ComplaintsforMaglieri Construction & Paving, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing this letter to make a complaint about the quality of work provided by contractor Maglieri Construction and Paving. In June, 2023 Maglieiri removed our old driveway. One month later, on July 25, they returned to pave the driveway. Upon completion, my husband and I looked at the work and immediately noticed that a section of the driveway was not level. It appeared to be sinking. I documented my observation with pictures and sent a detailed description of my concerns and proof of their poor workmanship. I emailed the company to voice my concern. The owner, Greg Maglieiri, returned to my home the same day to see the problem. He spoke to my husband but failed to validate our concerns. His solution was to “tamp the edges” and to dig up a portion of my backyard to level it with the driveway thereby lowe**** the yard to the same level of the new driveway. I explicitly said that I did not want my backyard to be dug up because it does not fix the actual problem. He said that the crew would return the next day to do the “tamping.” It rained that day in the afternoon and we noticed pooling in that section of the driveway. In the morning on July, 26, I sent an email informing the company that there was another issue of concern because of pooling of rain in the identified section of the driveway. In a second email I stated that I did not want the crew to come until such time that my husband was at home. Despite my written request, the owner’s son arrived with a crew to “tamp” down the edges. I requested that the crew add more asphalt so that the driveway would be raised to a level of three inches. According to the contract, there was to be at least three inches of asphalt applied. I measured the thickness in the area of concern and took pictures to document the fact that the thickness was less than an inch. For two hours I spoke with the son, pleading with him to understand my point of view and my concern about to the driveway. He failed to acknowledge my concerns and suggested that if I had a problem with the way the driveway looked that I simply “not look at it.” I also mentioned that my research indicated that pooling of water, called a depression can result in accelerated deterioration and cracking of a newly laid driveway. While he acknowledged that the information was accurate, he stated that the problem was my “reading online.” That afternoon, the owner returned. I again expressed my concerns, my dissatisfaction, and my proposed solution to the problem. I showed him pictures of the original level driveway and restated that we never had an issue of water pooling in any area of the driveway. He did not acknowledge or validate any of my concerns and summarily dismissed me. On August 13, 2023, my husband again contacted Maglieri to inquire as to the resolution of the issue of the section of unlevel/sinking driveway. In his email he reiterated that digging up the yard was not an option, and that by contract there was supposed to be at least three inches of asphalt. He stated that that section of the driveway is acting like a sump pump; the lowest point in the area, and the water is taking the path of least resistance. He also stated that as a direct result of the unleveled area, the surface had already begun to crack. He attached pictures of the area to document his statements. Again, our concerns were not validated or acknowledged, the owner called my husband and left a voice mail stating that “he will gladly b**** his machines to dig up my backyard to level it down” a solution I mentioned to them in several occasion that is not an option, since does not correct the problem of poor workmanship. The new driveway is not even 4-week-old and is already showing signs of deterioration due to the sinking water filled depression. My husband and I have offered Maglieri Construction and Paving many opportunities to address our concerns and make whole our request. Their refusal to even discuss our proposed solution (adding more asphalt to level out the driveway in the area that is sinking), their dismissal of our concerns, have eroded our trust and respect for this company. At this point we can no longer work with them. Since they refuse to act in good faith, we would like to request a refund so that we can have the work done properly.

  

  Business response

  08/23/2023

  ***                                                                                                    ******* ******* ********* ** * ********
  
  It’s unfortunate that the customer feels this way. Mr. ******** was present du**** the paving application that day and outlined with us the perimeter of the paving and paid us upon successful completion of the work. We did a walk through with him to verify he was very satisfied and he stated he was. After the heavy rain Mrs. ******** sent pictures of the water in the rear corner of the driveway adjacent to their shed, not shedding off the pavement quickly. The reason is the adjacent grass edge is 1”-2” inches above the finish grade of pavement, it does drain but slower than other areas. We offered to trim down the grass approx. 2” deep by 6’-8’ to allow the water to the shed quickly and permeate into the ground. That grade in the turn-around needs proper pitch to shed water out of the turn-around area and away from their shed. When we went out to service her concern, she said the back edge wasn’t neat or slightly jagged, we then re-heated the back edge and re-tamped the edges. We also added pavement by their wall which Mrs. ******** wanted but Mr. ******** didn’t when he approved the painted lines prior to paving. Our contract specifically spells out that the “asphalt” measurement is loose measurement prior to installation and compaction and that we are not responsible for landscaping – back filling etc. of driveway edges. Our offer still stands that we will be glad to trim the grass edge down next to the turnaround. Please note that their driveway and garage are approximately 15’-20’ below the road elevation and our grading was crucial. We also stand ready to defend our workmanship and our reputation by engaging trade professional engineers- product and manufacturers of the trade.  Also, they have a one-year warrantee which we always honor in case any future service is required. We will be glad to reach out to the ********’s again to try and resolve any concerns. We will continue to operate in good faith.
                              Regards,
                              Greg Maglieri, President
                              Maglieri Construction & Paving Inc.
  

  

  Business response

  08/25/2023

                                                                                                                                                                                  8/25/2023
  
  Mr. and Mrs. ******* ********,
           I would like to stop by your house next week to review and do a walk-thru regarding your concerns. Please let me know a couple of options to meet, day and times- etc. that works for both of us.
  Thank you for your patience in this matter.
  
  Regards,
  Greg Maglieri, President
  Maglieri Construction & Paving, Inc
  
  
  
  
  

  Customer response

  08/25/2023

  I am appalled by the owner’s response to our complaint. The audacity to say that I “was present du**** the paving application that day and outlined with [them] the perimeter of the paving…and approved].” His claims are deceitful, dishonest and a complete fabrication. My house is protected by video surveillance, I have a **** camera located right next to the door by the garage which is directly looking at the driveway and the street. In the footage you can clearly see the owner’s son outlining the perimeter by himself and in the recording, you can also see that I was never present outside du**** the paving application. His level of dishonesty is despicable, it speaks to his lack of integrity and business practice. Yes, I was home that day but I was not outside physically supervising what they were doing.
  
  I did notice the son making the outline much smaller than our original driveway was. I went outside to speak to him about this issue and he gave a lame excuse that he has to draw a straight line but he started his lines off by 8-12 inches on each side. I was NOT present du**** the outlining and I DID NOT APPROVE the outline of the perimeter as the owner stated in his response and I have video to prove it. Now imagine if a contractor that paves driveways every day that shorts customers 1 foot on each side and shorts them in depth AND doesn’t add a base to the foundation must be making a lot of money beating out all the competition. The contract says they aren’t responsible for back filling the edges. This seems like a loop hole that allows them to make the driveway smaller. Also, a loose measurement isn’t off by 8-12 inches. 
  
  As stated in our original complaint Maglieri came to remove our old driveway in June 2023. My driveway is steep and I expressed my concern to them about water run-off and they assured me not to worry. For the next four weeks we received record rainfall and our driveway turned into a raging river, storm after storm and a lot of our original driveway foundation was washed away. I called Maglieri to express my concern and I sent videos of our driveway turning into a river. They did come back but all they did was move DIRT around to fill in the river beds that formed over the 4 weeks. They DID NOT add any base to my driveway. This made me concerned about their workmanship because the base is the most important part to the driveway, it’s the foundation. There was no added stone to the foundation for strength. The same thing kept happening and large pools developed at the bottom corner of our driveway and the ground became lower and weaker in that area.
  
  When Maglieri returned 4 weeks later to begin paving, I meet the owner’s son outside before they began the work. I asked right before they began work if the finished product was going to be 3” of asphalt. He assured me that the entire driveway would be 3” per contract. I was concerned because our driveway foundation wasn’t prepped properly and was damaged from the storms du**** the four weeks of heavy storms. I asked to make sure that we received our 3” of asphalt because at least we would have the 3” of asphalt and have some support due to our poor foundation support not addressed or made strong enough by the contractor.
  
  After the paving was finished the owner’s son called me for his final payment. I went outside my garage door and gave him the final payment. There WAS NO final walk through completed or offered as he claims. Our final interaction was very short. After they left my wife and I did a walk through as the asphalt cooled off. We immediately noticed one area where the driveway was MUCH lower than the rest of the drive way. This is the area where all the water was pooling up du**** the rain. To make matters worse they laid LESS than 1 inch in this area and its lower than the grass line, unlike our original driveway that was level with the grass line.  It needs to be raised 2 more inches to be level with the grass line. Not only is this area a major eye sore, it’s collecting A LOT of water and pooling; acting like a sump pit in a house. With the driveway lower than the grass line, the water run off doesn’t flow properly into the yard, instead it pools up eating away at the fresh asphalt. Maglieri should have graded the driveway to accommodate the proper pitch while maintaining the 3 inches of asphalt through the driveway. Instead, they just laid less asphalt in certain areas to allow drainage which ultimately led to water pooling from their poor workmanship and money saving hacks. It has been a month since the paving was laid down and we have to shovel the water to prevent it from cracking.(It’s not working because the area is already cracking from the standing water that doesn’t drain properly.)  It takes over 24 hours for the pool to dry up. When the owner came out on 7/25/23 he told me he would tamp the edges to raise it higher. When they did this the next day it only raised it 1/4 of an inch to b**** the grand total depth to 1 inch. Their solution to tamp the edge only raised the edge 0.25 of an inches, next to nothing. Their next solution was to lower our grass level to that of the new driveway. My wife made it very clear that she did NOT want a section of our yard removed to fix their negligence. For almost 2 hours they went back and forth with no solution. The owner and his son wouldn’t listen to my wife’s concerns and just brushed her off time and time again. All they wanted to do was a quick hack fix by destroying our property so they didn’t have to lay down more asphalt to b**** the driveway up to its correct height. They still refuse to raise this area so we can have proper drainage. We never had this issue before when our driveway was at the same height as the grass line (my wife showed the owner pictures of the original level and even driveway). What’s really sad is that after the 2 hours of back and forth arguing, my wife asked the owners son what’s your solution to fix this and his response was just “DONT look at it.”
  
  His response to this complaint is proof of his continued failure to validate or acknowledge our concerns. I would like to reiterate that the shift complaint is about the unsatisfactory quality of work, the unleveled section of the driveway (that has already begun to sink), and the 1/2 inch of asphalt in that section, which has resulted in a water filled depression (pictures were provide with original complaint). Per his response to this complaint, his proposed solution continues to be the same, disregarding the real issue that will have future financial repercussions for me. If I were “very satisfied,” as he stated, why would I have contacted him to voice my concerns just hours after the job was completed on7/25/23? 
  
  In his response he addresses perimeter/outlining, and landscaping which is all irrelevant to my complaint. This complaint is not about perimeters/outlining or landscaping. It is about disappointing work, an unleveled sinking driveway that has problems with water drainage. His resolution to the problem, to dig up around that section of driveway and lower it to help with the water doesn’t work and water continue to sit on top of the driveway when it rains. He has been contacted several times and given the opportunity to address our concerns yet every time our concerns are dismissed and/or not acknowledged. 
  
  I went into contract with Mr. Maglieri in good faith with the expectation that he would render satisfactory service or at the very least, deliver the service agreed upon.  Building up the driveway in the identified section, by raising/increasing the asphalt level to that equal to the grass height is what I am requesting. I have been dutiful and timely with my payment for service and simply expect that I should be satisfied with the contracted work.  
  
  Sincerely,
  ******* ********
  

  

  Business response

  09/13/2023

  Again, as previously mentioned we will honor our one-year warrantee as always, and I would be glad to meet them to discuss in person their concerns and work to resolve any issues. We will wait to hear from them as to set a day and time that works for everyone.

   

  Regards,

  Maglieri Construction & Paving, Inc

  Greg Maglieri, President

  Customer response

  09/15/2023

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

  Being untruthful to manipulate a situation by misrepresentation of the events, have eroded our trust and respect for this company. At this point we can no longer work with them. Since they refuse to act in good faith, we would like to request a refund so that we can have the work done properly. The deliberate act of dishonesty by the owner gives a negative evaluation of individuals’ character, therefore, we no longer trust this company’s work ethics and I’m fearful of what else they would misrepresent or say. The **** camera proves the dishonesty of his statements. So, no we can no longer work with this company. 
  
  Sincerely,
  ******* ******** 

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