ComplaintsforFirelands Construction

• Initial Complaint

  01/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contracted Firelands Construction on 06/14/2021 for a kitchen remediation even though their estimate was higher than others. Paid 50% up front and work was scheduled to begin on July 8th, 2021, but the start date was delayed because the subcontractor showed up and didn't have any supplies ordered by the owner. Co-Owner Ashley Call stated via text the project "should only take 1 day to complete." The work was only 25% complete at the end of the day. Work resumed on July 10th, but I grew suspicious of their capabilities when I noticed the drywall subcontractor (they say they don't use subcontractors) was wiring the electrical lighting. What's more, the owner was trying to splice Romex to the existing knob and tube, so I inquired to city/state/permit license verification. On 7/12/2021, *** ****** *** ******* ************** **** ******** with Building Compliance at the city of Columbus, both responded. Mr. ****** stated "I did not find anything in our system for Scott B******* or Firelands Construction." I then asked Scott to provide all licensing, permits and insurance before we would proceed further. on July 13th Scott was only able to provide copy of insurance and an outdated trade name registration. On August. 25, 2021, Ashley Call informed me they were still waiting on the permit and a copy of their license. On October 8th, 2021, I still hadn't received the proper paperwork so I recommended terminating the remainder of the contract for impossibility of performance. I requested a response by EOD October 11, 2021, but was ghosted from that point on. After failing to provide this information, a material breach of contract was sent via Certified Mail to Firelands Construction LLC to terminate the contract and all incomplete work by Firelands Construction will need to be ripped out and removed.

  Business response

  01/27/2022

  The start date for Mr. *********’s project was originally scheduled for August 11th, 2021, but we completed another project sooner than anticipated, so we moved the install date up to July 8th, 2021. Mr. ********* texted me at 4:59pm on the 8th, stating that the brand of recessed lights we purchased for his project were a little different than the existing lights he already had in his home and he preferred that they be exactly the same. Scott B******* (owner) exchanged the lights and dropped them off at Mr. *********’s house that same evening. 
  The Contract that was signed by Firelands Construction and Mr. ********* stated that we would provide no exact due date for project completion due to unforeseen delays. It was stated that it “should” only take one day, barring any problems. 
  (Section IV- Due Date states, “The Services provided by the Contractor shall be a one (1) time event and not due on a specific date but to be completed with a reasonable time-frame in accordance with industry standards.”)
  Mr. ********* states in his complaint that we hired a drywall subcontractor to work on his project. That statement is false. Firelands Construction does not use subcontractors on any of our projects. David was an employee of Firelands Construction, and his official job title was “Installer.” David worked on various projects for us before Mr. *********’s project, and is skilled in different trades (such as electrical, plumbing, etc.), not just drywall.  
  Regarding the issue of the electrical lighting: Romex wire is the industry standard and is a better and safer alternative to Knob and Tube wire. The installer attempted to use the Romex wiring but realized that the older house was wired with Knob and Tube. The adjustment was made and that part of the project was completed. 
  When the project was substantially complete on July 12th, 2021, at 3:24pm, Mr. ********* texted us saying that he wanted to see proof of Firelands Construction license and insurance documents. We are bonded, insured, and licensed in the state of Ohio. We sent him a copy of our contractor’s insurance on July 13th. We have a Home Improvement license and a General Contractor license (I have attached a copy of both to this response). The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCLIB) is satisfied with these licenses to perform general contracting labor. 
  On October 12th 2021, Mr. ********* mailed us a Termination of Agreement letter. In section 6, he claims that we are in violation of Section IX of our signed Contract with him. Section IX- Benefits of Contractor’s Employees, states, 
  “The Contractor understands and agrees that they are solely responsible and liable for all benefits that are provided to their employees including, but not limited to, retirement plans, health insurance, vacation time-off, sick pay, personal leave of or any other benefit provided.” 
  We are not in violation of Section XI in our Contract, because that has nothing to do with paying our employees. We have a contract with our employees that they sign when they are hired, which states that they will not be paid for a project until we receive the final payment for that project, which we have yet to receive by Mr. *********.
  There are no grounds to support Mr. *********’s Material Breach of Contract, and we have yet to receive the final payment due to us for the substantial completion of his project. Because Mr. ********* would not allow us to complete the project, we have deducted $200 off of the final payment amount of $2,100 for ceiling painting. Mr. *********’s final bill to Firelands Construction for his project is $1,900, which he is refusing to pay. Furthermore, he is requesting a full refund of his deposit payment of $2,100. Note that Mr. ********* received the full amount of $4,200 for the project from his insurance company before we even started the project. 
  We are currently discussing this situation with our attorney and will be suing for non-payment if we do not receive final restitution for his project. Mr. *********’s claims are wildly exaggerated - the work that was completed in his home was done as he requested and does not need to be ripped out and removed. We will also be suing Mr. ********* for slander, due to the fact that he has been harassing us and stating false claims about our company on our **** business page online. The first negative review posted on our **** page by Mr. ********* (his **** username is “**** *.”) was removed by **** on November 8th, 2021, after being reviewed by the **** support team and found to be in violation of their Content Guidelines (removal confirmation by **** is attached to this response). Mr. ********* posted a second negative review to our **** business page on January 20th, 2022. I have flagged that review due to slander by Mr. *********, and it is currently being reviewed by the **** support team.
  
  
  

  Customer response

  01/31/2022

  I am rejecting this response because a remedy was offered and a response was not received [See Firelands Communication Timeline.pdf]. This document shows that multiple efforts were made by me to continue this project and Firelands was not able to supply evidence of licensing or permitting in a timely manner. As a result, the project was considered abandoned when Firelands cut off all communication after October 8th.
  - Supporting evidence for this communication can be found via text transcripts [See Firelands Chat - FULL.pdf]
  - Furthermore, proof that drywall contractor has not been paid is proven in supporting documents [See ***** ******* Chat - Full.pdf]
  

  This is not a spiteful complaint. Rather, the removal of my review concerned me that others might face a similar experience. 
  
  Per the absence of a response to the Material Breach sent via certified mail on October 12th, 2021, the contract was terminated without objection by Scott B*******, Ashley Call and Firelands Construction. They were given ample time to respond or reject the Material Breach and did not do so.  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *********

  Business response

  02/02/2022

  We acknowledge Mr. *********’s concern regarding us not providing proof of our business Licenses in a timely manner. We had many family and personal issues (due to COVID and a sudden death in the family) that got in the way and put our business on hold. We should have kept in further communication with Mr. ********* regarding the proof of Licenses. We are now catching up on everything that we missed while our business was temporarily closed. Please forgive us for the delay. 
  We were out of town for several weeks starting the beginning of October, due to an unexpected family death. We did not receive Mr. *********’s “Termination of Agreement” letter he mailed to us until we arrived back in town, which was past the date that Mr. ********* wanted a response by. Also, the “Material Breach” that Mr. ********* states in his “Termination of Agreement” letter, holds no grounds. The issue of us providing Mr. ********* with our Licenses has absolutely nothing to do with the materials for his project. Mr. ********* has not explained or proven why he believes we were in a “Material Breach.” 
  In terms of our Drywall Installer not getting paid, that is the truth. As stated previously, our Installers do not get paid on a project until we get the final payment from the owner of the project, which we have yet to receive from Mr. *********. The way we run our business and pay our employees has nothing to do with Mr. *********, and is none of his concern. Also previously stated, we were not in breach of Section IX of our Contract agreement, which is “Benefits of Contractor’s Employees.” If you look at the attached Contract agreement and refer to Section IX, “Benefits of Contractor’s Employees,” it states “The Contractor understands and agrees that they are solely responsible and liable for all benefits that are provided to their employees including, but not limited to, retirement plans, health insurance, vacation time-off, sick pay, personal leave, or any other benefit provided.” That section and every other section of our Contract has absolutely nothing to do with how and when we pay our employees, so therefore is irrelevant to this matter.
  What we cannot do is refund Mr. ********* the deposit amount he paid on his project of $2,100. We also cannot write-off the remaining balance that Mr. ********* still owes us for substantially completing his project. We have provided proof of our Licenses and insurance. What we can do with Mr. *********’s permission is finish the last step of his project, which is Painting the ceiling and surrounding area. Once we are complete with that, Mr. ********* will still have the final payment of his project due, which is $2,100, which he agreed to pay when he signed the Contract agreement. The payment terms are clearly defined in Section III of the Contract. If Mr. ********* is opposed to this option, we can also offer a deduction of $200 off of the final payment for his project for not completing the last step of Painting the ceiling and surrounding area. That would make Mr. *********’s balance $1,900, which is due to us as soon as possible. Please note that Mr. ********* received the full amount of $4,200 from his insurance company for this project before the project commenced. 
  We will work with Mr. ********* by offering payment options if he cannot pay his full balance at once. If a resolution is not met, our business lawyer will send notice to Mr. ********* regarding our next steps regarding this matter. 
  
  

  Customer response

  02/03/2022

  I’m uncertain why Firelands keeps bringing up a $4200 insurance check as the way I pay all of my contractors has nothing to do with them. They should know Firelands was not the only contractor to perform work in our house. My insurance payment stemmed from broken plumbing throughout the ceiling above our kitchen. My qualified plumbing contractors completed their work in a timely and efficient manner prior to Firelands arrival and were paid immediately upon completion. It should serve as an example of how I do business. 

  
  While we disagree Firelands Construction failed to perform the obligations laid out within a contract, a material breach of contract can also be found if one party fails to perform contracted obligations on time. With project abandonment in excess of 100 days from the final communication -- and no timely objections to my concerns or formal requests to resolve or finish the project – it’s obvious I’m well within my rights to pursue the latter. I had a verbal statement from Scott saying this project should take one (1) day and a written response [please see text thread] from Ashley stating this project should take one (1) day. The fact that Firelands believe only painting is left on the to-do list is evidence the project was abandoned. The drywaller had only completed two coats of mud, leaving corner-taping, sanding, and countless more corrections to get the surface paint-ready. 

   

  While I’m empathetic to the unfortunate circumstances of their family members, particularly in the new era of COVID, a modicum of communication would have gone a long way. It’s conspicuously obvious that any person would think this project abandoned. Nor would anyone feel comfortable with the same contractor coming back to finish the work when it took them four months to produce documentation stating they were legally and responsibly able to complete said work, particularly now, with the slanderous allegations I’m attacking their business out of spite. One would expect that information in a timely manner and I am well within my rights to pursue damages related to both the direct and indirect consequences of the aforementioned breach. Quite frankly, if my project had this level of attention while in-progress, we would not behaving this unfortunate discussion. 

   

  While I would like to put this behind me, the deletion of my frank and honest reviews necessitated a follow-up with the BBB. My proposed remedy was put in place to make certain Firelands would be able to cover the cost of materials and pay Mr. *******, showing obvious good faith on my end. If Firelands would like to revisit that proposal and ensure Mr ******* is paid, that would be a satisfactory result for me and we can put this in the past. However, if Firelands still expects to receive payment in full, I’m afraid this will need to be resolved in a courtroom.

   

  Regards,
  ***** *********

*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. ↩