Ohio State Home Services, Inc.

The overall experience with their company has been very disappointing.

This was the worst experience that we've had with a company so far. When we called to set up an appointment, they insisted that both my husband and I be present for the estimate (none of the 4 other companies contacted made a similar request). The person who came to give the estimate presented a very convincing story for their "innovative" approach combining outside and inside waterproofing. This approach includes both waterproofing the inside and, on the outside, digging down a certain distance to look for cracks. He said that all of the cracks in the wall would be visible by that depth at which point they would selectively dig down to the foundation. We weren't sure if this was, in fact true. Also, the price quoted was as much as full exterior waterproofing. We were very put off by the "hard sell" approach. The company rep wanted us to commit on the spot and offered us a special discount if we were "flexible" in scheduling. We declined to make the commitment because we were still obtaining other estimates. We then received multiple follow-up calls asking if we wanted to schedule an appointment with the supervisor to discuss additional discounts. We also found out that there were several complaints made to the Attorney General's office about this company. After our experience it came as no surprise! We went with another company and were extremely pleased with the results. Interestingly, they identified several cracks in the exterior walls that would not have been picked up using the Ohio State Waterproofing approach.

Everything you will read here about their scheme is true. First, we told the guy he had 45 minutes to sell us because we had somewhere else to be. He was prepared with a big binder to give a 3 hour sales pitch. Second, he offered us a "today only" price break, which my husband and I thought was BS, but which is apparently par for the course with this company. Third, what he wanted to do was not what we wanted to have done; we were looking for exterior waterproofing, and he wanted to do something that sounded a lot like an indoor sump pump. When we did not "bite" on the "Today Only" pricing, we got a call a few days later telling us that they talked to some manager who could come out and give us a newer, lower and better estimate due to overage of materials. We knew it was coming from reading the "list" after the guy left the house, so we told them no. We ended up getting an outside job w/another co. for $3000.00.

I was pleased with overall quality of work, and results in dry basement. Cort was a little high, but considering warranty. Worth it. I had tried several times other stop gaps measure without good results.

He held a meter up to the wall and it didn't make noise but it beeped when he put it down to the floor. He told us that there was a lot of water and he recommended that we dig up the middle of the basement floor and put in a sump pump with tiles over it. He gave us 3 different avenues. I think my questions irritated him. He requested that I not say anything for 10 minutes. Afterwards, I told him that he was the first to come in and that we wanted other quotes. He quoted between $10,000 and $13,000. He said if we didn't want anything else done besides the part by the garage, he wouldn't be interested. They called back and pursued me pretty heavily. He said he had met with the founder of the company and they came up with an option for less money. I felt they were pressuring us to reel us in. Thank goodness we got the house inspected because we found out that we weren't in as much trouble as they said we were.

They were recommended by a neighbor.

There was a drain pipe that was cracked and there was a dispute on how it got cracked so we had to negotiate a settlement on that. I thought the negotiation was fair though.

The foreman Kevin did an outstanding job. He kept me informed every step of the way. He also explained the whole job to me and answered any questions I had. As far as the cleanup was, it was very good, they washed everything down. It actually looked better when they left than when they arrived.

They were very professional. The approximate cost was for installing an interior drain. They also gave me other estimates for a multi-step process. They also gave an estimate for replacing everything.

The most uncomfortable situation I've ever been in. The salesman was HIGH pressure. I indicated it was my first home, and my basement is not in need of a complete waterproofing costing a lot of money. When I thanked him for his time, and told him I'm not making a decision - he literally got angry and told me ''he was shocked'' because normally people want to know how quick he can do the work. He told me I could never get a better price - 2 weeks later his boss called trying to come out to give me a lower quote due to ''oversupply of product''. Yea right - NEVER EVER will I use this company or recommend them to anyone!

The crew arrived on time and all work was completed within 2 days. They even offered to break up and remove our old utility sink. The supervisor was very professional and even offered to stop jack hammering for a while so my baby could sleep. However, the salesman was not entirely upfront about everything. Like the electrical outlet cost and the dehumidifier is not a traditional dehumidifier and if we want one, we have to purchase one.

There were so many unanswered questions. They told us that the contractor would be able to answer all the questions. They promised that they would have city permits before they started the job and they started the job before they got approval. They said they did grading, but they ended up telling me that they do not grade. Now, the city won't let them do the job and I am out $1000 that I gave them to start the job.

They were pushy. They overstated the problem and I feel that they pressured me into signing the contract. They wanted to do the work in July even though I didn't want it done that early. They said they would only disturb a small amount of soil. I later found out that it would be a lot more disturbance. Despite saying that I wasn't interested in having the work done until September, they scheduled me for July and I had to call and tell them to change the date. After checking Angie's List I changed my mind about having them do the work. They came out to discuss terminating the contract. The man I spoke to was very rude. He said that for canceling I am responsible for 1/3 of the cost of the work. They failed to mention this before. They didn't offer any compromise. Two additional contractors came out and told me that the work Ohio State Waterproofing was going to perform was unnecessary.

I was not happy using them. Initially when they came out we tried to cancel. They came back out when I was not home and strong armed us into using them.

One of their workers broke a dryer vent and didn't say anything about it to me. I had to bring it to their attention, and they replaced it. They didn't clean up as well as I would have liked. I feel their labor cost is too high for what is needed. Overall, I was happy with the work they did, there were just a bunch of little things that were frustrating throughout the project. I do feel they will honor their work and stand behind their warranty. I would use them again.

They did an excellent job with clean up. Very professional and friendly crew.

Terrible sales technique. I got three estimates for waterproofing our basement. Ohio State Waterproofing insisted that we needed work done inside and outside. The price was three times the other estimates (that only involved inside work). After we said no the first time, another sales rep came out to give us a ''special offer''. The sales techique was very HIGH PRESSURE and uncomfortable.

Beware! This company may eventually dry the basement, but their pricing and sales techniques are detestable. The 2 salesman quoted $14,000 for a package that is overpriced and includes a lot of unnecessary and ineffective work. They try to pressure you into signing the contract on the spot by offering a discount for "flexible scheduling" that is supposedly only available now and then. A day later, when we did not bite, they said they had contacted their CEO and received special permission to further reduce the price. We found another reliable contractor on this list and got the work perfectly done for $3,600! I was told, that the owner of this company conducts training seminars for salesmen where he advocates exaggerating problems and instilling fear in the customer, because "without fear there is no sale". His salesmen followed this advice to the letter.

FROM OUR FIRST CONTACT WITH THE COMPANY, IT WAS A VERY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. THE ESTIMATOR SHOWED UP ON TIME, WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND EXPLAINED OUR VARIOUS OPTIONS FOR HAVING THE WORK DONE. THE COMPANY ARRIVED WHEN SCHEDULED, COMPLETED THE WORK IN 3 OR 4 DAYS AND DID A GREAT JOB A CLEANING UP AFTER THEMSELVES. THE CREW WAS FRIENDLY, POLITE AND THE WORK WAS FIRST RATE. WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME. IT HAS GREATLY IMPROVED THE USABILITY OF THE BASEMENT. WE HAVE ALREADY RECOMMENDED THE COMPANY TO OTHERS.

THE HIGHEST PRICED OF COMPANIES WE ASKED. 1ST REP WAS OVER THE TOP WITH COMPLIMENTS OF CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE. SENT A 2ND REP, WHO WAS 30 MINUTES EARLY(WHICH WAS STILL DINNER TIME) AND WAS LOOKING FOR A COMMITMENT THAT NIGHT BECAUSE OF HIS DROP IN PRICE. WAS LOOKING FOR DECEMBER CUSTOMERS ON SHORT NOTICE. HAD A TONIGHT PRICE OF 12.5K. WOULD HAVE LIKED A BEST PRICE UP FRONT. 2ND REP HAD THE ATTITUDE OF "I DON'T CARE IF YOU DO IT TONIGHT BUT IF IT WAS ME..." THE QUOTE BROCHURE DIDN'T HAVE OUR NAME OR EVEN ADDRESS ON IT. WE WANTED A FULL WRITTEN QUOTE OF WHAT WAS TO BE DONE ALONG W/ THE PRICE. THEY DO A COMBO INDOOR/OUTDOOR INSTALLATION. ONLY COMPANY WE HAD THAT HAVE YOU PAYING $50 EVERY YEAR FOR THEIR LIFETIME WARRANTY SERVICE. ASSUMES MY DRAIN TILE IS FUNCTIONAL BUT I DON'T SEE HOW EFFICIENT THIS WILL BE IF THAT DRAIN TILE FAILS IN THE FUTURE. MORE PUSHIER AND A LITTLE ARROGANCE THERE THAN ANY OF THE OTHER COMPANIES. A LOT OF CASH PLUS A YEARLY FEE.

I WOULD NOT WANT TO WORK WITH THIS COMPANY BECAUSE OF THEIR RUDENESS WHEN I CHANGED MY MIND.

REPAIRED SEEPAGE ALONG INTERIOR BASEMENT WALL. TOOK 2 WEEKS UNTIL SOMEONE CAME OUT TO LOOK AT PROBLEM, THEN ANOTHER MONTH BEFORE SOMEONE CAME TO FIX. WORKERS WERE VERY POLITE AND CLEAN. JUST TAKES EXTREMELY LONG TIME TO FIX NEW PROBLEMS.

QUOTED HIGH PRICE $12,000. WHEN THEY DID NOT HEAR FROM ME THEY CALLED ME BACK AND SAID THEY WILL LOWER THE PRICE.

THE SALESMAN OVERSOLD THE SVC. THEY TOOK $1500 OF THE BILL TO KEEP MY BUSINESS. WHEN THE WORKERS CAME OUT THE WHOLE DEAL CHANGED FROM THE ORIGINAL COMMITMENT.

THEY CALLED TO START WORK AND I SAID I WAS NOT GOING HAVE THEM DO THE WORK (I DID THAT FOUR TIMES). HIGH PRESSURE AND HAVE NO RESPECT FOR A CUSTOMER. THEY TALK DOWN TO YOU LIKE YOU KNOW NOTHING.