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Call Kurtis: Fix My Concrete

The backyard used to be Jan Cumming's pride and joy. But, now she only sees a big concrete eyesore around the pool.

"They chipped it [and] didn't finish [the] seams," Jan said.

Jan said she has been trying to get Quality First of Citrus Heights to fix these issues for – get this – two years.

"I just want them to fix what they screwed up," she said.

Jan said they also didn't match the color to the existing concrete.

"It's like black and white," she said.

But according to her contract, it was supposed to "match the existing finish" of the original concrete. Quality First wrote it down three times.

"[It's] clearly not a match," Jan said.

She showed us how the new concrete was set higher, causing water to puddle up near the house.

"This should not be here," Jan said walking around in a puddle of water. "All of it should be draining fast."

Jan said Quality First told her they would fix the problems. But, she said they never did - even though she had already paid them the full contract price of $1227.

Rick Lopes, with the Contractors State License Board, said if you're not happy with a job, you have every right to withhold that final payment.

"Your money is your best leverage," Lopes said.

Still, he said Quality First should do what was promised in the contract.

"The best situation for this consumer is that they get the job taken care of to what she expects."

We reached out to Quality First, and that day Jan said they showed up and started working to fix the puddle issue, the seams and the chipping.

But, they did not fix the color difference.

Quality first told us the contract promised to match the "finish of the surface" - not color. They said it "…would not be a perfect match because of years of discoloration."

The company says it has only received "…calls…" about "…concerns…" within the "…last six months…", not two years – something Jan denies.

Now, Jan is going to look for someone else to fix the color issue.

"The way it should have been done, correctly." She said.

Jan told CBS13 she still isn't happy with the fixes Quality First made.

It seems there wasn't a meeting of the minds with this particular contract. Each party thought something different when it came to the line in the contract about matching the existing finish of the concrete.

A reminder that you don't want to sign a contract until it is clear exactly what work will be performed.

So, what else can you do to protect yourself if you're having problems with a contractor's work?

CSLB said you can always file a complaint with them, but also keep a paper trail and write down how many times you've contacted a company, had appointments, what was discussed and send it to the contractor via certified mail. It will help with any investigation or if you want to take the issue to small claims court.

Quality First sent CBS13 the following statement regarding the Cummings' concrete concerns:

 To whom it may concern,

On June 10th of 2012 Quality First contracted to remove and replace a small portion (approx 120 square feet) of concrete that was severely cracked around an existing pool deck for Mrs. Janet Cummings. In addition to the replacement we were to repair a few broken edges outside of the proposed area and make the new concrete finish match existing finish of surface. The color would not be a perfect match because years of discoloration of existing concrete. Mrs. Cummings informed us that she was having the entire pool area re color coated after the replacement was completed.

Mrs. Cummings called in to our service department on June 6, 2014 to have the project looked at because she had some water pooling up by the door. I personally went out to her home and looked at the area and promptly assured her that we would have our concrete crew make some adjustments. This was to be  done after she came back from her vacation. We scheduled a follow-up meeting for July 21st. Unfortunately the meeting was not entered into our calendar correctly and we missed the appointment. Before Mrs. Cummings even called to remind us of the inadvertent oversight on our part, we were contacted by Channel 13 news. We immediately re-scheduled her appointment and resolved her issue the same day, something we would have done whether or not Channel 13 had become involved.

Quality First is committed to satisfy each and every one of our existing 18,000 customers in every way possible. We are grateful to have made Mrs. Cummings satisfied with her concrete we installed for her.

 

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