Viking Concrete & Excavation Inc.

The two main people we dealt with at Viking Concrete & Excavation Inc. were the owners Derek and Jennifer. Jennifer is also the accountant. The first day Viking showed up to begin work was November 27, 2013 and the last day we saw anyone come out to work was April 29, 2014. Derek told us this job would take 10 days. One of the biggest issues we had with Viking was lack of communication. We had a set start date given to us by Derek. We did not receive a phone call and no one showed up the day given. Throughout the entire project that was ongoing for 5 months due to adding more items to the project and weather Viking was terrible about communicating times. Even when the weather was nice we would have to call Derek to see when Viking would come out, would receive a date, but more often than not they would not show up. We lost count of how many times we were told someone would come out but didn't show up or bother to call. Concrete was poured for the first time on February 24, 2014. Derek and the concrete workers had many ideas that they discussed with us throughout the project. We decided to add more items such as extending the concrete walls up the driveway, adding concrete stairs, and removing the paver walkway and putting concrete in its place. All along we asked Jennifer how much each additional item would cost and to send us an itemized bill. We never received an itemized bill. Work progressed up until the beginning of April. On April 7th one of Viking’s workers came out to fill in the holes behind the concrete walls and level the tore up part of the yard with top soil. After that we didn't hear or see anyone for two weeks. Derek did not bother coming out to check on the project to make sure it was complete he just assumed Viking was done. This is when things start to get really bad. We called Derek and asked why no one had been out to finish the job in the last two weeks. Derek was shocked that we were calling because he thought the work was done, but said he would be out that day to speak to us. He did not show up and we did not receive a phone call. We put together an email explaining what was left and stated if Viking didn't come and finish we would hire someone else, pay them, and deduct that amount from what we owed Viking. The items left were haul off a stump from a tree they dug up, finish rubbing out the concrete walls, bring in more top soil and level out the east side of the driveway, bury 2 rain gutters, fix/remove an unnecessary pipe that was installed in the concrete walkway without our knowledge or okay, fix staining on concrete wall, and bring in one truck load of gravel to fix the preexisting driveway. Either Derek or one of his workers spoke with us and told us they would take care of these issues. We also mentioned that this project has been going on for 5 months which has made it so we could not put our house on the market. This single statement seemed to be the one thing that really made Jennifer angry. She made the statement that if we sell the house how can she ensure that Viking gets paid the balance due. Yeah, that’s something to worry about considering the fact that we sat here for 2 weeks waiting for Viking to finish the job. Jennifer responded to the email and said she and Derek would be out the next day to meet with us. Both of them were rude when they showed up and started talking down to us. Derek kept saying he never said he would do certain things for us or acted like it was something he had forgot (removing the stump and bringing in more gravel), and Jennifer said they couldn't touch anything attached to the house. That’s fine that her insurance wouldn't allow it, but her workers said they would take care of the rain gutters and fix the pipe they installed without first talking to us. We let the rain gutters go and the gravel but said the stump had to be removed, concrete work needed to be finished, bring in one more truck load of top soil and spread it, and cap the unnecessary pipe. That was agreed to. On April 25th Jennifer sent out an email stating Viking would take care of 3 of the items (stump removal, finish concrete wall, and top soil) leaving off capping the pipe because she had talked to her workers and they said we told them to put the pipe in – UNTRUE -, and balance left owing was to be paid upon completion of said items. In our response email we agreed but stated that she also needed to add in fixing the stains on the concrete wall and cap the pipe. We received an email back stating the stain would be taken care of but nothing else. She also stated “If you and your wife are not more than satisfied when the last three line items are completed, we will yet again at our cost remove wall/concrete that is considered damaged or unsatisfactory. Viking Strives to make it’s customers happy, for some this is never possible.” I thought this statement was petty and couldn't believe any business owner would say that. I am a business owner myself and would NEVER say something like that to my customer. On April 29th Viking’s concrete workers came out and finished rubbing out the concrete walls and fixed the staining. No other work was ever completed at our house by Viking. Jennifer sent an email all in caps (an email sent using all caps means you are screaming at that person) stating the bid scope of work was complete and balance was due in full. NO. The agreement was after finishing all 3 items balance would be paid in full. She sent the original email stating the scope of work and the new terms. Viking breached their own contract. At this point we informed Jennifer that she would not get all the money that was due. We would have to hire someone to finish the work Viking did not complete and would deduct that from the amount due. Viking would receive final payment as soon as the work was complete. Jennifer tried going off of 2 separate contracts and throwing a 3rd one in that only she agreed to. The original contract had a payment plan with payment due on the 10th of each month and with late fees only on the past due amount. On April 25th, 2014 Jennifer sent out an email outlining a NEW contract. Viking would finish the 3 items and balance would be paid in full upon completion. Viking did not finish the job and she informed us the final payment was due on or before May 9th. In no contract did we ever agree to pay them on or before May 9th. We either had monthly payments set up or the balance due in full at time of completion. She was trying to get the entire balance paid in full but going back to the original contract and adding a finance charge on the entire amount. The original contract states a finance charge would be applied to any past due amounts, not the entire amount due. Because final payment was not made on May 9th Jennifer put a lien on our house. She was duly sworn and signed the lien which was filed with the court but made false statements in it. She stated that Viking finished the job, the date of completion was April 19th, and the amount she stated we owed was higher than what was actually due. The job was not completed by Viking, Viking’s workers were at my house on April 29th finishing up concrete work, and we owed $340.65 less than what she claimed. I met with Jennifer to finalize this deal and be done with it. I printed every Invoice we received and all emails in which I had highlighted the key points. I showed her the email she sent that was all in caps and told her next time she should not scream at her customers. She tried telling me she wasn't screaming she was trying to respond to our email, and wanted to make sure it was clear where her response began even though she stated in the very beginning that her response was in a different color. You never send an email in all caps. She also tried telling me she never said Viking would not finish the job so I pointed to the highlighted statement she made on April 30th “AS OF 4/29/2014 YOUR BID SCOPE OF WORK IS COMPLETE” That was a breach of contract on Viking’s part. Jennifer’s main concern was that we got so much of the work done at cost and because we said we were selling the house she didn't think she would get a final payment, and that we used her as a stepping stone. Period, it’s none of her business what we do with our house. If we sell, we sell. Viking was hired to complete a job at our house and what we do with it is our business not theirs. Never in the entire 5 months did we ever ask for anything to be given to us, to receive anything at cost, or threaten to not pay. Every time we asked for something to be added (stairs, walkway) we asked how much. She and Derek worked out the price and extended the monthly payments out a few more months. Not once during this entire ordeal did Viking give us an itemized statement showing what we were paying for and we asked multiple times. The most bizarre thing Jennifer said to me was that because we didn't have any extra space for Viking to dump piles of top soil it was our fault that the ground was not level. This is 100% false and completely ridiculous. Viking had been dumping dirt in the pit that was dug up behind the concrete walls and 2 piles were dumped on our preexisting gravel driveway (which is why we asked Derek about bringing in a truck load of gravel). Once again coming back to communication. No one ever asked us where to dump the dirt and we had plenty of places to put it. After explaining the contracts, showing Jennifer what she stated in her emails, showing the false statements on the lien, pointing out her incorrect calculation of finance charges, and demanding credit for the items Viking did not complete we finally agreed on a final amount due. Lien release was signed but I had to pay to file it and waste my time to ensure it was taken care of. We will never use Viking for anything ever again, and we will never recommend their services to anyone.