Complaint Review: Moosehill Development Corp. - Norfolk Massachusetts

If you've been damaged by Stephen L. Benoit, or one of his many transient companies such as Moose Hill Development, please sign the following petition to revoke his Construction Supervisor's License:

https://www.change.org/p/massachusetts-department-of-public-safety-revoke-stephen-l-benoit-s-construction-supervisor-s-license-csl?recruiter=578804618&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

Stephen L. Benoit has been conducting unfair and deceptive business practices for the past 20 years.  As of the last two years his business practices have resulted in the following court cases being opened against him (Date - Case Number):

2014/12/12 - 1482CV01672

2015/01/09 - 1582CV00043

2015/11/06 - 1582CV01455

2015/11/17 - 1582CV01487

2016/01/04 - 1682CV00001

2016/07/21 - 1682CV00935

These can be found by going to https://www.masscourts.org/ and entering:

Court Department: The Superior Court

Court Division: Norfolk County

Last Name: Benoit

First Name: Stephen

Then click “Search”.

His latest incorporated entity, “Moose Hill Developments” is also involved, as is his son Dan Benoit.

In short, Stephen L. Benoit is an unfair and deceptive business person leaving unsuspecting families damaged, and sometimes stranded with incomplete building projects.  His Construction Supervisor's License (CSL) must be revoked and he must not be allowed to continue to hurt families.  Each one of the above cases represents unmeasurable damage to a family caught in the middle with unfinished work, or liens placed on them by unpaid vendors or subcontractor's of Stephen L. Benoit.

The following petition is for revoking the Construction Supervisor's License of Stephen L. Benoit, and Dan Benoit:

https://www.change.org/p/massachusetts-department-of-public-safety-revoke-stephen-l-benoit-s-construction-supervisor-s-license-csl?recruiter=578804618&utm_source=share_for_starters&utm_medium=copyLink

The process by which we build homes is very straightforward.  The customer establishes a construction loan with the bank.  As individual phases of construction are completed, the bank has an inspector approve those phases and funds are disbursed.  Those funds are then due to us, so that we can pay our subcontractors for the work they did to complete those phases.  If at any point certain minor details associated with a phase of construction are not yet complete, the bank inspector knows that those aren’t enough to hold back approval or disbursement and that they will be completed as other phases move along.

As different customers have different tastes, our Purchase & Sale Agreements specify budgeted allowances that the customers can spend on items such as major appliances, countertops, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, and lighting fixtures.  The customer can spend however much they want to on their own choices, and we reimburse up to the amounts of the allowances.

Extras above and beyond what is detailed in the original contract or for items not covered by the allowances are typically billed towards the end of construction.  If an extra is completed by a subcontractor, of course we have to charge our customer more than the subcontractor charges us.  This is to cover the costs associated with coordinating the work and paying for it up front.

Admittedly we did make one mistake with this customer.  We let their enthusiasm for building their dream home infect us.  As a result, when faced with very spontaneous decisions in the field, we sometimes failed to put quotes for extras in writing, and instead just gave verbal quotes the day of, so that work could continue as promptly as possible.  Trust us, we have learned our lesson on this, and now require all extras to be signed off by the customer before any work on those extras is begun.

As work for this customer was in progress, we agreed to slow the pace of construction as their current home had not yet sold, and they weren’t going to be ready to take occupancy by the original completion goal date.  Also as work progressed, we prepared a preliminary extras invoice mid-construction, as they had opted for so many extras.  We wound up giving them significant discounts on these extras, as until that time they had been great customers.  The customer wound up taking occupancy of the house two months and one week after the original goal date.

As work for this customer neared completion, we issued the invoice for their remaining extras.  At this time they indicated they were unhappy with the total and suggested a meeting to review the charges.  We were perfectly agreeable with this, and most likely would have been amenable to adjusting some of the charges as we had before.  But we then ran into the problem that the customer kept refusing to commit to a meeting date and time.  After repeated attempts via both phone and email to confirm a meeting time and date with no response, our owner tried stopping by their house to see if he could catch them.  (He was already in the area, as he was working on another house just a few lots down the street.)  At that time the situation devolved into an altercation as the customer told him they would not be speaking to him directly any further, that they would send something to us in writing, that we were “fired”, and to get off their property and not come back or they would call the police on us for trespassing.

The next business day we received a package in the mail.  This package contained a detailed list of all items the customer felt were incomplete or necessitated a reduction, along with a check for what they felt they owed.  When we noticed the postmark date and realized the package had actually already been mailed when our owner visited the customer, it became clear to us that the customer never had any intention of meeting to discuss the invoice.  Though we did not become aware of it until months later, that same day they posted this review of us online, without giving us any chance to address any of their concerns.

It is worth noting that prior to the date of the altercation, we had previously corresponded with the customer regarding a “punchlist” of assorted minor items that needed completion or correction.  That punchlist was originally for over 30 items, and by the time of them cutting off communication, we had reduced it to about 10.  Of those remaining items, many were items that we had informed the customer couldn’t be completed until the weather warmed up enough (for glue to set, seeds to be able to sprout, etc.)  We of course would have completed all of the items were it not for the customer refusing to allow us to do so.

After a few more attempts to try to have a meeting to discuss matters, we eventually decided to cut our losses and not pursue matters with this problematic customer any further.

I wish I have read this Ripoff report before deciding to get into contract with them.

 I have similar issues and perhaps 10 time more. I am having sleepless nights and may health problems now due to stress I am facing dealing with MooseHill Development Corporation.

I wish I have read this Ripoff report before deciding to get into contract with them.

Dissatisfied with how things turned out.  The completion of our new construction was delayed by about 4 months and we were repeatedly shocked by inflated invoices ($45k in total).  Towards the end, the relationship between us was so bad that we ended up firing him and completing the project on our own.   We encountered a lot of issues along the way, on top of the lists were:    -Poor communication. The builder never responded to his emails unless he wanted money from you.  -Demanded to get paid before each phase was complete. You would always hear from him the day that the bank disbursed the funds. -Never provided quotes before extra work was done, then made up inflated numbers later.  He ignored our requests to put the estimates in writing.  His own 'contractor's agreement' stated that all extras must be put in writing. -Ignored our requests (15+ times) to get the amounts for the basic allowances so that we can shop for the fixtures accordingly. Also, his final invoice did not give us the full credit for the basic allowances.  -Added a 20% surcharge to all extra work, but he can not show you the original invoices that he's adding the 20% to and did not tell his clients of this surcharge. -Did not finish the job.  There were about a dozen items on the punch list - with an estimated cost of $10k to complete. -Did not clean up the job site. -Big bully attitude.  In any disagreements, he would just raise his voice, talk over you and not listen. He was knocking on my front door 3 days after his office provided me with the final bill and demanded to get paid in full.  By then, I have already sent him the settlement check to his office via certified mail with detailed documents to support my position.  He wasn't happy, raised his voice, insisted that his numbers were correct and hasn't lost a lawsuit yet.   I hope this post helps other (potential) buyers in their decision to work with Moosehill Development Corp.