Basement Doctor

I think it's important for anyone needing repairs done in their basement that's considering J&D Basement Systems, also known as the Basement Doctor, as their contractor to read this story. My house was built in 2005. A serious construction defect caused by the basement subcontractor has left me with a major water problem in my basement. I have a poured wall foundation, which requires weep holes at the bottom of the walls to drain the outside of the foundation. My subcontractor poured my basement floor too low (right on top of the footer), blocking all of the weep holes in my walls. This prevented the drainage of any water outside my foundation. I now have 15+ cracks around the foundation and water seepage.

I hired an engineer and personally opened up the floor in three places to confirm the problem. I initiated discussions with my insurance company. After a year, they finally conceded that they were responsible for my problem. When we started the process of determining the costs involved, I contacted J&D Basement Systems/The Basement Doctor. They gave me a proposal to fix the problem in my basement. During a six-month process of negotiating a settlement amount with the insurance company, I met with Wes ** of J&D Basement Systems on a few occasions and traded several emails and phone calls. I was concerned that in order to get a settlement payment, the insurance company was asking me to sign a release, indemnifying them from further responsibility.

I spent a great deal of time making sure I had all the costs covered before I signed the release. Wes ** gave me every assurance that he had all the work I needed included in my bid. As I said, I met with him to discuss this specifically. We proceeded to sign a contract for the work and scheduled a date to start. Approximately two weeks later, I got a letter in the mail stating that J&D Basement Systems was terminating my contract. There was no explanation included. When I inquired about why they wished to terminate the agreement, I was told that the amount of work anticipated was not covered in their contract amount. Specifically, Wes Martin told me that he wasn't sure how many cracks were in my walls that would require repairs and he couldn't verify the amount of my existing drainage system under the floor that would need to be replaced. Both of these are items we specifically discussed. Not only did he assure me that any cracks they found would be repaired, but he also stated that most or all of the existing drainage system would be replaced.

These were not items that were overlooked during the process. We specifically discussed them. I was then told that the job could be completed for a possible up charge of $4,400, depending on what they will find when they started the job. Needless to say, I can no longer go back to the insurance company and ask for an additional $4,400, and J&D Basement Systems claims no responsibility in their apparent miscalculation. In my opinion, because all of their reasons for requesting additional money for this job were specifically discussed prior to them preparing the estimate, I believe this is a deceptive effort to get more money out of a client. I'm sure J&D Basement Systems and Wes ** would disagree, but either I am correct or they are incredibly incompetent.

In either case, I can't imagine why anyone would choose to hire this company for their basement repairs. This explanation is based entirely on facts. I am not an angry customer that's fabricating the truth to try and get back at my contractor. Because of the tactics of J&D Basement Systems (aka The Basement Doctor), I simply believe anyone considering them deserves to know what type of people they are dealing with and what to watch out for. Better yet, I would recommend that you look to someone else for your basement repair needs.

I had my basement waterproofed by Basement Doctor, which on the receipt says it's a division of Aqua Technology, and now I have a leak. I called the number listed on my reciept and the man who answered said he never heard of Basement Doctor nor has he ever done business in New York.

Upon trying to contact the company to once again come out and make the necessary repairs, we found that they had gone out of business, as per the Better Business Bureau, who said to contact consumer affairs. I am being held back from finishing my basement because of the water problem and was forced to dispose of many items of sentimental or actual value. As stated above, many items accumulated over a 22 year marriage of sentimental and actual value had to be disposed of, photographs were taken to substantiate this claim.

Contracted this company to help fix water problem in my basement. Craig Camel came to my house on January 3,2003 and walked me through the free estimate procedure. He told me that if he could install the sump pump the following day he would knock off 1500.00 from the price. I agreed and had the men here the following day.

They worked all day into the night and left at 8 and told me that they would need another crew to come back and fix the problems. They also did not put the basement steps back and told me there was a problem with the sink drain that another crew would have to handle. During this time they used a small pump that i own and burnt the motor in it, then threw it out back without telling me.

When I saw it and questioned them they told me it wasn't worth the money I paid. I called the company as they worked to discuss the problem and was reassured that everything would be taken care of. I also called the next day and spoke to Mindy and someone in billing about them not charging my credit card until the job was complete, that was in the contract.

The job was not complete until 1-22-03 and my card was charged on 1-9-03. On the next scheduled time with them they did not show up on time, they should up 2 hours early and left a note on the door saying they would try to stop back or call in which they did neither. I called every hour to find out what was going on and finally at 4:30 a two man crew showed up and walked through the basement finding leaks in the pipes they installed and a discharge line that was improperly positioned. they did not have the right equipment to help this day so they rescheduled for that Friday. on friday a crew came and were arguing in the basement about the job that needed to be done. After several hours of work, I was told to not do any laundry until Saturday. I did not do Laundry until sunday when the pipes that again were installed by basement doctor leaked all over the floor.

I called first thing monday morning and reported the problem. I never recieved a call back from the head foreman or the head of service. I called each day until finally reaching someone on Jan 15. I told the man in service that I was disputing the claim and then he told me that he was just going to call me to set up an appointment. The appointment was for Jan 17 at 2. again no call and no one showed up. I called every half hour to see what was going on. They told me that they were trying to find a crew and that the crew should have contacted me however I had been home since 12:30 that afternoon and there was no call and no messages. I finally talked to the plumber at 4 who told me that if he came then he wouldn't get to my house until 6 He said he would reschedule and come himself on the 22nd. He did come, but two other men came without the right supplies and they needed to go to the nearest hardware store. after about three hours they were finished.

I never received word from the company about the sump pump they owe me for. I also had to take off many hours of work to have a job performed poorly. The second estimate came in and told me that there were cracks in my walls probably caused by the drilling and when the man explained what I was supposed to have done,I didn't see the equipment ever come into my house. I have tried disputing it with my credit card company in which they really don't understand and I've complained to the Better Business Bureau in which Basement Doctor hasn't responded to two of there 3 letters. there is supposed to be a law that says I have the right to cancel and should be given 3 days to decide however that was not offered to me. I also now have very unstable basement steps because of all the times they needed to be removed and put back due to the poor workmanship this company performed and all the time they needed to fix a mess they created. I feel stuck and now I'm paying for it.