Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Contractor was referred to me by a water and mold remediation company that I hired to remediate losses incurred at my home. I hired him based on the understanding that he was licensed, insured, and had experience with homeowners insurance claims. I clearly communicated to him that repairs that I needed to be done to my home would be covered by my homeowner's insurance policy and that no repair work could be done "out-of-pocket" or at my personal expense. He agreed to do the work and reassured me that he would work with my insurance company closely to be sure his expenses would be covered. He took a deposit to begin the work, and subsequently refused to communicate with my insurance company about the differences in his quote and the insurance adjuster's estimates. He has not finished the work, and has done shoddy work by anyone's standards. When I asked the referring company to please try to assist him with insurance communications, he alluded that I fraudulently filed me insurance claim, which defamation of character. He has abandoned the job, without justification of the money he collected, and to add insult to injury, he has accused me of being in breach, and is demanding even more money.

  Business response

  12/17/2024

  The BBB got a response form the business via email down below is the response.
  
  

  Thank you for taking the time to review this.

   To clarify, my company is not part of Fire Water Mold.  They referred this job to us as we have completed jobs at their request before, without an issue.  I have completed many insurance jobs over the years with no complaints.  I have been in business since 2012.

  When I first met with the customer, I provided a quote - the customer and the insurance company agreed to the quote provided.

  Weeks later, more mold was removed from the property - entire basement was demoed floors/walls. (Outside our scope or proposal.) Due to this change we modified the quote - got the approval from the customer and drafted a lump sum contract.  This contract broke the job down step by step; the work that would be completed, and the price consisted of Labor and Materials.  The homeowner agreed and signed the contract. (Please see attached)

  Upon contract signature, we had required 1/3 of the job total to get started.  Customer was $730.00 short of the total deposit required, and in good faith we moved forward.

  As the job progressed, the customer was very pleased with the progression.  We worked with her as to what she wanted with finish look and color etc.  

  Everything seemed to shift when the customer claimed that there was more cabinet materials to be purchased.  Then the customer wanted to upgrade from the original basic cabinets with laminate topping for sink and side cabinet for stove with laminate top.  She switched her expectations to Marble Granite countertop with special drawers, a center island, and granite toppings.  We had no problem doing the install as long as she understood that she would foot the bill for the difference in materials. This is where everything turned around.

  The customer, in my opinion, was attempting to not pay.  She wanted to go off the adjusters pricing, which included the basic layout - 

  then the customer wanted me to rewrite the contract to the adjusters pricing.  Which would show that we would be making less money than originally agreed on in the signed contract.  We explained to her that we were not okay with this.  We do not work for the insurance company and we do not work for the adjuster.  We are our own business.  

  Then the customer wanted a detailed breakdown so she could make adjustments with the insurance company.  The adjusters price would have been relevant had it been discussed prior to the work being done or the contract being signed.

  At that time the customer informed myself and my son who was with me that day,  that she turned the water on and left for 2 days so she could get the updates and sell the property as she is a relator.  Clearly, this is an insurance fraud.  We wanted no part of it, but we still continued to be professional and spoke with the customer to let us know when the cabinets came in, so we could complete phase one, and be paid for the work completed and be done with the job.  

  There were no signs of busted pipes.  We have included pictures of the pipes in question.

  We have been back and forth with the customer.  She is the one that wanted us to stop work so she could hire her niece/friend to complete the installation, so she didn't have to pay for the work we completed.  The only thing left for phase 1 was the installation of cabinets and countertops.  Which at that time, i agreed, made the adjustment of labor time, and invoiced for the final bill. Invoice attached.

  After receiving the invoice, customer contacted me and let me know that I had no right to be at her house or come get my tools, I gave her 30 days to come to some form of agreement, before I proceeded with the courts.

  I went to the property with ************* department, and she refused to open the door, and her friend/boyfriend came over to the property, shouting and yelling that he wasn't giving our tools back.  The officers informed the boyfriend and customer that they could not hold contractor's tools as collateral or hostage and that they would need to release it or be arrested for stolen property.  My tools were not in the condition that i left them in, they had been used and mishandled.

  Moving forward, she has made allegations and false statements, which we consider as slander, and she is upset that we are moving forward with the courts for a lawsuit.  As you can see from the paperwork attached, she signed a lump sum contract and is in breach of that.  This is a legal document, with her signature at the bottom.

   

  Thank you for your time.

  Customer response

  12/23/2024

  I found several bad reviews of his business with similar complaints which negates that he has been in business without any similar incidents..  See zip file
  The contractors quote was based off of the adjusters initial report, which included the upstairs kitchen and living room as well as the basement for a total of  $26,226.04 - the original adjusters report was for a total of $27,096 allowing for a little more, of which approximately 60% of that amount was for the kitchen and 40% was for the basement) 
  The modified quote was a direct result of the additional demolition in the basement only as he himself explains..  This should not have affected his original quote for the work that needed to be done in the kitchen and upstairs.  The kitchen modifications or upgrades that he speaks of were paid for entirely out of my pocket, by me.  The contractor abandoned the job before finishing the work upstairs. He never began any work in the basement. His work was poor and shoddy which created additional expenses for me to repair.  See photos and invoice from another contract to do the repairs) 
  The contractor only provided lump sum numbers despite my many requests as well as my insurance companys request to provide the necessary invoices breaking down line items for labor and materials.  He had stated that he would provide the breakdown to satisfy the requirements of payment by my homeowners policy but has failed to provide this.  I have enclosed copies of correspondence documenting my requests, but have been met with resistance with either no response or refusal to provide the same.   
  The contractor had me sign under false pretenses. At our initial meeting, he encouraged me to work him under the premise that he would be willing and able to work with the insurance company every step of the way, and that he had plenty of experience doing so in the past.  But once the insurance company began to request to see invoices from him, his tone changed and he would not comply as he previously agreed upon.  See copies of email from insurance company, and myself asking him over and over to help with this process. 
  
  The only work performed was done over the course of one week.  He installed flooring that was later determined to be unlevel and uneven, and did not complete the work as it remains with various gaps and holes.  The drywall was unfinished, cut incorrectly and left various gaping holes in the walls.  Many spots were left unpainted, see photos.
  
  Every statement he is making is false.  Everything seemed to shift when it came time to purchase the cabinets and countertops.  He requested I pick out cabinets, a sink, and countertops at **********. While shopping for the necessary materials, I decided on cabinets and counters from another vendor who offered a free sink and better quality materials within the insurance budget.  In order to expedite the job and not quibble over pricing of the materials with him, I ordered cabinets and countertops paying for them directly myself, knowing and agreeing that any extra cost for the countertop would be at my expense. I have paid for these upgraded counters myself.
  
  The adjusters pricing is what he based his quote off of.  He increased his numbers due to the additional demo in the basement. He spoke to the insurance company regarding their estimate for the upstairs portion of the job, and he never objected to the numbers provided by the insurance adjuster or gave me any notice of increasing the cost to do the upstairs repair work..  The difference emanated from the additional demolition in the basement which the adjuster did not estimate until October.
  The original $15,000 that I paid him Included costs for cabinets, countertops, sink, etc. which he never adjusted his quote or reimbursed me back for.  Things between us became more tense as I asked him to help me with this.  He is refusing and turning facts into fiction in order to keep my insurance claim payment that I turned over to him after he promised me that he would help me work through this claim.  His opinion that I was attempting to not pay is false.  He walked away with the money for those materials, as well as labor not performed.   His shoddy and incomplete work needed to be redone at my expense as well.  See photos and paid invoices for paint and drywall, flooring needed to be fixed and leveled after the fact in order to install cabinets)  
  My policy covers for replacement cost of materials and repairs, so there are no gray areas in this job.  Again, I have paid for material upgrades out of my pocket.
  All of the above was discussed before being signed, and he also discussed this with the insurance company and their adjuster.  The initial payment was given to begin a total job that (including the basement) the overall cost was estimated to be in excess of $40,000.  It was understood by all parties that adjustments could be made for unforeseen repairs, as this is always how repair jobs work. However, no documentation has been submitted to justify the payment that he took from me, or the increased cost to do the job in the kitchen and living room area.  Now the insurance company is hesitating to give me more funds to complete the work without proof from the contractor.   It states these stipulations in the adjusters report which I gave to the contractor prior to signing the contract.  To date, he has done much less work that justifies the money that he accepted from me, and did not pay for the materials that I had paid him for then renegotiated with him in my financial favor.  He has walked off the job, I did not fire him.
  As an experienced contractor that has worked on homeowners insurance claims (as he claims) he should be aware that insurance companies only pay for work and materials based on reasonable and customary pricing by industry standards and require invoicing to prove that the homeowner is in fact repairing the home at costs that are reasonable.  He has only provided an ambiguous and error-filled final invoice demanding more money with no further invoicing or documentation that the insurance company can make heads or tails of.  I am now in jeopardy of being unable to complete the repairs as I cannot afford to finance these on my own after he is keeping the funds from me.
  I plan to engage all legal resources available beyond this complaint to the BBB in order to obtain a refund for those materials and services he failed to provide to me.    
  He has submitted a complete and total fabrication of circumstances in an attempt to shift the blame on me. He has created conversations (such as the cause of loss) that never took place, and looking at the attached correspondences its clearly not the same story hes been telling up till this point in time. This is defamation. 
  
  That aside, the cause of loss is not relevant to this complaint.  Please note that the contractor is not a plumber.  I hired a licensed plumber at the onset of the loss and hes recently returned to complete some of the plumbing work that needed to be finished. Initially, the cause of loss was not visible which are clogged pipes that are in the basement.  While working on repairs last week, the plumber was able to isolate the cause and took photos which I have attached.  This is not relevant other than to negate his claim that I committed insurance fraud.
  He is falsely accusing me of giving the work to do to my niece.  He was paid $15,000 which is grossly above and beyond the work that he left uncompleted.  Because he resisted providing a professional and acceptable invoice, I suggested he engage the help of my niece who has some experience in doing this. He immediately twisted my words, claiming that I instead told him that I was going to have my niece finish the job.  I have attached an email to him explaining this to him, and I asked him several times to read and respond to it, but he just ignored it.  Again, this was only brought up as a potential solution when met with his continued refusal to provide necessary documentation.
  It doesnt make sense for a contractor with integrity or experience to refuse or resist submitting an itemized outline and invoicing for a job that he acknowledged was to be a job entirely covered by insurance funding from the start.  
  Apparently **** at ML painting has a history of stiffing his customers as demonstrated by the prior complaints I uncovered.  
  The final bill is very ambiguous and incorrect.  There is no representation of the work hes done or the costs involved.  He is actually looking for an additional $8259 in addition to the $15,000 he collected and threatening to sue me for it!  For the record, he was at my home for a total of one week to install (unlevel) flooring and make some shoddy repairs to drywall and paint. Painting was not completed.  So, he apparently feels he is due a total of over $23,500 for work and materials that equal approximately $ ********************************************** accordance with insurance company estimates.     ($9,500 for work done, minus $1,740 cost I incurred complete work and repair poor workmanship)       Having received $15,000. from me and my insurance company to date, I estimate I am due a refund of at least $7240. from M L Painting for work not performed and materials not provided for this job, plus additional expense of $1740 to fix his work.
  For the record, and to counter his lies, please make note that I moved his tools out of the elements where he had left them, outside on my deck, and into my garage to safeguard them from theft.  I didnt use his table saw (Ive never used one in my life nor would I know how to) Considering hes been incredibly antagonistic and has now escalated the matter to making defamatory claims that could seriously impact my life, I was legitimately frightened when he came to my home without invitation. Prior to this I had already gone down to the ************************ to voice these fears, and upon his arrival I called a male friend who is familiar with everyone at the ************************ to act as an intermediary to ensure my safety. He gave his tools back to him, unused and in the same condition he left them in.
  Other than threats, I am unaware of any actual legal action he is in the process of taking, presumably because he has no basis to pursue anything against me.  I have not breached the contract in any way.  I have not made any false statements about him.  I have been in touch with an attorney for advice, I have filed a claim in ****** district court as well as contacted the *************************************  I have filed a complaint with the Elder abuse and Financial Exploitation unit who are in discussions with the *********************** office about charging and prosecuting this as a criminal  case. And I am also in touch with a major news organization who is willing to expose this contractor for his repetitive deceitful business practices if this cannot be remedied soon.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** ********
  
  

  Customer response

  12/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 22577626
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  It is filled with lies and misrepresentations.

   

  I did NOT breach the contract, he walked off / abandoned the job.  I have tried to attached all documentation on this case, but the file is evidently "too big" to attached.  I've tried to email it instead.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********

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