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:01/05/2023

  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 saw the house on the market , and went to look at the property. From the outside could see that the property need some work done. Seen that the property had a new roof, went inside and people were still living there, there things were still there, and there was stuff all over the place. We looked around the visibility was limited to stuff being everywhere and the color of the walls and cabinets. It just looked like the house needed some cosmetic fixing. The listing company ****** ******** recommended Heres Johnny Inspection Services to inspect the property. I thought that he must be ok if the real estate is promoting his business. So, he comes out to inspect the property and Johnny stated that the tenants did not want me or the realtor to come in during the inspection. So, then we had to go meet someone else to pay Johnny. He was paid 330.00 for the inspection and he did not complete the inspection stating that the tenants were following him around and he feared for his life and that he would complete the inspection at a later date. We had to wait until the tenants vacated the property , before Johnny came back to to complete the inspection. Property was full of junk, Johnny was suppose to check the roof, and the water heater and he failed to mention that the house was full of junk. I moved in 11/04/2022 and there were cock roach boxes, Lights were flickering, need a grounded outlet, *** ******** stated that I should report this inspector to the city of Joplin because this house should have never been sold., the electric is not up to code, the terminator stated that there is termite damage, treated for cockroach infestation, mice were living in the stove, which was a health violation, Plumbing issue, drains are clogged, septic is original to the house since the 1940's, it would be 14,000.00 for a septic tank, If this inspection was done right I would not have purchased this house with all these issues. I would like my electric fixed, and discuss the septic issue, and the hot water heater, because Johnny never inspected the hot water heater.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/19/2023

  This complaint is unwarranted and is COMPLETELY false. I will explain in more detail but first I'd like to include some context leading up to this complaint.

  
  

  I did an inspection on a property, that ******* was looking at purchasing, on September 13th 2022. At the time of the inspection, the tenants who were home at the time, were EXTREMELY hostile and did not want to let anyone in the house besides me, and even then, they harassed and followed me around the entire time. I was informed that they were being evicted so they were not happy to have me there and didn't want to cooperate very much. There was one women and multiple, (rough looking), grown men, in the house at the time, and based on their paranoid behavior, physical appearances, and very hostile demeanor towards me, I strongly suspected that they were all drug users and were nervous about me finding drug paraphernalia in the home. Everything about their behavior was very suspicious and I was afraid for my safety the entire time I was there. Also, while I was conducting my inspection, the landlord eventually showed up and the tenant went outside and screamed at and cussed out the landlord. It was a very tense situation. At the time of the inspection, the crawlspace was also completely inaccessible due to a vehicle engine that was sitting in front of the crawlspace access panel in the garage. Because I could not inspect the crawlspace for her the first time, I came back, as a courtesy, on October 10th, 2022 and inspected the crawlspace and wrote a separate report for her on this area of the house. This was not a part of my contractual obligations. Normally this would be a service I charge for, because it is not my fault when something is inaccessible the first time. So ordinarily, if a client wants me to return and inspect something I could not access the first time, there is a trip charge for it. I did not charge ******* for this service, simply as a kindness. I don't do this often but sometimes when finances appeared to tight with a client, I have helped clients out by doing this for free before. Due to this situation however, ******* was and will be the last person I ever do this for. I offered her exceptional service beyond my contractual obligations, and she spit in my face for it.

  
  

  After the inspection was complete and the report delivered, on November 14th 2022 at 4:09 PM, I received an email with complaints from *******. Her email stated that I had missed several things and that she was going to be leaving me a bad review on my ****** business page. I then immediately went and reviewed her report and saw that nearly everything she was stating I had missed, had been covered in her report with written details and photos. I then sent her an email in response on November 15th, 2022 at 8:54 AM. In that email, I apologized that she was dissatisfied, as I work very hard to avoid such types of complaints and until this, have never received any. I then reminded her of the events of that day and the difficult and VERY volatile circumstances I was working under when I was there. I told her that I should have just canceled the inspection and waited for the property to be vacant but against my better judgement, I did it anyway because I knew she had driven a long way that day and I didn't want to leave her hanging like that. So I did the inspection anyway, despite the volatility of the situation with the tenants. I then, pointed out to her that she was mistaken, because the things she claimed I had missed were included in her report, and I even told her what pages to find them on. I concluded that email with telling her, that because her claims were entirely false, that if she did leave a bad review on my ****** page, I would be filing a defamation lawsuit against her, because I take my reputation very seriously and I was not going to take my first bad review out of hundreds of inspections for claims against me that weren't even true. I then, followed that email up with a second email, that same day at 10:02 AM, reminding her that she had received incredible service from me given that I had also returned, free of charge, to inspect the crawlspace for her which was not something I had to do. I never received any email response from her after that.

  
  

  
  

  Then I received a statement from the better business bureau a couple of days ago that she has now made against me. So with all of that being said, I'd like to address her statement directly with the facts of the matter, (that I can also prove), with the copies of the report that I have and my agreement that she signed. If needed, I'm happy to provide these as proof as well.

  
  

  In her statement, she states, "Went inside the property and people were still living there, there were things still there, and there was stuff all over the place. We looked around but visibility was limited to stuff being everywhere."

  This statement is entirely FALSE. They were not even allowed to enter the premises because the tenants would not allow anyone but me (the inspector) inside. She later admits that, further down IN HER OWN STATEMENT, contradicting her narrative, when she states, "Johnny stated that the tenants did not want me or the realtor to come in during the inspection." This part was true, except the realtor was never even mentioned, because no realtor ever showed up for this appointment. She states that, "We had to go meet somewhere else to pay Johnny." This was also true, because the tenants were EXTREMELY hostile, so I told ******* it would be best if we met somewhere offsite, to go over the report and my findings, due to the volatility of the situation with the tenants.

  
  

  She also states, "I did not complete the inspection." THIS IS ALSO FALSE. I completed the inspection of everything that was readily accessible at the time of the inspection, according to my contractual obligations. It says, on line 2 of the agreement, that was read and signed by *******, "Here's Johnny Inspection Services will provide the Client a limited-time visual inspection of the following READILY ACCESSIBLE AND VISIBLE pertinent, major elements existing in the structure on the date of inspection." At the time of the inspection, the crawlspace was inaccessible because there was an engine sitting in front of the access panel in the garage. This was documented in the report on page 14, both in writing as well as with a photo showing as much. I NEVER stated that I did not complete my inspection due to being "afraid for my safety". I did however mention that I was moving a little quicker than I normally do because I WAS afraid for my safety, as I had people following me around the entire place with a hostile demeanor. That did not however, stop me from inspecting everything I could access at the time. As mentioned before, I did return for a second trip, after the property was vacant, to inspect the previously inaccessible crawlspace. That was not a part of my contractual obligation. Normally, if a client wants me to return, to inspect something previously inaccessible, there is a trip charge for that service, as it is not my fault when I cannot access something the first time. I DID NOT charge that normal fee, as a kindness to *******. I did not have to do that but I was trying to help her out.

  
  

  She also states, "Johnny was supposed to check the roof and the water heater and he failed to mention that the house was full of junk. Not only does this statement contradict her previous statement saying, "She did go inside to look around and there was stuff all over the place", WHICH SHE DID NOT. But it's also untrue that she did not know the house was full of stuff, as I both verbally informed her, AND starting on page 33 of the report that she received, I included LOTS of photos of EVERY SINGLE ROOM of the property, from multiple angles, WHICH SHOW the amount of stuff that was in the house at the time of the inspection. It was well documented with photos and she was verbally informed as well, that my view was very limited.

  
  

  Regarding her complaints with the inspection report itself:

  
  

  Regarding the roof, I reported, IN RED WRITING, that the roof underlayment had not properly been installed over the drip edge, at the eaves. I reported that there were humps in the roof. I reported that shingles had been improperly installed on a low slope roof. And I reported, that the ridge caps were installed with older worn out shingles. These findings were reported on both in writing and WITH PHOTOS of each defect, on pages 4 and 5 of the report. I recommended further evaluation and repairs by a roofing contractor.

  
  

  Regarding the lights that were flickering, that was also documented, in RED WRITING and with photos on pages 23 and 24 of the report. I recommended further evaluation and repairs by an electrician.

  
  

  Regarding the ungrounded outlets, those were also documented in RED WRITING and with photos on page 24 of the report. I recommended further evaluation and repairs by an electrician.

  
  

  Though it is not specifically mentioned in her complaints, I will also point out that there were multiple defects in the electric panel that were also reported on in RED WRITING and with photos on pages 22 and 23 of the report which included "ungrounded wiring", which would be the "outdated electric." The electrical concerns in this house, were more than covered when this inspection report was written. I did not cite specific codes, because I am NOT a "code inspector." The agreement that was read and signed by this client also addresses this. It says on line 16 of the agreement, "This inspection does not cover code compliance." So "**** ********" either did not SEE my report at all, or even if they did, they should be more cautious about bad mouthing other trades, because they do not know what my job actually entails and what TYPE of inspector I am. I do not do "code inspections." That is a city inspectors job. And yes, a city inspector, checking for code compliance, would have also pointed out everything I did as well, when it comes to the electrical concerns. And when I addressed them, I recommended further evaluation and repairs by an electrician.

  
  

  Regarding the cockroach infestation, as I mentioned to *******, in the initial email response she got from me, The cabinets were full and counters were covered when I was there, so visibility was very limited. So I was unable to visually see any, at the time I did my inspection.

  
  

  Regarding the termite damage. That was also documented in RED WRITING and with photos on pages 4 and 5 of the second inspection report I sent her, after I went back to check the crawlspace. I recommended further evaluation and repairs by a pest control contractor.

  
  

  Regarding the plumbing issues. It was documented in the second report in RED WRITING and with photos on page 6, that there were plumbing leaks and other defects noted and a plumber was recommended for further evaluation and repairs to the plumbing system.

  
  

  Regarding the water heater, ******* FALSELY states, "Johnny never inspected the water heater." Not only is this false but the defects noted about it were that there was no catch pan underneath it, that the TPR valve was terminating through the floor into the crawlspace AND that it was actively leaking and there are photos of each and every defect that was noted. This is ALL on page 20 of the original report also written in RED WRITING.

  
  

  Regarding the septic system. My contract agreement, that ******* read and signed, states on line 10, The inspector IS NOT REQUIRED TO INSPECT ON SITE WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS (SEPTIC). Not only does it say this in the agreement on line 10, it also says it in the report, in the disclaimer at the top of the plumbing section, specifically in this case, ON PAGE 17. Not only is it repeatedly stated that septic is not a part of my inspection, BUT I did still make the remark, ON PAGE 20, IN RED LETTERS, I recommend having the septic system inspected by a qualified contractor.

  
  

  Not only were ALL of these concerns addressed in each individual section of the report, but they were also included in the report summary at the end in the "IMMEDIATE CONCERNS" section of the summary, in which everything is written in a bold red font. So even if she didn't read her whole report, just reading the summary at the end, she should have seen every single thing I mentioned.

  
  

  So in conclusion, this complaint is the result of either one of two things. Either ******* just did not read either of her inspection reports AT ALL. Or, (and this is what I suspect), this is just a bad case of buyers remorse where someone bought a project house, that they weren't qualified to repair, and now they're just trying to bully someone into footing the bill, since they got in over their head. Every one of *******'s complaints, were thoroughly addressed in her reports. So she either didn't read them very well, or she's just trying to squeeze money out of someone for something that is not their fault. Either way, I fully deny ANY responsibility for these problems, as the inspection and the report were done with nothing but excellence.

  
  

  Along with this email, I will also be sending a letter out to *******, stating all of the facts I have laid out in this email and I will also be demanding that she retract her statement immediately, or my step will be filing a defamation lawsuit against her. I have already had my attorney review these complaints, as well as the signed agreement and the reports, and he has assured me that we have an excellent defamation case here. This lady is completely in the wrong and I will not take lightly, the false claims against me and my business.

  
  

  I hope you can help me resolve this matter on your end.

  
  

  Thank you, ****** ******