ComplaintsforSarnia Cement Services

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had a patio, back walk up stairs, and driveway poured in may. We paid over $23k for this work. The stairs were not up to code. Last step being 12inches tall, and patio holds water. He kept brushing my complaints off and making excuses and didn’t try to fix the stairs until my husband came out to tell to fix it as our kids can’t physically step up a 12 inch step. Still not done to building code( they are at different heights, ranging from 5-8inches tall). We were told the patio would settle and the water wouldn’t be an issue. Which it still is many month later and now stained and holds water for several days after rainfall. We can’t have furniture or a gazebo on the patio because of the water that stays there. They got cement on my brick wall, fences, and things inside my garage, including my child’s $500 car seat. He refused to take responsibility or even apologize for the damages. When I called back about fixing the patio because another concrete company told me it was not normal and wasn’t poured properly. He yelled and swore at me on the phone that he wasn’t going to fix anything and not to contact him again.

  Business response

  17/10/2022

   

  ******** is making false claims and spreading disinformation. She has taken to social media and posting photos of uncompleted work, during the job progress while claiming the site was left unfinished. The steps are up to code and we re-poured after the first pour was admittedly incorrect, she has failed to distinguish and state that that issue was rectified. Also, parging and saw cuts were done that are obviously not indicative of her un-timely/mid-job photos . ******** never mentioned any standing water until she contacted me on Thanksgiving weekend. I absolutely did not swear/curse at her as I had company in my home. I simply told her that she already took compensation for her child's car seat. ******** did not mention any sort of unhappiness or concerns with her job for 4.5 months until now other then the car seat. I was only made aware of the damage on the car seat when she withheld $300 from the late last payment she made. Payments were made outside of the agreed upon terms and as stated on the contract, and they were overdue. I did not argue with that as an employee may or may not have unfortunately damaged it. She did not provide any proof or send any photos to me. 
  

  Her first photo here is of her child for some reason. Pads will stain when furniture that is not rust-free is kept on it. There is a photo of a brick that is off and that was pre-existng, I refuse to take responsibility for that or any other conditions of her home that was done prior or after our work was done. ******** signed a check-list and checked yes on a number of question points upon completion of her job. She answered yes to questions that included 'Was the job completed in a work man like manner?' and 'Was job done to specs./scope of the client?'. ******** was present throughout the job and indicated she was happy upon completion and proceeded to make final installed payments although late.

   I adamantly refuse to make any refunds nor accept her false claims as she is untrustworthy and her defamatory statement she has made are false.
  

  Customer response

  18/10/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Of course *** is lying to cover his butt. I never received even a receipt. I never once signed a paper for anything. My patio furniture is not rusty as it’s new. Rain water stains because the minerals in it, he should know this. The stairs are definitely not up to code. He was paid 1 day late as he wanted e transfers for the final amount and I could only send 3k a day. I have already had two companies out to confirm this is a sloppy incorrect job and they wouldn’t even use this work for a dumpster pad. I texted *** about the car seat damage when I noticed it and said he wouldn’t be getting the last $300 because of the cost to replace it and I had sent him a receipt for the car seat replacement. He never once took responsibility for his or his workers actions nor apologized. 
  I took to social media after *** refused to fix the water issues after yelling at me on the phone and to my surprise many others have come forward with the same issues and pictures to prove it. Another customer is actually putting together a class action and I am more than happy to help her with whatever proof she needs. Sarnia cement needs to finally be held accountable for ripping people off. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ************

  Business response

  29/10/2022

  First of all, receipts are given out at the end of the year and she
  would have her own banking information. Secondly, ******** is very
  incorrect as to the payments. I did not request E-Transfer and she made
  two payments by checks and then three more at her discretion, bank
  documents show this and were paid several weeks apart. Ultimately, she
  is not being honest, she did not send me a receipt nor photo of the
  chair and even stated on Facebook the price she paid that was under
  that and had originally said it was $300 here. Again, I did not yell nor
  swear at her on the phone as I had severally friends and family here
  that day.
  I would have been more then willing to replace the section
  of the pad had she come to me sooner then Thanksgiving when we wind
  down.
  Photos I have attached show the discrepancies in her claim. Why
  would she pay the remainder (besides the chair) if they were so
  unsatisfied?
  Finally,
  I would replace the section first thing in the spring if she would be
  honest and recant her misleading/untrue claims, and from here and
  Facebook. We do not participate in Facebook(Fakebook) and can debunk the
  comments as I have done in an attached photo. Why did she wait 4.5*
  months to contact me on closing season-holiday weekend about the pad and
  then continue to spread disinformation?

  Customer response

  14/11/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  First of all I paid 40% up front, another 40% midway through because he said he needed it and the last 20% after he came back to do the driveway saw cuts. He refused to wait for my husband to get home from work later that same day and harassed me for 3 hours to forge his name on a cheque for him so he doesn’t have to come back. I agreed to send the etransfers instead so he would stop asking me to fill out my husbands cheque.  We originally agreed 40% upfront and the other 60% after the job was done. It’s not my fault he took 4 weeks to finish the job. Ultimately he is not being honest, as you can see by the text messages. He was told about the car seat and I sent pictures and a receipt for damages to replace the cover, the straps were extra on top of that as you can see by the photos of the text messages. He never apologized and came to pick up his cones and that was it. He also originally told us he’d drop off the receipt in the mailbox in a week.. not the end of the year? And No one would have ever agreed to leave forms up.. that makes no sense to even lie about. I had left a voice mail in august and received no call back until I sent an email 6 weeks later. Our concerns were constantly brushed off the entire time (stairs, patio holding water and roughness of the cement areas) and it took a week of constantly telling him it needs redone for him to even agree to try and fix the stairs the first time. He actually thought a 12inch step was acceptable and tried to talk me out of having him redo them. Why would I want him to “try” and fix the patio when the stairs weren’t even done nicely the second time. (Nails sticking out, sloppy parging, bottom step actually holds water which will be great this winter). He is only trying to be nice now because he knows he was wrong and the pictures prove it. He wasn’t nice on that last phone call and told me to never contact him and he wasn’t going to fix anything, but yet trespasses on to our property to get pictures that do no justice for his claims. They are either zoomed way out or in so you can’t see all the issues.

  I am not satisfied with his response and will not accept him trying to fix it now, it’s far too late to go back on everything he has lied about. I won’t settle for anything but a refund. We already have another reputable company lined up to fix it in the spring. 

  
  

  Thanks, 

  ******** ************

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ************

  Business response

  25/11/2022

  All false statements by ********!

  Customer response

  06/12/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ************

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired Sarnia Cement to replace our driveway - the finished the job on May 10. Total cost $8870.50 and they have been paid in full. ***************************** IT LEANS TOWARDS THE HOUSE INSTEAD OF AWAY! We were not aware the driveway was installed incorrectly until we had a rain on Saturday May 21 when our basement flooded. We've never had water in the basement and just finished completely updating it. There was several gallons in the basement. Flooring had to be pulled up. I called *** that day from Sarnia Cement and he came out to look. When he arrived I told him we had a flood and that look, the cement is not laid right beside the house - it leans into the house, not away. He would not acknowledge it. I pointed it out.. several times - he said he'd come back on Tuesday to cut the lines deeper and use a level to check. He did come back but was extremely rude. He cut the line deeper but would NOT use a level to check the direction the concrete was laying. I asked him twice. He said he would come back when it rains. There's no need to wait! I offered to use a hose and he started to walk away. I told him that I was trying to work with him...that he wasn't being fair. A mistake was made and we want it fixed. He walked away, would not talk to me, got into his truck and drove off. I then called the office and spoke to a woman who yelled at me for 15 minutes that I needed to wait for a rain. I said we can't put our life on hold to wait for a rain when we can use a hose to show how the water runs TOWARDS the house. She wouldn't listen. She was EXTREMELY RUDE! Anyways, a week later he hasn't shown up! This needs to be fixed! We can't put our basement back together until the driveway is fixed. We have to make sure that part of the driveway doesn't get wet. At this point WE WANT OUR MONEY BACK and will get another company to pull it out and fix it. We will go to Court if we have to. Pics and video attached.

  Business response

  15/07/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/06/13) */ Contact Name and Title: ***************************************************************** ******************** On May 10th 2022 My company poured a 9 meter driveway for **************************. On Sat. May 21st/2022 Ms. ****** called my cell phone and complained she had water in her basement at approximately 12:09pm. after a rainfall. We had several other days of rain prior to this day/complaint. I arrived there to see if her claims were accurate within approx. 1 hour. I was unkindly greeted and entered the basement through the side door as I was escorted through and downstairs and observed the interior poured concrete foundation in the basement and there was no indication of any water anywhere. When I ask where the water was that she claimed she had her spouse/husband said it was coming from the ceiling and pointed straight up. I did not see any water nor any spots on the ceiling or walls. Furthermore, they were doing remodeling in the basement prior to my work ever being done there. This is not indicative of water coming from the driveway side of the house as she claimed. I was very polite and told them that I would return when it was raining in order to do a better inspection and suggested that I could deepen the saw cut in the meantime on Tuesday as rain was not expected until later in the week. Then on Tues. May 24th Ms. ****** called me again at approx. 8:04AM and demanded that I come right away to make the saw cut. I went straight away and made the saw and cleaned up. I reminded her that I would be back when it rains, she then became belligerent and I had to walk away and my employee heard her from the work vehicle approx. 20 feet away yelling at me. She then called my office at approx. 9:33am and********* my wife. She then made another complaint to her that there was water building up under her car port. Ms. ****** told my wife that she didn't want to wait until it rains for me to conduct my own inspection. She also admitted to hosing the area and manipulating the water to form puddles under the car port as indicative of her video, that she also admitted to making on May 24th when it had not even rained, even though as heard stated in her video that it had. She mentioned to my wife that she had just made the video prior to her calling the office. My wife tried to explain to her, and as I had stated to her several times that I would return when it was raining. Ms. ****** interrupted my wife countless times in the conversation, and she was in fact the one that was rude. She even apologized to my wife before the phone call ended that she was sorry for how she was conducting her self. Ms.****** was very difficult to communicate with as she was very demanding and at times yelling when we attempted to explain to her that I in fact needed to see the water that she was complaining about. I did return on May 26th,the first heavy rain as I had said I would and on several other rain days thereafter, I have well documented that there is no water under her carport after and during torrential amounts of rain fall. Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2022/06/13) */ ***Document Attached*** ************! I did not become rude until after he ignored me. And yes I was yelling at him as he walked away from me- I asked him to to be fair and work with me.... He just walked away. He did NOT come back after a hard rain - if he did he would have see what the rain does as attached in the video. he should be very embarrassed about his work!! Also *********** about water in the basement - he SAW the water in the basement with his own eyes!!! ************ My fiancé was also in the basement cleaning up the water when he arrived. I have video of the water in the basement. It's attached as well. I guess I should have recorded him looking at the water as well.**************************** what are the next steps? This is horrible how the water gathers at the house. We put the rubber cement along it to keep the water out. But that's only a bandaid. We can't continue to do sweep the water every time it rains. This is ridiculous. Please tell me the next steps. If we go to court I will go after it only a refund but also the cost of the tear out and repairs to the basement PLUS the repairs that are necessary to the driveway. Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2022/06/22) */ ******************************************** I DID in fact go there on May 26th, the first heavy rain as I have already stated and indeed we did sustain a substantial amount of rain that day. There was no water under her carport nor along the north side of the house along the wall. She should know that as there are cameras on her property. I have this documented by photos and videos of my own. There was NO water in her basement on Saturday May 21st.that I witnessed as I have already stated and my shoes were certainly dry. I should have filmed this but did not out of respect. Her video appears to be ********* either intentional flooding of her basement or(I would suggest)she should check her sump-pump. I also do waterproofing and am aware of how water can travel in a basement. Manipulating water with a hose and/or with one or more brooms is not indicative of what Ms. ****** is attempting to portray. She told my wife to inform me that I could not go to her property without an appointment first and now she says I cannot go there at all, this is not being transparent on her part. I did not use a level on May 24th to prove to her what I already know to be true because she was verbally ********** me. I felt the need to walk away as she could not comprehend why I needed to come back when it was raining. She felt that I deserved to be treated inhumanly. Although, my employees have recorded with a level by photo and video that in fact her driveway is sloped correctly. Now, as to her claims of exposed aggregate by a photo she has shown, this appears to be a leaf that had blown on top of the freshly finished cement and that is out of my control. Then she is suggesting that Expansion joint is mandatory when in fact Expansion joints in concrete pavement are seldom needed, since the contraction joints open enough (from drying shrinkage) to account for temperature expansion. Furthermore, it could not be applied along the house and pillars, because her decorative block wall is not straight (as you can see in her rubber caulking photo) and would of required being nailed in place prior to the cement pour. I am not going to replace anything!

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