Virginia crawlspace Inc.

My experience with Virginia Crawlspace Inc. is, unfortunately, a rather negative one. The owner, Mr. Dionne Dandridge, was very unreliable, always quick with some creative excuse as to why he wasn’t able to show up and do the agreed task at the agreed time. I am also skeptical about the suitability of the materials he used. While I am seeking ways to recover my deposit money, the purpose of this review is to provide adequate warning to anyone who might seek this company’s service. Below is a full timeline of my experience with this company. I first called Virginia Crawlspace Inc. on Thursday, December 29, 2016 at around noon. Since no one picked up the phone, I left a message describing that I was looking to have my crawlspace insulation and vapor barrier replaced along with cleaning up debris and any mold found growing therein. Mr. Dandridge returned my call Friday at around 1:30 PM and said he would try to swing by later that day to survey the job and gather information for an estimate. Alas, he did not show up that Friday, nor did he call until the following Monday, January 2, 2017 at around 4:30 PM. I perhaps should have taken this as a warning sign, but Mr. Dandridge described having had some unpleasant personal issues at home, and at this point, I was still just looking for an estimate, so I agreed that he could come by the next day to inspect the crawlspace. Mr. Dandridge called the next day, Tuesday, at 3:20 PM to announce he was en route, and shortly thereafter he and his associate Kevin Stein arrived to look at the crawlspace. While looking at the crawlspace, I also mentioned that I was seeking someone to put a bit of fencing up on the back edge of my lawn, and we tentatively agreed to that project as well. That evening, close to 6 PM, I received by email his estimate for the crawlspace, which was priced modestly better than what I had been quoted by others. I called him up, accepted his price and agreed he and his team would show up the next day to perform the work. The next morning, Wednesday at around 8:22 AM, I received a text that he was on his way. I waited. He called back to say they were stopping off to get supplies. I waited some more. When it got close to 11:00 AM, I texted him that I needed to run out and do some errands but that the crawlspace door would be unlocked. For the next 2 hours, I received a text and a call indicating that they were going from Lowes to Lowes trying to gather up the needed materials. He complained that he wasn’t finding enough R-19 insulation, and I agreed to settle for R-15. (Curiously, he later complained that the price of the insulation was higher than he expected, a point which will be mentioned again at the end). They finally arrived around 1:00 PM, but stayed only long enough to unload the insulation and vapor barrier plastic, claiming that they had a funeral to go to at 2:00 PM but that they would be back bright and early the next day to finish the job. Mr. Dandridge’s associate, Kevin Stein, even asked when I woke up in the morning, claiming that they were used to getting up and ready for work by 4 AM. That next day, Thursday January 5th, I was awake as usual by 6 AM, but there was no sign of Mr. Dandridge or Kevin. I texted them at around 9 AM and was told they planned to arrive between 10 and 10:30 AM. By 11:30 AM they still hadn’t arrived. The excuse I got was that they had gone out after the funeral and didn’t get back in until the wee hours of the morning. Mr. Dandridge’s team of three people did finally drag in late in the afternoon and were able to finish the crawlspace. Considering my experience with his difficulty in keeping to a schedule, I no doubt should have ended my association with him at this point, but he asked forgiveness and promised to knock the price down for the previously discussed fence if I would give him another chance. I relinquished, and he agreed to begin the fence work the following day. Friday, January 6 at 11:30 AM I text him asking when he plans on arriving. This time the problem is that he can’t get access to a truck to haul the material. The day goes on and no sign of Mr. Dandridge. The weekend forecast called for a reasonably heavy snowfall, so I kept trying to contact him to see what was going on. As late as 6:30 PM on Saturday, January 7 Mr. Dandridge was still claiming that he intended to deliver the materials if the roads permitted. Not surprisingly, the 7-8 inches of snow provided another handy opportunity for Mr. Dandridge to delay. Although much of the snow had subsided and most roads were clear by Wednesday, January 11, Mr. Dandridge informed me that he and his crew were looking to show up Thursday, January 12, and “knock it out” with temperatures predicted to be around 67 degrees. Mr. Dandridge failed to show up on Thursday. He also failed to reply to texts and phone calls made during the day. By this point, I am wanting to cancel the fence job and get my deposit money back, which had presumably been used to purchase materials. I finally heard back from Mr. Dandridge Friday morning at around 11 AM. This time the excuse is that he had accidentally left his phone in someone else’s crawlspace and wasn’t able to return my calls or texts. I expressed sympathies but stated that I wanted to cancel the job and to have my money returned. He begged and pleaded to be given another second chance. Reluctantly, I conceded since he already had my deposit and had already presumably purchased the materials. But as the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Saturday morning comes and I’m texting him trying to find out when he’s planning on coming by. This time the excuse is that he can’t get in touch with his worker who has the truck, and he states he might not be able to get out until between 11 and 11:30 AM. He further adds that if his worker “doesn’t have a good excuse, he won’t be working with [him] anymore.” When he was still a no-show at 12:30 PM I texted him that his “worker isn’t the only one who has lost a job,” and I demanded that he return my deposit by 5 PM that day. He quickly texted back, claiming that his worker had gotten pulled over, but I remained adamant and restated that the job was canceled and that I expected my deposit to be returned by 5 PM. And with that, I have neither heard back from Mr. Dandridge nor has my deposit been returned. While my chief complaint with Virginia Crawlspace Inc. is with regards to the company’s inability to keep to a schedule, I am also concerned about the suitability of the materials he used. As stated above, Mr. Dandridge had complained that he had a difficult time finding R-19 insulation and that the price was higher than what he had used to put together his estimate. Though it was his own fault for not checking price and availability prior to constructing an estimate, I did say I would be satisfied with R-15. I later discovered, however, that the trash contained wrapping material for R-13 insulation. Since Mr. Dandridge hasn’t been in further communication with me, I don’t have his explanation for this.