Retiring and celebrating
It’s September 27, 2017. I’m retiring soon, and what better way to celebrate than by finally installing the pond we’ve always wanted. We’ve waited years for the right person and the right price. Then, a man with a bridge came along… (One of our mistakes).
We chatted with the local grocery’s butcher, a very pleasant and personable man. In the course of our conversation, pond excavation was mentioned, and he proposed his services, citing his sideline business. We invited him to assess our site, and he confidently stated, “I can dig this for you.” We expressed our concern about not wanting the excavated dirt and preferring it to be removed.
The pond digger said: “No problem, I have use for the dirt”.
Great! How much are we looking at?
“$3,800”;
We gave the pond digger $1900 to get started. He and hubby entered into a contract.
We set about doing everything legally.
The township stated that a permit for digging a pond was not required, but recommended consulting with the Department of Environmental Quality. We reached out to a helpful woman in Kalamazoo and arranged a visit. She assessed the area for wetlands and confirmed that we were clear to proceed with the pond excavation.
In October the man brought his digger and began our pond. Everything has gone well; he excavated a trench, and a few days later, it rained. The trench held water, a good sign!
We intended to construct a berm along the boundary between our property and the neighbor’s. The objective was to guarantee that, even during heavy rainfall, our pond would stay filled without spilling over into the neighboring yard. After the ditch became waterlogged, he excavated a new one. The new ditch was circular and situated near the original.
Several months are passing
As the pond digger’s visits became increasingly infrequent, the rainy season gave way to winter. He had mentioned a preference for digging in the colder weather, as the motor of his digger would heat up, providing warmth. However, he failed to appear. We are beginning to recognize one of our mistakes.
Spring is upon us. My husband starts inquiring about the production of our pond with the pond digger. The pond digger mentioned he needed to complete another ongoing job. My husband texted him, “Not cool!” In response, the pond digger said, “You know I have a full-time job!” However, when the digger arrived, he left within an hour.
It’s a hot summer.
no digging is getting done. My husband is wearing thin on patience for the progress. When the digger arrives, he states, “I never intended to haul the dirt at that price.” For $30
a load I will take the dirt. After several trips, his truck became stuck in the yard, forcing him to unload most of the small cargo he had into our yard. Hubby says this isn’t going to work. Then no digger.
Hubby begins expressing to the pond digger his frustration. The pond digger says moving dirt could go quicker. For $50 an hour I will bring [my] skid steer over and move the dirt. It will go much faster. A new contract was drawn up only this one had a 4-week time frame listed for completion. The skid steer promptly broke down, 4 weeks came and went, my husband Gave thought to all that has happened.
Upon the pond digger’s return, my husband informed him that the use of the skid steer was no longer permitted. Hubby intended on moving the dirt himself with his tractor. The arrangement was functioning for some time, but then the pond digger stopped coming. When my husband inquired about the reason, the pond digger responded, “You haven’t moved the dirt.” Hubby said never mind that; if the dirt is in your way push the dirt to the side, or dump it out of your way, and keep digging.
Summer is coming to a close on one of our mistakes
We are seeing less and less of the pond digger. When my husband managed to get the pond digger to come back, he would dig for about an hour and then leave. Subsequently, the track on his digger broke. That took time to fix. He arrived with another person who assisted in the repair, recorded a video of the digging process for about thirty minutes, and then they departed. Throughout the process, he assured us, “I’ll get it done.”
Hubby constantly reminds him that we are looking at fall coming. Another rainy season is approaching, and it would be nice to have the pond done. The digger never came.
September 14th, 2018, One of our mistakes
Hubby has reached the end of his appreciation for the pond progress. We have 3 various sized holes in different locations, and a tore up yard in another location, production has virtually stopped. The pond digger is invited to stop by our house. A day later he shows. Hubby tells him “Your fired, we want our money back”.
The pond digger says, again, how his father-in-law could use some of the dirt. “Your fired”.
The pond digger says, “I’ll give you half of your money back”. Not good enough. Hubby told him that he figured out how long he spent actually working on the pond. It came out to a grand total of 3 days over a period of a year; after which time we did not have anything resembling a pond, only property damage. One of our mistakes
If you pay within two weeks.
Hubby told the pond digger if he paid within two weeks he could keep $100 for gas. Although we’ve never observed him refueling the digger, it’s likely he never exhausted a full tank of gas. If the digger doesn’t pay we go to court for our money.
On September 27, 2018, exactly a year later and the day of the dead line, the pond digger came for his digger while we were at work. The next day we filed papers.
It’s not the first time we’ve been duped, and probably not the last. It doesn’t make it any easier.