Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/16/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I just got finished building my 3rd house as my own general contractor. This was the first house that needed a well. I first contacted ****** **** ******** but they wanted 38k down to 400'. I thought that was way too high so I contacted another company Valley Well and Water Solutions Inc. On March 23rd 2023 *** ********* came and told me that they charged by the foot so I asked him if your company would have to dig 400' to get water how much am I looking at? He said "If we drilling you a 400' well it'll be 21k." I asked him was that a complete job with water to the house and he said yes, it'll increase if we hit solid rock or run into trouble. I told him they were hired and we shook on it, he said there was a 8 month wait list. *** called on Oct 16th to say they'd be there the following week. He said don't freak out if a ****** truck comes to dig your well. He said they had just purchased ******. I said wait a minute am I getting the price you gave me or ******** price? He said the price I gave you. Dug the well, 300' no problem. Got the bill for $35,160.00. I literally almost had a heart attack. I had the ditch dug from the well to the house to save more money. Come to find out *** had waited til I went to work and took a paper to my husband that he told him just meant they were about to hit water and could continue. I knew nothing of this until I got the bill. It was a contract that is in my name that says it has to be signed by the property owner. I am the sole owner. It is inherited property. The building permit is solely in my name, this is my project. *** knew I was the one who hired him. I did not authorize my husband to sign anything for me. I have had to hire an attorney because they are withholding my well info to the health dept until I pay in full. I have owned my business for 35 years and the president of my husbands trucking business and I have never had someone try to defraud me in this manner. I filed a police report per the Deputy Commonwealth.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/19/2024

  I am sorry Ms. ***** feels this was way, but everything was explained up-front, and someone was always aware of what we were planning to drill.  We have NEVER given a flat rate price to any customers.  Yes, everyone wants to know what it might cost and if we can give a best-case estimate for that area, but it is always stated that because of geology and God that no one knows where we will hit water.  Ms. ***** was correct in saying – “*** state to her that we charge “By the Foot” and stated that if we run into trouble, it may be more”.  So she was aware it could be more than he stated.  In this case we hit an unstable hole as you can see from Ms. ****** invoice #1.  The “Drilled” hole is only 300ft deep but we had to case the well all the way to 273ft till we hit solid bed rock by code.  This also increases the grouting needed to fill the space around the casing to seal the well from ground water contamination, also required by code.  As for the contract paperwork due to market fluctuations in steel pricing and a backlog of work.  We do not require a deposit because of the long wait list in fairness and the contract is presented once we start to confirm Per Foot prices at that time to make sure they still want us to drill.  The contract also states that that owner or representative sign.   If her husband was not authorized to sign then he should not have signed the contract and called to have Ms. ***** come there and sign.   Furthermore the other reason we never quote flat rate pricing is because finishing a well to the house requires information that can only be known after the well is drilled to get the correct sizing of the pump, wire, and pressure tank, and the distance down the well and flow rate determines what is needed and is priced accordingly.I have included other invoices to compare all are per foot prices and to note that finishing the well with pumps, tanks, and material differ also due to depth and flow rates.  Note on each well drilled that there is no rhyme or reason to geology to the drilled hole, to casing, to grout.  That’s why everything is priced “By the Foot”.  In conclusion, even if another Well Drilling company had drilled the well their ballpark price verses the actual would be different (and Higher) because of the extra casing and grout needed to seal the well.  Ms. ******s check was returned because it was not the correct amount for any of the invoices and at the bottom of the note says it paid in full for well and pump installation, and that is not a true statement.  So, we had no way to apply the payment correctly.Sincerely,Anthony SlaterPresident – Valley Well & Water Solutions, Inc

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2024

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. First of all i have NEVER met Mr. Slater and have only talked to him one time on the 21st of November where he said he would look into my complaint and the text where *** ********* confirmed the quote of $21,000 and get back to me. He never did. I would not have spent the hours I have spent investigating this whole situation and filing multiple complaints if I thought this was just a misunderstanding on my part. For Mr. Slater to state that they NEVER given a flat rate price to any customer is completely untrue. While it may be true that he hasn't given a flat rate price he can't say that company representative *** ********* has not because he wasn't there to hear what was said. I was. Mr. Slater told me that he usually tells people to allow $50,000 for a well. I can assure you that no number was ever mentioned to me and I told Mr. Slater if a number that outrageous ever had been mentioned that I wouldn't have needed their services. The fact of the matter is as BBB can see by the contract I submitted, that *** brought that paper to my husband while he was in the middle of tearing a car apart with the help of my son who heard him say when asked by my husband what he needed the signature for that it was just because they were about to hit water and so they could continue drilling. The part he signed was the front paper. He never saw the part with the price per foot and the numbers and didn't realize it was a contract or he would have told him that I would sign it. *** acted as if it was just a technicality. *** knew how concerned I was about the price because I asked him the week before he came when he called saying a ****** truck would dig the well if I was getting the price he told me or ******* price he said the price I told you. He never once said that doesn't include this or that or it could exceed the estimate by $14,000. *** knew I was the one who called him about the well & I was the only person he had spoken to multiple times since March. I saw him in person Friday the 20th, when they dropped off the well drilling truck. No mention of a contract. I was off the majority of the day the 23rd when they started drilling that morning, I was off until the afternoon of the 24th. It's awful funny that the well driller caught me before I went to work to tell me the depth of the well and GPM and when I asked him if he ran into any trouble he said no it went smoothly. The price *** gave me was for 400'. Why did they wait until they were about to hit water to bring out a contract and not take it to the person that hired them to sign it? Because *** knew what he was doing. He knew that I would wonder why this was brought to me after they started drilling. I never agreed to any of those numbers. They are charging $75 per bag of grout and a bag of grout costs them $15. I was also informed by another well driller since this happened that if he runs into a void like they supposedly did that he gives the homeowner the option to get topsoil to fill the void to be more cost effective. We had a mountain of top soil and 3 pieces of equipment on site at the time the well was being dug. You can also see that Mr. Slater isn't being truthful as to how the contract is written (copy included in original complaint) because it clearly says Property Owner accepts the terms above and agree with the list of materials. Then it says OWNER 4 other times in that paragraph and never says a word about the "owners representative" as he states above. I am the sole owner and the form has my name on it yet he waiting until I was gone and took it to my husband and misrepresented what the paperwork was. I don't know if *** got mad because I was talking about ****** and asked him if ****** had lost their mind and thought they were digging for gold. *** told me that he owned his own well drilling business and then started working for this company. Someone from the health department said *** didn't own his own business and had previously worked for ****** for many years. I know that since Covid fraudulent business practices and prices have skyrocketed. That"s why I was so careful in choosing my contractors. I had to get 4 electrical estimates before choosing the guy I went with who came in 11k below my highest estimate. So if *** would've given me a truthful estimate of anywhere near 35k I would've kept looking and if he would've brought me the contract with those numbers attached to the back. I wouldn't have signed it. He knew that. You don't start drilling a well on someones land and then get someone who didn't hire them and isn't the property owner to sign a paper under false pretenses. That is not the way legitimate business is handled.  Regards, ******* ***** 

  Business Response

  Date: 02/01/2024

  Re: Complaint response 1-31-2024I am sorry Ms. ***** feels this way or thinks it is fraud, but everything was explained up-front, and someone was always aware of what we were planning to drill and we would bring an Acknowledgement Form with the per foot costs when we start the drilling process.  We have NEVER given a flat rate price to any customers because of the unknowns below the ground. With our backlogged schedule we created a list and waived deposits just in case customers found another driller.  Our Well Acknowledgement Form is brought to the well site once we start drilling.  Due to the steel casing commodity market we cannot predict prices since in a two year time it fluctuated 35%.  Yes, everyone wants to know what it might cost so they can budget and if we try to give a best-case estimate for that area and their permit.  But it is always stated that because of the geology and God, that no one knows where we will find water or what is below ground.  Ms. ***** was correct in saying – “*** stated to her that we charge “By the Foot” and stated that if we run into trouble, it may be more”.  So she was aware it could be more than he stated.  In this case we hit an unstable(loose) hole material as you can see from Ms. *****'s invoice #1 and on our driller log.  The “Drilled” hole is only 300ft deep but we had to case the well all the way to 273ft till we hit solid bedrock per Virginia code.  This also increases the grouting needed to fill the space around the casing that was blown out during the drilling process.   Creating larger voids in loose material, Virginia code we are required to seal the well from groundwater contamination, from bottom of casing to ground level.   So for Ms. ***** we did not require her to give a deposit because of the long wait list in fairness and the contract was presented once we started to drill and states “Owner or Representative” and we confirmed the Per Foot prices at that time to make sure they still want us to drill.  The contract also states that owner or representative sign,  If her husband was not authorized to sign then he should not have signed the contract and called to have Ms. ***** come there and sign.   In looking at the contract cost breakdown sheet and using typical calculations (as provided in the links below and per her permit).  If we drill 400ft, had 20ft casing, and used 2 bags grout, Reaming fee, and Well cap and Casing Drive shoe.  The estimate would have been $15,600 if we would have estimated the minimum permit requirements, however the Invoice shows we did more work than that.  Also Ms. *****’s states that her husband did not give her the Acknowledgement Form until after she received our invoices which was a month later. If Mr. ***** would have called her or given that form to her before we finished drilling the well, we could have stopped drilling.  But since he did not we continued with setting the well pump and running the piping from well to house, set the pressure tank, flushed and chlorinated the well.  On Nov 3 we took a water sample to get State Lab tested for Bacteria to Certify the well is safe to use.  So from Oct. 24 to Nov. 3 while we were “Onsite” none of the ******s told us to stop or asked a price per foot or told us our Acknowledgement Form was no good.  Our Invoices were postal mailed on Nov 2. 2023.  We emailed Ms ***** on Nov. 16 since she had not seen a bill yet.  On Nov. 20 Ms. ***** emailed asking if we turned in the State GW2 paperwork and we emailed back and said no that the paperwork is not turned in until invoices are paid in full.  It is not until five days later on Nov. 21 that she calls *** and emails the office that she has a problem with her bills or seen an Acknowledgement form.  I have included other invoices to compare all are per foot prices and to note that finishing the well with pumps, tanks, and material differ also due to depth and flow rates.  Note on each well drilled that there is no rhyme or reason to geology to the drilled hole, to casing, to grout.  That’s why everything is priced “By the Foot” and the reason we never quote flat rate pricing is because finishing a well to the house requires information that can only be known after the well is drilled to get the correct sizing of the pump, wire, and pressure tank, and the distance down the well and flow rate determines what is needed and is priced accordingly.  In conclusion, even if another Well Drilling company had drilled the well their ballpark price versus the actual would be different (and Higher) because of the extra casing and grout needed to seal the well.  Ms. *****’s check was returned because it was not the correct amount for any of the invoices and at the bottom in notes it says “paid in full for well and pump installation”, and that is not a true statement.  Especially since her check was dated Nov. 17 but her first written response to us via email on Nov. 21 disputing her bill. So, we had no way to apply the payment correctly.Sincerely,Anthony SlaterPresident – Valley Well & Water Solutions, Inc

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2024

  Good Morning,I'm emailing you about complaint number #********. I just wanted you to know that we have reached an agreement that I'm satisfied with and wanted to see if you could mark my complaint resolved effective today please. Thank you,******* *****