Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date of Transaction::11/23/2023 Amount of money paid to the business ******* What the business committed to provide you:Repair water damage on 2x2 section of garage ceiling Nature of the dispute:The technicians stated that their service would be covered by my insurance after working with the previous contractor who fixed the plumbing issue. They stated that their service would be bundled with the overall plumbing service. The business stated they would handle the job by the end of the week after their initial visit on 11/08/2023. The was delayed several days after "going back and forth with insurance", and I was charged for running a dehumidifier during the delays. Shortly after completion of the job, they sent me the bill, along with a certificate of completion. The certificate of completion was not filled out by me or anyone in my home, there is no printed name filled out, and the signature is a forgery.Whether or not the business tried to resolve the problem I inquired about the cost of certain items and the certificate of completion discrepancy, they provided some discounts to my bill and waived late fees. However, they did not directly address the discrepancy on the certificate of completion and what that means overall. There is no printed name and the signature does not match anyone in my home, the certificate of completion is a forgery Account/order/tracking number Invoice number is 3953

  Business response

  03/05/2024

  1-800 Water Damage of Seattle
  12628 *****************. #***
  *******, ** 98168
  
  
  I am in receipt of the complaint filed by ***************************** regarding services completed in his home after a water damage event.  Please find the account of events, and our response below.
  
  On Wednesday, 11/8/23 we were called to come take care of water damage from a leaking cracked tub that seeped down into the garage below the bathroom.   The call came in at 4:40pm.  We arrived onsite at approximately 5:00pm.  ******* filled out a Work Authorization form and we took drywall samples for asbestos testing (this is required by law in ****************).  We set up a dehumidifier to stabilize and contain further moisture from spreading.  We are required by law to take the sample of drywall to a certified  lab to be tested for asbestos before we can do any work with the drywall. 
  
  On Thursday, 11/9/23 at 2:30pm we received the asbestos test back and it was negative for asbestos.  We were ready to schedule appointments to return to continue the drying process,demolition to remove the affected drywall, and to dry out the structure, studs and frame work.
  
  On Friday,  11/10/23 ****************** called our office several times to see if we had gotten the water mitigation to be included with his American Home Shield warranty.  *****, the project manager, informed ****************** that American Home Shield normally only covers plumbing and appliances.  He asked ***** to call them because the **************** that was out to his home previous to us had suggested that it *** be covered by American Home Shield.  ***** placed calls to American Home Shield and spent over 15 minutes waiting on hold.  One of the supervisors came on the phone to say that they basically cover what the insurance companies do not cover. 
  At 3:47pm ***** noted in our system that she had called ******* back and told him what she was told, and told him he could open an insurance claim if he wanted to.  ******* asked for an estimate of the work to be done first.
  At 3:54pm an estimate was emailed to ****************** letting him know that the estimated cost would be $2500-$3500.
  
  On Monday, 11/13/23, our crew arrived at Mr. ******** home to complete the demo and monitor the drying progress.   At 10:58am the crew noted that the demo was completed. Drying equipment was needed to be left to complete the drying of the structure,studs and frame below the drywall.
  
  On Wednesday, 11/15, 23, our Project Manager, ***** and Technician ******* arrived.  At 11:41am it was noted  Me and ***** came to this job to do monitor and answer questions about the contractor we need to send the contractors list by email. We did the monitor everything was dry we pick up one Dehumidifier and two air movers. Also customer signed the *** form. Job completed.
  
  On Friday, 11/17/23 at 7:13am the final invoice was written in the amount of $3,236.45 and on Tuesday, 11/21/23 at 9:15am it was sent to the customer.
  
  On Wednesday 11/22/23 The customer called and asked about the information that was needed for us to bill his insurance company.  A few minutes later we received the insurance information from the customer, and at ****** we emailed the invoice and supporting documentation to the insurance company.
  
  We never heard any follow up from ****************** about payment of this invoice until we reached out two months later on 1/17/24 to see when we could expect payment.
  On 1/24/24 we followed up again and didnt hear back from *********************************** 2/16/24 we called the insurance adjuster but they would not state whether or not they would be covering the cost.
  
  On 2/19/24 the customer finally called back to tell us that the insurance company had declined coverage.  He then began complaining about delays in the completion of the job. We had not heard any complaints prior to trying to collect payment on the invoice.  Since it turned out that he was a private pay vs. insurance claim, we gave him a discount bringing the invoice down to $2,912.81.    He continued to complain about the delay in completing the job (which there was no delay on our part, as you can see from the above schedule of events), but we went ahead and agreed to give him more discounts so that we could close out the invoice. 
  The final amount was more than $***0 discounted from the original invoice, and was finally paid on 2/22/24 in the amount of $2,229.73.
  
  There were no delays in getting this job done.  It was completed less than a week after the initial call.  We had to wait for an asbestos test to be returned that is required by law.  That took one day.  We ran up on a weekend, and we were back first thing Monday morning to complete the demo. The structure drying (studs and framing) would take anywhere between 3-5 days to dry, requiring equipment to be running the entire time.  But, we still gave him substantial discounts regardless.
  
  In regards to his claim that we told him that the price of the Mitigation would be bundled or included in his Home Warranty plan, we never told him that.  He told us that the plumbing company had told him that.  We are in no way affiliated with the plumbing company and cannot bundle our bill with theirs.  We did however, go above and beyond to try to get him coverage from both his home warranty company as well as his insurance company,but ultimately we were unable to get it covered.
  
  As far as the ****** being forged.  We have done a thorough investigation into this matter. We take these accusations very seriously.  We interviewed everyone that had any dealings with this job, and we pulled handwriting samples from every member of our team.  No members handwriting matches the signed ****** 
  The note that the Technician entered into our system on 11/14/23 at 11:41am stated that the customer had filled out and signed the ******  The note did not state if the customer was ******************, or another member of the family,but he stated that someone signed it.   ****************** states in his complaint that there is no printed name filled out on the ******, which is incorrect as you can see from the documents he submitted with this complaint.
  
  
  There really is nothing further that we can do to investigate on our part since we have already looked at hand writing samples, and interviewed everyone.  I might suggest that we look into who *** have been in the home at 11:41am on 11/14/23 that *** have signed the final paperwork as noted by **************. 
  
  The ****** has no bearing on whether or not we get paid. It has no bearing on the Technicians pay, or Project Managers pay.  Its only a document that we keep in the file for our own use.  So there would be no motivation or benefit for anyone on our staff to forge that or fill that out.  We have plenty of files without a signed ******   They are usually only requested to make sure the job was completed, so I see no motive for someone to forge it.
  But,we have been more than happy to thoroughly investigate this matter, as it would be completely unacceptable for anyone on our staff to do something like that.    We will continue to keep a watchful eye.  We have never had any other complaints about something like this even though we are completing thousands of jobs annually.
  
  We believe we have done everything in good faith to address Mr. ******** complaints with our investigation, and in giving him large discounts on the services.
  
  Sincerely,
  *****************************
  1-800 Water Damage of Seattle
  Manger / Member
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received a quote to get work done after my basement got water damaged. They asked if I planned on using insurance and I said yes but insurance might not cover it. I asked them to send me a quote before the started work as I would likely end up paying this. They emailed me a quote for $2500-$3500. Once the work was done and my insurance rejected the claim **** water damage sent me a bill for $9554.51. This is 2 to 3 times what the quote was for. When I first saw this bill it was when it was submitted to insurance and I called them and spoke with the project manager and they said dont worry this is just what we do with insurance we negotiate back and forth and settle on an amount. They would not bill insurance for the amount I was quoted and said more work needed to be done then they thought. I do not believe this to be true and they never stopped to tell me this would be an additional cost and certainly nothing in writing. I told them insurance would not pay them my claim is closed. They then asked me how much money insurance gave me. They are only entitled to how much they quoted me +10%. These business practices are very concerning and I should not have negotiate with them over a 2 to 3x bill. This price gouging. I am just trying to pay the bill they quoted me for. No new quote was ever given to me.Bill they gave me was dated 11/15/2022

  Customer response

  12/15/2022

  I wanted to reach out to give you an update on case number 18550248.
  I wanted to let you know that me and **** water damage have reached an agreement with an adjusted invoice for $3,917.35 which is very close to the $2500-$3500 estimate they gave me and down from the original $9,554.51 invoice.
  I have paid this new invoice on 12/13/2022 and me and **** water damage have come to a resolution and this complaint can be closed out.
  Thank you.
  *************************

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