Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/18/2024

  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.

  After a year of renovations to our new home, benefitting from work with wonderful professionals, this is one who needs to be exposed to the community. This contractor took a substantial payment to remove an inner wall that needed a beam to be installed in the ceiling for support. His employee removed the wall and finished the work without installing the beam. This employee was emotionally unstable, threatening us when we communicated poor quality of work back to Jim. Needless to say, our ceiling is sagging and cracking. We made him aware of this August, 2023, and he promised to fix it repeatedly with a final deadline of January 15th, 2024. No word from him since early December. We have paid out of pocket for an engineer and repair to begin this week with another contractor. This man not only left us in a truly dangerous situation, but he is emotionally unstable and put us through a rollercoaster of excuses, manipulation, and nasty texts. His license has been suspended and he has many previously logged complaints with the licensing board.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/01/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  The main complaint is ABC construction did unprofessional, sloppy work, poor project/time management skills, Jim T was rude and arrogant in response to my trying to ask for resolution. The subcontractor worked only 4-5 hours somedays, NOT due to supply or other issues, it was due to personal issues. Apparently, Jim took on too many jobs and mine was clearly not a priority. He didn’t start the job until just short of one month from signing contract, even though I gave him 1st deposit, due to poor time/project management. The subcontractor (his employee) he assigned had too many emergencies which was the cause of the delays. When I asked if he could send someone else as a backup or have him work more than 4 hours a day, he responded rudely, no. (am attaching timeline with conversations). When I was upset that he wasn't cleaning the jobsite at the end of the day he yelled at me and sent me the contract (which I didn’t get a signed copy of) highlighting an excuse that didn’t pertain to me. In a very nasty, unprofessional tone, he then tried to say he was ahead of schedule, but contract timeline of one to two months is very vague, and not what I expected. There was a lot of misleading information and unnecessary delays, the last being he was supposed to come today to install vanity that now needs to be cut to fit, ruining it. They never cleaned the workspace or removed garbage, lost items, poor communication etc.
  NOT WORTH THE COST! I've paid too much for a lousy job! And would NOT recommend or read the contract carefully and ask before signing it!
  Resolution I would like is: to finish the job in a professional & timely manner (not having to cut a new vanity) cleaning costs for materials and work area, since they were not careful (i.e. cutting vanity with no tarp or covering and leaving it dusty while it's still in the box and can't be cleaned well) and to pay less than agreed on price since I didn't get what I agreed to/expected for that price, & more than 1/2 is paid

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2023

  I can provide pictures to show what I mean about sloppiness and wanting credit back for cleaning. For example today when he cut the vanity to make it fit, he didn't cover the cabinet. It has grooves so now there's sawdust stuck in the crannies that will be hard to clean. A brand new vanity is ruined because Jim misjudged at the beginning, even though he measured and I specifically asked if it would fit. Then he was supposed to come to install and didn't bother to. Rob told him last week they couldn't do it, but he told them to cut the vanity top (though I told him not to) in order to "try" to get it to fit. Very unprofessional on all counts. Regarding the "process" order, I told them I was concerned about the order because there was no way to avoid the dust and paint and pointed out that's what I was concerned about. Sure enough, he put the bars up and didn't clean off dust and now brand new bars are stained and dirty looking and not really cleanable (he didn't ever clean anything at end of job, I had to only to ensure it wouldn't stain). Again, if pictures are needed, I have lots.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2023

  To Whom it May Concern,
  
  We have
  gone above and beyond to satisfy this client. This is simply the rants of a
  client that doesn’t understand or wants to comply with the contract she signed
  and agreed to. She is nitpicking and spinning her comments and not being
  truthful about her complaints. This is why I have a detailed contract that we
  both sign and initial every page, so there won’t be issues. Also, the fact that
  we are ahead of schedule and the job isn’t even complete is another reason this
  complaint is frivolous. The only reason I contacted her was to ask her politely
  not to yell at the superintendent, as he stated he wouldn’t return if she
  treated him like that again. I asked her to contact me in the future with any
  issues she has. That is when she fussed at me very unprofessionally, so I sent
  her the email with the FACTS highlighted since she wouldn’t be reasonable
  during our discussion.
  
  I will
  address her issues below in the order she listed them. I will also list the
  page and highlight the terms that are associated with each complaint in the
  contract that she agreed to, initialed every page, and signed before work
  commenced. I will attach it and any other documents pertaining to my answers
  below.
  1. I was never rude and/or arrogant, she
  was. That’s the reason I sent the email explaining the facts in hopes she
  would understand we are doing everything as agreed and ahead of schedule.
  2. We have not been unprofessional and/or
  performed sloppy work. As you can plainly ascertain the project isn’t completed
  but will be on 12-06-2023. This is highlighted on page 6 of the contract
  stating that she can present a punch list once we are at substantial
  completion. How can she determine the work is sloppy when we haven’t completed
  the work yet?
  3. We don’t have poor time management skills
  which is clearly explained in the email and timeline I sent her. This is highlighted
  on page one of the initial estimate I emailed her. It clearly states work
  will take “Approximately
  2 months, once all selections are made, approved, items are ordered and in
  stock and we begin”. I also
  attached the text between us stating we were starting on 10-18-23. The wall
  panels for the shower weren’t delivered until 10-27-23, that I picked up
  as a courtesy for her since she ordered them herself and not through our
  vendor. I have included this email with the delivery date also. This is
  explained and highlighted on page 3 in the contract.
  4. The reason the crews are there for only
  4 – 5 hours on some days is due to the sequence the work is performed in. We
  must rough in the plumbing and electrical for instance, before the
  sheetrock can be installed. Once the sheetrock is installed it must be
  finished and mudded. Then the sheetrock must dry. During this process NO other
  work can be performed until the sheetrock mud has had multiple coats
  applied and sanded. It is a small bathroom, so it doesn’t take 8 hours to apply
  mud and sand, more like 2 to 3 hours at the worst. This has been explained
  to her numerous times as she asks us every day about it when we are there.
  And yes, Rob had some setbacks and couldn’t work. His father passed away,
  his girlfriend has AFIB, and she was admitted to the hospital and had to
  be paddled back to rhythm and finally they were T-Boned on the way to her
  house and missed that day. I assign a certain crew to each project; Rob
  does our finish work and was assigned to that project. He has come back
  and performed as agreed and is still ahead of schedule. I don’t just pick unknown
  workers and let them work in our client’s house. They must work with the company
  and with other crews before we allow them to take projects on. This ensures
  quality work and safety for the homeowner. This was also explained to the
  client multiple times, and I politely told her the next crew I could find
  was 6 weeks out to perform the sheetrock installation. Anyone that has
  watched the news in the past 3 years knows employees and help is at an all-time
  low, making it difficult to get work completed. This is also highlighted and
  explained in our contract on pages 4 – 5.
  5. ALL our clients are a priority. She is just
  assuming a lot in her complaint and not complying with the contract as agreed.
  We will provide her with a professional job as promised and will be ahead
  of schedule.
  We clean the project daily and close the
  door to the work area. We don’t perform fine cleaning daily as the area is
  not in use and is still under construction. I explained this to her in a professional
  manner. This is explained and highlighted on page 4 of the contract. She says
  it doesn’t pertain to her, but she initialed that page also that outlined
  our cleaning policies, so yes, it does pertain to her.
  6. I thought I included the signed contract
  in an email I sent her, but I forgot to attach it, it has been emailed to
  her now.
  7. I can’t help that the explanation of the
  time of completion was vague to her. It was clearly stated in the estimate
  she received almost a month before she signed the contract. If she wasn’t clear
  on its terminology, she should have brought it to my attention for clarity
  prior to work commencing. It states, “Approximately 2 months, once all selections are made,
  approved, items are ordered and in stock and we begin.”  In her complaint, it read that I stated
  it would be a timeline of one to two months, you can clearly see that it
  reads TWO months. Once again spin and untruth! We started 9 days before all
  the items arrived. The shower panels as listed previously didn’t arrive
  until 10-27-23 and we started on 10-18-23. I have highlighted this on page
  one of the estimate.
  8. We didn’t ruin the vanity, it had to be
  cut to fit as does any granite top. Anyone that has had granite installed
  knows it gets templated first so it can be “cut to fit” the cabinets it’s
  been installed on. The walls on each side of the vanity aren’t square so
  it had to be cut to fit correctly. Once again, an item that hasn’t been
  installed yet. This is explained and highlighted on page 6 of the
  contract.
  9. We communicate with her almost daily. I will
  attach some threads of texts to prove this. We are only to provide a
  schedule update weekly as outlined in our contract; however, she requires
  daily updates sometimes twice a day. It is also stated we DO NOT make
  appointments with the clients and that a lock box is to be provided for
  our accessibility to the project. We do, however, notify them of the days
  we will be working. Once again, another untruthful statement. This is explained
  and highlighted on pages 2 – 3 in 2 areas.
  10. We have removed 3 loads of garbage and
  do so as we proceed. This is listed in the contract. She also supplied the
  items to be installed in the bathroom, which states in our contract that
  we aren’t responsible for the items provided by the owner, this includes
  the trash. But we removed it to be helpful. This is explained and
  highlighted on page 4 of our contract.
  11. We will complete the job in a timely and
  professional manner as we have been. As she has clearly stated in this complaint,
  we aren’t complete so why would we perform a final cleaning until we are
  completed? Also, how would she state it is a lousy job when it’s not
  complete. This is clearly a false claim to try to force us to work the way
  she wants us to instead of the way the contract reads. This is slander and
  defamation of character if published since we are clearly complying with
  the contract. Once again, she clearly states the vanity is in a box. This is
  finally a true statement as it is still in the garage and hasn’t been
  installed yet. And this being said and documented by her, there will not
  be any compensation for cleaning as we have cleaned as we proceeded, and
  the project isn’t complete yet. If anyone should be getting compensated it
  is me, for the time I have spent dealing with this unfounded and false
  complaint.
  And yes, more than half of the contract
  has been paid to the company as agreed to in the contract. This is
  explained and highlighted on page 6 of our contract.
  12.She also added a change order. It clearly
  states in our contract it will require additional time to complete the
  work when a change order is added. This is explained and highlighted on
  page 1 of our contract.
  
  Once again,
  we entered into this contract with full intentions of providing a quality job
  in a professional manner and we plan on continuing to do so. I am praying that
  she will try to do the same so we both can go forward, and she can enjoy her
  new bathroom.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/07/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: It is not factual, and he still did not complete the job, actually made it worse which proves my point about how unprofessional he is. He can't solve a dispute without being rude, nasty and now condescending. Would not only not take responsibility and try to just fix the issue, he made it worse. I have attached summary of latest issue, will attach pictures when job is actually completed.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Rosalia *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/08/2023

  At approximately 12:00 pm on 12/8 Rob said the job was
  finished and clarified steps for punch list and said once I send it, to let him
  know and he'll come back. I told him to go ahead and plan for Monday or
  Tuesday. When he took down the plastic covering the door to the bedroom, since
  they didn't use painter's tape to put it up, the paint came off with it. He
  said to just add it to the punch list and he'd do it then. I went and carefully
  observed the "finished" product and it is more than just
  "punch" list items. As mentioned previously the new fixtures are
  either stained or still dirty, as well as loose. The whole toilet is loose as
  well, seat has a paint splotch on it, vanity not in brand new condition, not
  thoroughly cleaned, there's caulking stuck on the new vanity, etc. The walls
  he's sanded and painted are actually in worse shape than before he started. One
  of the reasons I was not "understanding" why it was taking so long is
  because all of that was NOT necessary, it just needed to be painted. He even
  delayed the 2nd coat because of that.
  Basically, this does NOT look like the brand new bathroom I
  was expecting or agreed to pay $12,154.44 for, which is the adjusted total
  after adding for the door frame removal, which was supposed to have been in the
  original quote, and detracting the credit for allowances (again, that was just
  cost of labor and the materials he supplied, I purchased everything else, that
  is now ruined and not "brand new" condition.  There are too many of these mishaps for
  pictures and I am now requesting a supervisor or mediator to come look at it in
  person. I do NOT trust either Jim or Rob to come "finish". I don't
  want them making it any worse than they already have!  He still has the lock box with my spare key,
  which needs a third party to come get because again I don't want to see them anymore.
  Jim already sent a final, nasty message the other day telling me not to contact
  him anyway, so I won't even ask for the code to get my key out myself. And I
  refuse to pay him another dime until a mediator or his "supervisor"
  or a building contractor or inspector comes to look at the job. I need someone
  else to see it to believe that I am not exaggerating when I say the bathroom is
  physically in worse shape than it was before they started! And I want someone
  to provide another mold inspection, as I don't know if he changed the old one.
  I saw he put back on some of the old plumbing, one I had him replace, but I have
  no clue if it is all new and won't get mold, which I am allergic to and told
  him I was concerned about (that was when he called me to yell at me because I
  asked Rob to clean it). So again, I am beyond angry and need someone else to
  intervene before I pay him the balance. Even that is not a clear invoice and
  doesn't match what I have, so that needs someone to address as well.  It will take me some time to organize all the
  pictures and again, won't do it justice because it's hard to see all the
  imperfections on a picture, they need to be seen in person. And that means I
  still can't use my new bathroom, so it's way past the "completion"
  date he listed on his response of 12/6. It is currently 2:00 pm ET on 12/8 and
  I am still not satisfied with the job I received. I'm in shock they had an A
  rating and that should be investigated as well. I am NOT just being
  "nitpicky" I've had other contractors validate that it is just a
  "lousy" job, so I need a third party to come see for themselves
  (which is why I'm not able to use it yet, I am leaving it in the condition
  they left it for further review).

  Business Response

  Date: 12/11/2023

  To Whom it May Concern,
  
  Once
  again this is the rant of a client that is simply trying to get us to conform
  to her schedule and totally ignore the contract that we agreed to. She stated
  that my response wasn’t factual, and we hadn’t completed the job. This verifies
  her continuous lies and delusional statements. And yes, I am being rude and condescending,
  but at least I am honest. She was rude and demanding with no compromise throughout
  the entire project. She has done nothing but lie and contradict herself in both
  of her complaints. As you can gather from her response to item two of my first
  reply that it only took us a month and a half to complete the project and her
  complaint is that “she thinks” it shouldn’t take that long. This plainly verifies
  my statement that the entire reason for the complaint is circumstantial and
  based on her emotions and not the contract. This is a business, and it is based
  on a detailed contract signed and agreed to by both parties prior to work commencing,
  not emotions and assumptions. Even though I presented facts in writing, she slanders
  my company with no attention to the terms of the contract and our work. As you
  can tell by her two complaints, she never listed any of the work that was “lousy”
  and/or what was left “dirty”. She does nothing but make contradictory and unfounded
  complaints with no proof. I am attaching pictures of the vanity installed that
  she stated was “ruined” and the lousy work that as you can plainly see was not
  complete at the time of her complaint but is now. I am also attaching pictures
  of the finished product which she walked through with my superintendent and
  stated everything is satisfactory. His assistant recorded a video of her agreeing
  that the work was complete, and she was satisfied. That was on 11-07-2023, he
  went back on 11-08-23 to touch up a few items and once again she was pleased
  with the work and told him on video that she would have a punch list ready for
  us if there was one and that he could return Monday to complete it. I have
  emailed her a final bill and a request to contact me, texted her and she has
  not responded to either of us in any way except the BBB complaint.
  
  I am sure
  at this time you can plainly see this is not a factual complaint and should be
  disregarded based on the facts I have provided, the assumptions and false
  comments she has made. This is simply a client that is trying to not pay the
  final invoice she owes us and is using the BBB to scare me as you can see in
  her threatening text I have attached when we were dumping her trash and picking
  up materials for her job and didn’t arrive until 10:00 AM on 11-07-2023.
  
  I regret
  she has wasted the BBB time and mine with this fraudulent complaint and hope
  this will be treated by the BBB as such. At this time my attorney will be
  placing a lien on her home, and we are filing with the Santee Magistrate since
  legal action unfortunately seems to be the only way to resolve this matter. This
  could have been avoided if she had just complied with the contract been a
  reasonable client with professional actions and communication. I regret I must
  take legal action, as she will now be responsible for ALL legal fees plus interest
  as outlined in the contract.  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  James
  B. T*******
  
  James B. T*******
  Project Manager
  Advanced Building and Construction, LLC

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: it is slandering me now, I am not ranting or lying and have lots of evidence, so he is now lying. I did NOT do walkthrough with superintendent, he left and said to send in the punch list. I got the bill on Friday that clarified I needed to send payment, minus $800 (per contract) and he would come back to finish. However, when he left and I did a walk through it was not left in "brand" new, satisfactory condition. My complaint was not just about timing, it was about not good quality work. Even the way it was left, should have been addressed before needing it be on the punch list. Again, it is physically worse than before, bad paint job, walls are "bumpy", etc. things that are hard to capture well in pictures. So I asked for a third party to come inspect it to "prove" that it is not just me being "nitpicky" or upset about the timing. It is overall a poor quality job that is not worth the agreed upon cost. Now he's threatening me which again shows how unprofessional he is instead of doing what it takes to make it right, as an A rated business should. I hired him for the A rating, and the fact that his employer didn't do quality work DOES reflect on his company, it's not slander to state that the job I received is not good quality work. I can provide pictures, I was refraining because that would make him look worse and because it's hard to accurately capture every area since it's the whole bathroom! I will submit a point by point response and pictures if necessary, but there are hundreds of them! It would be better for someone to see it in person. I have no reason to lie and as a customer, it is my right to not pay for a service I didn't receive, that I am not happy with. I hired someone from the better business bureau to avoid this but apparently his standing doesn't matter to him as much as just taking advantage of people and using bullying and scare tactics to recover money he didn't deserve as he didn't follow his end of the contract. He could've avoided all this by being a professional and resolving the original issues in a professional manner. 

  Sincerely,
  Rosalia *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2023

  point by point details to his response to my rejection. All for something that was a simple fix, I'm spending alot of time and energy on, unnecessarily. I will attach pictures tomorrow, I spent the whole day compiling this response.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2023

  On lien he emailed me, I have typed in a few questions. Is this even valid? The date is questionable, among other statements on this. I did not see the mechanics lien in case that is supposed to clarify it, but I don't understand what this is for? What does it have to do with owing him $3,515.26 balance for the job? And the amount doesn't include attorney's fees? So I need an explanation of this too so I can be prepared to contest it in court.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  To Whom it May Concern,
  
  So now
  she has finally listed items she wants repaired. This is the first time she has
  requested definitive repairs and/or a resolution. This is the idea of the punch
  list which she wont allow us to come back and complete and she will not comply with
  the contract as I documented in all my previous responses. She has confirmed
  her defiance of the contract in her complaints. She is lying once again because
  she did a walk through with my superintendent, but his assistant videoed it just
  to prove and verify everything I have been stating in the complaints. This is
  my final solution, pay the invoice as outlined in the contract she is legally
  bound to less the $800.00 as listed. Provide us with a punch list and we will
  make the repairs.
  
  The lien
  she included was an example of the last client that I had to take legal action
  on and was an example. As you can verify by my attachments to the collection letter
  and email, I sent her, I am simply trying to work this out and save her
  additional money and complete this project as agreed. As my contract reads, she
  will be responsible for ALL legal fees and interest. You can also see by the
  documents I am sending that there is no wording were I ask her to “not contact
  me” as she fraudulently states in her response. Once again, I have provided
  proof of her making fraudulent statements and I have done it all with documents
  that have confirmed everything I have said. She is simply trying to not pay and
  get a bathroom for free. This needs to be resolved by tomorrow as I have
  already sent the lien request to my attorney J.D. Elliott, and he usually applies
  for it in 2 to 3 days.
  
  Again,
  you can see by my letters to her I am aggressive but also, I am trying to
  complete this project and provide the work we contracted and agreed to do as I have
  been doing throughout this project. It would be in all’s best interest for her
  to just let us complete the work and comply with the contract so we can all go
  forward and stop wasting the BBB’s time and ours.
  
  Sincerely,
  James B. T*******
  Project Manager
  Advanced Building and Construction, LLC

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/13/2023

  I am rejecting this response as well, because besides that he's still lying, still slandering me by saying I'm lying, I made my resolutions and requests clear. He's disreregarding the mediation process. I am more than willing to go to court because I do have enough evidence to prove my very valid complaint. The point of mediatiaion is for that, before he takes me to court, he's supposed to be negotiating a mutually agreeable solution. In my original request for resolution, I asked for a negotiated price, to reflect the quality. I have very valid reasons why I don't want to see him or his lying employees again. I don't want either of them to step foot in this house. My blood pressure rises every time I have to deal with him, so I don't need to be subjected to that, that's exactly what courts and mediation is for. Even this waste of verbal ping pong with the BBB who was supposedly mediating is not good enough either at this point. I am in the process of finding/hiring my own lawyer and gathering/organizing my evidence for a court. If an objective judge deems that he is entitled to the measly $3,000 he's having a fit about, after already getting $8000 to ruin my house, then l will pay that. In fact, since I'm getting a lawyer, I will counter sue him. The "tape" he claims to have is illegal and can't be used in court. Recording someone without their knowledge is not admissible in a court of law and would prove he either lied or worse, changed my statements. I did NOT say I was satisfied, my immediate response to the BBB shows that. And I did the walkthrough AFTER ROB left, not with him here. And it should have been Rob to come inspect his employee's work himself. He did NOT come back to see the job after Rob "finished" so he's believing his employee blindly. Which will also come up in court, was this employee licensed? If so I will file a complaint against his license as well. I do NOT take threats and bullying and scare tactics. I do what's right and handle issues the right way. Any real "professional" would have. Glad he admitted he's aggressive, that will help my case when I tell the judge why I didn't want him in my house again. In fact, I may even have to get a restraining order since he left the lock box on my door! I'm not the one making it worse, his threats and unprofessional behavior are. He did tell me not to contact him, and my last response to him regarding payment was to utilize the mediation process to communicate since I don't want to deal with him anymore, and by no means should I have to. I have valid reasons for withholding the last 25% and we'll find out who is "right" in court. In the meantime, that's adding time that I can't use my bathroom that I paid more than $8000 for plus everything I bought and supplied for a small job. Worst contractor I've ever dealt with in my life, and I'm hoping that now, after this legal process is all over, he will lose his license so he can't do this to someone else. That proof he submitted to scare about what he did to a previous client should have prevented him from doing this to someone else. I want his A rating removed now as well, so adding that to the resolution request. He should not be allowed to treat people this way and get away with it. In fact I am also in the process of now filing a claim against his license with the LR office and a consumer's affairs report as well. I will take it to the news media if I have to in order to prevent him from doing this to someone else, IF a judge deems that I was wrong. Bullying, intimidating, lying, and doing a lousy job with no attempt to fix it is NOT a professional service worth $11,000. I'm sure once all the evidence is presented to a neutral third party, I'm confident they will agree with that.