Olshan Foundation Solutions review: Misrepresentation 22

This sounds so familiar. I had work done by Olshans out of MO in 2003. They have been back over 5 times in seven years. The house is in much worse condition due to the work they did to fix the problem. They were out last spring because a foundation wall was leaning out and were suppose to come back and re -pier the whole house again. I haven't heard from them yet. I don't know if its due to weather conditions or they are just stalling. I have a concrete slab floor in the basement and it has just sunk and cracked up everywhere there is a pier on the outside. I think this is due to the improper filling of the holes where the piers are. You would have thought they would have known how to fill those holes to prevent them from haveing to come back after all "they are the experts" ( as their TV ad says). Everywhere there is a pier there is a crack in the foundation. I have cracks in the walls back that were repaired after their first work plus more that are much bigger that were not there before. We thought we did our homework on finding the company to do the work. We looked at the BBB (which is a joke we have learned) and talked to all their references, another mistake. I am at my wits end too. What do we do next ?

I had work done by them in New Orleans and then again in Memphis and have never had a problem. We recently moved to Jackson Ms. And called Olshan to see if they would check out the home we were planning to buy and the did. The guy came out and spent about an hour with us giving advise on what we could do to avoid any future problems. I love this company.

It was my personal experience that they were pretty much worthless and hide behind the arbitration clause in their contracts. Did $40K plus to our home and offered $1500.00 for our troubles. I found another woman they did $15K+ damage to her home. They took it to arbitration and she said she recovered $6K which didn't even cover the arbitration costs. AAA arbitration costs $1800.00 to file $350.00 hr per arbitrator plus what ever your lawyer will cost. Either Wayne here works for them or he has been very lucky indeed..

I am happy to say we were able to resolve the concenrs Mr. Hake had with his home. The foundation repair industry has quite a bit of complexity to it but I can assure you Olshan stands behind its work and our warranty. We are always interested in hearing from customers and homeowners who have questions or concerns. Please email us at olshan@olshanfoundation.com.

Poorly trained immigrant and day labor. High pressure sales reps. Lawsuits abounding. Complaints with BBB. A contract that has a clause (#10) that requires the customer to forfeit their right to sue Olshan after they botch the job. Cheap ineffective materials that have left Olshan swamped with warranty calls from chronic failures. No, Ms. Bryan, Olshan does not stand behind its work or warranty as the many complaints and lawsuits will attest. Visit "The Consumerist" for a staggering number of enraged Olshan customers. Greed is the company motto, avoid this slick dog and pony show at all costs.

Cable Lock and Olshan are the same company, they leave behind a big mess and refuse to clean it up. Company representative says the mess is normal for such a big job. You would figure after all the jobs they have done they could learn how to clean up after them selves. 99% of work done by none english speaking day laborers, no speak english. It's obvious after seeing their work the workers they hire do not take pride in their work. Would not recommend this company to anyone!

Our house was "fixed" by Olshan in 2005, and since that time the company has had to come out numerous times to "fix" things again. We were told by the company after the initial fix that our house would stop moving, but it surely did not, of course when we had them come out this time we were told by the current repairman that they would never say the house wouldn't move again. However, we WERE told that, several times. Our basement was unfinished when we bought the house and we waited 3 years and after several "fixes" to complete the project and drywall. Now the house is complete, except for we are continuing to get water in our home, where Olshan had "fixed" it once before and the company wants to tear our our drywall in several places (and our bathtub to get to the wall behind it) to add more posts and to "fix" the house further. I wish we had never gone with this company at all, we paid over $16, 000$ of money and it sure didn't guarantee us a fix; and now they want to charge another $5, 000 on top of that because they won't cover the problem at hand. Presently, we have more water issues with the house and the next appointment they could give us to come out and "look" at the house is over 30 days away, in the meantime water will be coming in, and molding behind our drywall, causing more of a problem. I am six months pregnant and trying to prepare my house for our first child; and now I have to have it tore apart once again for this company. Not to mention we have called and left messages for 2 weeks, getting the answering service each time we called during business hours, never to receive a call back; and even when speaking to the receptionist it took 3 more calls to actually schedule an appointment. If we had it to do over again, we NEVER would have gone with this company; lifetime warranty or not! Each time they come to repair something we have a different crew, no-one seems to really know what they are doing, they never finish on time and its disrupting to our lives and our house.

Our house was supposedly fixed by Olshan in 2005 and since that time the company has had to come out numerous times to fix things again. We were told by the company after the initial fix that our house would stop moving but it surely did not. Of course when we had them come out this time we were told by the current repairman that they would never say the house wouldnt move again. However, we WERE told that several times. Our basement was unfinished when we bought the house and we waited 3 years to start the drywall projects to make sure there would be no more water or shifting in the house. Olshan had to come out several times during those three years to re-fix something and in the end we were told that we could drywall and they would not have to ever come out again. Now the house is complete, except for we are continuing to get water and cracking in our home where Olshan had supposedly fixed it once before. They want to tear our our drywall in several places (and our bathtub to get to the wall behind it) to add more ts and to repair their mistakes plus they want to charge another $5, 000 on top of that because they wont cover the problem at hand. Presently we have more water issues with the house and the next appointment they could give us to come out and look at the house is over 30 days away. In the meantime water will be coming in and molding behind our drywall causing more of a problem. I am six months pregnant and trying to prepare my house for our first child; and now I have to have it torn apart once again for the TERRIBLE work this company did. Not to mention we have called and left messages for 2 weeks, getting the answering service each time we called during business hours. We never receive a call back and even when speaking to the receptionist it took 3 more calls to actually schedule an appointment. If we had it to do over again, we NEVER would have gone with this disorganized company and crew again.

I had work done by Olshan in 2009 and again in 2010. The first repair they did was to install a sump pump and drainage system under the house costing $6500. This I haven't had any problems with. (At least not that I know of. Maybe I should have someone come out here and check that.) The second repair I had done a year later, was leveling the floors of the house, because doors were not shutting and most importantly, my front door was not latching. You would lock the door knob lock and pull it shut, and you could just push it right back open. The door wasn't catching. Can't very well leave your home unlocked these days, right? So, long story short, I had them come and level my floors costing me another $3500. This was in mid February 2010. In July of 2010, I began having problems with the doors again, and most importantly, with my front door not latching again. I called and it was 30 days before they could get out here. This 30 day wait happened to me twice. I called a third time looking for an answer on why the resolution they told me WOULD DEFINITELY work, was in fact not working at all. I got no comment. They came out yet a third time and adjusted the piers under the house. Now a fourth time they came out, which was this past April, they yet again adjusted the piers and here we are in July and the front door will not latch again. Their customer service is the worst. Anytime I have called, I have been told they would pull my file and have a manager call me. Do you think them calling me back has ever happened? NO, it has not! Everytime, I have had to call them a second time to set up appointments. And let's not make any mistakes, when you call them for a quote, they are out here promplty with bells and whistles on. I have placed a call to thm this afternoon. Again was assured that a manager would be in touch with me soon. I told her, I hope so, and if so, it would be a first. She asked what I meant and I informed her that no one has ever returned my phone call when calling about a problem. It'll be interesting to see what will happen next, but I'm not holding my breathe. I do know that my next move will be to the manager, the BBB, and any other media source that will listen. I'm through playing games with this group of unprofessionals. Wish I would have seen these complaints before I used these people. Guess I didn't do my homework as well as I thought I had. Make no mistakes though, I'll never use them again and will never have one good thing to say about them to anyone who is considering using them.

Also, I forgot to note that my house is in worse shape than it was before they came to level the floors. I have cracks where there were none and I've repaired cracks that keep coming back. I can't even paint, because the cracks keep coming back. I have a crack that formed in my bedroom that is, no joke, at least three feet tall. The corners of my house are separating and I keep finding plaster on the floor in the corners. It is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Stay away from this company!

I have worked in foundation repair for 12 years...I have installed 100's of helicals, push piers, and pressure grouting...I am currently in college now to further my education..I plan to open my own foundation repair business...THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO IS SPEND THE MONEY AND HIRE A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER (P.E.). The work has to be done correctly 100% during installation or it will not work..The problem with push piers is it uses the load of the house to install the concrete cylinder or steel tubes. So as you install these peirs the house goes up it goes down several times as extensions are needed. Concrete will flex before breaking to an extent..YOU NEED TO BE PRESENT THE WHOLE TIME DURING INSTALLATION, even if you don't know what your looking at. YOU NEED TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE FOREMAN. Foundation repair contractors are trying to repair something that took many years to develop and then fix in a matter of days, sometimes the outcome isn't always great as far as lifting a house to its original elevation. THE MAIN OUTCOME IS TO PREVENT FUTURE SETTLEMENT. Engineers are usually unbiased (do not use a recommended engineer suggested by the repair company) but sometimes they are, look in the phone book. Foundation repair is grueling very very very dangerouse work with high workers comp which equals high overhead. You pay for what you get is true when jose comes to your house, some people could care less. The sooner they get done the sooner they get paid. Some of these companies pay their workers by the job completed and paid or a percentage of the job. Some are not even employees but just hired help, who knows. Push peirs have to be installed correctly to work and not get a false reading when installing they can be tricky sometimes. Helicals are usually installed by one guy reading a pressure gauge. Pressure equals torque which equals load bearing capacity for said helical. Helicals do not use the weight of the house for installation so no up and down movement that can break brick or foundations. There is a point to which a house just cannot be moved anymore with out causing further damage this is not going to be said ever. I always told my customers that we will give our best shot at closing cracks or meeting elevations, But always lift as practical. And be nice to your installers as we are usually underpaid, underappreciated numbers to large companies. I've noticed the nicer a customer is the more we are willing to go a little extra. As far as being present for the work, its very important. I don't know how many times we fixed someone elses work to find out nothing was ever done in the first place and that infuriates me to no extent, its stealing. I hope with my future business to bring some HONESTY back to this trade and treat people the way they were meant to be treated! Also watch out for the nickel and dimers they we will eat you alive. You can bargin with these people!

This is a recurring problem with foundation repair companies in Dallas, TX and the entire North Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas region that contains clay soil. Many companies are there for a quick fix and do not put forth the workmanship necessary for foundation failure correction. I'm told that these bigger companies have full time crews that ONLY DO WARRANTY WORK! Not one crew, multiple crews. Their work is not performed with an attention to detail and the cost is exponentially higher... to cover all those advertising costs of course. If you're in the DFW Metroplex, check out Pro-Tech Foundation at http://ProTechFoundation.com for superior customer service. They corrected my foundation and used mudjacking to support it after it was lifted and my house has not had problems through this extreme North Texas drought.

had the same problems as these others. they have to my home 11 times i 10 years to repair, replace and install new piers.olsham has not solved any problems with my home.they want to come out again in feb 2013 to make adjustments which is not working and will not work.p pritchard sapula ok [protected]--phone

Ok.. To set the record straight... Olshan and Cable Lock are NOT the same company. They are a management company hired by Olshan to handle corporate functions. And, all you Fix My Crack people on here. Your crack is a COSMETIC ISSUE. Drywall is a cheap material. It can crack due to low moisture in the attic of homes. Hmmm. I don't work for Olshan, but I do get tired of people blasting a company that didn't "fix" your perfectly built home. The fact is, this is a general practice. No house is built identical to the next, therefor each issue is different in it's own way.
To the ones who signed the contract KNOWING that there was an arbitration clause, why are you complaining? They told you that certain things would not be their financial responsibility. THEY TOLD YOU. Read, People. If you don't like the arbitration agreement, HIRE ANOTHER COMPANY! Mr Pritchard, the reason your home can't be fixed properly is because you live on a floating slab.. Typical for OK. There is no real solution for you. The best thing you can do is call Uratech. In addition to having a piling company do exterior work, you should have had urethane injection for the interior floating slab.
To all you that say they are worthless based on only your personal experience, if they were in fact worthless, WHY ARE THEY THE LARGEST FOUNDATION REPAIR COMPANY IN THE NATION?!?!?
Crappy soil, terrible lot preparation, sorry contractors, and shoddy builders are the reason you have foundation issues. It's not all Olshan's fault. They simply came in, and tried to help the situation. You were expecting them to close all the cracks, and level every door; basically turn your hunk of garbage home into a chuck of gold.

Mr. Marron why are you so angry? If you do not represent Olshan.

Ask the BBB why they cover for Olshan, they are paid off. Ask your local D.A. why they have not got involved or the Attorney General...hmmmmmmmmmmm money talks

I have been looking into getting my concrete leveled at http://www.americanmudjackco.com/services.html because my friend had their's done and it turned out good.

Had foundation repair done by Olshan
in 2012. They admitted there is a problem but will not return calls or do anything to fix it. Very dissatisfied with the quality of work and customer service. I have heard they do not stand behind their warranty. I believe it.

oshan has been to my place in waco tx 2 times. atlas was there about 4 times. we have spent about 20thousand between them. atlas went bankrupt, oshan has scheduled three times in as many months to come and fix problems. they don't show and don't call to tell you they can't make it. stay away from this company since you are paying extra for a warranty and not getting one. shame on nolan ryan for endorsing this company.

I have the same issue with Olshan. Spent $20, 000 in 2006 for repair and now they would not return the call. Can't we all do something about this? Lawsuit?

Olshan installed their cable lock system on my basement wall in 2009. This past spring the wall started bowing and moving at the top, it moved over 4 inches. Was informed that the lifetime warranty only meant tightening the nuts on the anchor rods. The local manager came and inspected the wall and offered to fix it if I would sign an agreement to void the warranty. I agreed to sign when the job was finished. When the crew showed up they had been told not to do anything until I signed. I said I would sign when the job was finished. They called the manager and he told them to leave. When I called to manager to ask about the warranty he scheduled someone to come check the nuts, The man came with a 10 inch pipe wrench, tightened one of the nuts and left. The manager of the Kansas City office tries to intimidate and bully. He is highly unethical and certainly does not stand behind his work. Trying to find someone in the corporate office in Houston is nearly impossible, I have yet to come up with a name of anyone.

I am married to a employee of this company and I am also a consumer before my husband worked their . My husband filed a complaint because he didn't agree with drug and alcohol use before are during work hours and he refused to stay in a hotel room with the employees because he over heard them discussing a 15 year old girl and vulgar things about her and the drinking while out of town so he asked for his own room they refused unless he could afford to pay the full amount him self up front and when he could not he was layed off for two week and told he coudl return to work when they came back well they were back to work today so he called and for the complaint and the refusal to stay in a room with the ones bringing this activity about he was fired today . He also complained to foreman about the way they lied to customers about how many piers they needed and then charged them but didnt really use that many also they lied about how many cylendars and pipes were pushed and the pressure . Conclusion they dont want good hard working honest employees and punish you if you complain about whats taking place. Good descent people go to work to work and this company actually encourages the opposite. Also our house was leveled by this company before my husband became employed by them and the job was horrific and we complained to corporate in Houston about the foul language the use while my teenage daughter was in house and the shotty job they were doing we got a half hear-ted apology and told our daughter shouldn't of been home while they were working there she was 13 at the time . and now house is unlevel again but we don't want the horror of them coming back into the home and making it worse my dad paid for the foundation repair and now that my husband knows first hand how they do people we wont invite them back in our home to do more damage. Talking to corporate whether your a employee are customer does little help and I can only encourage my husband to notify every home owner he seen them do this to in the central Texas area and testify on their behalf . Please if you question the work they did to your home save your self yrs of disappointment and regret get another professional out there and check Olshans work . Still looking at the legal aspects but if my husband can legally notify the homeowner and give them the information of what he seen his supervisor doing then thats what he will do soon.