Complaint Review: Dan Bennett - Concreate Designs

Dan Bennett is the owner of Concreate Designs LLC. Now that Concreate Designs has "disappeared," I am listing his name in particular because I don't want him to be able to simply open a company under a different name and continue to rip people off.

I ordered a stamped concrete patio, which was quite expensive at nearly $4,500. Dan sent workers over to perform the excavation on time (second payment installment), then the workers disappeared for nearly six weeks. I asked specifically to be notified when workers would be doing the work.

On the day the patio was poured, I was not home. The workers simply showed up and poured the patio (on top of 2 inches of standing water, I might add). When I came home, the workers were removing the equipment and asked for final payment. The patio had not been poured to the correct design specifications (the workers had a xerox copy of the order with specific instructions covered by a post-it, and they never even looked under the post-it!)

Not only that, but the patio had been poured so that it was actually HIGHER than the back door of the house, and water began to leak in around the walls and door and cause damage. (Did I say "leak?" You don't want to be around when it's raining cats and dogs.) How could a real professional who knows what he's doing pour a patio that is HIGHER than the basement floor of the house? Not only that, to get the patio to fit close to the house, the workers BENT UP THE SIDING and poured the concrete underneath. The cable for cable TV was entering the house in the back, and they actually poured the concrete so that the cable is embedded in the concrete!

The owner, Dan Bennett, assured me that he would take care of everything. He apologized profusely and admitted that the job was shabby at best. He said that he would rip out the patio and have it re-poured correctly and repair damage done to the house during the initial work; however, he'd need payment for the patio to cover his labor and materials or he'd be "too far in the hole" to be able to afford to give me a replacement. I am a bit too trusting and actually gave him the final payment for my "patio" to help him meet his demands.

Of course, he never returned. The patio is causing water damage to the house. I'm going to have to pay to have the patio removed and replaced by a patio poured by a professional. I'm going to have to have siding replaced. I'm going to have to replace drywall inside the house that has mold growing on it.

Thanks, Dan Bennett. I hope that anyone reading this won't be fooled by you again!

Laura
Lorton, Virginia
U.S.A.