I invited XXX Company to my house in Wilmington, DE to give me an estimate on replacing the steps in the back of my home which were deteriorating, and to take a look at the outside concrete area and inside basement area of the home because I had severe problems with water getting into the basement after heavy rain storms. Mr. X from XXX Company arrived at 12 noon On Friday, November 7.
Mr. X told me that the water problem in the basement was due to a portion of my outside concrete that was sloping inward toward the house. He said the water was collecting in the right hand corner near the house and coming in through the wall inside the Bilco door. He said that in order to resolve the water problem, he would have to remove the old slab of concrete and pour a new one, with the new one sloping outward, and that he would reinforce the walls on the rear of the house and in the basement (the portion near the Bilco door) with steel mesh and concrete. He said this would definitely alleviate the water problem in the basement. He also said he would replace the back steps as I had requested, but he would re-use the top portion of each step since they were still in good shape. He said he would obtain all licenses and permits in my township of XX. He was supposed to start the work at 8am on Tuesday, November 11, and he said it would be a one day job. The price he quoted was $1500 which would include replacing the back steps, and all of the necessary concrete work to stop the water from getting into the basement. I agreed to that price. I thought it was a fair price to resolve the water problem in the basement and to replace the steps.
On Sunday, November 9th Mr. X called me to ask for a down payment of $800. He wanted it on that day or the next day so he could buy the concrete. I said I would give it to him the next day, Monday, November 10.
On Monday, November 10, I called Mr. X to schedule a place to meet to give him the down payment, and I asked if he got the permit from XXX township. He said he had to do that, but he didn't have time right now. I asked him when he was going to do it and he said he didn't know. I said that I would do it because it had to be done prior to starting the work. He said that was fine. When I went to the XXX Town Hall at 11am on Monday, November 10, they said that Mr. X did not have a license to work in XXX township, so I could not obtain the permit without him coming in and showing his credentials and obtaining a license to work in XXX township. I called him and asked him to come in, explaining that otherwise we could not do the work on the following day, November 11 without a permit, and since that was also Veteran's Day, the XXX Town Hall would be closed. He came in, but when it was time to pay for the permit and license, he said he did not have any money on him. I agreed to pay the $83 for the license and permit if he would agree to credit it to my balance owed for the work he was going to do for me. He agreed to credit it to my balance. I had now paid $883. The balance was now $617.
On the morning of November 11, I waited for Mr. X from 8:00am - 9:30am, but he did not show up. I called him around 9:30am and he said he would be there by 10:15am - 10:30am. By 11am he still was not there and I had to run some errands. When I got back at 1pm, he was there and he was packing up and said the job was done, with the exception of the finishing work which he would do the next day. At that point I realized that he had just done a "patch job" on my steps and I told him he needed to replace, not patch, the steps. He said he did replace the blocks underneath them and they were fine. I told him I wanted a complete new set of steps as we had discussed (with the exception of reusing the top portions).
I also looked at the new concrete slab that he poured and I barely saw any slope away from the house. I told him that I was not happy with the slope. He said the slope was fine and that water would no longer get into my basement. Again I told him I was not happy with this new concrete pour or with the steps. I also looked at the repair job on the outside wall of the house and the inside wall of the basement. It did not look like he reinforced it with steel, but rather, that he had just patched it. I told him that my concerns were that the steps and walls that he "patched" would flake after one cold winter, and regarding the new concrete pour, that water would get into my basement after the first strong rain storm. He insisted that the steps and walls would not flake for many, many years, if at all, and that I would not have water in my basement. He said he would come back the next day to do the concrete finishing.
On Wednesday, November 12, Mr. X showed up at noon and did the concrete finishing work, promising that it would look nice. I told him that my concern was regarding the patchwork he did instead of the complete replacements that we had discussed and most importantly that I would get water in my basement after a heavy rainstorm. I also told him that I was very unhappy with him and the work he had done. He insisted that there would be no flaking of the steps/walls and no water in the basement. I told him that I would call him the first time I saw water in the basement, and he insisted that I would not be seeing any more water. I paid him the remaining $617, for a total payment of $1500 as we had originally agreed upon, against my better judgment.
During the two days when Mr. X was working at my townhouse, he and/or his assistant had poured extremely large amounts of sand and water into my basement sinks. The double sinks were clogged from the sandy water, and were filled to the brim. It took four days for the water to drain. After the water had rescinded, I had scrapped a plastic bagful of sand from the sink. I then had to hire and pay a contractor to change the trap in the basement sink due to the clog.
The very next day, Thursday, November 13, we had a rain storm and I had a river flowing through my basement. I called Mr. X and told him about the water. He said he would come out to look at it. He did not come out. So on Friday, November 14, I called him again and he basically said "You did not hire me to solve any water problems. If you are unhappy with my work, take me to court!" and he hung up on me.
Now I need this dispute resolved. Mr. X did not do anything that I hired him to do. He did not replace the steps as I had requested, but rather, he patched them. He did not resolve the water in the basement problem, but rather he made minor repairs that were unnecessary. He did not use steel mesh on the exterior walls of the house or on the inside walls of the basement area, but rather he just patched them. And he did not remove the old slabs of concrete that were sloping downward toward the house, but rather, he just poured some concrete on top of the existing ones without even increasing the outward slope. The water problem was back one day later and he did not even try to resolve it. He did not come out to look at the problem when I called him. He did not try to work with me. He did not show any concern for the water problem or the patch job. He hung up on me and he never contacted me again.
If Mr. X was unable to diagnose the water problem he should have told me so upfront, instead of insisting that it was caused by the inward sloping slab of concrete. He should not have told me that I would not have any more water problems. I paid him in full because I really thought he had resolved my water problems. I did not pay him $1500 to patch steps and patch outside walls. I paid him $1500 to resolve my water problem in the basement and for new steps, not for patch jobs.
I have to hire a new contractor and pay him to resolve the water issue. The $1500 that I paid to XXX Company was a complete waste of money, since it did not resolve either of the two items that I hired him to resolve. I don't have $1500 to throw away on cosmetic patching. I need to spend my money on the serious problem of water in my basement and deteriorating steps.
On Saturday, November 15 I filed a claim against XXX Company through the Better Business Bureau of Delaware. On Monday, November 17, I received an email from them stating that Mr. X had been notified of my claim and that he had 14 days to respond. During that time I was to do nothing. The 14 days passed and Mr. X did not respond to the Better Business Bureau's notification. On Monday, December 1, the Better Business Bureau sent him another notification. I was told that he had another 14 days in which to respond, and again I was supposed to do nothing in the interim. On the 28th day, Mr. X responded to the Better Business Bureau denying my accusations. The Better Business Bureau sent me an email asking if I agreed with him. Of course my response was No! The following day the Better Business Bureau closed the case as unresolved and never contacted me regarding what other options I might have.
Do you think I have a case?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Mr. X told me that the water problem in the basement was due to a portion of my outside concrete that was sloping inward toward the house. He said the water was collecting in the right hand corner near the house and coming in through the wall inside the Bilco door. He said that in order to resolve the water problem, he would have to remove the old slab of concrete and pour a new one, with the new one sloping outward, and that he would reinforce the walls on the rear of the house and in the basement (the portion near the Bilco door) with steel mesh and concrete. He said this would definitely alleviate the water problem in the basement. He also said he would replace the back steps as I had requested, but he would re-use the top portion of each step since they were still in good shape. He said he would obtain all licenses and permits in my township of XX. He was supposed to start the work at 8am on Tuesday, November 11, and he said it would be a one day job. The price he quoted was $1500 which would include replacing the back steps, and all of the necessary concrete work to stop the water from getting into the basement. I agreed to that price. I thought it was a fair price to resolve the water problem in the basement and to replace the steps.
On Sunday, November 9th Mr. X called me to ask for a down payment of $800. He wanted it on that day or the next day so he could buy the concrete. I said I would give it to him the next day, Monday, November 10.
On Monday, November 10, I called Mr. X to schedule a place to meet to give him the down payment, and I asked if he got the permit from XXX township. He said he had to do that, but he didn't have time right now. I asked him when he was going to do it and he said he didn't know. I said that I would do it because it had to be done prior to starting the work. He said that was fine. When I went to the XXX Town Hall at 11am on Monday, November 10, they said that Mr. X did not have a license to work in XXX township, so I could not obtain the permit without him coming in and showing his credentials and obtaining a license to work in XXX township. I called him and asked him to come in, explaining that otherwise we could not do the work on the following day, November 11 without a permit, and since that was also Veteran's Day, the XXX Town Hall would be closed. He came in, but when it was time to pay for the permit and license, he said he did not have any money on him. I agreed to pay the $83 for the license and permit if he would agree to credit it to my balance owed for the work he was going to do for me. He agreed to credit it to my balance. I had now paid $883. The balance was now $617.
On the morning of November 11, I waited for Mr. X from 8:00am - 9:30am, but he did not show up. I called him around 9:30am and he said he would be there by 10:15am - 10:30am. By 11am he still was not there and I had to run some errands. When I got back at 1pm, he was there and he was packing up and said the job was done, with the exception of the finishing work which he would do the next day. At that point I realized that he had just done a "patch job" on my steps and I told him he needed to replace, not patch, the steps. He said he did replace the blocks underneath them and they were fine. I told him I wanted a complete new set of steps as we had discussed (with the exception of reusing the top portions).
I also looked at the new concrete slab that he poured and I barely saw any slope away from the house. I told him that I was not happy with the slope. He said the slope was fine and that water would no longer get into my basement. Again I told him I was not happy with this new concrete pour or with the steps. I also looked at the repair job on the outside wall of the house and the inside wall of the basement. It did not look like he reinforced it with steel, but rather, that he had just patched it. I told him that my concerns were that the steps and walls that he "patched" would flake after one cold winter, and regarding the new concrete pour, that water would get into my basement after the first strong rain storm. He insisted that the steps and walls would not flake for many, many years, if at all, and that I would not have water in my basement. He said he would come back the next day to do the concrete finishing.
On Wednesday, November 12, Mr. X showed up at noon and did the concrete finishing work, promising that it would look nice. I told him that my concern was regarding the patchwork he did instead of the complete replacements that we had discussed and most importantly that I would get water in my basement after a heavy rainstorm. I also told him that I was very unhappy with him and the work he had done. He insisted that there would be no flaking of the steps/walls and no water in the basement. I told him that I would call him the first time I saw water in the basement, and he insisted that I would not be seeing any more water. I paid him the remaining $617, for a total payment of $1500 as we had originally agreed upon, against my better judgment.
During the two days when Mr. X was working at my townhouse, he and/or his assistant had poured extremely large amounts of sand and water into my basement sinks. The double sinks were clogged from the sandy water, and were filled to the brim. It took four days for the water to drain. After the water had rescinded, I had scrapped a plastic bagful of sand from the sink. I then had to hire and pay a contractor to change the trap in the basement sink due to the clog.
The very next day, Thursday, November 13, we had a rain storm and I had a river flowing through my basement. I called Mr. X and told him about the water. He said he would come out to look at it. He did not come out. So on Friday, November 14, I called him again and he basically said "You did not hire me to solve any water problems. If you are unhappy with my work, take me to court!" and he hung up on me.
Now I need this dispute resolved. Mr. X did not do anything that I hired him to do. He did not replace the steps as I had requested, but rather, he patched them. He did not resolve the water in the basement problem, but rather he made minor repairs that were unnecessary. He did not use steel mesh on the exterior walls of the house or on the inside walls of the basement area, but rather he just patched them. And he did not remove the old slabs of concrete that were sloping downward toward the house, but rather, he just poured some concrete on top of the existing ones without even increasing the outward slope. The water problem was back one day later and he did not even try to resolve it. He did not come out to look at the problem when I called him. He did not try to work with me. He did not show any concern for the water problem or the patch job. He hung up on me and he never contacted me again.
If Mr. X was unable to diagnose the water problem he should have told me so upfront, instead of insisting that it was caused by the inward sloping slab of concrete. He should not have told me that I would not have any more water problems. I paid him in full because I really thought he had resolved my water problems. I did not pay him $1500 to patch steps and patch outside walls. I paid him $1500 to resolve my water problem in the basement and for new steps, not for patch jobs.
I have to hire a new contractor and pay him to resolve the water issue. The $1500 that I paid to XXX Company was a complete waste of money, since it did not resolve either of the two items that I hired him to resolve. I don't have $1500 to throw away on cosmetic patching. I need to spend my money on the serious problem of water in my basement and deteriorating steps.
On Saturday, November 15 I filed a claim against XXX Company through the Better Business Bureau of Delaware. On Monday, November 17, I received an email from them stating that Mr. X had been notified of my claim and that he had 14 days to respond. During that time I was to do nothing. The 14 days passed and Mr. X did not respond to the Better Business Bureau's notification. On Monday, December 1, the Better Business Bureau sent him another notification. I was told that he had another 14 days in which to respond, and again I was supposed to do nothing in the interim. On the 28th day, Mr. X responded to the Better Business Bureau denying my accusations. The Better Business Bureau sent me an email asking if I agreed with him. Of course my response was No! The following day the Better Business Bureau closed the case as unresolved and never contacted me regarding what other options I might have.
Do you think I have a case?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?