** review, the owners, **** and ***************************, publicly defamed, made false accusations, released our personal information, and launched personal attacks against my wife and me across various social media platforms. They are apparently convinced that my wife and/or I have created several online personas to "harass" them, which I know nothing about.We have both ceased all personal contact with them after the threats to have my wife criminally charged, and after I received phone calls from the PA ************ on this civil dispute.Additionally, my wife hired 2 professional engineering consultants/expert witnesses, who assessed the damage to our driveway, and both agreed the work done by Black Rock was not done according to industry best practices. They also agreed that the multiple missteps during the install contributed to the continued deterioration of our driveway. Unfortunately, despite our best attempts to resolve our issues amicably, we have no choice but to pursue legal action against **** and *******, both to recoup damages on the driveway job and for their continued defamation To say we would absolutely not recommend working with this incompetently-run company would be the understatement of the year.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/20/2024

  On March 22nd , We paved a driveway for ***************** at *********************************************************************************. All work was done satisfactory and in a good business manner. As he that day left us a 5 star review on ******* On Wednesday April 17th we received a call from ***************** concerned about a **** on his driveway as he sent pictures via text message, we evaluated the pictures and spoke to him again that day as they looked like power steering ****s. We asked him if he is turning the wheel in one spot while the vehicle was not in motion as he replied "Yes". We then explained to him that you cannot do that on new asphalt as the vehicle has to be in motion when turning the wheel to avoid these things. He Stated " Well Now he Knows" and was very understanding, we then agreed to come fix the **** and seal the whole driveway free of cost now that he understands this information, *** agreed and was thankful especially after we explained we don't guarantee power steering ****s on our contracts. On Monday April 29th we went out and Fixed the **** and sealed the entire driveway free of cost, out of our strive for customer satisfaction which had a value of $1,750.00. *** texted us happily with the job being seal coated and complimented us on our son's work ethic. ***** Following We received emails from his girlfriend ***************************** who we didn't even knew existed as we were only ever in contact with the homeowner himself. She stated since we didn't apply liquid tac coat down as written on our work contract that she was owed a refund. We explained to her that tac coat is not a chargeable fee as we never charge for tac coat and we fixed the issue that they were concerned about already, which we didn't even need to do but did as we strive to make our customers happy. She continued to slander and argue with us and was not being amicable at all to the point we told her to please contact our lawyer and gave his contact information. Black Rock and Sons Paving Fixed the issue at hand as requested and went above and beyond to give customer satisfaction. Our lawyer was never reached out to, but instead ****** decided to make fake ******** and ****** accounts and defamed our business on all ************ fronts referencing her driveway in every comment and post. Police were needed to be contacted due to this unwarranted harassment to our business and ourselves personally. They Claimed via email they would be reaching out to our lawyer to recoup entire costs of the driveway which there is nothing wrong with ( Pictures Attached), but they have not done so. She chose just to harass us over the internet instead of reaching out to our lawyer for whatever solution they seem to be looking for , due to the issue they caused when their own hand on their driveway was already rectified and fixed free of cost and then some. We went above and beyond and satisfied their concern at our expense.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/24/2024

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: 21817197
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  
  The overwhelming majority of the claims made in Black Rock and Sons' response were factually inaccurate and intentionally misleading.
  
  First, Ill address the photos provided by Black Rock and Sons:
  
  1.    20240506_111608.jpg this photo was taken from approximately 70 feet from the lower-most defect in the driveway. This is an intentionally misleading photograph that does not (and cannot, due to distance) accurately depict the damage referenced in this complaint.
  
  2.    20240506_111656.jpg this photo was taken from approximately 60 feet from the lower-most defect in the driveway. This is an intentionally misleading photograph that does not (and cannot, due to distance) accurately depict the damage referenced in this complaint.
  
  3.    20240506_111725.jpg this photo was taken from approximately 200 feet from the driveway. This is an intentionally misleading photograph that does not (and cannot, due to distance) accurately depict the damage referenced in this complaint.
  
  4.    Screenshot_20240505_201104_Gallery (1).jpg this photo depicts a statement that my wife, ******, made on 5/3/2024 in our neighborhoods private ************** chat. This screenshot misleadingly crops out a previous statement made by my wife that describes our poor experience in dealing with Black Rock and Sons, which provides necessary context surrounding the conversation. I have provided the uncropped screenshot here for clarity.
  
  5.    Screenshot_20240505_203756_Gallery (1).jpg this photo depicts a text message that I sent to Black Rock and Sons owner, ***************************, regarding his sons own work ethic, which is very clearly unrelated to the issues described in this complaint.
  
  6.    Screenshot_20240508_202910_Gmail.jpg this photo depicts a positive review that I made about Black Rock and Sons on ****** on 3/22/2024, four (4) days following the recapping of my driveway, and three (3) days before I had even driven a vehicle on it. At that moment in time, I was, indeed, satisfied with the work; HOWEVER, the defects described in this complaint did not begin to appear until (on or about) 4/15/2024, approximately one (1) month following the completion of the driveway work. As the driveway began and continued to deteriorate, I removed my positive ****** review, as it no longer accurately represented my experience in dealing with Black Rock and Sons, and its owners, ******* and ***************************.
  
  The rest of my comments are contained inline Black Rocks response to my initial BBB complaint, as indicated by my initials, JP, and my comments contained within brackets, as such: [JP:  ].
  
  *******
  
  On March 22nd , We paved a driveway for ***************** at *********************************************************************************. All work was done satisfactory and in a good business manner. As he that day left us a 5 star review on ******
  
  [JP: addressed in point #6 above].
  
  On Wednesday April 17th we received a call from ***************** concerned about a **** on his driveway as he sent pictures via text message, we evaluated the pictures and spoke to him again that day as they looked like power steering ****s. We asked him if he is turning the wheel in one spot while the vehicle was not in motion as he replied "Yes". We then explained to him that you cannot do that on new asphalt as the vehicle has to be in motion when turning the wheel to avoid these things. He Stated " Well Now he Knows" and was very understanding
  [JP: this is patently false I was never asked if I was turning the wheel in one spot while the vehicle was not in motion, and I most certainly did not reply in the affirmative, as I (nor my wife or guests to our home) would not ever have any reason to do so. Again, the defects in the driveway did not start appearing until nearly a month following the install not quite new asphalt.]
  we then agreed to come fix the **** and seal the whole driveway free of cost now that he understands this information, *** agreed and was thankful especially after we explained we don't guarantee power steering ****s on our contracts.
  
  [JP: not only is "power steering" not the cause of the poor quality of work here, but I never signed a "contract" acknowledging any aspect of this claim. Please provide a copy of the mutually-agreed upon and signed contract, as I don't seem to have that in my records.]
  
  On Monday April 29th we went out and Fixed the ****
  
  [JP: no **** was fixed, in any way, shape, or form. In fact, the original defect has worsened in the months since, and approximately 10 - 15 others like it have begun to form and deteriorate further]
  
  and sealed the entire driveway free of cost, out of our strive for customer satisfaction which had a value of $1,750.00.
  
  [JP: I did not request that the driveway be sealed, especially since sealing month-old asphalt is not advised by any asphalt industry expert. In fact, I have spoken to three (3) separate and independent asphalt/paving company owners (out of state, not competitors of Black Rock), one (1) materials chemist, and one (1) professional civil engineer with 20+ years of industry experience. Each confirmed that sealing a month-old driveway driveway prevents proper curing of the asphalt and may actually compromise the integrity of the asphalt further.]
  
  *** texted us happily
  
  [JP: happily is subjective, unsure how my emotional state could be assessed via text message, and the defects remained unchanged following the sealing]
  
  with the job being seal coated and complimented us on our son's work ethic.
  
  [JP: addressed in #5 above. Sons work ethic is unrelated to the complaint at hand. Speaking of the owners son, during the same visit, he stated to both me and my wife, that, this definitely wasnt our best work.]
  
  Weeks Following We received emails from his girlfriend ***************************** who we didn't even knew existed as we were only ever in contact with the homeowner himself.
  
  [JP: for clarity, ****** is my wife, whom I asked to communicate with ******* and *************************** on my behalf. Whether they were aware of her existence seems irrelevant.]
  
  She stated since we didn't apply liquid tac coat down as written on our work contract that she was owed a refund. We explained to her that tac coat is not a chargeable fee as we never charge for tac coat and we fixed the issue that they were concerned about already, which we didn't even need to do but did as we strive to make our customers happy.
  
  [JP: my wife didnt state that she was owed a refund. She related to ******* and ******* that their fix of applying a sealant did not, in fact, remedy our issues, and sought a refund based on tac costs, which was approximately 8% of the total cost of the job. Whether Black Rock and Sons feels that the failure to apply tac coat as outlined in their estimate contributed to the continued degradation of my driveway or not, does not negate the fact that we still have a driveway now covered in 10 15 crumbling, indented potholes.]
  
  She continued to slander
  
  [JP: my wife did not slander anyone. Her communication (again, with my knowledge and on my behalf) with ******* and ******* was limited to private emails.]
  
  and argue with us
  
  [JP: thats called negotiation, which is an expected component of an attempt to recoup costs related to poor workmanship]
  
  and was not being amicable at all to the point we told her to please contact our lawyer and gave his contact information. Black Rock and Sons Paving Fixed the issue at hand as requested and went above and beyond to give customer satisfaction.
  
  [JP: once again, as stated multiple times, the issues that are the subject of this complaint were not remedied. If the actual CUSTOMER is stating that he is not satisfied, the company doesnt get to decide that he is, in fact, satisfied.]
  
  Our lawyer was never reached out to,
  
  [JP: it is not common practice, nor is it a reasonable request, for a private citizen to contact the legal counsel of a company with whom he has a dispute. My attorney is currently handling this case, and, if and when necessary, Black Rock and Sons will be made aware of any legal action]
  
  but instead ****** decided to make fake ******** and ****** accounts and defamed our business on all ************ fronts referencing her driveway in every comment and post.
  
  [JP: Neither my wife, ******, nor I have made fake ******** and ****** accounts, nor have we defamed Black Rocks business on all social media fronts.
  
  ****** did, however, provide one (1) fact-based ****** review detailing our experience with Black Rock and Sons under her own name and personal email address, which is her right as a consumer (and one who ultimately paid for the driveway work).
  
  Neither of us are able to speak to who ******* and ******* believe is defaming their business via fake ******** and ****** accounts.]
  
  Police were needed to be contacted due to this unwarranted harassment to our business and ourselves personally.
  
  [JP: ******* and ******* being harassed by individuals who are clearly not me or my wife seems wholly irrelevant to this complaint. If the police were contacted, why hasnt my wife been charged? Where is the proof that she did what you allege? Im guessing its because the police investigated, and your claims were determined to be unfounded and baseless.]
  
  They Claimed via email they would be reaching out to our lawyer to recoup entire costs of the driveway which there is nothing wrong with ( Pictures Attached), but they have not done so.
  
  [JP: it is not common practice, nor is it a reasonable request, for a private citizen to contact the legal counsel of a company with whom he has a dispute. My attorney is currently handling this case, and, if and when necessary, Black Rock and Sons will be made aware of any legal action]
  
  She chose just to harass us over the internet
  
  [JP: again, baseless conjecture]
  
  instead of reaching out to our lawyer for whatever solution they seem to be looking for, due to the issue they caused when their own hand on their driveway was already rectified and fixed free of cost and then some. We went above and beyond and satisfied their concern at our expense."

  
  Regards,
  
  *****************