ComplaintsforNorth Eastern Pool & Spa

• Initial Complaint

  11/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  1. North Eastern destroyed my driveway while installing a pool and are hiding behind a disclaimer on their paperwork that they are not liable for damage. There is a big difference between damage and destroyed. 2. North eastern took protective measures to protect their equipment damage by laying wood pieces and flags over four bolts that secure a basketball hope (see pics exhibit “A”) but could not give me the same protection for my driveway. North eastern initially discussed that my driveway could be damaged by the equipment but they did not describe the extent of damage nor a plan to ensure there was minimal damage such as scuff or tire marks in the driveway. Rather they destroyed my driveway to the extent that it became unsafe to load my newborn in and out of the vehicle or for myself and family to do so or the ability to safely drive and park my truck or take my trash out top the curb. 3. North eastern continued to drive on the drive after the initial damage had started but continued to drive on the driveway without attempting to do the following: - Lay plywood down to mitigate the damage - Lay large boards down to mitigate the damage - Knock on the front door to inform my wife that the driveway is being destroyed and ask if they should stop - Call Terry or send Terry pictures - Consider using the grass to which they required my neighbor and I to sign in order for them to drive on the lawn - Drive on the lawn (where there was enough room for the equipment versus the driveway) to install the pool 4. North eastern disregarded the severe damage to my driveway so they could complete their install and move on to the next install because they were approximately 2 months behind schedule, so they rushed and were careless 5. North eastern took my $46,500 check and my $12,200 deposit and refused to fix my destroyed driveway and failed to inform me of the destruction they did to my driveway and took advantage of my wife who was home with a 5 week old baby.

  

  Business response

  11/22/2022

  It is an unfortunate, however uncommon, circumstance whenever a homeowner’s property is damaged during the installation and construction of their pool. In this situation, the additional damage to the homeowner’s driveway (we say additional damage as we do have pictures of the area showing damage to the driveway prior to our equipment accessing it) was due to the traffic of our equipment and trucks using the driveway to enter the property and access the back yard & build location. This access point was discussed with the homeowner prior to the commencement of the project. The driveway would be our only access point and the homeowner was comfortable with us driving our equipment on it. Our job site superintendent and project layout person, Mike, also reviewed with the homeowner ahead of time the potential for damage, and the homeowner stated he was not worried about it as he was going to be replacing the driveway anyways.

  Our site superintendent Mike did make the homeowner aware of the additional damage to the driveway the morning of the pool installation, and he spoke with the homeowner multiple times throughout the installation warning him that the driveway was not going to hold up. The homeowner stated each time that it was fine and that they would be getting a new one installed in the spring anyways. During the process of the installation of the pool, the homeowner’s wife also came out and saw the damage to the driveway and told the workers the same thing, that she was not worried about additional damage either. She stated they were thinking about installing a concrete driveway in the spring, and now at least they would not have to pay a company to break up the current driveway prior to getting their new driveway installed.

  While we would not consider ourselves professionals within the driveway and blacktop industry, we have certainly seen our fair share of driveways and access paths over our 40+ years in business. The additional damage to the homeowner’s driveway is, in our opinion, indicative of a poor base, and if the homeowner is replacing his driveway, it is advisable to install a better base in that area prior to repaving the driveway. It is important to note that the use of plywood and plastic mats is to ensure that our equipment can get in and out of the property, not specifically to prevent damages to the path. No amount of plywood or plastic mats could have prevented the additional damage that occurred to this driveway. The damage to the driveway also does not render the entire driveway unusable as the homeowner has stated. The bump out area of the driveway, extending on the side of the home past the garage, was the area that was primarily impacted by the additional damage, not the entire driveway. We also have pictures (attached) that show that prior to our project starting, this bump out portion of the driveway was largely blocked off, indicating the homeowner was likely not using it for parking or loading/unloading vehicles prior to our project starting.

  These things can happen and are considered unavoidable damage, which is why we not only put it in our contract but also gave the homeowner a verbal warning as well. There are not one but two instances in our contact that state we are not responsible for damage to driveways. The first section states, “North Eastern will not be liable for any damage done to us by trees, lawns, shrubs, flowers, driveways…caused as a result of our work in installing or obtaining ingress or egress to the pool site and neighboring properties. In the event any damage shall be incurred because of such installation, owner shall be responsible for such restoration.” The homeowner signed this contract as well as our addendum, which states “If the point of entry for trucks or equipment is over your concrete or blacktop driveway or sidewalk, we regret to say, it is at the owner’s risk since we have no way of knowing how firm each individual driveway will be…we cannot accept any liability for damages of any kind.” Attached are scans of the documents signed by the customer.

  We were surprised when the homeowner requested compensation to repair the damage to the driveway, especially because our site superintendent went the extra mile to give the homeowner a verbal warning on top of it being stated in our contract that we are not responsible for damage to the homeowner’s driveway. The homeowner is already aware of our response to this complaint as we informed him that we would not be compensating him for the additional damage to the driveway, despite his statement that he will be “filing an action against NE in court and (he) will allow the judge to determine the definition of damage and (North Eastern’s) liability. (He) will start the filing today and…will be asking for attorney fees and (his) hourly rate due time missed for work.” (Excerpt from email sent by customer on 11/11/22 - copy can be provided upon request).

  Although we do feel badly that this was the outcome, we fairly represented the risks to the homeowner both verbally and in our contract and are not responsible for repairing or compensating the homeowner for the damage to this area.

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