Had to add pics. This is right around 4 years after work completed. ctober 2011. Bbb report files remains unresolved. bought my house knowing I'd need a new driveway I share it with a neighbour so had to wait until she was ready, her husband had just died so she left the details to me. I shopped around and decided to go with Nissena simply because the Rep was an acquaintance with friends of mine, his price was reasonable and Nissena does contract work for the city so I thought I was safe...WRONG!!! I wont go into all the details, you can find them if you search Better Business Bureau Nissena. Actually if you Google Nissena you'll find another person had the same issues but chose not to take it further.
So my situation: The Project Manager was Sebastian at first a really nice older gentleman then I signed the contract and he became a real brute I wont go into that as I'm going to take them to Small Claims and I'm not sure what I can write here. Needless to say when the work was finished I had the entire driveway running into two locations in my yard. This was a surprise to me and only discovered this when my neighbour and I ran a hose after the work was completed. I should add that they too had used his hose and it was tar sticky. Sebastian my neighbour and I ended up in a heated argument about this surprise, eventually I ended up talking with Diego (Owner) who agreed to give 200 off the cost pending my satisfaction...In other words if the driveway drained without flooding my yard I'd give the 200 back. Frankly I think he gave me the 200 because he understood my issue with dealing with Sebastian.
Fast forward to April 2012 The drainage is not so bad my yard has two wet spots which I was willing to deal with. It's the PLANTS or WEEDS growing in the driveway as well as ONE SPOT IN THE MIDDLE WHERE THE ASPHALT IS SO THIN IT'S CRACKING AND THE STONES ARE SURFACING...Still under warranty so I call Sebastian he comes by when I'm not home but leaves a buseness card saying they will fix....Nothing,...I call...dead air...my neighbour calls...dead air....my neighbour calls again and again as do I finally he reaches Diego who says well basically "Too Bad"...I enlist the help of the Better Business Borough and to my surprise when Nissena finally responded they claimed that because the "total amount was reduced by 200.00 that there would be no more complaints regarding warranty issues" WHAT.....! NO WAY Spending over 5000 not happy with the job as I knew it then and I would take 200 bucks to offset the warranty....Seriously, not to mention that Sebastian signed the warranty for one year on the day he got paid and still they didn't honour it. Looks like I'm going to have to navigate my way thru Small Claims Court which is quite a task. Nissena is likely hoping I wont go thru the trouble as I have everything needed to win.
All they needed to do was show a little respect honour the warranty and fix the issue of cracks and weeds growing in several locations.
BE VERY WEARY OF HIRING DIEGO OF NISSENA
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Hi lorrie I'm not sure if you live at the same address. We have never met personally I am Diego Ilardo the owner of Nissena paving. my recolection of this project is as follows
- you or your neighbor were anxious to pave your mutual gravel and weed infested driveway
- Sebastian explained that we couldn't guarantee positive water drainage to the street .
- I went out with Sebastian and my transit to shoot some grades (check the levels)
- I refused to pave the driveway because it was as flat as a board and would hold water, this is probably why it had never been paved before (a gravel driveway will absorb the water into the ground and not puddle.)
-the following summer you or your neighbor pleaded again with Sebastian to pave the driveway and agreed there would be no expectations of a perfect job.
- my men excavated the driveway and graded best they could under the circumstances, then they paved the driveway and to my surprise the job was very good but not perfect because it was so flat
- you expressed some concern regarding the few puddles that remained after a rainfall
- Sebastian explained that this was inevitable
- you got frustrated with Sebastian so you called me
-I asked you what would make you happy
-you asked for$200.00 to which I said fine.
Lorrie looking back I should have stuck to my guns and refused to pave your driveway, I always explain to my customers the possible problems that can occur on their individual projects and have lost several jobs because of my honesty. I am sorry that this is still bothering you enough to post pictures after four years. Your pictures do show exactly what I've been describing on your driveway your cracks are right down the middle where we tried to create a channel for the water to escape.
Lorrie you're all over the internet slandering Nissena paving. I thought we all understood that this was the best possible outcome on your driveway Nissena paving did everything in our power to not mislead you, so once again I am sorry you are not happy. I am glad that your neighbor was pleased with the outcome of the project though.