ComplaintsforUnique Pavers Design, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  It took him 3 and a half months to finish my job. They would work only 2 days a week and then when I called, we would get into arguments. At one time we almost got into a fight in the lot next door. The work they did is not great. There contract states that I would have a year warranty. I call **** to fix the issues that I have with pavers coming lose and just like before, he would say I'll call you back. It's been three weeks now. Still waiting on a call and waiting to have the crappy work they did, repair. I am not a person that complains but this *************** and his so called company should not be in business. He is actually acting as a general contractor. I have had some of his so called employees come to my door and scar the heck out if my wife saying, he owes them money and treated my wife to take a lien out on our property. Steer clear of this company. If you ever want a good job done with a company that will stand by there work, steer clear of this one. You will be in for a HUGE dispointment.

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  SIgned a contract for Unique Pavers (*********************) to install Porcelain Tile on ****/ pool deck on 1/5/23. Had to beg to hold back $3,500 of a $30,000 to be paid at completion. All other $ required at 50% of project completion. **** sent migrant workers who did not know what they were doing. He removed 2 workers and 2 others showed up. **** did not even know who was at the site working. After issues were pointed out, he then sent another guy to attempt to fix. The process for porcelain pavers is very specific and **** assured us he was an expert and in fact he "taught the person who sells the product how to do it". (not to be true) Many tiles were uneven, rocking and the product between would not ****** with sand all over that came out of joints. I gave **** a third chance to fix the issue. At this point I couldn't get a straight answer on process to fix and called the company that sold the product for help. **** from Hardscape got involved and only after I called other contractors to get facts on how the process should have been done did I learn that Unique pavers did the process completely wrong and **** confirmed. When I confronted ****, he admitted he did it wrong and said he made "a mistake". He showed up briefly toward end to oversee; otherwise was never on site. This went on for a month and a half. We finally called in an expert with over 20 years of experience to assess. He was horrified. He pointed out all of the issues and the problem with what **** proposed to do to "fix" which was a band-aide at best. We spent $30,000 on this project which we had to stop before it got worse, to now have another company come in and fix it for another $20K plus. **** will say he was willing to fix the problem, but he had no idea what he was doing and we were not risking a complete disaster that would be even more money to fix. I asked for a refund for some of the labor to fix and complete. he refused. I have since learned that **** and this company are known for this.

  Business response

  02/16/2023

  **** has many years of experience laying pavers, porcelain, and travertine.  He knows the correct ways of laying all of these.  He admitted that he made the mistake of not checking the base rock because he was not on-site at the time and was more than willing to fix the issue in any manner that the homeowner wanted.  
  UPD did not send migrant workers.  All of UPD workers are of various ethnicities and to say they are migrants is very much an insult.  We knew who was on the job site at all times.
  It is a fact that your representative from Harscape did work for UPD and was taught everything she knew from ********************* and the constant back and forth was causing even more issues.
  UPD offered to fix any issues and the homeowner refused, sending an amendment to us to sign that we were no longer responsible for finishing the job and that they would not seek damages or return of any money they paid to UPD.  UPD charges a standard 55% deposit to ALL customers.  This is not a scheme whatsoever.  We apologize for our mistake and we are sorry we could not make you happy and fix the problem for you. 

  Customer response

  02/17/2023

  
  Complaint: ********

  ??I am rejecting this response because:? PROBLEM 1: The first two people who showed up for the job, cut the tile incorrectly and **** had to send two new people to fix it and finish the work. While initially the tiles looked good from afar, when we went out and really looked we began to see all of the issues. We tried to work with **** but it just kept getting worse. PROBLEM 2: **** did not ever come supervise any of the work and while he claims he is an expert his workers were not. PROBLEM 3 **** did claim he taught **** how to do the porcelain tile process which she denied verbally on a phone call. There is an installation methodology that is specific that **** did not follow and only when I got **** involved did that become clear. **** wanted to "fix" the issue incorrectly and it was **** who pointed this out to him. The tiles were uneven and the joints would not ******.Only after back and forth with **** involved did he admit he "Made a mistake" and at this point, the entire Lanai was laid down, a pool cage screen broken which I had to chase to repair. PROBLEM 4. I have documentation that I acquired showing certified installers and **** nor his company are listed on that documentation as certified. Surely if he taught the person in the company the methodology he would be certified! He used his relationship with **** to convince us he was an expert.  Also, **** nor Unique Pavers have a contractor license in the ****************. (I was told he didnt need one and then another contractor said he did.  
  According to ************, The hardscape product expert; "All cuts to be done with wet cut, continuous diamond blade. All grades to run at a 2% grade away from structure and flow off deck or to necessary deco drain. All projects to have properly installed drainage to accommodate water coming off the deck and to ensure no low spots on the project that could hold water. Drainage and grades are very important to ensure the project performs correctly over time." in writing.  PROBLEM 5 This DID NOT HAPPEN.  They never did a wet cut and I highly doubt they used a diamond blade. One certified contractor who has since come to look stated the drain was done wrong.
  **** sent the first person who laid the tile down uneven and did the job wrong the first time to "fix" the problem after 6 weeks of dealing with these problems. Now if this person was certified or knowledgeable  why didn't this get done right the first time? Why would we ever agree to have the guy back. 

  In response to his statement regarding knowing who was on the job:   I have proof in a text string that **** did not know who was on the job. He told me "*****" was the supervisor working on the job (his employee), and the person who was actually here ****** told me he didn't work for Unique Pavers and gave me his business card. Only after I told **** his name and showed him his card did he make up something about how he worked for him and had a side business and couldn't speak english so he must have been mistaken in his communication. I was told not to speak to the workers at this point. This was the 2nd instance of someone saying they worked for another company. These workers got dropped off around 7:- 7:30 and were waiting for a pick up until 7:00PM  some nights. We felt horrible for them. There was also a kid on site working when they pulled the pavers up. Maybe some research on his employees and workers comp and such would be beneficial in this case. There is a worker **** ************************* who writes on the *** review ******** page ?"To all the people who see this, I recommend that you do not work with this person, he is a thief, he does not like to pay, he mistreats the people who work for him and threatens the workers with calling the police or emigration, he changes groups every day for the same thing that he does not pay them" I don't know if this is factual, but it is another data point. It is easy to find some very very bad reviews with common themes. This complaint is far from the first.
  There are so many serious complaints out there that it is time for an investigation to be done on this person/company.
  To his statement of 55% deposit that is false. He required all but about 10% at 50% of job completion. The statement of we would not seek damages is false. a discussion took place and we requested that he refund some of the money paid so we could get this fixed by someone who knew what they were doing. He refused. Due to the fact that **** made a substantial profit off a job that is now a disaster we are not settling for releasing him with our 10% nor after all of this can we trust the job he does to fix the problem wont end up costing us even more.  Apologizing for a mistake of this magnitude is not enough. The cost to fix this is over $20,000.
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/05/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We signed a contract with UPD on 6/29/21. We were told work would begin as soon as permit was obtained, usually 4-6 weeks. Called for status update on 7/29/21. We were told by business manager, Nicole R. that we were waiting on paver delivery. Not permit. Pavers were expected 9/15/21. I asked why we were told 4-6 weeks for permit. Response was, I don't know. Permit wasn't applied for until 7/27/21, just under 30 days required by FL law. It was rejected. I advised UPD this was unacceptable after many attempts to speak with owner, Michael C. He never returned calls I was promised. Eventually Nicole called with Michael on line. He started out arguing we didn't know FL law and we couldn't cancel contract. Eventually, he advised he had paid a lot towards our project already. I asked for breakdown of charges and proof they were paid on our project. I was told I would receive by 8/2. No response. 8/5 I sent registered letter requesting full refund of deposit paid, 5,329.50.

  Business response

  11/10/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2021/10/21) */ Mrs. ***** contacted our office on 6/4/2021 asking for an estimate due to pooling water at the end of her driveway. Mrs. ***** signed a contract with Unique Pavers Design, LLC on 6/29/2021. We received her deposit check on 6/30/2021 for $5,329.50. The same day we received her deposit check, the pavers were ordered from the manufacturer. As stated to her several times, there is a lead time of 12 weeks for pavers to be delivered. Her scheduled delivery date for her pavers was 9/15/2021. The permitting was filed on 7/16/2021 along with all documents that were required at that time. With this county you have to email the permit documents over, then they submit them into the system. This can take a bit to show up in their system. On 7/27/2021 we were notified by the county they needed an impervious calculation sheet as well. Per the county, the permit was to be completed by 9/8/2021. This document is not needed for every project and we were submitting the information as requested by the county when Mrs. ***** decided to cancel her contract. When Mrs. ***** called to cancel her contract at the beginning of August, she explained to me the reason she wanted to cancel was due to finding out the county will fix the issue for free. I started to Mrs. ***** that I understood; however, we have a contract. I advised Mrs. ***** that we have already paid the fees for the permit, and pavers were already being made for her project. Mrs. ***** demanded her full deposit back. I explained that we already had fees paid for the permitting, and the pavers would have a restocking fee if we canceled now. She still demanded the entire refund. After looking over the contract and what fees had been paid, along with the restocking fee of pavers. I explained to Mrs. ***** that we could not refund the entire deposit amount but we could refund the remaining balance after permitting fees and restocking fees. We provided detail of what our fees and costs were, along with the amount we offered to refund. Mrs. ***** declined this offer. Pursuant Florida Statute 489.126 A contractor has to apply for permits to do work within 30 days after the date payment is made. Start the work within 90 days after the date all necessary permits for work are issued. We applied for the permits within the time frame of receiving the deposit check. Her materials were ordered the same day as the deposit check was received. We followed all laws and guidelines. We are not able to control the time frame of the county when it comes to permitting. Our company has tried to come to a reasonable agreement with Mrs. ***** several times since her cancellation. We are still offering the amount of $3,246.00; this is the same amount offered to Mrs. ***** at the time of her cancellation. Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2021/10/21) */ Hello, per the FL Attorney Generals office, Unique could be charged with 3rd degree felony for not responding to our attorneys letter requesting refund. We were told to contact Lee county sheriffs dept. we were referred to Cape Coral police dept. we initiated a case. They contacted Michael C., who then called me to offer a partial refund of 3200.00 again. I asked again for details on how they came up with that amount, proof they had spent 2129.50 on our project. We have asked several times for this info over the months with no response. I would like to have this information if we do need to file in civil court. I noticed the respond date to BBB was changed today from 10/22 to 10/25. Please advise. Thank you for your help. Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2021/10/21) */ Hello, per the FL Attorney Generals office, Unique could be charged with 3rd degree felony for not responding to our attorneys letter requesting refund. We were told to contact Lee county sheriffs dept. we were referred to Cape Coral police dept. we initiated a case. They contacted Michael C., who then called me to offer a partial refund of 3200.00 again. I asked again for details on how they came up with that amount, proof they had spent 2129.50 on our project. We have asked several times for this info over the months with no response. I would like to have this information if we do need to file in civil court. I noticed the respond date to BBB was changed today from 10/22 to 10/25. Please advise. Thank you for your help. Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2021/10/22) */ Mrs. ***** contacted our office on 6/4/2021 asking for an estimate due to pooling water at the end of her driveway. Mrs. ***** signed a contract with Unique Pavers Design, LLC on 6/29/2021. We received her deposit check on 6/30/2021 for $5,329.50. The same day we received her deposit check, the pavers were ordered from the manufacturer. As stated to her several times, there is a lead time of 12 weeks for pavers to be delivered. Her scheduled delivery date for her pavers was 9/15/2021. The permitting was filed on 7/16/2021 along with all documents that were required at that time. With this county you have to email the permit documents over, then they submit them into the system. This can take a bit to show up in their system. On 7/27/2021 we were notified by the county they needed an impervious calculation sheet as well. Per the county, the permit was to be completed by 9/8/2021. This document is not needed for every project and we were submitting the information as requested by the county when Mrs. ***** decided to cancel her contract. When Mrs. ***** called to cancel her contract at the beginning of August, she explained to me the reason she wanted to cancel was due to finding out the county will fix the issue for free. I started to Mrs. ***** that I understood; however, we have a contract. I advised Mrs. ***** that we have already paid the fees for the permit, and pavers were already being made for her project. Mrs. ***** demanded her full deposit back. I explained that we already had fees paid for the permitting, and the pavers would have a restocking fee if we canceled now. She still demanded the entire refund. After looking over the contract and what fees had been paid, along with the restocking fee of pavers. I explained to Mrs. ***** that we could not refund the entire deposit amount but we could refund the remaining balance after permitting fees and restocking fees. We provided detail of what our fees and costs were, along with the amount we offered to refund. Mrs. ***** declined this offer. Pursuant Florida Statute 489.126 A contractor has to apply for permits to do work within 30 days after the date payment is made. Start the work within 90 days after the date all necessary permits for work are issued. We applied for the permits within the time frame of receiving the deposit check. Her materials were ordered the same day as the deposit check was received. We followed all laws and guidelines. We are not able to control the time frame of the county when it comes to permitting. Our company has tried to come to a reasonable agreement with Mrs. ***** several times since her cancellation. We are still offering the amount of $3,246.00; this is the same amount offered to Mrs. ***** at the time of her cancellation. Consumer Response /* (3000, 17, 2021/10/22) */ There are far too many incorrect statements in the response from business to even start to address. Bottom line: - We were told by salesperson work would begin as soon as permit was obtained, 4-5 weeks - I called to check status when I learned permit had not been applied for. I was told pavers were reason for delay, not permit. I asked why we were told differently by salesperson. Office managers response was, 'I don't know, you will need to speak to owner. I requested to speak to owner, I was told he would call me to discuss - 3 weeks later when I called back as I had not received a call from owner, I advised I wanted to cancel because there was no communication to advise timing differences in what sales person told us and what office manager told us - office manager advised we would have to speak to owner, I would love to, but he will not call me back - office manager called later in the day with owner on the line. I was told they had fees involved. I asked for breakdown and proof fees were paid towards our project for my review and would accept if reasonable. I was told I would receive this information on 8/2, no information received - 8/5 we sent registered letter requesting refund - 8/6 received email from business that we would receive refund 'next Friday' - no refund, called several times and left voice mail, no response - 8/25 we contacted an attorney who advised the permit wasn't applied for until 7/15 and the contract lacked the consumer cancellation language required by statute and there is no language in the contract that would allow for a cancellation fee or restocking charge - our attorney sent registered letter to business on 8/30 requesting response by 9/10, no response until attorney received call from Nicole on 9/16 stating they were still at 3200 number with no details on amount We will be back in touch with the FL Attorney Generals office and they can take it from here. I was hesitant to pursue the 3rd degree felony charge on any person or business so wanted to try one more time to resolve this matter. Thank you for your assistance. Consumer Response /* (2000, 20, 2021/11/09) */ Unique Pavers Design and I have come to an agreement that is agreeable to both parties.

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