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:12/17/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  I signed up for a "free initial inspection" and had a mold inspector, *****, from Aspen come to my home, because I wanted to make sure everything was kosher before I gave birth to my son. When the inspector arrived, they said that mold testing would be a few hundred bucks but the cost applies towards any remediation work, so I said okay. That testing came out to over a thousand dollars, but I figured no problem, I'd put it towards the remediation work. The testing was mostly benign but they gave me the full scary sales pitch (ie they tried to tell me I needed remediation work for mold on the surface of my houseplants, which I just repotted or threw out myself). They gave me a quote for ALL of the work, for over 10k. I had no inkling from the initial salesperson that the quote would be so expensive, and I suspect that they know they have you over the barrel once you've invested 1k. But he was amenable when I said it was too much for my budget and I needed a smaller quote for the alternative that he suggested (ie just doing remediation in the laundry room was his advice).At this point the business ghosted me. I followed up with my salesman ***** for 6 weeks persistently, to get that updated quote and schedule the work. He would respond "sorry been busy" type of thing. Finally I gave up. I left an honest review on ****** & the owner, ***** *****, called me and said he'd be in touch 12/12 to discuss a partial refund, but then instead he just posted a false response to my ****** review. During our phone conversation, he evasively stood by how the company acted - saying it was appropriate to take my thousand dollars without telling me that the remediation work estimate could be 5 figures, and ghosting me instead of adjusting the quote as promised. I feel scammed out of my $1k initial investment, that should be spent towards my newborn son for whom I am the sole provider. Idk who ***** is thinking of when he texted that "my husband was gonna DIY it"- not me, single mom

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/12/2025

  Unfortunatly this customer is trying to get something for nothing from our company. ******** contacted Aspen for mold / air quality testing. She agreed to the cost of the testing prior to scheduling. Once Aspen performed the testing an agreement was signed by ******** reflecting the cost and samples taken. She continued to sign the document and issued payment. After consulting with ******** and providing her a deep review of the test results, Aspen proceeded to provide a scope of work for the remediation work required in her home and discounted the cost of the testing from the project cost. This project was much more expensive than ******** was prepared to pay for at the time and wanted to consult to find alternative approaches to the work needed. Unfortunately, Aspen cannot recommend any process except the one following the standard of practice for our work to ensure things are done to standard with no liability that the problem will reoccur, or people will continue to get sick / be sick during the cleanup process and after. Aspen feels as though ******** is trying to get the cost of her testing refunded because she disputed the charge for the testing. Although she is unhappy with the cost of the project or responsiveness to her emails, Aspen has provided ******** with a service she inquired for and provided all the required follow-up to discuss and explain the testing in full details. She has agreed to the cost and paid on site after reviewing our agreement. We would like to help ******** by completing the original quoted scope of work so that we can guarantee and warranty the project for her. This complaint only reflects our service for testing and consulting the results / what next steps of remediation would be like for her. We do air quality and mold testing for clients on a day to day bases where we provide them with quotes and remove the cost of testing from the project. ******** is the only customer that we have had an issue with. I truly believe that this is happening because she cannot afford the cost of the remediation and feels as though she may have been misguided because we told her the cost of testing is removed from the project, which happened to be much more then she anticipated.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/12/2025

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  The response is ******** and doesn't actually address the original complaint - the owner is an a****** trying to flip it around and find ways to accuse me. Again, I paid a deposit for work that I expected to use Aspen for. The salesperson gave me a RIDICULOUS quote, as verified by another industry expert - 10k was way too high and the salesperson agreed to send me a more reasonable quote. He never did. I followed up politey and persistently about scheduling the work, and never heard back. Once the owner, *****, got involved, he started spewing accusations. *I paid over $1000 deposit for work that was never done*. What Aspen did is not legal, the story is straightforward and the owner is simply attempting to obfuscate the simple truth in clutter and confusion. The owner accuses me of trying to scam them for free mold testing... if I wanted practically free mold testing I'd have bought a kit on amazon for $30 and saved myself a lot of trouble. My next stop is the AG
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ********

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/18/2025

  ******** was provided with test results for the mold testing she hired Aspen for and paid for. She was also provided a quote for the remediation work needed. ******** received exactly what she has paid for. Our offer of discounting the cost of the testing from the remediation stood and was included as a line item on her quote. ******** did not pay a 1k deposit for a mold remediation project. She paid for mold testing and received exactly what she paid for. Aspen does not have any signed contract for remediation, nor has Aspen collected any payments towards remediation for Michelles home. Aspen would like to help ******** proceed with a remediation at a separate cost if needed. Unfortunately it seems as though she has hired a different vendor for the remediation work. The money ******** spent with Aspen is specific to the mold testing which she agreed to, signed an agreement based on the number of samples and cost, and paid during the inspection.