Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I would like to file a complaint against Handyman Connection (HC) who not only failed to complete the original contract as agreed but also subsequently failed to honor their warranty agreement and rectify and/or offer a reasonable compensation for the various shortcomings in the work left behind in my home, resulting in a rework cost from another contractor which almost matches the original amount paid to HC. As per my understanding of contract law, this gross violation by ************ any limitations of liability listed in the original agreement. They lied about their abilities, the quality of work they can deliver and their warranty and even generated bogus additional charges to a quote that was already over $*****, bringing the total paid to $*,********* per the attached full statement of events, I am seeking a full refund since virtually all of the work left behind by this company is now in the process of being redone and given the amount of time that has passed in getting another contractor, etc. and the scheduling conflicts with other home projects with additional cost outlays anticipated, I think this is more than fair since the alternative would be legal action at which point I will factor in my time, etc. The photos attached are a small sampling of what this company left behind in my home. All three main areas that this company was hired to get paint-ready are being re-done. I tried uploading a zip file with all of the photos taken to date but am unable to do so. Even so, the sampling of photos I was able to attach give a clear picture of what this company considers paint-ready - it is obvious that they are only interested in ******** as much money as possible from their clients, preying on the weaknesses of their clients to browbeat them into accepting whatever garbage work they are willing to deliver.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/10/2024

  First off, 2000 character limit is NOT enough to explain the absolute frustrating and abusive behaviour our techs and staff experienced with this particular client.

  We provided an estimate which was approved by client and we began the process on or abouts July *, 2024. Client began complaining almost immediately about the continuous return trips for the drywall work. She was advised verbally and on the contract form that multiple trips would be required due to the nature of the work. She began to threaten and give ultimatums on timelines or she was " docking" us a $*** for every day longer it took us. There were also occasions where client had demanded we not put in full days and sent our tech away. We found the client to be extremely abusive and demeaning using such terms as " imbeciles ", or " we are obviously too stupid to know anything about this" and on one other occasion the term " mental retard" was spouted to us. We found an electrical issue and sent out our licensed electrician to address the concern, which of course comes at a service call, but the client felt we were using a "buddy" for this aspect only to use it as an excuse to charge her more money. Although ****** did sign off on the work and did pay for it in full ( see attached ) she did respond with some deficiencies to address. Her deficiencies included others work that was not on our contract scope, and we were very clear that we can only stand behind our craftsmanship on work that we performed, not others. She was very difficult throughout this process and we offered her what we would have spent on another to clean up the issues. She refused, we sent in our guy to clean up our work and she was again abusive and confrontational with our tech, so we pulled him from the project, and here we are.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/10/2024

  As I was not aware I could add on extra verbiage to the original comments made, I wanted to express our ability to support the entire process with documentation on conversations, notes on situations, abusive behaviour, all date and time stamped for accuracy. Please let us know if you wish for us to provide you with this documentation.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/10/2024

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because there is no real merit to the response. My only interactions with the office were:

  1. to initially arrange a quote which the business was free to cancel prior to me signing the agreement and starting the work

  2. a phone message left with regard to their part-time scheduling whereby I did state that I don't think I can do any further work with them since the further planned reno work will require a serious time commitment, not someone coming in part-time for a few hours a week.

  3. a phone call to arrange payment of the electrician invoice which as per phone log can prove that the call barely lasted enough time to provide the payment information

  4. a followup call to complain about the technician in my home and his behavior, etc. which if they employed proper employment practices reinforcing proper conduct of their employees, would have been completely unnecessary.

  5. a subsequent call to provide payment information when I was presented with the final billing (although I'm not sure at this point if they called me) at which point I complained about the electrician bill since I've never before encountered a situation whereby a business will send someone into a client's home and demand money without prior discussion

  6. a final call to complain about the work left behind in my home.

  It appears that this company considers complaints a form of abuse. I guess they even think that my submission to the BBB is a form of abuse.

  But if we want to play a game of he said / she said, then the abuses that I was subjected to when I was contacted by the business by phone and what I sustained in my own home will need to be expanded on as well.

  The only other communications are via email which are already attached.

  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:31/05/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Handyman Connection quoted to do the following for $******* (materials excluded)1. Remove existing caulk and clean out mold. Recaulk. Wall Tiles don't appear to reach floor tiles creating a larger than normal gap to re-caulk.2. Install towel bar.3. Paint entire ensuite bath includes door, casing and window casing. Satin finish on walls,semi gloss for casing and door. Client has paint colour. "Silver Drop"4. Master bedroom. 12x12 sq ft. Paint 3 walls (now purple). Prep any nicks. May require primer coat. Paint colour same as bath. Light over dark.Window and door casings paint semi-gloss.Paint entire ceiling same as walls. Eggshell.*** Room quite crowded with furniture. Need to move and/or cover.5. Lower floor half bath. Remove toilet and replace wax seal. Reinstall toilet.6. Lower hallway / back entry. 16 feet x 40 inch.Paint walls and 6 doors and casing. Paint to bottom of short flight of stairs.7. Replace mandoor to garage. Now has 1 3/8 door.Need to install fire rated door prehung. May require modification of threshold.8. Garage. Wall damage at base, 10 inch up. Clean out damage and replace with moisture resistant material. Paint wall.9. Brick at front of house needs removal and replacement. At grade.#7: contractor glued and screwed the door and painted it instead of replacing it - I agreed but said the quote would need to be adjusted significantly.#8: Contractor said he didn't have the expertise so he wouldn't do it.#9: Contractor said he didn't have the expertise so he wouldn't do it.Despite the fact that three major items were not done, Handyman Connection only took $****** off the invoice. This is ridiculous. I have told them I will get a quote to get items ******* done and they can take that amount off the invoice. In addition, I would accept $****** off for the door (and threshold) replacement that was simply glued and screwed. They are demanding payment.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/06/2023

  We always appreciate hearing from our clients regardless of the situation, good and/ or bad. 

   Unfortunately, there was an internal error as the original quotation was sent off with the brick work component listed as an item, when it should not have been. It was originally noted from the onsite visit, but our tech did ************** to remove this as he was not comfortable doing this portion for them. This error is on the office, but as it was listed on the contract terms, we of course have to address this. I do need to be very clear though that when originally this item was being discussed, the process was to attempt to clean it up and repoint the affected brick work, plus clean up the existing mess from previous work done, as best as possible. This portion was isolated to an approximate 2-3 sq ft area. The quote was NOT to remove and replace the brick work as ********* has alluded to in her concerns.

   The door issue was resolved differently than originally quoted due to a delay in the product availability. The required door was approx 6 weeks out for delivery, so our tech offered a repair solution instead of waiting for the delivery. ********* agreed to this adjustment, so the repair was made as such. To clarify the repair vs replacement concerns, this repair did not take less time than a full replacement of the door would have. In fact, this is quite the opposite where swapping out a door is actually less time consuming than fiddling around with repairs, touching up, prepping/ painting etc. This knowledge comes from 27 years in the industry, vs clients perceptions of work requirements. This change also created some significant savings to ********* by not needing a new door, plus the completion time being expedited 6 weeks sooner based on this situation.

   May ** - we did receive an email from ********* with her concerns asking for a refund on work that was not completed. Our Operations Manager, *****, fielded the concerns, went through the files, had the conversation with our tech, and decided that $*** was a very fair and reasonable refund for the work not completed. 

  May 31- Approx ***** am, ***** responded to ********* offering her the $*** refund which ********* was not very agreeable with. She requested an additional $*** in her response and ***** took some time to process this.

  May 31- Approx **** pm, ***** responded to ********* that due to some other frustrations, and time lines, she did agree to the additional $*** *efund, equalling a total refund of $****. ********* agreed to this refund at which time ***** re-adjusted the invoice to reflect this adjustment and sent the invoice off to ********* for payment. 

  May 31- Approx **** pm, **** received the complaint from the Better Business Bureau with clients concerns.I cannot offer any further resolve at this time as I feel we have given ********* what she has asked for. Now we would like to just get paid as per the adjusted and attached invoice.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/06/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  Per Handyman Connection: "I do need to be very clear though that when originally this item was being discussed, the process was to attempt to clean it up and repoint the affected brick work,..."

  My Response: I agree that the area of the bricks is about 2-3 sq. ft.. What is not mentioned is that there was no discount for this work not being done (unless that was what the $***. was for?).

  Per Handyman Connection:  "The door issue was resolved differently than originally quoted due to a delay in the product availability. The required door was approx 6 weeks out for delivery, so our tech offered a repair solution instead of waiting for the delivery."

  My Response: First, there was no discussion about a new door taking 6 weeks. The handyman simply said it was too hard. Initially he noted on his quote that the threshold may need to be replaced. Once he got the job, he just said he couldn't do it without bringing it up to code and that would be a lot of work. So, the fix took about an hour and a half (glued, screwed and painted) (I was home for this). Compare this to having to replace the threshold and the door and I think $****** is a reasonable amount to pull off the bill.

  Also: Handyman Connection did not address the garage stucco/concrete that was not done. I am attaching a picture of the stucco work not done in the garage (this was the portion that, after I received the quote, the handyman said he could not do and should not have been in the quote).I told Handyman Connection that I was getting a quote (not received yet) and they can take THAT amount off of the invoice when I have it.

  In conclusion: I agree that $**** ($*** and $***) is reasonable to adjust for the door (repaired instead of being replaced) and the brickwork not done. What is outstanding is the garage stucco/concrete problem that I am awaiting a quote for (should have it by this afternoon).

   

  *******************************;

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/06/2023

  We have met ********** request for a refund. We have refunded more than the value of the work was, we have been more than fair with her.

  As far as we are concerned, she has received what she asked for. I dont feel it is right to come back and ask for more as we have met her request.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/06/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I disagree - please see my prior email. In the interest of getting this resolved, I will pay the original invoice less $**** (************** and gst.) for a total of $*******.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 15/06/2023

  We are willing to compromise here and meet her in the middle with her new request.

  Refund of $**** from original quote.

  Once approved we will re-issue a revised invoice.

  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 16/06/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************