Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/27/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On August 1, 2025, Black Line Sealcoating came to my home in *****, ** to sealcoat my driveway. They originally quoted me $200, but when they arrived, they increased the price to $300, claiming my cracks required extra work. I agreed and paid via Zelle.They told me not to drive on the driveway for 2 days; I waited 3 full days (72+ hours), but the coating immediately peeled updemonstrating it was applied incorrectly. Ive had my driveway seal coated many times before by other companies and never had this issue.When I showed them photos of the failure, they initially admitted the job needed to be ****** and promised to return. Since then, they've repeatedly missed appointments and offered excuses: on August 16, they no showed and blamed rain (though rain didn't begin until after 4 PM); on August 17, the owner claimed the truck broke down instead of showing up.When I requested a refund, they refused, stating: How are we going to give you your money back if we already used the product and paid employees? After I posted negative reviews, they said they would issue a refund as soon as possiblebut no refund has been made. Instead, they have now blocked me on social media, and they ignore my calls and texts. They are clearly ducking responsibility.Additionally, public records show that Black Line Sealcoating **** was incorporated in August 2024 under owner ******* Sandoval ******** and is currently listed as Not in Good Standing with the Illinois Secretary of Statemeaning the company has failed to meet state compliance requirements, which undermines their ************* has now been over three weeks. My driveway is still damaged, there has been no repair or refund, and the company continues to evade accountability. 

  Business Response

  Date: 09/13/2025

  *******, ********, September 13, 2025
  
  Gentlemen: BBB Chicago & N. ********
  
  Subject: Complaint ID ********
  
  Good afternoon, my name is ******* ********, owner of Black Line Sealcoating **** I am writing to respond to complaint ID ******** filed by Mr. **** ******. We performed the work for Mr. ****** on August 1, 2025. We provided the first quote via ******** message. We based the price on his driveway using ****** Maps. We made it clear that we only filled the long, thin cracks. When we arrived to perform the work, his driveway was completely different from the photos shown on ****** Maps. The cracks were wide and deep. For this reason, the price of the first quote was changed. Mr. ****** had never had hot pour applied to his cracks. We offered him that service and let him use it. cheaper, we explained to Mr. ****** that he had to wait for the product to dry in order to use his driveway again, we don't really know what happened, but he sent us photos saying that the product had come off in one area, we told him that he hadn't let it dry properly, that's why the piece of hot pouring came off in that small area, because it didn't come off along the entire driveway, but we still offered him the repair, the gentleman wanted the repair to be done as soon as possible, but the weather didn't allow it because the product can't be applied in rain and unfortunately the day we had already scheduled to do the work our truck was damaged, now we are without a truck and have not been able to go back to work, we offered to return the money to Mr. ****** because we know that we will no longer be able to repair something that was not our fault or our work, Mr. ****** simply did not wait for the product to dry properly, but we are going to return the money to him anyway, the disbursement will be made at the end of the season, on October 31st of the year In 2025, Mr. ****** didn't understand our incident with the truck and has been writing on our social media pages and on our ****** business page, saying that we did a poor job, that we didn't respond, that we blocked him. That's not true. We've always responded. It's just that he lacked empathy and didn't want to wait. Of the nearly 300 clients we've served, we've only had two complaints, and these are not our fault. Thank you for letting us defend ourselves, and we hope to resolve this incident.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/15/2025

  Complaint: 23806523
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The company has contradicted itself and continues to stall. On August 25, 2025, they confirmed in writing that they would refund me $300 as soon as possible. In their BBB response, they now claim they will wait until October 31, 2025, to issue the refund. This directly contradicts their earlier promise.
  
  Additionally, the business has cancelled on me and stalled repeatedly. They continue to deflect blame onto me, alleging issues with the condition of my driveway and claiming I did not wait long enough before driving on the product. This is false. They inspected the driveway in person before performing the work, raised the price accordingly, and I paid it. I also waited three full days before using the driveway, and the product was still wet because it had been applied improperly (too thick and too heavy).
  
  At this point, I do not care to wait any longer for my refund. The company already admitted it would refund me. I expect my refund to be issued immediately, not at the end of the season.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 09/16/2025

  Please see the attached documents. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2025

  Complaint: 23806523
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  The company is contradicting itself and continues to delay resolution.
  
  On Aug 25, 2025, Black Line Sealcoating told me in writing they would refund my $300 as soon as possible. In their BBB responses, they now say the refund will not be made until Oct 31, 2025. That is a direct contradiction and is unacceptable. They also continue to blame me for the condition of my driveway and for supposedly not waiting long enough for the product to cure. This is false. The company inspected my driveway in person, raised the price, and I paid it. I also waited three full days before using the driveway, yet the product was still wet and failed because it was applied improperly (too thick/heavy).
  
  What I find especially troubling is the companys attempt to undermine me personally, suggesting that I lack empathy and am at fault for using legitimate consumer resources. What exactly am I supposed to do when a company takes my money, cancels and stalls repeatedly, and fails to deliver? I reached out many times and gave them every opportunity to make this right, yet they chose to play games and drag this out. As a consumer, I am simply exercising my rights filing a BBB complaint, filing with the Illinois Attorney General, contacting local business licensing, and leaving honest reviews are all legal and legitimate tools available to me. That is not a lack of empathy that is holding a business accountable.
  
  There are other complaints against this business, their BBB profile already shows a D+ rating, and they are not even in good standing with the Illinois Secretary of State. Public records confirm that Black Line Sealcoating was only incorporated in August ****************************************** less than a year. This matches my experience: a business that takes money, delivers poor work, makes excuses, refuses refunds, and avoids accountability. The pattern is clear: they bait customers with a low quote, raise the price on site, apply the product improperly, and when it fails, they stall, cancel, or shift blame onto the customer.
  
  I experienced multiple missed appointments, excuses about weather and trucks, and finally, empty promises of a refund that never materialized. At this point, I do not care to wait any longer. The company already admitted they *** me a refund, and I expect it to be issued immediately, not at the end of the season. I request that the BBB keep this complaint open until I have actually received my refund.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On August 3rd, 2024 Black Line Sealcoating sealed my driveway and I paid them $140 via a Zelle payment transaction. After I saw the work in person I expressed to the **************** *** that I was texting with, who ultimately turned out to be the owner, ******* ********, that I was no happy with the application. The Sealcoating showed numerous swirl marks and was not completed to expectations. I agreed to let it fully cure and see if the results changed. The results did not change and I asked for them to come check it out. She said the owner would come by Friday August 9th, 2024. Nobody ever showed up. After I asked why she said it was because I left the company a 3 star review on ******. I then was just going to deal with it until August 16th, 2024 when a piece of the crack fill portion came up when I wheeled my push lawn mower out of my garage to cut my grass. I contacted them again and let them know the area was damaged and she insulted me and after a bit of back and forth she agreed to come recoat the Driveway and fixed the damaged spot. That was supposed to occur Wednesday August 21st, 2024. Nobody showed again and she said the truck needed a repair so they couldn't come do it, but she said not to worry it will be handled when the truck was fixed. I contacted the again in September and they said they had no work in my area so they were waiting but it would be handled by mid October. October came and I contacted her again October 5th, 2024 to see when this could be rectified and she stated that she was no longer was going to fix the whole driveway, but just the crack repair. She also insulted me again saying I was just trying to get a free second coat basically inferring I am a thief. At that time I said I would be pursuing a full refund through the BBB and not to come out for anything because again she is not upholding the warranty and written promise to make good on the flawed work. I have gone above an beyond to work on reasonable resolution and need help.