Today I received an e-mail from the Better Business Bureau regarding our case filed against Saussy Burbank. Here is their response to our initial claim and then my final rebuttal:
I love their final explanation, their mentality is: Let's blame everything on the homeowner for doing some landscaping and planting some shrubs, if that doesn't stick then what the hell let's blame it on the weather! How about you blame it on your idiots subcontractors and deceiving business practices!!
========
02/22/2010 WEB BBB RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : The property referred to in this complaint was completed in March of 2003 and sold to the original homeowner. Over the course of the past seven years, the house was sold to the Serrones (filing the complaint)and has undergone numerous changes to the original grading of the property due to the installation of extensive landscaping, including some water features in the yard. All warranties have expired on the property. During 2009 Saussy Burbanks warranty department was contacted regarding water that was collecting in the crawl space of this property. As a courtesy, the warranty Manager, Vice-President of Construction and a representative from Moisture Loc met with the homeowner. It was determined that positive drain originally installed to move water from the crawl away from the house had been crushed and was not freely operating. While a cause could not be determined, it was likely the result of landscaping improvements made over the years. While not responsible for the issue, Saussy Burbank paid for the repairs to the pipe. The pipe was extended to the homeowners property line, the inside edge of the public sidewalk. A request to continue the pipe under the sidewalk and through the curb adjacent to the street was denied because the town of Huntersville will not allow the curb to be cut. In our opinion, the solution Saussy Burbank provided was adequate. In response to the statement made about substandard soils, testing was done on the lot during construction by an independent engineer to insure the foundation was set on adequate soils. Foundations are subject to inspection by county building inspectors. We have no records of soil issues with this property at the time of construction nor do we have a history of soil issues since the house closed with the original homeowner. It should also be noted that a "French" drain system was installed around the house during the original construction and has performed as designed to the best of our knowledge. Finally, even disregarding the significant changes made by the two homeowners to the landscaping of their property over the past sevens years, it should be acknowledged that this area of the country has experienced excessive precipitation over the past 5-6 months which contributes to wet soil conditions throughout the region.
02/22/2010 CY EMAIL Forward Business response to Consumer
02/23/2010 WEB BBB BBB REVIEWS CONSUMER REBUTTAL TO BUSINESS RESPONSE : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Each one of the statements provided by Saussy Burbank are false and not surprising! The grading of the property was never changed; our independent Landscape Architect confirmed that the additions of plants and shrubs to the yard had no effect to the overall drainage of the property. The "water feature" Saussy Burbank is alluding to was installed on the opposite side of the property and actually floated up because of the amount of ground water percolating from the yard. The positive drain in the crawl space was not crushed but instead installed incorrectly to allow water to pool in the crawl space instead of out. The repairs completed by Moisture Loc were done incorrectly and the drainage was extended to the edge of the public sidewalk not because the Town of Huntersville denied to cut thought the sidewalk, but because Saussy Burbank expressively asked Moisture Loc not to incur any additional expenses. Note that we had no issues in obtaining approval from the Town of Huntersville to install a French drain system in the yard and exit everything to the City Storm Drain. The first 3 homes on Bankside Drive were built on four 30 foot deep pillars, our own in depended engineer evidenced that this type of construction would have been used only in the event the soils were unsuitable for constructions using conventional footing. Based on this information, the builder should have installed additional drainage systems thought the yard instead of the minimal drainage system around the property. However even the minimal drainage system installed around the house was retaining water and not functioning correctly, this was evidenced by Moisture Loc during their repairs. After hiring our own in depended contractors and spending $ 16,000.00 in repairs, my yard has a French drain system and is draining correctly, our crawl space is dry and all water captured by our system is exiting in the City Storm Drain. Should anyone wish to read additional information regarding our issues please do so by going to: http://saussyburbanksucks.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment