Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/29/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 was ripped off by Fortress Foundation Solutions in which the company sold me products and services that I did not need and were not the best solution for my water issue. Specifically, FFS proposed and installed a sump pump in a closet of my fully finished lower level that is not needed and will never ever trigger on to operate because it was not needed. The company charged me $2,707.00 for the unnecessary sump pump. I had obtained contractor quotes from several offer vendors with varied approaches to address the water issues in my home. All of the other contractor quotes focused on exterior work to my home to keep water from getting into my home. The FFS sales rep told me their solution would address my problem better than exterior work. A week or so after the job was completed after the first big storm I noted that there was some water on my floor in the front corner. I called the company and it quickly scheduled follow up service appointment. In the follow up appointment, the company completely opened up the interior front corner dry wall and removed the water damaged corner studs. All the water damage was shown to be originating from this front corner. This was contrary to the story sold to me that water was coming up from under my home and flooring. The water was coming through the lower corner wall. These tech applied some caulking and advised that I watch the area for the next couple rains. I did so and called back after noting small amounts of water still coming through. A 2nd follow up service appointment was scheduled and in this visit their plastic sheeting was applied in the front corner area. Subsequently, I was passed back to the original sales rep who became very defensive and condescending in an unfortunate phone call. A week later I had another call with a head of the company who sought to back his employees and their work. I will still need to do additional exterior work to actually address my core water issues

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/08/2024

  We would like to contest the complaint recently submitted by ***** *******, Case #********.Regarding the sump pump installation, we understand the customer’s frustration, but we stand by our assessment that it was necessary for the overall waterproofing of his home. Our recommendation was based on thorough evaluation and years of expertise in dealing with similar issues. Notably, the customer's flooring in the finished basement was severely damaged due to water intrusion before our system was installed, and we have provided photographic evidence to substantiate this claim. Additionally, it's important to note that the customer opted for our solution after carefully considering proposals from various other contractors.Regarding the subsequent water infiltration, we acknowledge the unexpected discovery of a concealed crack in the wall behind drywall, a scenario unbeknownst to both parties. This unforeseen issue was promptly addressed during follow-up service appointments, incurring no additional cost to the customer. We remain confident that our customer received a comprehensive waterproofing solution tailored to both present needs and future contingencies. Our assessments, craftsmanship, and commitment to integrity consistently meet the highest standards, and we firmly stand behind them.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/31/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Fortress Foundations installed my basement drain system 4/7/23. After rain, it leaked inside the wall and onto the floor on 4/28/23. They also broke the bricks on my fireplace while installing. They came and worked on pump placement under the floor and stated it had been installed incorrectly. also said the outside drain was installed incorrectly. They dug up the floor near the sump pump and glued the outside drain together (instead of replacing it). As of today after another rain, the wall beside the pump is wet. This wall never was wet prior to pump installation. I have notified them but no response yet. I want the pump fixed and monetary compensation for the broken bricks and water damage inside my wall near the pump. I feel only they can get their pump connected to their system so I have no other choice in that but would like in addition to that $3000 for brick repair water damage to my house, and for them to know if damage to my wall should continue because they delayed repair until after another rain storm and exceeds that amount, I will let them know. Their technician acknowledged that the installation for the sump pump and outside drain were incorrect so they are at fault.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2023

  Mrs. ******** submitted her complaint on May 31st and unfortunately, we were not notified of the complaint until June 12th. However, during that timeframe we went out to Mrs. ********** home and added additional product to her waterproofing system to address her concerns regarding the system.  When our Service Manager, ***** ******, left her home on June 5th, she was satisfied with the work that was completed and was shown that her system was functioning correctly and was set up properly.  In our contract is states that there is no guarantee that water will not enter the basement due to it being a partial system. Sadly, water can find its way in the other areas of a home if a full perimeter waterproofing system is not installed. On June 12th, after receiving the BBB Complaint, we reached out to Mrs. ******** and to see if there was anything else we could do to address her concerns and we offered a $500 reimbursement which she was not happy with. We asked that if he system failed to work, since the corrections done by *****, that she send us photos so we can asses again.  We have held up to our contracted agreement, added additional products at no cost to her and offered a monetary amount in attempts to bring her at ease regarding her concerns. Each of her concerns have been addressed to help her have confidence in us and our system.   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/13/2023

  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. I understand that their system has caused leaking problems. When shown the sump pump by his technician, the pump was completely dry and has not worked. The loud boom when the leak problem started was an indication that it does not work. I will be stuck with the continued leaking and so would like a partial refund of the money paid for the system. If $500 is all they will give, I will take that   although it is not much for the continued problem. I did not tell the technician that I was satisfied and told the business on the phone yesterday that also and that the plastic sheet simply covers up the issue. I would like them to forward me the $500 and then we can just move on as I do not want to continue this back and forth.  I am not sure why he said he would call me back this week and yet he has not. Regards, **** ******** 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/15/2023

  After speaking with Mrs. *********  She has agreed to the refunded amount and is in agreement that she will let us know if her system has any issues after the next heavy rainfall.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/15/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. Regards, **** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/19/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  In October 2022 I contacted Fortress Foundation about installing a French Drain across my driveway. They quoted a price of $4500. Invoice number #************. Although their price was higher than other quotes I agreed because they said they would try to have the work completed by Thanksgiving as I requested as well as make every effort to match the color of my tan aggregated driveway. They explained it wouldn't be exact due to the fact that my driveway is 20 years old. I was aware of this fact as I had just had my sidewalk redone. On November 11th I paid a deposit of $1350. and a week later I was in formed my start date would be between January and February. I informed them that this was not what we discussed and a few days later they recontacted me with a start date of the middle of December with the work being completed prior to Christmas. On the day the work started three employees showed up and after working for three and a half hours they informed me that they had damaged my sidewalk. When I came out to inspect the damage I saw grey concrete splotches all over my driveway as well as on both sides of the grate they had installed. When asked when they would match the color I was informed that they don't do that. I immediately called the company and they informed me that they would send a technician out to inspect the work. A week or so later they arrived and inspected the job. At that time they expressed that they understood my frustration and would try to make it right. We went back and forth until February when a crew came again. They redid what they could and said they would return to attempt a color match and repair the damage. they didn't return. I have spoken with **** ****** and ****** ******* to try and resolve this issue with no positive results. They informed me that no more work would be done and demanded immediate payment of the balance at which time we could make new arrangements as no more complimentary work would be done by them.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/03/2023

  Hello Mr. *****. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Our GM has been in touch with you to try a solution to try and give you the outcome you are looking for.  We truly apologize for this experience you have had and are going to do everything we can to make it right.  Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you in the meantime. -Fortress Foundation Solutions. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/20/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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 contracted Fortress to install the interior basement drainage channel around the inside walls of a finished basement family room and a sump pump. The salesman said that they would have to jackhammer a channel out of the concrete and also cut out the bottom 18 inches of the drywall, and promised they would protect everything inside from concrete dust with plastic sheeting. They did the job, removed the bulk of the debris from the demolition but there was still an inch of concrete dust on the unprotected floor. I swept up the dust and it went everywhere in the house because all the plastic that contained it to this section of the basement was gone, and realised they didn't do anything to protect the floor of that room and it was ruined. A 4 foot section from all of the walls was scraped, gouged, punctured, physically unusable, and the rest of the floor was permanently discolored and ruddy looking. No amount of mopping and scrubbing fixed my floor. The concrete they poured around the new drainage channel was -awful-.. it had ridges above the floor grade, valleys below it, large chunks missing, wasn't remotely smooth, and there was a piece of duct tape dried into it sticking up like a flag. I called the company and lodged my complaint and sent them pictures. A sales manager called, and while he agreed the concrete was not up to their standards, we were out of luck with the floor. The most he would commit to was sending a crew out to redo the concrete and they would assess the floor situation but probably not do anything about it. I stressed that we needed this resolved quickly because we need this room livable again, and he promised they would schedule that week. Two weeks later while I am fixing the concrete myself they call to schedule and I told them I was already fixing it. This whole time I had the sump pump unplugged while fixing the floor and wall, when I finished and plugged the pump in, it sprayed water everywhere. They did come fix the pump.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/03/2023

  Dear Mr. *******,  We sincerely apologize for the delay in addressing your concerns.  It is certainly not how we want our customer experience to be. After your conversation today with our Production Manger, ****, it is our understanding that you were able to come to an agreement on a reimbursement amount that you felt just to cover the costs of the floor in your home.  Please let us know if there is anything else in addition to this and our deepest apologies for the way this situation was handled.  We appreciate you reaching out to bring your concerns back to our attention.  -Fortress Foundation Solutions

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/04/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. Regards, ******* *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/11/2022

  Type:Order 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.

  Poor workmanship, safety issues, failure to complete contracted work.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/12/2022

  We have key people out this week and will need more time to get our response together as I will need to get these people together so that I can fully understand the project and properly respond.Thanks

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/19/2022

  We understand your complaint Mr. ******* and personally apologize for your frustration. This is not how we want any customer to feel after working with us.  We have taken a deeper look into your project and have addressed each of your concerns and have a better understanding as to what we should have handled better. We have taken the time to address those concerns with our team.  With the current nation-wide employment shortage staffing is an ongoing battle; however, we do stand-by each of our employees and trust them to do the job they are assigned. When we are asked to switch crews due to the customers preference, that causes a great deal of issue with scheduling. The same sentiment goes for our supply chain issues which have caused several projects to be delayed due to supplies not arriving on time. Both issues we take responsibility for and are working everyday to improve in these areas.  We do also request from every customer that we are able to have open communication and that the customer be easily accessible when completing a project.  There are several conversations that must take place between the customer and our scheduling team, production team and accounting team to complete a successful installation. Without a good line of communication and responsiveness it does make it more of a challenge. Our team made several attempts to remediate this concern before it escalated but were unsuccessful due to availability. With all of that being said, we do take responsibility for the unsatisfactory level of work that was completed for this project.  We never want to leave a home that is not in better shape than we found it and for that we are sorry. We truly appreciate your transparency and will use this to better our overall customer experience. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/21/2022

  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. After a water intrusion into our basement we called FFS. Their earliest appointment was 2 weeks out. When the crew arrived they noted about 20 feet of the system was incorrect and the emergency battery pump was never looked up to the battery. I requested a call form their manager, and no call back. We call three times and the manager was not available and no call back.  Regards, ***** *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/22/2022

  Thank you for the response Mr. ******. We understand your frustration with the process and have addressed the areas where we could have improved both with you and our team. Is there anything specific that we can do at this point to remediate this situation for you?

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/26/2022

  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, return my call.Second, replace the improperly installed drainage system to allow drainage from the window wells.Third, correct the two window wells drainage to prevent mud clogging the drains.Forth, install the test port at the AC unit as per the drawings.Fifth, cleanup the concrete debris left after FFS removed the sump lid and noted the dc power not hooked up to the emergency pump.Sixth, do all this without spreading trade debris all over the basement for us to cleanup again.Seventh, my wife will not be subjected to inappropriate language from the crew or the job will be shutdown.Eight, the crew will park on the street.Finally The repairs will be done when I’m home to monitor .Regards, ***** *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2022

  We apologize for the delay in our response.  We have had several internal staffing issues which have created severe obstacles for us to complete the items Mr. ******* has requested.  Our intention is to have a scheduled date to him by the end of this week. We also ask that it be taken into consideration that the availability of Mr. ******* makes it a challenge to schedule the completion of the project. We are doing everything we can to get this remediated.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/22/2022

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. Regards, ***** *******