Thao in Mississauga

We signed a contract with Allan in October 2015 for work to be done in our back yard as follows: fill in the in-ground pool, excavate and level the existing yard, remove the existing fence and build a new taller fence, supply and install sod for the entire yard, expand the parking space by filling part of the lawn with limestone, and over-seed and add topsoil to the strip of land on the north side of the property. The reason for the excavation was because our yard on the east side was infested with thistles, hence we hired Allan to excavate several inches off the top, level then lay sod on top. The cost of this total project was $25,199. Allan and his crew started the work immediately and by the end of November 2015 the pool was filled in, the fence was built and the yard was excavated but not fully leveled, the extra parking space was created. At that time Allan recommended to us to wait until next year to complete the leveling of our yard and sodding so that all the dirt and concrete that was used to fill the pool could settle. We had paid Allan all the fees less $2,000 (to be paid upon full completion). At this time considering that Allan was very efficient with the work that had been completed, we fully trusted him fully to complete the contract by spring/summer of 2016. Unfortunately THIS WAS A BIG MISTAKE, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TRUSTED ALLAN AND SHOULD HAVE HELD BACK A LARGER BALANCE!!! Below is a summary of events since April 2016 up to date: 2016 • April: We contacted Allan to make plans for project completion. Allan indicated some of his equipment was broken so give him a few weeks to get things in order. • May-July: We continued to call Allan every few weeks and got the same excuse about broken equipment. In the meantime, since our yard was just filled with soil and weather got warmer, weeds and thistles started to grow. We had to hire someone to keep digging and pulling these nasty weeds. On several occasions we have had the yard fully free of weeds and ready for sodding and informed Allan that he needs come to complete the work but we got the same broken equipment and not enough worker excuses. Also as the weather began to warm up, several pieces of wood in the new fence started to bend. One of the doors to open the fence started to drop and drag on the ground. It was clear that Allan’s crew did not reinforce the fence and door properly. We told Allan about this and he reassured us that he would fix everything once he is able to come out to complete the work. • July 15: Allan’s office informed us that they plan to come out next week. We would be informed of the exact date once they know. At this point our yard was again infested with weeds as it’s impossible to keep a dirt filled yard clean. We immediately have someone worked on removing the weeds but considering the size of our yard, this would be a 2 weeks project. • July 20: We got an email that Allan’s crew was on their way. Unfortunately the weed removal was not completed so the sodding cannot be done. We asked Allan to reschedule and give us at least 2 weeks’s notice before coming out. • August-October: We continued to spend hundreds of dollars trying to keep our yard clean. Every time it was ready we would let Allan know and asked him to come out but it was always the same excuses of broken equipment and not enough workers. Finally we got a letter from Allan’s company indicating that he cannot complete the work and would have to wait until 2017. Spring-Fall 2017 • More excuses, more promises but Allan never came. Spring-Fall 2018 • Our last contact with Allan was in May 19th. We sent him an email asking if he plans to ever honor his contract. His response was “Yes...still down one machine but yes as soon as I can.” WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ALLAN SINCE AND IT’S NOW DECEMBER!!! It is clear that Allan has no intention of completing the work that he has been paid almost fully. We got quotes for the work that Allan was supposed to complete and 3 different contractors told us at least $5000. Allan told us that this was overpriced but he refused to come out and do his job and it's impossible for us to get someone else to complete the work for the remaining $2000 that we have kept behind. We considered taking legal actions but being healthcare professionals, we felt our time is better spent helping patients. We typically do not write reviews but felt it was important to share our experience so others who are considering using this company can make an informed decision. We originally chose Allan's company based on the "good reviews" but should have paid more attention to the "bad" ones. To support our account of the aforementioned events, we have uploaded the letter from Allan's company sent to us in October 2016 promising to complete the remaining work in 2017. If you do decide to hire Allan, we highly recommend you do not pay him until the work is 100% done. Also, make sure to thoroughly check his work before you pay. Based on our experience, WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY!!! WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY!