ComplaintsforA Notch Above Contracting Services, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I initially noticed the auto cover circuit breaker was tripping on a newly installed pool. Upon further investigation, it was identified there was no drainage installed for the auto cover housing. ******* has indicated it was installed with a French drain (his position is also reiterated in his response to my intent to pursue legal action). There is no indication of any type of drainage installed. The CoverStar dealer manual indicates do not use a French drain for the auto cover housing. ***** has assessed the drain and a picture of him pounding a pipe into the drainage hole (May 30th) is included in the content. Also included is the manufacturer's warranty information which indicates improper drainage voids the manufacturers warranty. In order to fix the drainage, a professional was contracted to install an open air drain to connect to the auto cover housing. The intended existence of a French drain was confirmed by ******* in response to my letter intending to pursue legal action. In that response, he reiterates that a French drain was intended for the auto cover drainage which directly conflicts with the dealer guidance.This is not a warranty issue, this is an installation issue where the intended and communicated drainage was never delivered. In addition, the solution delivered voided the warranty purchased as part of the mechanical equipment. ******* has refused to fix, this request is to seek reimbursement for the cost to fix the drainage that was never installed.

  Business response

  07/19/2023

  Agree to disagree !!!

  Customer response

  07/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  There has been no offer provided by the business and response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ******** does not make a good faith attempt to resolve. The business response does not even make sense or try to address the underlying issue in a good faith manner.
  

  A response received from the business is simply Agree to disagree.  Agree to disagree on what? The pictures showing the missing drainage the business indicates should be there is truly missing?  The underlying complaint is that draining the business indicated should have been installed was never installed and that the warranty on the mechanical equipment is now void.  Is the business agreeing to disagree that the pictures of missing drainage are in fact a French drain?  

  Given the nature of the complaint and the pictures of the actual work done by the contractor showing the work was not performed and the owner confirmed it should be there.  I have attached the payment reconciliation file from the business owner and copies of the cashed checks as proof that an appropriate payment was made to the business.

  The extremely limited response confirms to the BBB guidelines of an appropriate response or good faith effort to resolve.  Those guidelines from the BBB website include the following:
  If complaints have been filed, whether in BBB's opinion the business appropriately responded to them.
  If complaints have been filed, whether in BBB's opinion the business made a good faith effort to resolve complaints, even if the customer was not satisfied with the resolution.

  The business has collected monies for work they agreed they were contracted to provide, but never provided.  The pictures are proof of the absence of the drainage.  The business owner's own emails prove their should be drainage.  I hope the BBB looks into takes the prior pictures, the business response, and the attached payment proof into account to address whether the organization is truly interested in facilitating a response or let's the response stand as-is.

  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In March 2021, I contracted with A Notch Above Contracting LLC to build an inground pool in my back yard. The pool was contracted to be built by Spring of 2022. The contract included a 1 year warranty after the completion of the project.After numerous delays due to mismanagement, *************************** and his project Manager ********************* were sent a notice of default. The first default notice was negotiated in bad faith by *******. We agreed to a completion date of Aug 30th. I later found out he had no intention of making the date when he ordered the pool auto cover around Sept 6th. Upon receipt of the auto cover on Nov 2, 2022, I notified ******* and ***** of a second notice of default. In this notice, there was a requirement to confirm they were certified to install the auto cover without voiding the manufacturers warranty before proceeding and they had 5 days to complete the project or start facing daily penalties after Nov 10th at a rate of $125 per day. ******* provided proof from the manufacturer that he was able to install the auto cover and proceeded with the remainder of the installation. The project was completed Nov 22.Since the project was 8 business days beyond the default notice, $1000 was deducted from the final payment as a default penalty. Multiple issues have been identified with the pool now that it has been reopened. Those issues include low water flow, a leaking pool pump, and electrical work that triggers the breaker when it rains. ******* and a Notch Above is refusing to honor the warranty as written in the contract since the default penalty was withheld from the final payment. The reasoning from *******, he did not sign anything that agreed to the penalty. However, he acknowledged receipt of the default notice and provided proof that he was certified to install the auto cover without voiding the manufacturers warranty as required to continue the work. He completed the work with full awareness of the default terms.

  Business response

  06/15/2023

  BBB spoke with the company regarding the complaint received.  *********** stated that the customer never paid the contracted amount due per the contract in full.  The customer communicated that they would be deducting payment by a certain amount and the company did not agree to any of the proposed terms.  The customer deducted those payments anyways.  *********** stated the pool equipment carries a manufacturer warranty and is not covered by any warranty offered by the contractor.  The customer would need to contact the manufacturer directly for any claims along with registering any product that was received.  *********** workmanship warranty is not active until the customer has satisfied the monetary contract terms of payment for the job completed.  There will be no refund issued to the customer nor is one due. 

  Customer response

  06/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer and/or response 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.
  
  There is no offer to resolve the complaint and as such, nothing to accept or reject.  The business is clearly in default of the original contract which contracted for a Spring completion of the project and were appropriately notified on both occasions.  I did not sign any agreement agreeing to the project completion being moved from the Spring but yet the business is using that same standard to justify the warranty that is included in the contract.  They were provided two chances to resolve (2 default notifications attached).  The first notification, ******* disagreed with the terms of the default and spoke up.  The second notification, ******* took actions to comply with the terms by providing an email from the distributor.  The business can choose to proceed under the new terms or not, there is nothing to sign.  ******* chose to proceed when he provided the email (attached) that he was a qualified installer.  The default penalty was duly and appropriately applied based on the actions taken by the owner to conform to the default notification. 

  The business did not respond in a timely manner, there has been no good faith effort to resolve open warranty issues.  There are additional items related to the installation that need to be addressed.  I will be submitting a complaints regarding the installation items that are separate from the warranty issues in hopes there will be a good faith, timely and reasonable effort to resolve.  For the warranty issues, these will be addressed through **** and the courts given the lack of good faith in trying to resolve and timeliness in a response.  **** has assigned the warranty issues to an investigator as they have found reason to believe that there are larger issues. 

  If there is an offer to resolve the warranty issues, I am happy to discuss, but I do not see any offer or good faith effort to resolve.  Happy to have BBB mediate a resolution should the business wish to engage or propose an offer.  The owner is well aware of all the open warranty issues.

  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Business response

  07/05/2023

  Agree to disagree 

  Customer response

  07/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  There is no offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ******** and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  The response reflects the business attitude to not even attempt to resolve this complaint or the other pending warranty issues.

  As stated, there is no offer to resolve the complaint and as such, nothing to accept or reject. **** has deemed it appropriate to open a case against A Notch Above and *************************** based on similar information provided to BBB.  The **** file is 202301444.  

  If there is an offer to resolve the warranty issues, I am happy to discuss, but I do not see any offer or good faith effort to resolve.  Happy to have BBB mediate a resolution should the business wish to engage and propose an offer.  The owner is well aware of all the open warranty issues.
  
  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. ↩