ComplaintsforJ M M Construction of WNY

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Septic was recently replaced as part of the sale of a home. The work occurred Jan 21st 2022 for new sand filter septic installment as well as rough grade. The Home was acquired Feb 2022. As the snow has melted, the unwalkable and cavernous yard was exposed, including large parts of the tank, drain field, and piping sticking 2-3ft out of the ground. 3.22.22 - JMM was phoned. Writer spoke to office manager Katie. Was advised to email photos for review. She also mentioned that the pipes sticking out of the ground won't be cut down by JMM until sod is placed. 3.28.22 - photos sent 3.29.22 - Phoned JMM and was told by Office Manager, Katie, that the photos reflect normal work done by JMM. Writer informed Katie they were not satisfied and felt work was incomplete. Was deferred to president. 3.29.22 - Justin Marchewka, President of JMM, emailed writer to inform that the current state is expected and normal. Justin even welcomed "to call me if you would like to discuss further and if you feel I am making an inaccurate assessment I would be happy to meet with you onsite." 4.01.22 - writer responded that they are concerned about the work that was completed. Informed Justin that large parts of the tank are exposed. Informed Justin that there is upwards of 18 inches drops in the ground around the tank. Expressed concerns about the functionality of the system. Justin did assure me that the system should work properly and that it should be quite stable within the ground. Writer asked for a quote to finish work. Justin said he would provide. Writer also informed Justin that another excavation person will be contacting him to obtain the details of the septic to compare rates. 4.5.22 - emailed asking for quote. No response 4.10.22 - emailed again, phoned; no response Concerned that JMM took advantage of a sale leaving buyer out to dry with no intention to complete the work. Lack of transparency and difficult to communicate with. Concerned the system will fail.

  Business response

  05/04/2022

  J.M.M. Construction was contacted by our customer (hereby referred to as the Seller) to obtain an estimate on the replacement of two septic systems on two neighboring properties. J. M. M. and the Seller agreed to an estimated cost, and scheduling time frame for the installation of two septic systems. The Seller requested that the work be completed by the end of January 2022, as he was planning to sell both properties.  The estimates provided by J.M.M. Construction indicate the  following:    Backfill, rough grade only, finish landscape available upon request Spoils to remain on site  Tree removal not included.   Work was completed at both properties on Jan. 21, 2022. Photos of the properties show the rough grade backfill. The Seller was fully aware that with the weather conditions in January, settling of the backfill would occur. The Seller agreed to these terms, and upon the completion of the septic tank installations, and receipt of payment from the Seller, the contract between J.M.M. Construction and the Seller was fulfilled.  In late March 2022, J.M.M. was contacted by the Complainant (the Buyer of one of the properties of the Seller). The Complainant is not a customer of J.M.M. Construction, with no signed contractual agreement for any work to be completed between the two parties. J.M.M.'s Office Manager took the call from the Complainant, took notes on his concerns, requested photos to be taken and emailed for visual reference, and relayed this information to the owner. J.M.M.'s owner replied to the Complainant's concerns directly following the receipt of the photos, stating that the settling that took place appeared to  be consistent  with what is expected for backfilling during January in Western New York. The Complainant was provided with photos from the time that J.M.M. left the site, documenting that the rough grade described in the estimate to the Seller had been achieved at the time of the service.  The owner also stated that J.M.M. always makes it a point to make our customers aware of this settling situation and customers are also aware that J.M.M. is willing to include the cost of a return trip or to "finish grade". None of those costs we factored into the quotes for the properties in question when the quotes were agreed upon, as J.M.M.'s customer, the Seller, did not wish to include finish grading.  In addition,  it was explained to the Complainant that settling around a septic system is 100% normal and to be expected. The pipes in the ground could be manipulated by manual compaction efforts and the tanks are non-traffic rated and could be damaged, therefore we must allow the dirt to settle naturally.  Soil conditions and weather conditions are both a factor in the level of settling that may result, however it was insisted on by the Seller that we have this completed by certain dates.  When discussing an estimate from J.M.M. to the Complainant to return to the site, the owner expressed that we could not perform a second rough grade yet, because the dirt is too wet and would not support the weight of the machines without causing damage to the system. The owner let the Complainant know that May 2022, weather depending, would be a projected time to return for the rough grade, and if the Complainant would like, finish grade could be completed at the same time.  J. M. M.' s owner then provided his direct cell phone number for the Complainant to reach out with any additional concerns.  The Complainant proceeded to contact a separate excavation company to obtain estimates on the finish grade backfill that he wished to have completed at his property. The Complainant directed the other company to contact J. M.M. for any plans, or materials related the septic system installation. Per **** County regulation, J.M.M. is unable to provide any drawings of customer septic systems, without the written consent of the homeowner. Both the Complainant and the separate excavation company were notified on separate occasions that the septic drawings are available from the **** County Health Department, as well as from the Seller of the property. The Complainant preferred that J. M. M. take the steps to obtain the drawings on his behalf and provide them to both himself and the excavation company of his choosing.  J. M. M.' s Office Manager directly contacted the Complainant, asking for written permission to release the drawings of the septic system in question. Upon receiving this permission, copies of the drawings were mailed to both the Complainant and the contractor of his choosing for the finish backfill work.   We appreciate the opportunity to respond to this claim. Please confirm receipt of this response and let us know if there is anything else we need to submit.  Thank you, Katie K******* Office Manager  J.M.M. Construction of WNY, Inc 

  Business response

  05/26/2022

  Mr. ***** was notified by JMM President that an estimate would be provided when the soil conditions allowed for additional work to be completed during their first conversation regarding this potential project. During the months of March/April in WNY, the soil conditions are not conducive to rough grade, or finish grade work. Any machinery on the septic system could cause damage due to soft soil conditions. This point was expressed clearly to Mr. *****. Mr. ***** was able to email and/or call the President of JMM at any time, however JMM’s President felt that he had answered Mr. *****’s questions and given a timeline on when an estimate would be provided (when soil conditions allowed for the work to be completed). At no point was it stated that JMM was unwilling to provide an estimate or schedule the work to be completed – it was simply stated that in March/April, the work could not be safely addressed. JMM President told Mr. ***** that May/June would be the ideal time to address this issue, and our team would be in touch with an estimate and projected timeframe to schedule. It became clear that Mr. ***** did not agree with JMM’s assessment that soil conditions would not allow for the work to be completed at the time of the requested estimate, and JMM was not willing to damage the septic system that was just installed by our team, in order to meet Mr. *****’s timeline. JMM’s office staff fielded phone calls from the alternate excavation contractor and provided them with the as built drawings of the septic system, after receiving Mr. *****’s written permission to release those documents per NYS DOH guidelines. At that point, it was understood that Mr. ***** was going in a different direction to meet his timeline, with a contractor that was comfortable grading in soft soil conditions, despite potential damage to the septic system.

  Customer response

  05/27/2022

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. 

  Unfortunately, JMM is misleading their response. Though JMM's president provided his email and phone number, he would not return my calls for a quote on the rough grade and scheduling. I also phoned the office and did not receive any replies regarding a quote or scheduling service. I made several attempts. I was forced to contact another excavation company to ensure proper work completion and was told by the JMM president that I could have them contact his company or personally talk to him if needed. Unfortunately, this appeared to be lip service for I could not get this to happen. As the purchaser, I thought it would make sense to have JMM complete the work even if I had to pay a fee (Despite other excavation crews stating that I did not receive rough grading on the property based off their assessment of the property.) I'm quite disappointed that JMM did not provide me a quote to complete the work nor did they try and resolve this complaint by reaching out to me. The office did contact me to obtain consent to send the drawings after I submitted the BBB complaint but they made no further attempts to work with me to finish work that they started - ie quote to complete and scheduling service. I would have been fine to work with JMM if they would have provided me the requested quote and schedule service. 
  Update:
  The response is inaccurate. See conversation between writer and president attached. I received no response requesting a quote. I did indeed look into a third party quote as an 'option' due to suddenly having to incur an expense that I did not agree with. I want to note that no work has been done. JMM has not contacted me for a quote despite multiple emailed requests. JMM office reached out to provide the septic drawings only after my BBB complaint was sent.  Regards,  *** *****  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩