| AG Reliable Remodeling |
| AG Reliable Remodeling, LLC Allen and/or Laura Grome opinion: refuses to accept liability for damages due to poor construction and give homeonwner cre |
| 5th of Apr, 2011 by User620597 |
| My Personal" opinion and experience is as follows: This company refuses to accept liability for damages done to my home due to poor construction. Engaged me in a vague and ambiguous contract that I feel is deceitful based on my knowledge of Mass Law 142a. Refuses to give me credit refund for work I waive having him perform under the condition the funds would be reallocated to another aspect of the project. Refuses to give me one of my building permits and failed to ever post it causing a stop work order to be placed on my home. Same permit, failed to list the true value of construction by some $15,000. Refuses to accept responsibility for cost related to flooding due to plumbing work he was contracted to perform and responsible for overseeing. Lied to insurance agency and claimed to have never have been contracted to perform plumbing in my home, though there is an extensive contract stating otherwise. Was dishonest about the cost of aspect of the project and refuses to disclose receipts and/or invoices to me regarding the true cost and/or payments to subcontractors to have the work performed. Refuses to disclose names, addresses, registration numbers, and contracts associated with subcontractors who performed work in my home. Refuses to accept financial responsibility for damage caused to materials due to poor installation by his crew. Refuses to sign a lien release so I may employ a new contractor though I do not owe him money. Self-admittedly charge me for work in contract that never intended on performing, did not perform, then caused a 4 dy kitchen installation to take 9 wks. This list could go on for hours. This is only a small fraction of the story. Otherwise, his crew used my yard as a trashcan (plaster, concrete, wood, materials coated in black masking), let their friends and associates throw kitchen trash away in the dumpster for the project, broke a window out and refused to fix it, "borrowed" and destroyed my tools and refused to replace them, stopped up my toilet daily (yuck!), flipped cigarette butts all over my yard, scratched-up every appliance or piece of furniture they went near. ... and when I refused to give him more money because he had destroyed my home, lied to me, ripped me off for my credits (between $8-10g), etc, he packed up and walked out, with only the last 15% to go, and it is valued at approximately $8,000. You be the judge. |
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June 3, 2011
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the false accusations and exaggerated claims made against me, Allen Grome and my company AG Reliable Remodeling, LLC. by Maura Blalock of 130 Brook St. Framingham, MA. I would like to preface my lengthy response by informing you up front that this matter is controlled by a contract. In the contract it explicitly states that any disputes regarding this contract are subject to arbitration. Also, Ms. Blalock has both in writing and in person told me that she does not want me to continue any work on her home. She has refused to allow me in to finish completion of the project. pursuant to the contract. It is also apparent to me at this juncture, that Ms. Blalock has filed these complaints to your website in an effort to gain some leverage or give herself an advantage in her refusal to pay for work completed on her home.
I had been working on a project at Ms. Blalock’s home for several months and the job is approx. 90-95% complete although I have not received any payments for work completed since Feb. 4, 2011. It was when I installed her last kitchen cabinet the afternoon of Monday March 21, 2011 and I notified her that another payment installment would be necessary in order to continue completion of her project, that Ms. Blalock decided to make inflammatory and exaggerated allegations against me and refused payment, all in an attempt to get materials and services at no charge. I still had to complete scribing trim to properly fill gaps, install toe kick and top molding in the kitchen and some plumbing was left to complete in the basement along with some interior door installations when she refused to allow me back into her home. Please note that the initial job was an insurance water damage job for her basement and expanded into new cabinet installation in her upstairs kitchen.
Also, please note that I have been working in this industry for the past twelve years and have never had a complaint filed against me or had any other disputes brought to arbitration with any of my past customers. I pride myself on continually getting new customers as referrals from existing clients. My reputation and work ethic in this industry are the basis for my business survival in this downturned economy and I work very hard to satisfy the needs of all my clients.
As an upstanding member of the Framingham community and a married father of two small children, I can provide many personal and professional references as needed for work recently performed in the Metro West area. I have been actively involved for many years in the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, the Framingham Elks, Framingham Baseball League, the Framingham Youth Football League and the Framingham school system as an involved parent volunteer. These organizations can attest to my character, good will, honesty and integrity that are all being challenged by Ms. Blalock’s complaint against me.
She has been sending me ongoing multiple texts and emails threatening legal action, demanding payment from me thinking that she has overpaid for her job and harassing me, all the while slandering my name and that of my company. She has sent me demand letters and certified mail threatening legal action if I do not produce to her every receipt down to “every nail” and every hour worked by me or any of my subcontractors on her job.
Original price for the job was $50, 050. Per contract agreement, AGReliable Remodeling (AGRR) was reimbursed at certain intervals of project completion. On 2/4/11, AGRR received the last payment which totaled payments received at $34, 447.74 or roughly 65% of total job cost. Per the contract deposit, the demolition, rough framing, rough plumbing and electrical, installation of insulation, blueboard and plastering and all rough inspections were completed by the Framingham Building Department and passed without any modifications required. Per the contract, the agreement was to remit 80% of payment at this juncture. However, payment at this time was short $5592.26. Also note, this payment came two weeks later than it was due. This was an insurance job and the insurance company sent it to the mortgage company who in turn sent it to Ms. Blalock. Ms. Blalock explained that she thought the check was short funds because of the mortgage company’s payment policy. In all our years of small insurance claims, we never had a process like this where the mortgage company held up payment due to a “policy”. The homeowner provided me with paperwork from the mortgage company which partially explained the release of “final payments”. This was confusing to me because I was not looking for final payment yet. My wife called the mortgage company to clarify the general reimbursement and inspection process and what we may need to do in order to move this process along. Ms. Blalock is now making inflammatory claims that this was all in an attempt to illegally obtain personal account information. (to be further addressed later).
It is important to note at this juncture the project came to a bit of a slowdown. It became apparent that no more monies would be available for this project until completion, despite the contractual agreement that Ms. Blalock signed, and she expected AGRR to continue working, paying subcontractors and buying all materials. This would put a great deal of financial risk on myself and considering Ms. Blaclock had been very argumentative, tempermental and extremely difficult for all subcontractors involved, to satisfy, I became increasingly concerned about continuing the project without further reimbursement. There was also a design error with the kitchen cabinets from XYZ (privacy), with whom Ms. Blalock has her own separate contract with and she paid directly. On multiple occasions, Ms. Blalock also continued to assure me that if I continued working on the project I would get paid as soon as she received a check from the mortgage company. After receiving these assurances, I, in good faith, thought it would be best to continue working until the payment was received. Soon after, I was informed by Ms. Blalock that if I provided her with a materials list of parts and materials that were required to finish the project, the mortgage company would release a check to cover these expenses. Attempting to get the job back on schedule, I continued to work on the job, buying materials and performing work while awaiting the process of obtaining more funds from the mortgage company. On Monday March 14, the mortgage company sent out an independent auditor who came out to inspect, deemed the project 85% complete and said he would report his findings to the mortgage company so they could release a partial payment to me. During the following week, I continued performing finish work involving cabinet installation, ceiling tile installation, interior door installation, sink and faucet installations, etc. On Monday march 21st, after installing the last kitchen cabinet, Ms. Blalock informed me that she had received the check, and was not going to pay me for what at that point was a project 90-95% complete. At this point now, Ms. Blalock is attempting to besmirch my character, my work and my business reputation all in an attempt to not to pay on work done for an insurance claim that she has received payments for. What is especially frustrating is that now that the job is almost complete, she is attempting to renegotiate and is questioning the cost or value of the work completed 4 months after she agreed to the pricing and signed a contract which was for a set price and not on a time and materials basis.
There is and was NEVER any misrepresentation in the contract. Although there are now credits (flooring subcontractor removed from contract, customer performed demo, fixtures and doors not yet exceeded as of this date) and add-ons to the project that are not reflected in the original contract, they would be reflected in the final bill. The removal of the flooring (value 6k) was put in a new contract per Massachusetts law regarding amendments over one thousand dollars. The other credits and add ons were in the form of verbal agreements between myself and Ms. Blalock. I have every intention of honoring my word and giving the proper credits as discussed and I have never indicated otherwise. I have repeatedly told Ms. Blalock this although she keeps putting in repeated documents that I have “refused to give these credits”.
I have complied with Massachusetts construction codes as they pertain to this project. Rough plumbing and framing (electrical separate contractor hired by Ms. Blalock) inspections were completed and signed off by the town of Framingham Building Dept. back in February.
All materials and subcontractors of AGRR to this point in time are paid up to date on this project. The project is approx. 90-95% complete. Per the contract, 90% payment should be remitted at this time. Adjusted cost for project at this date: $43, 158.69 x 90%= 38842.82. Payments received $34, 447.74. Balance due: $4395.08.
Payment was requested on a 20% deposit, 20%, 20%, 20%, 10%, 10%. Final payment has not been requested at this time. I have requested a payment which was due at this interval of 90% completion. The final 10% would be due on final completion. Ms. Blalock has refused payment saying I owe her money and she is repeatedly demanding receipts and hourly accountings of my subs and for me to sign her lien release.
The flooding that Ms. Blalock is referring to is the result of the homeowner using the dishwasher Sunday 3/20, after being told by the plumbing subcontractor not to use the dishwasher until it was secured properly. Water ran through the floor into the basement, wetting approximately 6-7 ceiling tiles which I installed the previous week or two. Each tile cost $3.5 at Home Depot with an approx replacement cost of $24.50 plus one hour of labor. Upon further inspection, there was no other visible damage to cabinetry, flooring (bare cement at that point) or furnishings. Despite that, I offered, rented and ran a commercial grade dehumidifier for approx 15 hours on 3/21 to play it safe and absorb any additional moisture in her basement. The very next day 3/22, Ms. Blalock filed suit with our insurance company. Please note that the water damage was limited to an area of materials and work which I have not yet been paid. Ms. Blalock has received payment from her own insurance company (per her word only) for this and has not yet paid me for this part of the job but is filing a claim with my insurance for damages.
Additionally, Ms. Blalock had her washing machine hookups disconnected in order to have her own flooring subcontractor install her new basement floors. Her hook up valve had a slow leak which she probably never noticed prior to the disconnect. Presumably, because it was probably leaking into her washer. Per her own words, her washing machine had a foul odor for quite a while, most likely due to the leak. She has informed me that her new floors recently installed were leaked onto and there is new water damage to her floors and walls because of this leak. Now, she is blaming AGRR for this leak as well. AGRR was hired to bring her existing plumbing up to code as her prior plumbing in the basement had many code violations. Additionally, as an add on to the job, approx. mid February, Ms. Blalock requested the plumber move her laundry hookup 18 inches and she verbally agreed to this for a price of $300. The plumber performed the work and was paid in full by AGRR. For the next 3-4 weeks, no mention was made of the plumbing and no additional requests were made to either replace the pipes leading up to or the valve for the washing machine hookup. It wasn’t until this leak that Ms. Blalock is arguing that AGRR was supposed to “replumb” her entire basement and that should have included her “30 year old leaky valve”. She informed us 3/27 that she would be filing a second insurance claim with our insurance company for this. Additionally, she has called me and my plumbing subcontractor to assist her in switching this valve, all the while, filing claims with our insurance companies.
Payment was asked for in accordance with the terms of the original contract. 20% received as deposit, $10, 000. 20% or $10, 000 received 12/17 after demo and rough framing. Slightly less than 20%, or $9975 received 1/15 after rough plumbing and electrical complete, $4, 472.74 (partial payment at that time) received 2/4, after installation of insulation, blueboard, plaster. Ms. Blalock argued at this time that rough plumbing and plaster not complete at this time, although the subcontractors completed their work and were paid in full for that portion of the project. Rough inspections completed also support this. Ms. Blalock obviously misunderstands what was is considered “rough” vs. finish although I explained these details to her.
Some of the demolition on the project was completed by Ms. Blalock prior to the project starting. I verbally told Ms. Blalock on multiple occasions that she was being credited the monies back for that. At the same time, verbal agreements were made between myself, the plumbing subcontractor and Ms. Blalock to install three additional body sprayers for her shower ($700) and to move her washer dryer hookup approx 18 inches ($300). Credits and add-ons, also permit fees not charged up front, are to be accounted for in final billing. Ms. Blalock through entire project has been sending me inflammatory emails stating I am “refusing to account for her self performed demo” and “refusal to give credit or reapply monies”, which is simply false. This was all the while I was working in her home. This constant email trail, while I was working, appears to be carefully crafted thought out on her part to create a trail that she was constantly unhappy and discontent throughout the project and that I was “ripping her off” throughout the whole thing. And the email/texting chain of complaints was constant and never ending regarding every aspect of the job.
Work was always coordinated with myself and subcontractors of AGRR to keep the job working at a consistent pace. It was only when Ms. Blalock subcontracted some of her own workers (painter) and coordinated them to come to her home without notifying me that some scheduling conflicts arose. The painter(who was a different painter than she currently has doing the work, I am not aware why she switched painting contractors) arrived at the home to paint the same time the plastering crew was working, electrician was on site and cabinets were being installed. There was no parking for the painter due to the huge amounts of snow in the road and no room for him to work in the home, therefore he had to be rescheduled by Ms. Blalock.
Completely bogus and false allegations of “attempting to fraud mortgage company”. All invoices sent to them were for materials to be purchased after the last check was received on 2/4/11, as per their request. The mortgage company specifically asked for an accounting of what was needed to complete the job. Ms. Blalock was given a partial materials list, which was apparently never submitted, because weeks later, the request was made again. At this time, Ms. Blalock provided me with the contact at the mortgage company in order for me to determine exactly the process to submitting a materials list, which I did. Note, during this time, I continued to purchase materials out of pocket to keep the project moving along with Ms. Blalock’s reassurances that she was “fighting the mortgage company to get you your money”.
My wife, as previously mentioned, called the mortgage company after we received only partial payment on 2/4/11. Ms. Blalock had provided me with documentation with the phone number. My wife wanted to ask general information about the reimbursement process (invoices needed from us, inspections we may need to coordinate, etc.). As a registered nurse for the past 20 years, my wife knows all about privacy regulations and did not and would never attempt to extract personal account information, knowing full well it would never be given without written consent.
During the initial mastik removal(the adhesive holding flooring tiles to the floor) from the basement floor at the start of the job, we were working together to figure out the best way to remove this hardened glue from the floor. Ms. Blalock was using her own personal shop vac to clean up the debris. She offered it, along with some small hand tools(dustpan, scraper) that she was already using, to myself so that I did not need to leave the job sight to get my own. During this messy clean up, the shop vac and tools got filled with gooey sludge and were ruined. I told Ms. Blalock that she would be reimbursed for the cost or I would replace them, whichever she preferred. As Ms. Blalock never provided me with receipts for new equipment or asked for cash reimbursement, the credit is being applied to her account. I have told her this several times and yet now she is accusing me of “refusing to pay for her lost or damaged items.”
Ms. Blalock brought it to my attention the week of 3/14/11 that a small window pane (approx. 6x10”) in garage window was broken. She accused me of breaking it and leaving it for her to find. Unaware of the window until it was brought to my attention, I offered to replace the glass and fix the window. It should be noted that this was a single pane window next to a mountain of snow and ice and the dumpster. Although it was unclear how the glass broke, I was more than happy to fix the glass for no charge and told her so. Unfortunately, it was so recent that when she refused me to continue to work, I was unable to fix the window.
While the kitchen cabinets were being removed, it was discovered that an existing sink drain pipe would be in the way of her new cabinets with hidden drawers inside. The cabinet could not be cut to accommodate the pipe because of the drawers. I called the plumber who was unavailable for 2 days to do the work himself so working under the direction of my plumber, I moved the sink drain pipe 3-4” to accommodate the cabinets and expedite the installation of the cabinets.
Contract price stated. Ms. Blalock agreed to and signed the contract on 11/30/10. Renegotiation of the contract after the job is almost complete is unacceptable. No “rates” were charged in the contract. Time plus materials was not a factor in this contract. Job was charged at flat fees and not broken up into separate hourly rates for any subcontractors on the job. Ms. Blalock has recently been sending me harassing emails and “demand letters” asking for each hour worked by each subcontractor on the job. This is irrelevant in a flat rate contract.
Per my recommendation, Ms. Blalock hired and paid independently XYZ Kitchen to make her kitchen cabinets and supply and install granite countertops. I collaborated extensively with them to go over the plans and overall design to make sure the cabinets work within the general constructions of her kitchen layout. This collaboration is accounted for in my contract. XYZ actually does the measuring and designing of the cabinets but I worked closely with them throughout the entire project. I have worked closely with XYZ for several years and they are a highly qualified, professional business in Natick and I will stand by the work that they do. Although they mismeasured one run of lower three cabinets by ¾”, they bent over backwards and were committed to resolving the errors and accommodate Ms. Blalock’s constant design changes. They provided her with new cabinets and actually let her keep the mismeasured ones, which I modified and installed in her basement.
Already addressed. I never refused to use monies paid as a credit for demo that Ms.Blalock did herself. As stated previously, I have credits accounted for towards the homeowner’s balance due. My verbal agreements are solid and my bigger concern is Ms. Blalock’s commitment to reimburse AGRR for permit fees, plumbing and other upgrades which she verbally agreed with me on. She is now trying to renegotiate her entire written contract, saying that all the extra work was part of the original contract and that the monies she paid was more than enough to cover these “extras”.
My actual costs of plumbing and construction materials is irrelevant. My subcontractors and suppliers are paid in full and up to date, no balances owed. If my contract was for time and materials, then material costs and hours worked would of course be relevant and provided to homeowner. Ms. Blalock has been repeatedly demanding my personal receipts, threatening litigation if I don’t follow her demands. Essentially, she only wants to pay time and materials at this juncture and expects me to renegotiate my entire contract. On Nov.30, 2010, Ms. Blalock clearly signed a contract with AGRR based on set cost and not time and materials.
The ejector pump, which was existing in her former basement bathroom was disconnected prior to construction. I recommended getting a new ejector pump at the beginning of the project but Ms. Blalock declined and said the existing one was sufficient. The plumber hooked up all new plumbing to it. Currently the ejector pump is complete and has been fully plumbed for weeks and can be used at any time. It just needs to be turned on. Note however, that the shower, toilet and vanity sink are not hooked up yet, so there is no need for an ejector pump to be operating yet in the basement, although Ms. Blalock can turn it on anytime she wishes. Any odor that was noticeable during the job, most likely was the result of residual sewage that must be on the bottom of the pump from prior to construction. No new sewerage has entered the pump since the project started because there is no shower, toilet or sink draining into it yet.
Many factors contributed to the project taking longer than usual for a job of this scope. Initially, the project was progressing rapidly with many aspects being coordinated simultaneously. It wasn’t until one run of three lower cabinets was found to be ¾”out of spec. that some delays began. The cabinet company acknowledged responsibility for the error and at that time Ms. Blalock, myself, two carpentry subcontractors and a representative from Metropolitan had a meeting to discuss options to resolve the issue. We came up with a design to modify the lower cabinets and install them. After modifying them and redelivering to her home, Ms. Blalock decided that she did not like the modifications. After continually expressing dissatisfaction, Ms. Blalock met with a different representative from XYZ and decided to completely reorder cabinets. Ultimately, it seemed to me that Ms. Blalock was getting frustrated due to the confines of her small kitchen and limited space available. I think she envisioned that by getting new cabinets, she would get more room and continually kept making modifications and changes. Ms. Blalock was a major contributor to project delays due to her indecision, project changes and additional work put onto the project. Also, instead of returning the original cabinets, Ms. Blalock asked me to modify and install them into her basement, which also took a significant amount of time. Also, note the upper cabinets were installed when the initial cabinets came in. Weeks later, after using the upper cabinets for some time, Ms.Blalock informed me that due to the limited reach and mobility of she and her mother, she did not like the height of the cabinets and wanted them removed and reinstalled 1 ½” lower. Ms. Blalock is now alleging that she told me that at the beginning of the job, which is simply untrue. And she was using them for weeks without ever mentioning this to me. At this point, I removed them and reinstalled them. Despite all of these delays, I was committed and kept the project moving along. It must be noted, that at this point, when the flooring was still part of the original contract, I was past due in payments from Ms. Blalock. I continued to buy supplies and pay subcontractors and Ms. Blalock kept reassuring me that I would get paid as soon as the check intended for me came from the mortgage company. I continued working until the project was approx. 90% complete. The risk of buying the remaining supplies and completing the project without reimbursement is very great. Now that I have told Ms. Blalock that I will need reimbursement for remaining supplies, she has refused to let me complete the project saying that I owe her receipts, hourly breakdowns and I need to sign a lien release before she will let me continue. She also is saying that she overpaid for the work and she thinks that I owe her money. I have gone above and beyond honoring my end of the project and have done many extensive extras that Ms. Blalcock is arguing were all part of the original contract anyways, which is simply untrue. She is obviously trying to renegotiate her end of the deal in an attempt to profit and keep the remaining monies from the insurance company.
As a company that cares about the environment, I try to recycle as much as I can. This job, with all the cabinets coming in cardboard boxes, created a lot of recyclable items. There was very little room for storage so we collected the cardboard and stored it behind the dumpster to recycle with the town collection every other week. There were occasions with all of the snow storms that some of the debris got stuck in the snow and ice and was unable to be removed. Some of it was still frozen to the ground when I last worked on her property. Besides recycling, any trash noted or pointed out by Ms. Blalock was immediately cleaned up with the exception of the 2x4 scraps that we piled up for Ms. Blalock, per her request, so that she could burn them. It was always our intention to remove all debris when able, despite the snow and it is customary to do a full cleanup at the end of the job. Note, a few weeks ago, I returned and collected all remaining cardboard that had been buried under the snow.
Without my knowledge or prior consent, someone dumped a twin mattress and 2-3 bags of trash into the dumpster at Ms. Blalock’s house. When Ms. Blalock discovered this, she sent me furious, abusive texts/emails about it. I went to Ms. Blalocks home, removed the trash and brought it to the town dump. End of story.
I have an excellent working relationship with all of my subcontractors. The only subcontractor removed from my contract was the flooring subcontractor found and hired by Ms. Blalock. She hired him prior to meeting with me and insisted that I include him in my contract. Not knowing him or the quality of his work, I put a waiver regarding his work in my contract. More recently, we mutually agreed that I remove the floor subcontractor from the contract so she can pay him directly. This changed the proportion of payments past due to me, so this allowed the project to get back on schedule as I financially couldn’t continue putting myself at risk by allowing her to withhold payments. This change in contract significantly decreased what was past due to AGRR by Ms. Blalock.
Although Ms. Blalock is very familiar with legalese and has no fear of the legal process, due to her self proclaimed history of litigation, I simply cannot tolerate an attempt to be intimidated by a homeowner who is trying to smear my professional reputation in an attempt to profit from an insurance claim on her home. I have been verbally abused by Ms. Blalock since the onset of this job, receiving a constant barrage of accusations and dissatisfaction, everything from letting her dog out on a weekend night when I wasn’t at her home to giving her kids the stomach flu. Her violent mood swings and personal attacks are a form of harassment that I simply cannot accept. Now with her filing complaints with your website, she is attempting to ruin my career. I appeal to your reason to look at these complaints with an objective point of view. I know I have handled myself and all aspects of her project in a professional and timely manner, despite the obstacles we have faced. Obstacles which are everyday occurrences in the construction industry and it is how they are handled that determines the success of a project. I stand by my work and reputation and know that I have gone above and beyond, doing many personal favors for Ms. Blalock, in an attempt to satisfy her ever changing demands. XYZ and all of my subcontractors stand by me and can attest to this fact.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I truly apologize for the length of this response, however, I take this challenge to my license very seriously and I wanted to take the time to properly address all the matters brought up by Ms. Blalock. Please contact me if you have any additional questions. |
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| AG REliable has been vindicated. Following a hearing at the Office of Consumer affairs and Business REgulations on July 26, 2011, All charges and grievances against AG Reliable Remodeling have been dismissed by the commonwealth of Massachusetts. All charges were deemed false and inflammatory by Ms. Maura Blalock. At this point in time, Ms. Blalock still owes AG Reliable over $4300 for work completed on her home. |
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| Ms. Maura Blalock has a very extensive history of using the legal system for personal gain. She has never once taken responsibility for her own actions and has always used and abused others to get what she wants. She is truly the definition of a con artist and should be held accountable for every action she has ever taken against another person for they are the true victims. Poeple like Ms. Blalock should be either extradited from this country or locked up for the rest of their lives so they can no longer take advantage of government taxpayer funds or those with understanding soles that she finds as easy prey. Unfortunately our current system and administration allows these type of people to thrive. |
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