SAN ANTONIO – A local senior is crying foul after she says a well-established foundation company betrayed her trust.
She borrowed thousands, then hired Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling to shore up her home, but says she didn’t get what she paid for.
FOX SA’s Investigative Problem Solver Darian Trotter looks into her complaint.
Julia Soto loves her home…
Investigative Reporter Darian Trotter asked, “What do you love about it? “It’s old,” said homeowner Julia Soto. “I like the old character of old houses better than the new ones.”
“I like the size of it, the yard, and just the character,” said Soto.
It’s why the 81 year old is committed to keeping it up.
She kicked into trouble shooting mode when her floor started buckling and her walls started shaking.
Soto said, “When we would walk, you could hear things rattle, you know?”
So, what did she do? She did her research and felt good about hiring Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling.
That was July of 2024.
“I called Hercules and they came over,” said Soto. “They told me everything, they were going to fix.”
She was excited. Even more so when crews with Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling arrived and crawled under her home for an inspection.
Then — recommended a plan to address her home’s sinking foundation.
Trotter asked, “What did they find? They found that the front room, the living room was down,” said Soto.
According to her contract, the plan called for installing 41 concrete piers to replace the cedar ones that had failed.
Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling included a diagram in the contract outlining the number of piers and their placement under the home.
The cost: A whopping $19,500 dollars.
Trotter asked, “How bad was the floor? The floor was sinking,” Soto replied.
Julia says crews with Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling returned and went to work.
Even called out an independent engineer to inspect and sign off that the work had been completed according to the plan outlined in the contract.
Okay great! But, Julia says her floor and walls still rattled; especially after she was assured it would be fixed.
Soto recounted, “When he came to check, he was bouncing around and he said, oh that rattle was going to stop once they did all the work.”
Trotter asked, “Did it? No, not completely,” Soto replied.
That’s when she says her son Jerry became suspicious and crawled under the home and took pictures.
What he found did not line up with plans they’d agreed on. Plans in the contract, and plans they’d paid for.
According to the diagram the family says 16-piers were missing.
Investigative Reporter Darian Trotter asked, “What was your reaction? Well, I couldn’t believe it because I was trusting them to do it right, you know? And they had a strong reputation,” Soto said. “I had read all their comments, reviews are good. But I guess, obviously, people didn’t crawl under there and take pictures like we did.”
She says they approached Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling about the missing piers and presented photos.
Julia says crews reluctantly came back out, completed another inspection, and offered to install additional piers but for more money.
Julia said she quickly refused because she’d already paid $19,500 dollars for a plan that was supposed to fix the foundation.
Trotter asked, “How does that make you feel? Well, as an elderly person I feel like, you know, betrayed,” Soto said. “They told me that we’re going to do the job and they didn’t finish it.”
When we asked Hercules about continued movement, a Spokeswoman explained foundation work is a process.
She said, as homes continue to settle, more work is sometimes needed and covered under warranty.
She denied Julia’s claim of being asked to pay more. And there’s nothing in writing.
When we asked about missing piers the Spokeswoman told the Problem Solver all 41 piers were installed. She said, otherwise the independent engineer would not have signed off on the job.
And we have the engineer’s inspection report.
The Spokeswoman then questioned if we’re planning to do a report based on the opinion of a layperson, Julia’s son Jerry, or take the word of an established engineer.
“It’s been like two years, almost two years,” Soto said. “I’m very disappointed.”
Julia and her family had given up their two-year fight with Hercules. That was until they called the Problem Solver.
Trotter asked, “What would have happened had your son not gone under? Well, we would have just taken their word for it,” Soto said. “I would because, you know, I wasn’t going to crawl. I expected for them to do the job.”
The Spokeswoman stood her ground, saying the work was completed per contract. But this report is far from over.
After a number of conversations with Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling, the Spokesperson completely changed her tune seemingly out of nowhere.
Telling us they’ve worked out a deal with the homeowner.
According to the Spokeswoman, it includes a partial refund, and installation of the missing piers.
But wait until you see what we uncovered in part two of this Problem Solver report. Stay tuned.
In a statement, Hercules Foundation Repair and Remodeling said, “Hercules Foundation Repair takes every customer concern seriously and remains committed to standing behind our work. We have addressed the concerns brought to our attention by Ms. Soto and her son, Jerry, and the project has been completed. Additionally, the home’s warranty remains active. As a gesture of good faith, Hercules refunded an additional $5,000 and completed additional work at no charge.”