Northland is dishonest, corrupt and greedy!
This was the worst experience we've ever had with any company we've worked with. They are dishonest, corrupt, and greedy. Don't be sold by Georgio's charm; selling is what he's good at. He lays it on thick like timeshare pitch and I unfortunately drank the Kool-Aid. I was willing to pay their premium pricing for quality work. Big mistake! Work with an ethical company, that will put customers first. I am shocked that their friendly voices and faces can turn so quickly and cruelly on a customer. Our story.... We contacted Northland to get hardscaping done to the front and back of our home. We met with Georgio who provided a design as part of the free estimate FREE ESTIMATE we received in late summer 2022. We spoke a few times afterwards regarding the design and materials but I could not decide which pavers I wanted for the job as I did not like the options available at the time. By mid-fall Georgio suggested that we postpone the job to the following spring season to ensure we have the appropriate weather for the installation and because there would be new options available for pavers the following season. We were asked to give over $5000 as a deposit to hold our spot for the spring. We did not want to do this but received a lot of pressure from them. We went through all of our paperwork which did not indicate anywhere their cancellation fee or whether they would hold back the deposit/charge an admin fee. So to be sure we called and spoke to the office and they confirmed it was refundable if we didn't proceed. Feeling better about that we provided the deposit. That winter a personal opportunity came up where we had to relocate. We spoke with Giorgio to let him know that we were cancelling because we were selling our house. We asked again about the refund and he confirmed YES and wished us well. After chasing the Northland office for over EIGHT WEEKS by phone and email we finally got an email response from their office manager Gillian. She informed us that they decided to hold back over $1100 as an administrative fee as a good-faith gesture! We obviously disputed this but Northland threatened to charge us $14000 if we don't want to accept paying the admin fee because their lawyers told them they have the right to do so. We went to the CPA who opened a case and the CPA tried to mediate however Northland would not mediate or cooperate. The CPA said there was nothing else they could do because Northland is not cooperating and since their contracts (intentionally) do not disclose their cancellation policy in writing it's basically up to Northland what they do with your deposit. Note, Northland also tried to say that they ordered my materials for the job so they were recouping their costs there. That was completely dishonest because I never selected the materials I wanted except for the armour stones but they did not have to order that because Georgio told me that they stocked $2M in armour stones on their lot. I also offered to pay the actual costs they incurred for permits and locates but they just wanted to keep more money than necessary. So I learned an $1100 life lesson; never give a deposit unless it states in writing that it's refundable.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,100.00
- Company Response
Recollections may vary is the correct term to use with this client. We are happy to relate our side of this situation. We have kept all our documentation pertaining to this client who we know by another name on her contract with us, should she or anyone else wish to review the file.
“Fiona or Silvercola” signed a contract with us and gave us a deposit June 13, 2022, not mid fall as she reports.
Our staff began the administration process necessary to complete this contract. As Northland Paving had a legally signed contract, we were obligated to begin processing the necessary works on our part to finish the job. Where is the security in a legal contract if either party can walk away at any point after work has begun? Why would anyone bother with a contract if it is meaningless? Complete working drawings were prepared for the excavation, asphalt and interlocking crews and all necessary work order files were prepared for each crew. Permits were applied and paid for, Locates were applied for. A significant amount of Guillotine Cut Armour Stone was placed on hold and subsequently not sold in a post-covid era of significant construction material shortages and backorders. Numerous meetings were held with this client to go over interlocking stone colour choice and to facilitate the delivery of many stone samples to assist her decision making. The scheduling department made several unsuccessful attempts to schedule this project.Our project manager stated that he never said Natasha could cancel the contract at any time. He noted that she had amended the contract herself to mention “paver style and colour TBD” and made no extra notation of a promise of cancellation if she changed her mind. If this had been a condition of her signing a contract, I would think she would have added it when she added the other notation.
8 months into the contract “Fiona or Silvercola” changed her mind and wanted to cancel her contract and expected a full refund of her deposit. Who should be out of pocket and pay for all the expenses incurred in our execution of her contract to date? We were diligently fulfilling our obligations under the contract. Everyone who had worked on the contract thus far did not volunteer their time, they were all being paid to work. This is how we execute all of our contracts.
We did however as a gesture of goodwill refund her deposit April 11, 2023, less an admin fee of $1,000 to cover some of the costs incurred thus far.
This was deemed unacceptable by this client Natasha as she felt Northland Paving should cover all costs incurred by the time she changed her plans and wanted to cancel her contract 8 months after initiation, so she complained to the CPA. Contrary to her “recollections”, we fully co-operated with the CPA, and we have also kept all these files. Registering a complaint to the CPA or running a smear campaign on social media against a company that was working to fulfill a contracted project on her behalf still won’t change the facts.
Northland feels we were fair in our expectation to be compensated for work completed up to the point of her cancellation request 8 months after she had signed a contract.
