ComplaintsforBig Ben’s Landscapes and Hardscapes

• Initial Complaint

  03/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  10/3/23 signed contract with Ben P**** of Big Ben’s Landscaping and Hardscapes for design and installation of a deck and screened pavilion on the rear of our house. Ben was to obtain deck plans from an architect, order materials and begin construction. We paid Ben $18,700 via bank transfer on 10/3/23 which also included a transaction for which he purchased a Jeep from us for a $100 discount on the job, $500 of which was accounted for in the first payment, the rest to be discounted from the final payment upon job completion- to be $12,300. 10/17/23 materials delivered (no notice, some were missing, Ben didn’t come to check for 2 weeks) 11/14/23 after many unanswered texts, promises unfulfilled and unanswered calls, Ben came to dig holes for footers, after telling us he lied to the township zoning office about just replacing an existing deck. He dug the holes without measuring or having utilities marked. We stopped him from continuing work to make it clear that we needed him to have the plans, permits and necessary inspections before he was to continue. 3/3/24 after many unanswered calls and texts, spoke to Ben by phone - get plans to me by 3/15/24. He agreed. 3/18/24 Ben stated he'd have the plans that evening 3/20/24 I requested he contact me to arrange a refund, he said no refunds after materials are purchased and job begun. We do not believe he has the resources to obtain building plans and permits and are not pleased with the lack of communication and poor quality of the work he has done (having materials delivered without notice, not checking on their condition, lying to the village office about zoning; digging holes without measuring, permits, or checking on utility placement). There was no mention of conditions of a refund in the contract. We would like to obtain a refund of our downpayment and for the remaining $500 for the purchase of the Jeep. Material costs can be taken out if accounted for by a receipt.

• Initial Complaint

  06/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  My wife and I entered into an agreement to replace our existing deck on our house. We met with Ben P**** from Big Bens Landscape and Hardscapes. We discussed the plan, adjusted the design, and agreed on a price for the project ($12,500). The initial meeting was on June , 2023 and we paid the downpayment invoice ($8,125) on June 5th. The remainder ($4,375) was due at completion. We received our initial project start date of June 19th and it was later pushed to June 21st. At the time it was a minor request. It was a foreshadow of the project that caused us to cancel the project. On the evening of June 16th, we saw a local post of a recent deck project that was very poorly constructed. It happens to be the project that delayed our start date. This caused us great concern and we reached out to Ben. We decided to cancel the project right then and he agreed (in an email) to a refund by June 26th. That time passed and in another email, Ben assured a refund by June 28 or 29th. He has gone quiet at times but has yet to process the a refund for the cancelled project.

  Business response

  07/07/2023

  Issued refund Monday the 3rd, bank said would be 7-10 business days not counting 4th of July .

  Customer response

  07/19/2023

  We need to reopen this compliant.  The vendor agreed to refund, claimed to have done it on July 3rd (and screenshot), but the credit has still not arrived.
  
  I've reached out to the vendor twice to ask him to confirm he sees the credit going back to my credit card and he is not responding.
  
  If you could please reopen and contact the vendor, it would be appreciated.
  **** ********

• Initial Complaint

  04/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  June 21st Big Ben’s Landscaping and Hardscaping came out to pour a concrete patio. Upon completion of the patio being poured I expressed concerns about the finish of the concrete. Ben assured me that once it cured you wouldn’t notice any imperfections. On the 23rd of June I took pictures of the patio which had many visible flaws and was noticeably uneven. I called Ben and he said he would repair it and came out June 27th and patched a few spots. When I came home from work and inspected the repair it looked considerably worse then before any repairs had been preformed. I called and spoke with Ben and he said that he wasn’t finished repairing the patio and that he planned to come back out and grind down the uneven spots and put a concrete overlay over the top the the entire patio. Ben said the spots he repaired needed to cure a few weeks and said he would be out on July 24th to finish the repair. July 24th came and Ben did not show up. I texted him asking when he would be out to finish the job and he said would be out on a nice day to fix it. Ben has not responded to any texts since July 24th and has not made any attempts at fixing the patio. I have expressed to Ben how unsatisfied I am with the job he has done and he has never accepted responsibility for his mistakes, instead he has made numerous excuses saying he felt rushed, and that he thought the concrete was mixed incorrectly by the mixing company. I ask if Ben would consider refunding our money as I have lost confidence in Ben’s ability to fix the patio, and Ben said that there was nothing in the contract stating that if we were unsatisfied that we could get our money back. Ben said that if he repaired the concrete and we still were unsatisfied with how it looked that he would tear it out and re pour it, but that he would require us to wait a year in order for him to recuperate the money he lost to re pour it. It’s now April 18th and Ben has not been out to re pour the patio.

  Business response

  04/26/2023

  Thank for you giving us the opportunity to respond. Our customer is her husband. We have been working with him. he knew he was on the schedule for this week. They are aware that according to the contract, we have until June 28th to complete the project. We anticipate the job being completed by end of next week, barring any bad weather. We strive to make all of our customers happy, and we are sure this will be no different. If we can answer any other questions, please let us know. 

  Customer response

  07/13/2023

  Yes, the job for complaint #******** was completed and we are satisfied with the result. Thank you so much for the BBB’s help. I felt all alone in dealing with this issue and being able to talk to someone from the BBB really helped a lot. I really feel that contacting the BBB to help mitigate was really a turning point in the process of dealing with the contractor Ben. I really appreciate all the advice and support the BBB provided. 
  
  ******** *****

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