Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/04/2025

  Type:Billing 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.

  Little background. The home where this job was performed is part of an estate. I am the executrix of the estate. I sold the home on 5/2/25, contingent on the estate paying to have this work completed. The job was that a new lateral sewer line had to be installed. On 4/23/25 I signed a contract with *** to install a lateral sewer line at ******************************************************************. Installation date was scheduled for 5/5/25. *** was supposed to mobilize equipment, excavate and remove the existing failed line. Contract states *** will purchase and install approximately 110 of SDR35 pipe to form the new lateral. A threaded clean out assembly will be installed for future access. All new pipe will be bedded in stone. Excavated areas will be backfilled with excavated material, leaving slightly mounded to allow for settlement. Said Restoration is not included. Estimated total cost for mobilization,equipment, labor and materials was $4853.79. On 5/5/25 I received a call from ***** from GEI stating it was too wet to dig in the yard. I said fine. She then wanted to give me a different price to do a *** liner versus the dig and replace. I told her I had already gotten a quote for the *** liner from another company. It was almost $3000.00 more than doing the dig & replace. I did not wish to incur those extra costs for the estate, as all the money from the house sale is going to charity. ***** says she knew I would say that and came back with a new installation date of 5/20/25. 5/20 came and went. I never heard another word from GEI. I called GEI on 5/23 to see if the job was completed. ***** then informs me that *** had some problems with the installation. But it was complete. I was NEVER informed of any problems or issues. On 5/27 I received a new, much more expensive bill. *** now wants $8550.00 for the job!! I was never told of problems, nor did I ever authorize an increase of price for the job. Help me please! Can call me @ ************ ***** St ******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/06/2025

  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

   

  I wanted to add the facts that I spoke with ***** on either 5/27 or 5/28 regarding the new, increased price for the job.  During that conversation, she was continually putting me on hold, to relay what I was saying to who she said was her boss.  At the end of the conversation she told me the owner of the company was ********* ***************** But I never spoke with her.  On 6/1/2025 I sent a detailed email to ********* ********** explaining that I was disputing the price increase and why.  I never heard back from Ms ***************** I am sending you a copy of the email.
  
  I also want to reiterate the fact that everyone involved with this job (myself, my realtor **** ********* the ************** Sewer Inspector ******** the Hermitage City Manager **** ******** the new home owner Ms. ******* her attorney ***** ****** and ***** from GEI) all knew that I was the contact person for any changes or issues and the person paying the bill.  I was the only one who could authorize that. Yet for some reason ********** did not see fit to contact me when issues arose.   Instead, without any authorization from me,  they just continued on and then doubled the price.  Which is totally unacceptable.
  
  
  

  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2025

  Yes, we did this job for Ms. St. ******. I am sorry that my estimator did not contact her when there were problems on this job and some of the problems were out of our control. She did not sign a contract with us she signed an estimate. And because of the poor weather, the location of the water lines and the new Hermitage sewer inspector this job was a mess. Once the job was completed the actual total was over $11,000. My estimator worked very hard to get the amount down and our final price came to the $8550.00. I am sorry that the proceeds from the sale of the house cannot fully go to his charity but the estate needs to pay what bills and taxes that are owed before making any donations. We cannot lower the invoice to the original estimate price since there was a change in the pipe size and the labor that was incurred. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/19/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Ms ********** has yet to address the reasons for my complaint.  This is a classic case of bait and switch.  I chose GEI because they were on the list of businesses that the city of ********* used for these jobs.  Their price was the lowest, but looking back, they could have given me any price.  They were always going to charge me more.  They even called the new home owner and tried to get her to pay the difference between digging and replacing the pipe vs having someone put in a PVC liner.  If they had placed a camera into the line before they gave me an  estimate, they would have known where the line was and how big the pipe was.  That certainly wasnt the city inspector fault.  I never received a detailed breakdown of the services they provided and what each cost.  How much was that 6 pipe vs the 4 pipe?  Their quote never stated that they were using 4 pipe or that the job was only going to take one day.   If I didnt sign a contract just an estimate, why did I have to sign anything?  If it didnt mean anything?  She admitted that no one ever called to tell me that they were having problems and planned on charging me more.  What if I didnt have $8550.00 to pay them?  I signed on for $4853.00.  Even if the quote was an estimate, a reasonable increase in cost would be max 20%, not almost 100% increase.  She stated that it was too bad that St. **** wouldnt be receiving all the money I had hoped,  but that the estate needed to pay what bills and taxes are owed.  What is she talking about?  What does she know about the estate? I found that statement very strange too.  This was a scam.  This is a totally unethical company.  I noticed that a few years ago they tried to get accredited with BBB, but they werent.  Too bad I didnt check with the BBB first.  They are not accredited for a reason I am sure. 
  You can call me if you have any questions. ************.

   To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  Kathy ***************