My experience with OneWay was disappointing. I consider their conduct to be unethical and would not recommend doing business with them.
We engaged OneWay to build a large multi-level deck in our backyard as well as a fence in Spring 2017. Wesley made a very strong first impression, and conveyed a lot of passion and commitment to his work. We considered other contractors’ quotes, and ultimately selected OneWay because they could commit to the timeline we wanted in advance of a large event we were planning, offered a 10-year warranty, and had good online reviews.
OneWay confirmed the deck project would take 9-10 business days. It took more than 3 months for the base deck to be built. We were patient and appreciative even though our event (and many others that summer) needed to be cancelled. We didn’t get to use the deck in the summer of 2017. And ultimately, OneWay never completed the deck – the staining is still outstanding and we’ve incurred damages to the base deck as a result, which has cost us much more than budgeted. The warranty is not worth anything.
Here is a summary of the disappointing delays. If I could go back in time, I would modify the contract to enforce a final sign-off on delivery before final payment.
1. Early in the project, OneWay blamed continued delays on the City of Ottawa being non-responsive to the permit application. We independently followed up with the City of Ottawa and discovered that OneWay was not being truthful about the permit application process, and the back-and-forth underway with the City. In fact the City had been responding, but OneWay had several omissions in the application submitted they didn’t want to acknowledge to us. Despite the inconsistency and the disappointment of cancelling our event, we were patient and didn’t complain, hoping everything else would run smoothly.
2. OneWay made measurement errors and had to modify the deck design as a result, with little clearance between our deck and our shed. We rolled with the change, and didn’t mention it again. We were even jovial about a planter in front of our house being broken by Wesley’s truck, as he agreed to remove it and build us a new one (we never got a new one). In many way, we tried to maintain a strong relationship as partners in the project.
3. We observed improper application of the stain over mud (muddy footprints). When we raised these concerns with OneWay, we took their word that it would be fixed in the fall. Excuses continued, and then we took their word that they would do it in the spring. Spring became summer, summer became fall, and excuses continued (as did non-response to numerous phone calls and emails). The staining was never fixed, and it’s been well over one year since they committed to fixing.
4. Damage is now very obvious on the deck. In addition to the bad staining, most of the light fixtures have broken. The warranty certificate they dropped off does not appear to be worth anything. Even when we reach OneWay be phone or email, and they agree to “show up” on a specific day, they never do. It seems OneWay may not be adhering to Section 74 of the Competition Act regarding warranties. At a minimum, I would not value the warranty from OneWay when considering their quote.
5. We wrote an online review last Fall with a poor rating and Wesley immediately contacted us to have it taken down, promising he’d complete the job asap. My husband gave him the benefit of the doubt and took down his online review. I wish he had not – Wesley and OneWay did not follow through on their commitment, and seem only concerned with cultivated their online reputation versus their actual customer service.
The latest excuse we received from OneWay was that it was “a kindness” that they agreed to stain the deck, as it was not explicit in our contract. In fact, Wesley always made it clear to us that a stain would be included in the construction of the deck: the early proposals state that a CFW-UV5 Clear penetrating wood finish will be used; text exchanges discuss what colour stain we'll be using; he assured us throughout the construction that the stain was included; and in email exchanges he committed to addressing our reasonable concerns after the project's completion, among them fixing the errors made in the application of the stain and applying a second coat. Other commitments agreed-to in writing, such as fence caps, were not fulfilled.
My take-away is that OneWay has endless excuses for not showing up, for delays, and for incomplete work. They will spend more time and energy on making fake appointments and managing their online profile than they will on fulfilling their contractual obligations to customers. Unfortunately, the passion and commitment I perceived in our first meeting did not persist through the project, and I’m left feeling we dealt with a disingenuous person and company. I hope nobody else has the same experience we did. I would avoid this company.
