ASAP Masonry and Construction Corp – "Director" ignored contract and verbal agreement and tried to extort money from me ( 1 comment)

On 4/29/24 the "director" of ASAP Masonry and Construction Corp. rang my doorbell. Mike, with an Irish accent, proposed his company to renovate the brick of my porch/front entrance to my home. I agreed and also showed him my pavers that need maintenance. We also talked about assessing the leak in my basement coming from the back of the house. This assessment would involve removing pavers to see the foundation. We signed a contract, I gave him a deposit, and work was set to being on May 1, 2024. The director and his crew of two arrived at my home as I was leaving to go a doctor's appointment. When I returned home the workers had torn up the concrete on both sided of my house and dirt was being dug out around my foundation. It was very upsetting and disturbing. The "director" reassured me that it was going to be alright. The next morning, he came back to discuss what he "found". He said that there were cracks in my foundation, and I needed a retaining wall. He showed me a picture of a wall he had done recently and told me it would cost $35000. I told him calmly he had to close it up and fix the damage. He said he would be back the next day.

A friend who is a construction manager inspected the foundation to discover no cracks. The foundation was intact. To be clear, I wasn't getting any water in my basement from the sides of the house. It was never discussed. Just a little bit at one part in the back of my basement adjacent to my back yard was discussed. The wall in the back yard was never evaluated and the pavers that were discussed initially were still intact. In fact, the pavers were never removed, and my concerns were never addressed.

The next morning the "director" came back and offered to seal the wall for $1500. I told him that he destroyed my home and he needed to close everything up because it was going to rain in two days. The dirt was backfilled, and new cement was poured. It is a terrible job, and I will have to get it all done again. It looks terrible.

I asked to speak to the owner and was passed to a few different "owners". All of these people have Irish accents. The owner of the company is listed as Jose Diez. The license with the state of New Jersey is current. The telephone number listed on the website and with the state is answered by a guy named "Joe". At first, he told me his name was Joe Roselle. He has an Irish accent and claims to be the "owner" Jose Diez but with no conviction. When I asked how he has an Irish accent with a name like that he told me it was none of my business.

There is a ring of scammers in NJ and Staten Island if not more of NYC that price gouge, damage homeowners' properties and cost homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs. What this guy and company did to me cannot happen to others. They have to be stopped.

Thank you for any help with this matter.