Business ProfileforClarke Basement Systems (Div of Don Clarke Contracting Ltd)

Do not believe anything the sales rep tells you. Read the fine print. I was misled into signing the contract. When I realized my folly and cancelled, I had to pay an administrative fee of $1130 for absolutely no work done. Go with a local plumber – not only does a plumber have the technical expertise but also knows the local rules and regulations and can acquire the appropriate permit. The Clarke rep sold me on their system with two statements that combined to be one big falsehood. One, he told me I could get a rebate from the city to cover the sump pump. And second, when I asked him directly, does this require a permit, he said a permit was definitely not required as they were “certified waterproofers.” Come to find that to get the rebate, the work DOES require a permit AND an inspection by a plumber preapproved by the city and that Clarke knew all along per their website. Clarke has since deleted the page trying to cover its tracks, but I found an archived copy which I can share. I told the rep about the permit issue. The rep conferred with the production manager, but they did not offer any solutions only statements of disbelief because “they’d never needed a permit before.” They refused to help me with the permit application. They suggested I proceed without a permit. Things were starting to feel a bit shady. I asked to cancel the work all together. The rep informed me that a 7% admin fee, quoting the exact amount as $267, would be deducted from the refund of my deposit. Later I received a call from the rep that the admin fee was now $1130. He said this was based on the whole amount of the project, not just the deposit. However, 7% of the whole project equates to $890. Any complaints I made to the rep were met with “it’s out of my hands.” I was told on two occasions that the production manager would call me to discuss but he never did.