Budget Dry Waterproofing, Inc.

Initial timeline of events:
• Customer did her homework online and called us at 2:20PM on 1/4/16 stating she has 2” water in her basement and she knows where it is coming in from.  We...

offered her emergency service, she declined and made an appointment for 1/8 at 9am. • The first text was sent from our representative at 2PM that day asking the customer is she wanted to proceed with the finance option for the work.
• At 2:36pm the customer responded stating that she had our competitor out and will respond when they leave. 
• Afterwards the salesman texted the customer by mistake. The customer let him know he was texting the wrong person. He apologized via text.
• At 7PM on 1/8, after discussion with the salesperson, the customer decided to move forward. He emailed her a contract and texted instructions for the deposit. 
• At 8pm the customer responded that she wanted to take the basement windows out of the proposal and use another window guy for those. 15 minutes later our rep let her know “that’s cool if you want to go with him.” 
• At this time the customer and our employee exchange texts about the deaths of family members and how difficult life can be at times. A few minutes later the customer reminds our employee to resend the contracts without the windows and thanks him in advance.  The customer also wants to secure the financing before signing any contracts.
• The next day, our rep is down the road from the customer and texts her to see if she wants to wrap things up in person. She is at the beach that day. They set an appointment for the following week on 1/12 to meet in the morning. 
• At 8:39Pm on 1/11, the customer texts Jeff to reschedule from 9am to the afternoon instead. On 1/12 they set a new time to meet at 1/14. The customer asks for some clarifications on the financing through [redacted], which our employee answers and they confirm their 9am time.
• On 1/13, the customer texts Jeff to reschedule the time again. This time they settle on 1:30pm. On January 14th, the customer arrives at 2pm. She does not qualify for the financing program she wanted and instead chooses to go to her own bank for funding. She signs the contract in person this date. She also asks our employee to return the following Monday, 1/18, to pick up the deposit.
• On 1/18, our employee attempts to confirm their appointment. Eventually the customer tells Jeff where she will leave the check in her flower planter.  She also wants to do the demolition work herself and says she will get a date from her guys so we can give her a firm contract start and end date.
• On 1/19 our employee picks up the check from the flower planter. 
• We work with customer to coordinate the waterproofing around when she can get the demolition done, picking days that work for her. We are scheduled to remove the bottom stair treads on Friday 2/5 and do the waterproofing Monday 2/8 through Wednesday 2/10. We also are scheduled to return to reinstall the stair treads when the work is complete. 
 
 
 
The customer was very insistent on getting the first possible installation date. She coordinated a date with our office to install the waterproofing starting on Friday, 2/5 with the main work being performed Monday through Wednesday of the following week. On Tuesday 2/2, the customer postponed as she “had to wait for the [redacted] to complete their work.”  This is the first time we learned of the [redacted]’s involvement. The customer wanted to know if we could do the work the same time as them and we advised it’s better that one company work in a space at a time. 
 
We spoke with the [redacted] on 2/11 at the customer’s request because she was confused with the scope of work and could not verbalize what they were doing. The [redacted] is installing a pumping station for the customer’s downspouts, which are tied into the sewage system. They are not doing basement waterproofing work. 
We emailed the customer to let her know about our conversation with the [redacted] on 2/11. The customer responded that day and wanted to talk about modifying the scope of work. There were several emails that followed, all of which are attached. The customer felt the work was unnecessary and we responded “There has never been any pressure to upsell or add any unneeded services. Our process and my communication is to educate and advise the customer. The customer always has the right to dictate the process. We just try to advise the advantages and disadvantages. [We] will design the system to accommodate your instructions. If we we [sic] believe there is information you need to consider we will provide [it] but the final decision is yours. When you are ready we will return and revise the system to meet your requirements.”
The customer than disappeared for some time and did not return calls or emails. Jeff FINALLY got a hold of her and made an appointment for 3/11 that the customer rescheduled and pushed back a week. We called to confirm the 3/18 appointment numerous times and sent emails that went unanswered. Out of respect of our employee’s time, we cancelled the appointment on our end because she would not answer us and had cancelled the previous week at the last minute. Jeff sent the customer a messages out of courtesy that he would not be able to make it that day because his mom passed away in a car accident in Ohio. We, as a company, were more than willing to meet with the customer but she would not return a call.  On 3/22 Brianna, the office manager, finally got a hold of the customer who only wanted to speak to Marc. She said she would not reschedule. It was at this time she wanted her money back and to cancel the contract because she felt the work that the [redacted] did was enough to rectify her problem. We explained the cancellation policy. She asked for our attorney’s information. We instructed her to have her attorney reach out to us. We did not hang up on the customer.  
We would still be willing to modify the contract provided the customer understand that any change to the scope of the work will affect what we can warranty. We also would be glad to meet with the customer if she can commit to a date and time. Because of her history of rescheduling at the last minute, we need to confirm the appointments beforehand and she MUST respond to our calls or emails. 
 
As for the customer’s complaints in this case:
1) Budget Dry does not employ high pressure sales tactics. We do sell. We follow up on our estimates. We do not offer one time discounts or demand customers to sign.
2) The customer wanted to do this work to the point she went to her own bank to get funding and hid a check in the flower pot for us to grab at a later date
3) The customer admitted in her own text messages that she had competitive quotes. She even texted while meeting with a competitor.
4) We learned of the [redacted] only when it came to scheduling. We communicated with the [redacted] and got to the bottom of what work was being done as the customer was confused. 
5) We 100% offered to modify the contract to do what the customer wanted. It is in writing on 2/12.
6) We did not stand up the customer or blow off appointments. In fact, it was the other way around. As shown by the customer’s own text messages, she is notorious for changing times and dates at the last minute
7) Budget Dry followed up with the customer as much as was humanly possible. We cannot make her answer the phone or reply to an email but we did everything short of dropping by unannounced to try and communicate. 
8) We did not hang up on the customer. We instructed her attorney to contact us directly
9) We only stated the refund policy that is on the contract the customer signed
10) The liquidated damages clause is only because Budget Dry lost those days of work when the customer had to postpone due to the issue with the [redacted] that she did not disclose and the time and energy Budget Dry has invested in trying to communicate with the customer.
11) Lastly, with regards to the [redacted], the representative we spoke with made no claims that the work we sold in the basement is unnecessary nor are they basement waterproofers. I highly doubt anyone at the [redacted] will, in an official capacity as an [redacted] employee, make statements about basement drainage, however, I would love the name of this individual and his or her title so we can speak to them and the [redacted]’s compliance department. The work that was done related to a back flow value (check valve on the line to the sewer) and removing the roof drains from the city’s gray water and sewer system, not basement waterproofing.
 
I believe the Revdex.com will find that Budget Dry has made more than reasonable accommodations for this customer and that our written commination with the customer will put most of these claims to bed. We are willing to modify the proposal within reason but we are not cancelling the contract and giving the customer a 100% refund.

Review: First of all the nature of my complaint isn't even the primary as stated above. I have plenty of complaints starting with the customer service of budget dry basements. They came to my house to remove my steps and weren't heard at the door. Customer service which was a woman ([redacted])calls and gets rude with my husband, because we didn't hear them at the door. This woman then states that she will have to send someone else and this person wont be as good as the first person and we should've heard them. Wow, what a way to boost the moral within an agency!! I called to complain about the first woman and spoke with a [redacted] she was just as rude as the first woman and didn't offer an apology and hung up on me. Second, I came home from work one day and the workers had already gone home for the day, they left a clip board outside our home with our personal information on it and the information of another client they were handling in NY. Wow!!!!! Third, my husband before going with just this company was comparing prices and trying to get the best deal. Well the guy whom was making the agreement with my husband [redacted] the Project Manager gave us this an offer to beat[redacted] offer by linear feet.[redacted] told told my husband well do the job by that the same linear feet for a better price. [redacted] knew we wanted the [redacted] system and failed to inform us that he took out the [redacted] system just to beat [redacted] price. Wow!!!! But he acted so friendly the entire time. The only way we found out was because my husband went downstairs to see the finished system and didn't see the [redacted] system, my husband texted [redacted] because that's the only way to communicate with him and asked where was the [redacted] system? [redacted] texted back and replied that the price didn't include the [redacted] system, we took it out when we gave you the better price.[redacted] said if we wanted the system still we could purchase it for an additional $1599.00 my husband told him that was not cool and never heard back from [redacted] again. Guess he doesn't text after stiffing someone. We had our entire house done and are applaud, I will not refer them to anyone and will always tell when asked how they do business. I'm glad we took pictures of the paperwork that was left outside our home, since they don't want to have happy customers hopefully I can convince the other victim whoms paperwork was left outside my home to complain also. When I contact him letting him know how they handled his paperwork like ours. It's a shame because we paid up front in full $8,195.00 out of pocket and must dish out another $1500.00 to get what we thought we were getting in the first place. We have a little ranch home and really should have gone with [redacted] we would've made off better and had our humidifier system with their price included.Desired Settlement: We would like for budget dry to give us what we thought we were initially receiving with our price we paid in full. I want the job finished of providing us with the product promised.

Business

Response:

Complaint ID[redacted]

Review: In mid March 2015 (on or about 3/20/2015) I experienced a water leak in my foundation. Water accumulated in part of my kitchen and partly in my furnace/water pump area. That weekend I researched foundation repair companies through Yellow Pages.com and [redacted]. I contacted four companies to come out for site visits and to provide estimates. The four companies were Budget Dry Waterproofing, [redacted] and [redacted]..All vendors came out to my home during the week of 4/23/2015 and 4/27/2015. With each vendor I showed them the area where water had collected, which is a finished basement with a built in pantry area, where the pipes entered the house from my well cap. I also went outside to show them where I believe water entered the foundation. I made it a point to stress to each vendor the interior work was not an option since we had just finished kitchen renovations the past fall due to a mold problem. I let each vendor know that I believed the only way to rectify the problem would be to excavate the area, repoint any cracks in the block foundation, and seal the foundation via some method of tar/water impermeable barrier. While outside I let each vendor know of the obstacles they would have to work around, i.e. approximately where the pipes exited the house, the depth of those pipes which is approximately 6 - feet below grade, the location of my well cap which is approximately 8" from my foundation, and the location of the wiring for an invisible dog fence which I would disconnect and pull from the work area. I also let each vendor know that any excavation equipment would have to have tires or rubber tracks so as not to damage my driveway which was where they would have to enter the property. All vendors, including Basement Dry, agreed and said that this would not be a problem. All vendors stated that it would probably take 2 days, possibly 1, to perform the repairs.[redacted] was the only vendor who informed me that they only did interior work and not exterior excavation. All other vendors agreed with my initial assessment. I also asked vendors whether it would be worthwhile to install a curtain drain at the same time. Both [redacted] and [redacted] did not feel that would be necessary if the wall was properly patched and protected. My complaint concerns Budget Dry Waterproofing. They were originally scheduled to come out on 3/25/2015. That morning I was contacted by [redacted] who notified me that the sales rep would not be able to make the appointment due to car problems and the appointment was rescheduled for Friday 3/27/2015. [redacted], the Budget Dry sales rep came out on the appointed day. He was accompanied by his daughter, who stayed in the car, which I thought was a little unprofessional. He also mentioned that he was trying to get through his appointments as quickly as possible that day since he was going to [redacted] that evening for a game. I informed him of the same concerns I let everyone else know about. He indicated that would not be a problem since we had an opening through which a mini-excavator could get through. He even stressed that the only additional cost would be if they had to get a crane to lift the excavator into place. He specifically told me he did not think that would be an issue since we had a wide opening through which an excavator could be brought in. After talking at length about my expectations, I asked about a curtain drain as mentioned previously. [redacted] said that could certainly be done.After viewing the exterior, [redacted] and I sat at my dining room table to in order for him to prepare his quote on his tablet PC. [redacted] started by doing a presentation that highlighted awards his company had received in the past. He may have shown me pictures of previous work they had done including curtain drains. I truthfully do not recall whether this was part of his presentation or not. I may not have paid close attention to this portion of his presentation since I felt I had been clear on my expectations. [redacted] drew a layout plan while we were together and then went on to some form of spreadsheet module to price up the quote. At no time did [redacted] review the layout of work to be performed with me. He very quickly entered data into his spreadsheet and came up with a bottom line which he implied included the work I had identified and a curtain drain. He did not go into detail covering all of the work he was quoting. His initial quote was for $1900. He also told me that the Project Manager would be coming out to view the work area. At this point everything was verbal and no written quotation was provided. Since another vendor had provided a quote of $1566 (for excavation, repair, seal and backfill), I truly felt that this quote was realistic since it included a curtain drain. The key item that led me to believe we were on the same page as far as job scope was the line item for Finish Shield [redacted] never informed me that this was for interior work. The quote is not clear that this is an interior product only. I interpreted this as the barrier that would be applied to the exterior of the wall. At no point did [redacted] go over in any detail the quote or the layout plan of work to be performed. Doing so would be considered a good business practice to insure understanding of job scope. Had he done this, red flags would have been set off that there was a disconnect between his and my interpretation. I told [redacted] that I was waiting for other information and that it would be a couple days before I could get back to him. After mulling things over, I contacted [redacted] approximately 1 - 2 hours after he left. I told him that I thought he had done a nice job and that I had decided to go with his company. During this conversation he told me that someone had reviewed the layout plan and that five feet needed to be added to the curtain drain which would bring the total to a total of $2150. He told meDesired Settlement: All I am asking for is a refund of my deposit.

Business

Response:

Plain and simple, our contract (which was in writing, presented in writing with accompanying pictures and was signed by the customer) states that we will dig down 12"-15." This is all. When we arrived on the scheduled day, the customer told us we have to dig down to the bottom of the footer or we cannot do the work. We had 3 guys in a truck, loaded with material on site at this point when the customer wished to alter the contract. The wording is very straightforward. " [Budget Dry will] install 4" perforated pipe embedded in 3/4" trap rock approx 12-15" below ground. Cover with top soil or leave stone exposed. Price per foot." I don't understand how we can word this to make it any clearer. No where in this description does is say to excavate to the footer, prep wall surface, repair crack, apply membranes, install drainage boards, and replace curtain drain like the customer asked us to do on the day of the job. A copy of the full contract is included as well as the the customer's signature on an invoice clearly detailing work to be performed.

Review: On August 11, 2014, Budget Dry Waterproofing installed a new [redacted] bulkhead door as well as a lower entry door. Prior to install of both doors, a member of budget dry's install crew came out in July to do measurements for both doors. ON August 13th, 2014, at approximately 7:45 am, I went down into my basement to check on newly installed doors. Water was leaking from top of bulkhead door, water was flowing down stairs of concrete steps. End of report.Desired Settlement: This job was completed 2 days ago, I want the repairs to be done in a timely manner and want the problem rectified . End of report.

Business

Response:

The customer contacted us at 8 am to advise us that the newly installed [redacted] doors were leaking. Budget Dry agreed to have someone go out and inspect the installation within a few hours. Before we reached the highway the customer filed a complaint. We sent a technician out the next day and replaced a factory defective door and secured the flashing which may have caused the problem. We contacted the customer and advised them of the repair made. The customer seemed satisfied.