Basement Technologies ripoff: left my family without running water or access to sewer line for a three days Brockton Massachusetts

In late October, after 9 days of rain, my basement flooded. After hearing the radio ads for Basement Technologies on a number of radio stations, I felt they were the company that could help my situation from happening again by installing a sump pump system in my home.

On November 2, 2005 I was given a quote from them for a sump system: $1250.00. I gave them a $400.00 deposit and they scheduled the installation for November 29, 2005.

That day came and a crew arrived at my home at about 2:30 in the afternoon. The first thing they did was back their truck across my lawn, without my permission, to unload their equipment.

While the plan called for the pump to be installed in my basement with a drainpipe to go through my outside wall to a dry well under my deck, they ran the pipe along side my deck and installed the dry well at the bottom of my deck stairs. On the vertical drop of the pipe they installed it in such a way that in completely block the vent from my clothes dryer, which was totally visible to them as they did the install.

The crew left at 5:00 PM and I gave them a check for $850.00. At 5:15 PM my wife started a laundry. During the washing machine drain cycle the sewer backed up into my downstairs bathroom. Feeling that this was too coincidental with the installation and knowing approximately where my sewer pipe was, I put a "stop payment" on the check and immediately called Basement Technologies' emergency number. Two hours later the original sales person called me back to say he'd be over to inspect the situation.

At about 9:00 o'clock that night we discovered that the installation crew had broken my main sewer line during the installation of the pump. The salesman made a few phone calls to "Headquarters" and I was told to get it fixed and save the receipts and Basement Technologies would reimburse me.

When I asked why they couldn't do the work the response I got was "We're not plumbers. All we do is waterproof basements." For the next three days I scrambled to find someone who could actually determine where the break was, unclog the drain to prepare it for repair and, finally, repair the broken sewer pipe. I did all of this to a cost of $1,139.00.

Two days later I was dunned for the $850.00 check that I stopped. I said, "When I get my $1139.00, you'll get your $850.00" They didn't ask, but I sent them an invoice itemizing the $1139.00 and providing receipts as back up. The following week another crew showed up at my door to fix the bad installation and this crew told me that they spend all of their time repairing what the other crews mess up. While this crew did a better job and did fix the install problems I felt it was way too little way too late.

That is the last I've heard from Basement Technologies until January 18, 2006 when I recieved a check for $111.00. That's right, one hundred and eleven dollars!

No explanation, no conciliatary phone call - nothing. My advice: If you have a basement problem call anyone else but Basement Technologies.

Ray
Nashua, New Hampshire
U.S.A.