ComplaintsforRW Sidley

• Initial Complaint

  07/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In the last week of July and the first week of August 2021, I hired a contractor to replace my old concrete driveway. The issue is a 10-yard section is defective (1 truckload). There are a total of 88 pop-outs in this section. I called my contractor on April 29, 2022, who attempted to get Sidley to honor their guarantee against this sort of defect. He contacted them at least 10 times over a 11 week period to get it replaced to no avail. I contacted Sidley through their website, but they ignored me. They eventually contacted my contractor and said they sent someone to my house and deemed the concrete beautiful. I know they were not truthful about sending someone because they were instructed to meet with me and my contractor at the site. I appealed again through their website and someone agreed to come out. I showed the person who came out and he said my concrete was not sealed. I sealed it myself with very expensive sealer so I realized he really didn't know concrete. Then he asked what sealer I used. I showed him and he was quiet for a moment. Then he asked me when I sealed the concrete. I told him I sealed it approximately 1 week after the pour. He then said it should have been sealed the day it was poured which everyone knows is absolutely false. My contractor instructed me to stay off the concrete for the first day then keep it wet for the next week before sealing to make the concrete stronger. He said deicing materials could have damaged it. I have never used any deicing material on it. I told the Sidley rep that I was not happy with the concrete and them ignoring me for 12 weeks. I made it very clear I want the defective concrete replaced. He said he would contact me the following week but didn't. He contacted my contractor instead stating the concrete appears fit for its intended purpose. The defective section is 76' x 10' wide and cost me $4,353.85 for my contractor to remove the old and replace with the new. I wanted it replaced.

  Business response

  08/08/2022

  Kristie *****,

  
  

  Thank you for your interest in this matter.

  
  

  I believe Mr. ******* would be best suited to resolve this issue with the contractor who performed the work, and with whom he has a contract.

  
  

  R. W. Sidley is willing to help either party with resolution.

  
  

   
  

  Thank you,

   

  Rob ******

  R. W. Sidley. Inc.

  6900 Madison Rd.

  Thompson, Ohio 44086

  www.rwsidley.com

  [email protected]

  Phone: *** *** **** **** ****

  Fax: *** *** ****

  Customer response

  08/18/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  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.
  
  

  We have attached the original contract from *** ************.  The contractor's name is Tim *****.

  
  

  He quoted $27,500 for all finished concrete which consists of 65 yards of concrete purchased from R.W. Sidley in Thompson, Ohio.  That comes to $423.08 per yard and included removal of old concrete, forming, pouring, and finishing the concrete.

  
  

  We noticed in late February and March that the concrete in this section did not look right, but it was too early in the season to ask the contractor to come out to investigate.  On Friday April 29, 2022, I contacted Tim ***** to make the initial claim that something wasn't right.  After describing what the concrete was doing, Tim said he would contact Sidley immediately to get this section replaced.

  
  

  Over the course of 11 weeks, Tim ***** contacted Ryley at Sidley 10 times according to Tim.  Sidley agreed to send a representative to meet with Tim and us at our house to make an assessment.  That meeting never happened.  It wasn't until July 8, 2022, that Tim was contacted by Sidley about our meeting, saying that a representative had come out to our house and deemed the driveway looked beautiful.  We know that is not true because it was agreed that the meeting would include Time ***** and us, no acceptations.  Plus, the fact that they claimed the driveway was beautiful also proves they were never here.  After talking on the phone with Tim ***** on July 8, I tried again to contact Sidley through their website again.  Robert ****** contacted me and said he would be at our house in 30 minutes.  There wasn't enough time to get Tim ***** to meet us, but my wife came home while Robert was here.

  
  

  Robert ****** showed up to look at the concrete.  He called the defects pop-outs.  He tried to pass them off as being "normal" concrete traits.  I showed him the 45 yards next to the area in question, and asked him why there was only one pop-out in the entire 45 yards?  He said he didn't know.  If pop-outs are "normal" why isn't the rest of our concrete covered in pop-outs? I suggested that the 10-yard section be deemed defective concrete and requested it be replaced.  Robert ****** then accused us of not sealing the concrete in the 10-yard defective section.  I asked why he feels that way?  He said there is no shine to the surface.  I realized at that moment that Robert ****** either didn't know about concrete or he was attempting to avoid the replacement of the defective section of concrete.  I informed him that I can clearly see the shine on the concrete from the sealer and that I sealed it myself.  He asked to see the product I used.  I showed him the can.  The product is Everclear 350 and is considered to be a better concrete sealer contractors can buy.  It normally costs $238 per 5-gallon can, but Tim ***** purchased 3 cans for us at $450 with his discount.  Robert then insisted that concrete should be sealed the day it is poured.  We were instructed by Time ***** to "mist" the concrete with water for the next 7 days to make it stronger, then apply Everclear 350 sealer. We researched on the internet and did not find any sites that suggested sealing the concrete the day it is poured.  We also mentioned several times to Robert ****** that we did not put any deicing material on our concrete to ensure that there would be no deterioration of our new concrete, but the letter we received from Sidley mentions deicer twice as a probable cause of the defects.

  
  

  Robert ****** said he would be contacting me the following week about the replacement and sending me his report by regular mail.  He did not.  I texted him on July 19th and asked if he was still sending me his report about the replace of the 10 yards in question.  He replied that he could send me a copy of what he sent my contractor.   

  
  

  We received the letter attached in an email from Robert ****** that day stating the concrete was "fit for its intended purpose".  In his letter, Robert ****** says that the pop-outs can be patched and sealed.  In the 4 weeks since Robert was here, the pop-outs have increased from 88 to 104, so patching pop-outs would be an on-going task which is not normal for any concrete.  

  
  

  It has been over 15 weeks since our first claim or complaint to get the defective concrete replaced and still nothing has been done.  There is no excuse for not addressing this right away and making it right.  Our contractor, Tim *****, is caught in the middle of all this because he does a lot of business with Sidley.  He has washed his hands of this situation now because of conflict-of-interest.  Tim has a business to run, and we understand that.  
  

  
  

  Our only recourse was to file the claim with the Better Business Bureau.

  
  

  We request that Sidley replace the defective concrete using our contractor, Tim ***** as soon as it can be completed.  We also request that the concrete be upgraded to high-strength concrete at Sidley's expense in good faith for putting us through 15 weeks of this very stressful situation.  We also request that Sidley provide one 5-gallon can of Everclear 350 to seal the new replacement section of concrete.  We feel these requests are more than fair given the weight of the situation and time lost.

  
  

  
  

  The pictures attached speak for themselves and our claim.  Most pictures show the defective 10 yards, but 195651 shows the whole driveway for perspective.

  
  

  ***** * ***** *******

  
  

  Any questions, feel free to call Scott's cell @ (440) 361-5577

  
  

  Customer response

  09/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  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.
  
  

  Rob ****** and Sidley have not addressed the issue, nor have they admitted that their concrete is defective.

  
  

  Sidley is only providing the high-strength concrete to replace the defective area.  They are not offering to pay the labor cost for the contractor or the concrete sealant.  They only agreed to replace the concrete under duress when the contractor had heated words with them.  This is unacceptable.  The contractor should not have to bear this cost or undue stress because of Sidley's mistake and failure to honor their guarantee.

  
  

  Sidley must pay 100% of the cost of this concrete replacement for their mistake, and they must agree to supply one 5-gallon pail of Everclear 350 to seal the new concrete at their expense.  

  
  

  No exceptions!

  
  

  Sidley has denied taking care of this for way too long.  It's been over 17 weeks!  We want to make sure it goes on the record stating that Sidley NEVER attempted to work with us to resolve this.  All contractors and homeowners in the area need to be made aware of Sidley's poor business practices.

  
  

  ***** * ***** *******

  
   
  
  
   

*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. ↩