Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Contractor was hired to put an addition on my house for my elderly mother. Total contract estimate was $279,718.95. This contractor was fullly aware that the project was being funded by my elderly mother. They were very difficult to talk to and deal with. They showed up tonwork when they wanted to and didnt keep us updated on anything. They also subcontract most of the work out to subcontractors that they end up firing from the job. This contractor did such a very poor job and never completed job, charged us even more money for things not completed. He even put a lien on my property for $44,521.89 claiming it was due to him for services or supplies provided to us. We had to hire a new contractor to fix all of what he had done and to complete the job. I had to hire and pay even more money to an attorney to fight the lien against my property. The lien has since been removed because the contractor did not show up to court and the lien was dismissed. I have since filed a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office due to their unethical ways. I have plenty of backup documents and pictures to backup my claim against them.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/02/2023

  I have attached the complaint I filed with the Attorney Generals Office.  It is more detailed to the issues I have with the contractor. 

  I am writing to you to file a complaint against a contractor that basically stole from my family and made what should have been an exciting project an absolute nightmare. The project included a 3-car garage and living quarters for my mother. The total amount of the contract was $279,718.95. This contractor was paid $261,747.06 by my elderly mother for this project. This contractor never completed the addition and for the most part what he did do was incorrect and had to be redone by another contractor. He basically left us with an empty shell with major issues and a Mechanics Lien on my property. Let me explain a little more about this matter. 
  

  On 12-9-21, I posted on ******** looking for recommendations for a contractor for an addition/garage. 

  I received a message from ******** Farber. In her message she said she and her husband *** own Farber Contracting & Design and would love to meet with us and provide us with a quote. We (myself, **** my husband and ******* my mother) met with them to discuss the possibility of putting an addition on our house for my mother to reside in. We let them know that we had an issue with the 2 lots we own that had to be straightened out to move forward with the addition. ******** told us that she is the Director of Planning for Wyoming County Pennsylvania. She let us know she could investigate the issue to see what could be done. She ultimately took care of the issue. 
  

  We talked to them several times before deciding to hire them to put the addition on our residence. We entrusted this contractor to design, build and complete this residence. From the very beginning they were made aware that this project was to provide my elderly mother with a place for her to call home.
  

  They were also made aware that my mother was funding the project. On 1-24-22, my mother provided them with check #4124 in the amount of $83,915.69. They said they were requesting this initial payment so they could lock into better pricing for materials needed for the job.
  

  We waited several months from the day they received the initial payment for work to even start on the project. We understand it takes time to clear the area and prepare it for a new build, but they never even started to pour the concrete until mid-July. By this time my mother had sold her house and was in dire need of this project to be completed. *** had even signed a document stating they hoped to have the project completed by the end of September. But this addition was never going to be done before the closing of my mother’s house on 10-4-22. We ended up renting some PODS to store her belongings and we had to put her bed in our kitchen, so she had a place to sleep until the addition was complete. 
  The day after the closing we received another invoice for “additional” charges in the amount of $29,065.00.

  This was not an itemized invoice. It just listed items they claim were spoken about and agreed to. There are items there that were spoken about, but never did they ever provide us with a change of work order and never did they ever mention any “additional” charges to the project. Some of these charges listed were for things like charging us for upgrading flooring to $6/sf from $3/sf, but the contract did not specify any price limitation. The contract stated they would supply and install water resistant plank flooring throughout all living space areas including ramp from apartment to main house. they had to upgrade the insulation. They said they had to upgrade to R49 insulation to meet code that was just
  recently changed, however the code that was printed at time of permits clearly states that R49 was required. There are several other things they included on the invoice so I will attach a copy of the invoice they sent us with all the notes explaining what they did or didn’t do. 
  

  We were completely blindsided by this invoice, so on 10-7-22 my mother reached out to them and requested a meeting to discuss our concerns with this invoice. She never received a call back, so **** called *** to request a meeting and was told he did not understand what the problem was because he claimed it was all explained in the bill. **** explained we needed to discuss the bill because we had questions, so he agreed to meet on 10-10-22. Please keep in mind that they had already been paid a total of $195,803.27 prior to this meeting.

  They came into our home and sat in our kitchen/bedroom to go over the invoice. They were not easy to talk to and seemed to only want to argue about everything. We simply asked them for an itemized invoice, and we were told it was itemized. We told them we needed it to be broken down and asked them for some receipts. They laughed at us and told us we would never see a receipt for anything. But before they left, they said we will receive a revised invoice.
  

  They finally sent a revised itemized invoice for $26,550.00 after the meeting. We still were not in agreement with these charges, but my mother really needed her home completed and wanted them to continue moving forward with the project. They were given another check for $55,943.79 on 10-12-22 and on 10-25-22 she decided to give them $10,000 towards this “additional” invoice even though none of the charges were brought to our attention prior to receiving the invoice.
  

  Even after they received the payment towards the “additional” charges they were hardly ever on site doing anything. Farber had subcontracted some of the work out. Lynelle messaged **** on 11-7-22 saying ”I suggest you give us a call regarding the drywall contractor.” Turns out they fired him. On November 8th, the Subcontractor messaged **** and informed him that he was going to put a Mechanics Lien on our house for not being paid by Farber. **** reached out to Lynelle to find out what was going on. He ended up talking to *** about the issue and was told the subcontractor couldn’t do that and not to worry about it.
  

  Days went by with nothing going on. So, on November 17th **** messaged *** for an update and was told the finishers will be back tomorrow and sand touch up and start priming. He subcontracted the remaining drywall and painting work out to yet another contractor. They were here a few times, but they never completed the drywall in the garage.
  On 11-25-22 Farber’s worker showed up and put-up plastic across the garage door openings. We think he did it because storms were expected in our area, but the wind ripped that down in 2 days. On 11-28-22 **** messaged for an update for completion and did not get a reply. The painters showed up on the 29th and **** again messaged for an update and still no response.

  On 12-2-22 our cameras showed Lynelle entering our garage but never came to our door to speak to anyone and the next day their worker was seen on our camera entering our garage and simply leaving with still no attempt to speak to us. So, on 12-5-22 due to their failure to communicate with us at all, we decided it was time to contact a lawyer to see if there was anything we could do since they made it perfectly clear to us at this point, they had no intentions of completing the job. So, we started working with an attorney and even spoke to the DA’s office about the matter. But since ******** works for the county, we were getting nowhere.
  

  The worker showed up again on 12-12-22 and started taking tools from our jobsite and still no word from Farber. On 12-14-22, we had to put up sheets of OSB over the garage door openings, because the contractor did not cover the openings for a snowstorm that was coming and we did not want moisture getting into the garage and ruining the sheet rock that was on the walls, but not finished. On 12-16-22, I finally contacted *** after multiple attempts through messaging, emails, and texts, to try to find out what was going on and why little to no work was being completed. *** stated that he would not be returning to our job site until the balance due on the “additional charges” invoice is paid. 

  His worker showed up on our property on 12-26-22, looking to retrieve some tools. **** unlocked the doors for him and allowed him in. **** told the worker that if he was going to be needing to get back in there to text him because he would not be home for a portion of the day and that we do not leave the building unlocked. He asked if they could have a key and **** told him “No”, but that we would let him in there whenever he needed. **** left the house to run some errands. While he was gone the contractor and the cops showed up to get all “his stuff”. The cop, which was a friend of his, allowed him to remove any product that was not installed, but purchased for our addition. What little stuff that was 
  purchased and kept on our property, like the uninstalled siding and soffit, he has removed, as well as all the tools.
  

  There is a long list of things not completed or even started. Drainage and gutters had not been completed, or even started and we were having to deal with water issues in the basement of our main house. The kitchen and two bathrooms had nothing in them. The flooring had not been done. The siding, soffit, sheet rock, electrical and mechanical work had all been started but not finished. Interior doors had not been installed, decking and railing for the porch never arrived. According to the contract they were to install a 2-ton air conditioning unit, but they installed a 1.5-ton unit that cost less, and they never discussed it with us. They told us in October the boiler was ready to be picked up but never
  showed up to the job site. They installed a shower surround but never hooked it up to a drain so that had to be ripped out and replaced. They were to put a linen closet in the master bath but the one they created was under 12 inches wide and is now an unusable space. Plans included a ramp connecting our main house to my mother’s residence, but it was unusable since there was a drop off of roughly 8 inches between the main house and the top of the ramp. They never installed garage doors. The eaves were left open, and we had birds getting into the attic, so **** installed some of the soffit to stop them from getting in. Basically, he left us an empty shell that had lots of issues. 

  On 12-30-22 I received a document from the Wyoming County Court House in the mail notifying me that Farber had put a Lien on the house for $44,521.89 claiming it is due him for labor or services or equipment or materials provided. I don’t understand how anyone can put a lien on someone’s house without the homeowner being notified of their intention to do so. We should have been allowed to argue this lien before it was even put on our property. I hired an attorney to see how we could fight the lien Farber placed on my property and about going after Farber for the money he took from my mother. 
  

  We talked over things and decided to count our losses and pay another contractor to come in and repair all the faulty work and complete the job so my mother could have her home. Sure, we could take Farber to court, but it would cost us even more money and could take years to get the case settled and my mother is now 78 years old, and she just simply wants her home. 
  

  They have no problem taking $261,747.06 from an elderly woman which I would think is a form of Elder Abuse. I don’t think anyone else should have to fall victim to these two individuals that simply take advantage of people and use one’s county position to help find their next target. They think and act like they are untouchable, and they need to be stopped from doing what they are doing to people. 
  

  Please note that I am also supplying you with a copy of the contract broken down to show what was completed and what was not completed, a copy of the “additional” charge invoice before and after they adjusted it, as well as some other documents and pictures of the project.
  

  Update on the lien: The lien has been removed from my property since Farber did not show up to court and the case was dismissed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/28/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates that the business has not responded to you directly.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  At this time, I have not been contacted by Farber Contracting and Design regarding complaint ID ********.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************************