ComplaintsforSurface Bella, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  02/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid them 6,700 dollars to build a walk way and a french drain. The walk way is of poor quality and the french drain is useless. The drain is not run the way it should be. The drain grates are 1" to 3" above the ground. Water is flooding under my house. They do not have any employees that do the work. They are all hired off the street. Most do not know what they are doing. I talked to an employee that quit because of the way they were scamming people. I will furnish his name to BBB

  Business response

  02/06/2023

  Mr. *******, as discussed via phone, we will be visiting your job on Thursday February 9th 2023 at 11:30 AM. At that time we will video and see whether water is properly draining. However, there are a couple of things I want to stress: 1) You signed off on all work and said "Zack was very courteous and did a very good job" the completion certificate is attached 2) We take real exception to your use of the word "scam" and will defend vigorously against it. This insinuates that we took money from you and ran which is common in our industry, this is not the case, as you paid us once the job was complete, again see the attached completion certificate. 3) The only employee associated with your project other than those coming with me on Thursday was terminated for cause. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday and it is my sincere hope we can get past the name calling and baseless accusations. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contracted Surface Bella in the fall of 2021 to install 14 windows, 1 screen door and a patio door. After the normal shipping delays the work finally got started in May when 7 windows where installed. However, during the installation process I was informed that 4 windows were measured incorrectly, and they would need to be reordered and would arrive sometime in October of 2022. I can deal with that and with the shipping and building issues we are having its OK. Now her comes the real issue at this point in the process. We are in June 2022, and I have the remaining windows and doors sitting in my garage waiting to be installed. I have sent three emails to my salesperson, and I have not received any message from him in two months. I contacted the main office in Greenville and spoke with Kimberly two weeks ago and she promised to get me a date on the installation. It's now 6/21/22 and heading into the 2nd month of product waiting to be installed is just sitting in my garage. I gave them $9,000 last year to finish a project I expected to be completed in March 2022 and now it seems they are satisfied with taking my money and leaving me with 1/3 of the project completed, my garage unavailable to me for parking because windows are in the way, my alarm system taken down because the windows are being installed. To me $9,000 for 7 windows is not a deal I signed up for. Please help me resolve this terrible situation this company has put me.

  Customer response

  06/22/2022

  Good Morning,

   

  I received a call from the owner Sean concerning this issue.  He advised me they were hiring a new window installer and that in a week or so I would be scheduled. He also stated that Kimberly would be contacting me about the issue, however I have not received that call at this time.

   

  He asked for the emails I had sent to his company during this period, because I told him that Scott (salesperson) had not returned my messages.

   

  Thanks,

   

  *****

  Business response

  06/22/2022

  Hello, 

  Several conversations have taken place since this complaint was filed. It is our understanding that the customer has accepted a solution which includes completing the work as intended. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 1/18/2021 I signed a contract with Surface Bella to remove a tub and replace it with a shower in one bathroom and to demo and remodel another bathroom in a home that I own with my disabled son in **************, NC. The total cost was $12,200. I paid a $4,500 deposit. They began work on March 1 and removed the tub and installed a shower in the one bathroom. On March 4th they demoed the upstairs bathroom and discovered that the plumbing and the flooring had been installed incorrectly. They then told me that they could not do the plumbing as they are not licensed to do plumbing in NC. When I asked them how they were able to do the plumbing in the other bathroom they said it was because they didn't need to move it. They asked me to find a plumber. After making numerous attempts I was not able to do so and the bathroom remained unfinished for about 5 months. On July 28th I asked them to terminate the contract and mark it paid in full, but they said that I owe them $1,600.

  Business response

  08/02/2021

  To begin, there are some facts conveniently left out that speak to Ms. *******'s motivation. We have a contract to remodel two bathrooms for $12,200, the first of which was downstairs (more work of the two) and we completed this to your satisfaction. After demoing your second bathroom, we noticed that it was not built to code. To be clear, you have a 2nd story that was added later, and instead of it being built the right way the 2x6 rafters from the first-floor ceiling were used as joists. Per the international residential code this cannot stand, as they are not adequate to support a live load. A responsible and ethical company (which we are) will not just cover this up, anyone on that second story is in ***ger. The plumbing is another issue, you have sanitary T's running in the wrong direction from the flow of non-potable water, it’s not vented properly, and does not have adequate fall. Further, per code those 2x6's cannot be notched for plumbing because they are not large enough. Nevertheless, you consulted a licensed plumber in the State of North Carolina, you emailed the result of this consultation, which I still have for the record:
  "Today the plumber told me that he can't work on the plumbing until the flooring has been reframed and the floor joists reset to code. Are you going to be able to do that?"
  The exact thing we told you was confirmed by another contractor and should have been communicated to him up front in case they could not do joist work (many can). We then hired the wood rescue team, who was going to repair all your floor joists so that the plumbing could be completed. But you stated you wanted to talk to another “man” first and canceled the scheduled appointment for Saturday March 20, 2021. Another reputable company fell victim to this and were not pleased with us because you simply would not cooperate.
  Now, let’s proceed with what precipitates you trying to cause a good company reputational harm. For this I will document email exchanges we have had, because they are a series of blatant attempts to get money. Keep in mind, in February after the site inspection was completed, I offered to refund every dime of your money with no questions asked, because the job as sold would not afford adequate installation (see contract’s terms and conditions). Yet you decided to proceed with us under the new contract for $12,200, which by any measure is below market cost for two full bathroom remodels, nevertheless we agreed to proceed.
  The first of your brazen attempts to solicit money came on March 4th after you were made aware of the issues in the upstairs bathroom. In an email exchange between you and me the following was communicated:
  You: “I had agreed to increase my budget for this job by $3,000, but since I will have to hire a plumber I want to be reimbursed for the plumbing that will not be done by your company. I believe that’s fair. Please let me know what that will be. Also, no one has told me how much it would cost to install a fan upstairs. I will need that information so I can see if I want to do that or not.”
  Me: “*****, I never contracted to redo your plumbing. We are a reputable company, and most would have just covered up that problem without bringing it to your attention, that's if you were not already aware. There's no way we could have possibly quoted you on that plumbing, as we did not rip up your floor at the point of sale. The person who originally installed that improperly is the one who you should ask for a discount, and you should sue, but this is precisely why we are not touching it, as it would then be our problem. Thanks”
  Next, there is an excerpt from an email that illustrates your state of mind perfectly
  You: “…By the way both **** and ******* were aware that the upstairs shower was installed by an amateur because I told them. Also they could see that the installed shower stall was leaking because it was damaged. They could not have known what was underneath but they certainly knew it was installed wrong. For a two year old  shower to leak like that one would have to know something was wrong. Anyway I will take care of the plumbing. Just let me know what you want the plumbers to do.”
  To be clear, you hired someone who installed a shower on a floor only supported by 2x6 joists, the plumbing for which were notched into said joists and not vented properly and you WANTED SURFACE BELLA TO PAY FOR IT TO BE DONE THE RIGHT WAY. In a court of law where the rules are not governed by defamatory remarks made on the internet, this would be laughable. But what’s more important and speaks volumes about this whole situation, is the fact you had some knowledge that something was wrong, sure you may not have known the extent, but this should have come as no surprise, you referred to the man as an “amateur”. We’re not amateurs and it shows unmitigated gall to ask us to pay for mistakes a previous contractor made.
  It continues
  You:  “I am considering hiring this man, *** *******, to finish the upstairs bathroom. He lives right near my son's house so it would be convenient for him.  However, it all depends on how much I owe you for what you have done so far. Some of the material that you left he said he would not use, so you can pick those up. Of course, we would keep all the materials for the shower that you left. Also, Janie took my towel ring and I would like that back. Please let me know whether this is acceptable to you. Once I know the costs for everything in total, I will make a decision as to what is best for me to do depending on your response. Thanks, *****”
  This was perfectly fine with me, in fact, I welcomed it. So, I took the remaining labor left on the job (you were to keep the material), multiplied by 1.5 just to move on and came up with a figure of $2,000 (rounded up). Keep in mind the demo had been done, it is a two-day job at that point. Most Americans would be happy making $1,000 per day, and I’m sure *** would as well—yet you continued
  You: “… I feel overwhelmed. I want to understand why you would only credit me $2,000 when you are not installing the vanity, the floor, and the shower stall nor are you doing any plumbing. I understand that the floor and vanity install are not costly but how much did you budget to install the shower? Just want to be sure that what you quoted to credit me is fair. Please think about this and let me know what you decide as I think it’s probably best for the both of us if this guy finishes this job.”
  Me: “*****, pease [sic] don't take it that way, we will simply compete the job you contracted us for if that's the case. I'm confused as to what you don't understand about this. If you had paid normal pricing the discount would be much more significant this is the reason for me bringing that up. We are under contract and will complete the contract as agreed. You entertained this idea with us, we never suggested we wanted to change our contract. Please, don't put this on us, you asked me today to entertain someone else completing our contract. Tell him to cease and desist if he cannot complete it at that discounted amount, because we can!”
  At this point I was at my wit’s end. Shortly after this you communicated to *** ****** and me that you were having problems and would revisit this after getting that situated. The next time I heard from you was via email on 7/29/2021 the exchange is below:
  You: “This email is to inform you that I wish to terminate our contract which was dated on 1/18/ 2021. It has been about 5 months since your company abandoned the job to remodel the upstairs bathroom which you claim is because you are not licensed to do plumbing in NC. My son has been left without a toilet or sink to use upstairs for far too long. It is time to terminate our contract. Please send me a termination letter which states that you have been paid in full. I hope that you will agree to these terms.”
  Me: “This is simply not true. Your home is not built to code and we have explained this to you repeatedly. You have had others out to your home who have told you the same thing. You are in possession of materials we have paid for. The issue is not one of doing the plumbing, the issue is your joists can not be NOTCHED for plumbing because you have the 2x6 rafters from your first story as floor joists. Others have told you the same, I wall [sic] call and offer an equitable resolution if you do not want us to complete the work. A resolution that reflects the fact we have completely remodeled your downstairs bathroom, and purchased materials for the other. Thanks”
  I made several attempts to then contact you by phone, you never answered or returned my call:
  Me: “*****, per the previous email I have called you several times to offer a resolution. I write now to give you one, and nothing else is acceptable because we still lose money on this. Half the contract total, which is $6100. You have paid $4500, leaving a balance of $1600. In addition, you need to make all materials purchased by Surface Bella available to a company representative, or deliver them to our warehouse. Let me know when we can send someone up to pick up our materials, receive the balance due and end this for both parties. Thanks
  The next time I heard from you is this erroneous complaint you have filed. This is tantamount to stealing, you have materials we have paid for on your property and you know that you know you have not paid for. Even under the resolution I have offered, we do not get the benefit of the bargain. Most of the labor and material cost was in the bathroom we completed, we can’t do full bathroom remodels for $6,100 or we would go out of business. Yet we still reduced the contract by half and you continue to try to shake us down. Unfortunately there is no better consumer bureau for me to complain to, instead I will exercise the remedies available at law. My resolution and explanation are the same as before you filed this erroneous complaint, the balance of $1,600 needs to be paid in full and accommodations made for us to pick up our material. At this point it is not even about the money, you will not find another company that bends over backwards to help customers the way we do; but when that courtesy is met with blatant deceptive practices, we cannot let that stand.
  
  

  Customer response

  08/06/2021

  I am happy to inform you that Surface Bella and I have come to an agreement as of today. I have agreed to pay $2,400 and sign a non-disparagement agreement. They have agreed to terminate the contract once they have cashed my check. I am so glad that this terrible situation is behind me. Thank you for helping me to achieve this goal. *****

*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. ↩