ComplaintsforMG Construction II, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ****************** came by my home on 8/21/22 and left products he would be using on my project. Items were a baluster and mesh. I entered into a contractual agreement with **. ****************************** 8/23. The total amount of the job was $9900. 1st installment was $5500. 2nd installment was $2200 was due after porch had been fully repaired and before screening. The 1st check was given 8/23, made out in the company name.****************** requested of me to add his name to the check because the processing would take 2-3 day via the company and he wanted to access the money so he could go shopping for supplies. I complied. On 8/24 he made several calls to me, stating that the the 2nd installment was needed so he could finish purchasing everything he needed to get the project started. Initially I said no, after many more calls I told him that I would speak with my son. Upon speaking with my son, he advised me to give him the 2nd install. of $2200. ****************** recv'd the check on 8/27. I made the check out to the company and again I was asked to add his name to the check. I complied. One worker showed up twice and worked on porch roof. Two workers were assigned and worked 3 full days. 8/26 they worked for 2hrs and left. They were no show and no calls were received regarding their absence. Next time they showed up it was 9/1 @12N. This pattern was continuous until their last day 9/29. They showed up on 10/5, which I then informed them that I would no longer be working with ******************. The last time I had spoken with ****************** was on 9/29 at my home, I reminded him of several issues he needed to address. His response was he was not doing another thing. ****************** deceptively baited and switched products of lesser quality to deprive me of quality products which I paid for. I have pictures showing his scam work.I contacted **** on 9/30 and filed a report. I learned that he never pulled a permit for my project. This individual is totally unprofessional and exceedingly deceptive.

  Business response

  04/25/2023

  December 20, 2022

  Dear BBB:
  
  In response to complaint ID ********, I wish to provide a more accurate description of what took place during this entire project at *** ********* ****’s home.  At the onset of my meeting with *** **** and her son, I gave her references to prior work I had completed the resembled her projects.  She and her son took it upon themselves to go by and meet one of my previous customers in person, and then she also went by to look at another project I had completed.  She was very pleased at what she saw and agreed to give me the project at her home.
  
  After meeting *** ****, the first thing she mentioned to me is that she did not have a lot of money to put towards this project.  I told her that the project will be done within the scope of work on the project and priced accordingly.  *** **** initially wanted additional things done on the project, such as:  a swing on the front porch, and, a set of composite handrails put on the steps – both of which we could not include in the project due to the associated costs and it would exceed our budget that we agreed upon.  
  
  *** ****’s project included:  restoring her front porch and building of a customized screened-in porch for her.  Also, it included re-doing the top of her front porch – the landing – and around the edge of the porch; not the entire front of the porch all the way around from top-to-bottom, to the ground.  The material we used to do the porch was called “granite grip.”  According to the scope of work, which we detailed in the contract, we were supposed to restore the porch roof and not completely rebuild the roof.  Shortly after demolishing the front porch roof, I informed *** **** and her son that after demolishing the porch roof, my staff and I realized the roof was completely rotted out throughout and needed to be completely rebuilt from the roofing rafters and joists.  This was not in our contract and I told *** **** that she needed to pay the additional monies to fix the entire roof, not just doing what was in our original scope of work in the contract.  
  
  Due to the fact that *** **** had given me a deposit and I did not want to stop the work at such an early stage of the project, my staff and I took it upon ourselves to completely rebuild the roof, which I have photos of (see attached).  The associated additional cost of rebuilding the entire roof from the roofing rafters, cost an additional several thousand dollars (additional cost of lumber, wood, and labor).  *** **** refused to pay for any additional cost that was unrelated to the contract.  The rebuilding of the roof was extremely important to the overall project.  At this point, I told *** **** that she could not “gold plate” this project.  Gold plating from my perspective is that once a Customer gives you money towards a project, no matter what you have to do outside of the scope of work in the contract, the Customer is expecting you to do the work at no additional cost to them.  I told *** **** and her son that the cost of lumber and labor to do the additional work would cost me a large amount of money and I would have to use the funds provided to me in the initial deposit.  Her response to that was, “I don’t know where you’re going to get the money, but it’s not coming from me; I don’t have it!”  So we continued forward with the project and did the associated work because I did not want to delay the project due to the fact that she is a senior and I wanted to keep my word as a businessman.  
  
  I brought samples to *** ****’s house for the materials we were using; she was very pleased with what I showed her:  the composite handrails (which I gave her a sample), and the smart board of lumber, which is a very expensive lumber to accomplish her trim around her porch and fascia board, and all the additional materials I had to purchase to provide her a beautiful job.  The other big problem we ran into – keeping in mind the “gold plating” mindset *** **** portrayed – we were doing the front concrete porch with the new granite material that we were covering the porch with.  The contract states that the granite would only be used around the porch and just around the edge – which is about 4 inches in height, and it goes around the edge of the porch.  Now, keeping in mind that this material costs $80 per gallon, I told her that it was very expensive material and a very expensive project to do her porch in.  We had no problem in doing the porch, which we accomplished, but she was unhappy with that work due to the fact that once again, she wanted to “gold plate” her project, and demanded that we use that same product, not only on the porch but throughout her entire porch.  Below the opening on the porch where there is brick, mortar, and concrete, she wanted us to cover that entire, surrounding area below the porch with that same, very expensive material because she was so pleased with the outcome on the top porch; she wanted us to do the porch as well as the bricked-in area around the porch, which is almost an additional 100 sq. ft. of coverage.  I told *** **** that this was not included in the contract and we could not accomplish this additional ask without additional funding.  Again, she demanded we do the work due to the fact that she felt her job has been “gold-plated.”  At this point of the project, the job came to a halt.  We only had 1 more day to be onsite with the job to finish the entire job.  
  
  The last “gold-plated” item that she insisted that we do, was that she wanted us to put in a customized storm door on her porch, which again, I stated that that is not in the original contract and would have to be paid for additionally.  We were doing a customized, screened-in porch with a screen door, which was supposed to duplicate a job that she went to look at.  She expected me, once again, to spend a large amount of money, which we already did, getting her a storm door.  It involved a lot more construction, money, and time!  It added to our losses, keeping in mind that this was a customized job and very time-consuming.  
  
  With those 3 items, which led up to the ultimate stoppage of the project at that point, again, we only had 1 more day remaining on the project to complete it.  She stopped us at that point and told us to leave the premises, leave the property, and leave our remaining materials and tools.  I had to call the DC Police Department to escort me to her home so that I could get my tools from her, which she allowed me to do.  However, she was unwilling to give me my remaining materials that did not belong to her – I paid for them all and have the receipts.  
  
  I knew that she was telling me that there was an issue with the roof porch in terms of the flashing.  She saw one of my customer’s roofs and wanted a duplicate type of flashing done on her roof.  So she went to DCRA and complained about the roof not being constructed correctly.  I was not given the opportunity as a Contractor to address the issues of the minor repairs that would’ve been needed to correct the problem.  As far as construction is concerned, those minor repairs could have been completed within ½ a day (approx. 4 hours).  I was more than willing to address these concerns and do the minor adjustments needed.  The Investigator who never went over to see the property, and never allowed me to meet him there, took only her pictures and considered them, as well as took her opinion of the work as the “gospel,” and never allowed me to rebut or make any attempt to correct the problem.  I was never even given the opportunity to write a rebuttal, as I am doing now, to present my side of the story and my case.  I felt that it was very unprofessionally handled and I was not given a fair opportunity to address all of the concerns.  The Investigator only dealt with what she had provided.
  
  I wish to address additional items that *** **** presented in her complaint letter.  As far as the money is concerned, every deposit check *** **** provided to me was spent on her project by way of material cost and labor cost.  She mentioned that I requested her to write checks in my name.  She failed to mention that she also wrote a check in my company name.  In either case, all of the funds were used towards her project, so I don’t understand why this is an issue with her.  I did not want to wait for the associated holds from my bank due to her being a new customer of mine and I wanted to have access to the funds to purchase the material and pay my staff. 
  
  Secondly, she stated that a permit was not pulled for her project.  I mentioned to her that I did not feel that her project required a permit because it was considered a “replacement of like kind.”  We only repaired and rebuilt the existing structure that was already present.  The only thing we added to the original structure was new lumber, new screens, new finish trim, new paint, a new granite overlay for her porch, and the new composite for her handrails.  All of these were already there (with the exception of the screened-in porch with the new entry door), so as far as I’m concerned as a Contractor, this did not require a building permit. At the most, it would’ve required a Post Card permit for replacement of like kind.  Due to the changes at DCRA and its regulations, I felt I was acting accordingly to the new law and was not breaking any of the laws and/or codes at DCRA.
  
  I feel I have done nothing wrong – I was only 1 day away from completing this job.  If only she had allowed us to finish it rather than her unwillingness to provide me with the final payment of $2,000.  She did not want to give me the final payment, nor did she want to return the remaining materials that was worth a considerable amount of money.  
  
  I’m asking, in a very humble manner that the BBB take all of these matters in consideration and come to a fair determination of this situation.  My business name and reputation are very important to me, and I take pride in my work.  There are mistakes that are made but I always make a good effort to ensure my customers are made whole… this is what I wanted to do for *** ****, however, I was not provided the opportunity.
  
  Lastly, I wanted to rejoin the BBB and keep my customer’s record straight and in good standing with the Bureau.  I did not want anything to flaw my company’s name so I’m only providing the truth from my position.  I’m hopeful that the Bureau will consider everything that I’ve shared today in their final ruling.  I realize this is very important to run a successful business here in the District of Columbia and elsewhere around the country.
  
  Respectfully,
  ****** *******
  MG Construction II
  

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