The Consumer Complaints Blog

We found this company through homestars.com and after meeting with the president Tony Hellman, decided that based on what we had seen we would use him to replace the flooring in our condo. In July 2008 we signed a contract for 1100sqft of Jatoba milled in Quebec for
approximately $7.25/sqft. A day or two before our floor was supposed to be installed Tony Hellman informed us that the wood we put a $7,350 deposit on in July (it was now the end of September) was sold to another customer, but not to worry he secured a much better product
for us. Hesitantly we agreed to this new wood.

Tony Hellman installed Continental Designs Cumaru, which according to many other flooring experts (and Tony’s installer) is a Chinese product. He purchased this wood from his “supplier” Brampton Hardwood, for less than half of what he charged us and has confirmed that he provided us with 25 boxes (there are 32.7sqft per box – you do the math – we paid for 1,100 sqft of wood). We have recently had our condo remeasured and confirmed that with waste there should have been about 864sqft (so slightly more that what Tony delivered but we have
also decided to add hardwood to our powder room).

Neither Tony Hellman nor his supplier, Brampton Hardwood will provide information on the milling location of this wood. The wood is milky and has cracked in over 25% of the areas. Recently Tony arranged for an “independent flooring inspector” to inspect the wood. Rick the inspector from St. Lawrence did humidity tests and found our humidity to be perfect. He informed my husband during the visit that the floor should not be cracking and that the finish should not be milky as it is. We have never received a formal copy of the inspection but Joe Reis from Brampton Hardwood informed me over the phone that the inspection reported nothing out of the ordinary.

We have started a blog to document our troubles with HDB Interiors and Brampton Hardwood and the issues of using homestars.com to find a reliable contractor.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

I have been dealing with a humming noise in my building, a Toronto community housing downtown unit, since mid of Aug 2009.

The noise was always heard during midnight and early morning. As a result, I woke up and could not sleep. I suffered most during the weekend, as it was the time when the noises were heard much louder and more frequently.

At the beginning as I could not identify where the noise came from, I called emergency line twice on two different weekends, the emergency operator confirmed that someone would come to my building to look at the problem within 6-7 hours. The truth of the matter is that no one showed up in either night and the noises were still there.

The second step was that I was calling the building superintendent, who acted quicker than others, after I contacted him second time. He showed up at my apartment and identified that the noise came from the elevators. He contacted the elevator company right way and the work they did if they really did as super said made the situation worse.  Whenever the elevators were being used, they produced big noises.

I tried different ways to cope with it, starting from using earplugs to putting pillows on my head and I even turned my living room into my bedroom. During the day times especially on weekends, the noises distracted me so much that I could not concentrate so I was forced to go to the public places to read; it also gave me headaches, heartaches, and to some point drove me crazy. I even slept at my friend’s place one night to get a sound sleep in order to prevent my breakdown. I am EXHAUSTED and literally have not slept well for months. And of course everyone went through this would break down, and I got sick. What a pity! I even could not go to work and ended up in the coffee shop to take a nap while the building was repairing the balcony.

They are just unfortunate facts; it just upsets me more when I tried to contact the office to have an appointment to see how they would resolve this matter. After unsuccessful attempts of calls and emails to supervisor and the operating manager, I have showed up at the office three times, which is located at 15 Scadding Ave, to ask them to take care of this unbearable noise issue. All the methods seemed in vain.

When you are a consumer in a retail setting, the activities are being monitored and reviewed on a continuous basis (i.e. consumer ministry/consumer protection laws). How much right do I have as a tenant of Toronto community housing towards this particular landlord which runs under the system of total monopoly? I don’t know who can really monitor them.

As a model tenant who always pays the rent on time, I deserve to ask for a quiet place to sleep. Can I stop paying rent if this issue not is being resolved? Or I just should look for some other places no matter how much more rent I need to pay? Where can I go for some fairness?

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

We purchased a household item and had to buy it on the Store Credit card to get the deal. We made 33 of 36 monthly payments on time the 34 payment was mailed as usual but did not reach the credit company or they did not post it. We had just received the next months bill and realized the payment did not come off. Less than 24 hrs later the credit company was already phoning They phoned twice the next day and they were harassing me about the payment for the next month which isn’t even due.

It’s offensive when the credit companies don’t even check to see if you’re a good standing customer before they pick up the phone. Wells Fargo didn’t even give us time to correct the error. We even tried to contact them but we couldn’t contact by phone. They can call us several times a day but we couldn’t even find out if they had received the payment after the next bill was sent out.

I will not purchase anything on a credit card again if Wells Fargo is the financial company. I will from now on make sure none of my other financial dealings are through their company or affiliates. This really ticked me off.

Saturday Aug 1 after a 12 midnight shift. I receive a phone call again. You have to bare in mind the next payment is still not even due. That’s 5 phone calls in 6 days on a $107. payment, that went missing in the mail and we have told them we sent out another payment for both months on Friday July 24. I’ve been working every day and have not had a chance to find out if the original payment has been cashed at the bank. The error could still be on their end.

Note: This is Wells Fargo Financial Retail Services Company Canada and is associated with Wells Fargo & Company of the U.S. People, check your credit cards, Investments and Banking Affiliates and move your credit and investments out to another company. This is an absolutely ridiculous policy on the part of this Credit Card company. I intend to make sure everybody knows about this Company.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

They do not have experienced estimators or skilled trades people as their website claims.

An estimator came and gave a quote after declining to fully view the basement area where there was an existing tub. She was told that the house was being renovated for sale in the near future and was asked if the “lifetime” warranty would be transferable. She indicated that it would be. She was also asked if the installer would be a certified plumber to which she responded, yes.

The day before the install, a call was made again to ensure that they knew the tub was in a finished basement with the appointment clerk insisting that they installed in finished basements before without a problem. I still asked to speak to the installer. The installer called, was told the bathtub was in a finished basement and he still assured us that there would be no problem.

The installer arrived the next morning, cut out the old surround bathtub and realized that the basement floor was completely finished in concrete. He had a fit, cursed the inexperienced estimators, and left to rent a jack hammer even though he never bothered to view the work area before starting. He ranted about not taking the job if he knew the floor was finished and that it would now be a two day job

He jack hammered a hole, 20”wide x 16”long x 7”deep, right down to the dirt. While doing this, he said that the hole could be filled if I wanted but he was not going to do it. He suggested using “foam crete”. He attached the drain, installed the bathtub, cleaned up the debris, and left a survey questionnaire.

I called the estimator immediately about the hole and the warranty not being transferable. She denied saying that the warranty would be transferable and that the hole was an unforeseen situation. Like the installer (who had the opportunity to view the work site prior to starting) said, if she had taken the time to look she should have known that there would be jack hammering required. She said there was nothing she could do but have the owner call.

I never found foam crete and wanted to speak to the owner immediately. The owner phoned the next day and left a message saying that everything would be resolved. I returned his call and left a message that I had spoken to two journeymen plumbers who both indicated that there was no reason that my floor could not be filled as there was no such plumbing or building code and that I wanted my floor restored to the way it was found.

I forwarded the email I had sent to his estimator about my concerns to which the owner responded by agreeing to offer the warranty to the next buyer and that the hole would be repaired with no mention of additional cost. I told him that jack hammering was not the problem (I had paid them extra for this) but that the hole left was the problem. He told me that his installer felt the hole did not need to be filled to which I responded that it would not be acceptable as my floor was completely finished and I expected it to be left in that condition. He wanted to research this and was going to call several sources including NAIT and the Canadian Builders Association.

After waiting one week he had no answers but said he would like to call the City of Edmonton Building codes branch. He emailed later that day indicating that he was told that there was no code and that it was a civil matter. He offered to fill a small part of the floor but would require $375 to fill the complete floor and that Bath Solutions would no longer warranty the drain.

NO WARRANTY because his installer decided to leave a huge hole. I responded that I no longer wished to have amateurs in my house and having him second guess what I told him was the building and plumbing code. I told him that if he paid me $375 I would have someone else fill the hole. He responded by saying that I was wasting his time and that he would not talk to me any more but would only monitor my emails, to call a lawyer and take him to court.

HOW”S THAT FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND A LIFETIME WARRANTY!

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.

We gave our 60 days notice to our landlord (our 1 year lease having expired. Since then he has provided a constant source of harassment. Here’s what an ad for the apartment SHOULD look like:

$850.00 plus hydro.

Features include:
• T24 hour 501 streetcar TC stops right outside the front door with as much noise at possible so you always know it’s there – morning noon and night.
• Scarboro Beach and the boardwalk just steps away provides you with endless hours of entertainment along with free-spirited drunken teenagers and trashy domestic quarrels screaming things across the street at all hours on the weekends)
• No nosy landlords – these ones are in Thornhill and like to pretend you don’t exist. PLUS – they’ll take off to Florida for the entire winter without a forwarding address or phone number should anything go wrong.
• Walls painted poorly in bizarre colors with cheap paint that you can see through (don’t worry – they won’t repaint for you when you move in). These are studded with a colorful and varied history of tenants past. A fun game for children could be “guess what hung here in what year that still hasn’t been patched, sanded and painted over”
• You’ll save on hydro in the summer since there is no air conditioning and also in winter since the ineffective baseboard heating with the burning smell is more costly than you could ever imagine.
• “New” carpeting in the hallways (installed in 1985)
• “Fresh” painting in the hallways (done just before the carpets)
• Front door that often doesn’t close so you don’t always need your keys
• Door frames so rickety a good push will get you in – locked or unlocked.
• Intercom system that makes it impossible to tell if anyone is actually at the front door or if it’s just wind – who knows who you may be letting in?
• Plenty of storage provided you don’t own many clothes or anything else that needs to be put away.
• Sporadic (if any) snow removal makes navigating the icy sidewalks and stairs a winter treat. Your pets will love the nuggets of sharp, cutting salt that is set down once a month.
• Fascinating varied types of mold behind the crumbling bathroom tiles – with entire colonies of insects appearing in the bathtub every morning. Like Bits and Bites – you never know what you’ll get!
• Classy rust stains seeping from water damage on the bathroom ceiling (held up by masking tape in places)
• Vintage wiring featuring a breaker panel that flips off at will a couple times a week plunging you in the delight of darkness
• A great view of a dark and dirty red brick wall and your neighbors looking directly into all 4 rooms just a few feet outside your window – it’s so easy to make friends
• Bare wires hanging from the ceiling where there should be a lighting fixture – just like Berlin in 1945!
• Electrical outlets that may or may not work (it’s always a gamble – what fun!)
• Indoor/outdoor stone gray cleaning-resistant carpeting spotted with stains, cigarette burns, iron burns, and fraying sections near the doorways.
• Cracked, broken ceramic tiles in the hall lend a seedy, decadent air
• Cheap stuck-on vinyl tiling in the kitchen for that faux-diner look with original vintage rust-colored linoleum flooring still viewable between the badly set cracks and blackened glue
• Economical use of garbage disposal at the back of building – keeping the available bins to a minimum encourages lively nightly visitors and a thriving insect culture attracted by the fragrant, bountiful contents of the bins spilling everywhere.
• Lingering mold smell from sewage back up last year that flooded the lower floor.
• Plentiful rust stains in tub and sinks from the wonderfully antique plumbing

You will need last month’s rent as a deposit as well as 12 postdated cheques. For more fun, the Landlord will gladly call you at work to harass you and threaten to sue you and garnishee your wages for not giving him the cheques that your bank account are showing as clearly already cashed – and don’t think he’s going to repay you the interest on the deposit cheque either – he’ll insist that law doesn’t exist.

Viewings available weekends or evenings by appointment, though really who are we kidding? Anytime is fine! The landlord feels free to send anyone into the apartment he chooses at any hour whether the current tenants are home or not and with or without their permission.

As he will tell you – most residents are very pleased with the premises and have been here for years so it is rare that a unit comes available (never mind the tacky plastic For Rent sign stuck to the front door at the end of nearly every month, that’s just there for ambiance). He’ll also tell you he doesn’t rent to people with pets and if you tell him you have one he’ll claim you never mentioned it later. Of course it’s also illegal to refuse renting to someone if they have a dog or cat, but don’t worry – when you move in it will become very clear that he was only fooling and nearly every unit has a dog or cat.

The Landlord has been sued several times by past tenants already with several documented breaches on record. Here goes one more.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.