Next Level General Contractors ATX

Ray and Danielle from Next Level General Contractors ATX (they also do business under “Level Up Foundation Repair” per multiple websites- beware) were hired by us to do a backyard deck demolition and rebuild in late April 2022 and our experience has been horrible. After providing an $7,400/50% deposit, problems and delays started. After a missed start date, they hired a single sub-contractor to start with the demolition which took him 2 weeks to complete with no additional crew to help which should have taken 2 days if he had the help that was promised. That sub-contractor recommended some additional work that was not part of the original scope and we agreed to the amount of $2,500 (A total of $9,900 given to Next Level). The sub-contractor eventually quit because of not getting the support he needed from Next Level. Now, we are only left with part of the original deck framing left standing and with no floor (house is elevated from rest of yard so we need the deck floor and stairs to access the yard) with the original top boarding that was removed as part of the demolition in a heap in the backyard which was never removed. While we attempted to be very patient while Ray and Danielle dealt with their personal issues that kept creating delays in getting work done, we kept getting broken promises from them saying we were in the schedule and that they would send a crew, with the materials needed for the job, and work would start. All we ever asked from Ray and Danielle is be proactive and honest in their communications with us and to keep to the schedules they developed as best they can. That rarely ever happened with us having to consistently chase them down for updates as the delays continued with multiple excuses and the materials needed to rebuild the floor and other elements of the deck never showing up at the job site.  The final straw was when Ray promised he would have a crew and materials at our house, while we were out of town for a trip in early June, so by the time we got back the deck would be mostly done. When we returned 6 days later, NO ONE HAD SHOWED UP, NO MATERIALS DELIVERED, and NOTHING WAS DONE. So, in mid-June, due to regular delays and broken promises, we eventually had to fire Next Level via a termination clause in the contract. Now we are having to pursue to get back our $7,350 that they owe us. We agreed to pay the sub-contractor, back in late June, for his demolition labor and for some pieces of lumber purchased for the deck frame out of the $9,900 given to Next Level (We have it in writing an agreement from Next Level to the amount they owe to us). Meanwhile, Ray kept making promises to pay even asking for our Venmo account as to send payment (all of this is documented). Still nothing! You can’t even go by any office address they list online to discuss a repayment plan as the two addresses are both UPS Stores! They don’t answer their phones and have stopped replying to texts from us, as of early August, asking for an update as to when we will get our money back. We even tried to engage them via an arbitration service, per the contract, to get this settled and they have not responded to those requests at the time of the writing of this review. We are now in the process of taking them to court to get our $7,350 back.Based on our experience with Ray and Danielle at Next Level General Contractors ATX, we would not/will not recommend them for any work!