Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/27/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  The dispute comes after I had contacted ****'s looking for a plumbing company to fix my leaky toilet. ************************** Plumbing called and set up an appt. to come to my home to fix my leaky toilet which later turned into mold, asbestos and standing water in the crawlspace under my house. Michael&Son and my insurance adjuster couldn't come to an agreement about how much they were charging me. My insurance adjuster said they would not pay them the full amount without supporting docs. The insurance adjuster kept requesting docs. from the contractor which they never sent him. The insurance adjuster quoted them an amount of $8100 but without supporting docs. would not pay the full amount they requested for $12,134 and that's where I enter the picture. The contractor tried to debit my checking account for $8000 but my bank would only allow $3000 per each day. They got $6000 out of my account without my knowledge and was still demanding another $6134 to settle the remaining balance. I received a call from the contractor stating a lien has been placed on my property. I contacted a lawyer who said contractors can do that if they don't get paid. He said were you served by someone about the lien either in person or by certified mail? which I hadn't. He said that's unusual because they must contact you about the lien. I have the voice message from Michael & Son Services stating a lien was placed on my property. I was distraught about this so I paid the remaining balance. However, when I requested a copy of the lien release for my records they never it. Me, my 17 yr old son and 2 cats had been shuffled around through 4 different hotels. I'm disabled so that situation was really hard on me while waiting for work to begin on my home. I sent an email to a local news agency called 2 wants to know and they advised me to close my checking account, file a claim against ************************** with The ************************** dealing with insurance issues, The *** and you The BBB.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/07/2024

  I have not heard from the business in response to my complaint.

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/25/2024

  This customer complaint is completely incorrect. 

  
  1. On August 18th 2023 we quoted and completed plumbing repairs. On the same day we quoted restoration work because of the extensive damage present in the home. 

  2. ******** accepted quote and signed estimate for work to be done. 

  3. We scheduled the work that the customer approved

  4. We completed the work 

  5. We worked closely with the insurance company and had no issues regarding price or any disagreement. 

  6. Once work was completed and payment was due, all of a sudden she would not answer phone calls or answer the door.
  
  7. After multiple attempts we went and questioned the adjuster (thinking maybe she had not been paid by them yet) and he informed us he had cut her a check and that not only had she accepted, she had also cashed it. 

  8. We ended up turning this over to our collections department after weeks turned into months of not being paid. 

  9 We finally informed her that if she did not remit payment we would place a lien. 

  10. She decided to pay her bill at that point and she told us to run her card for 3k at a time due to *** limits at her bank.  

  11. From what we were told she was fully reimbursed for the difference by her insurance company

  12. No money was ever withdrawn without her knowledge

  13. No transactions were made without her being fully informed.

  14. All conversations and calls between her and Michael and son were recorded 

  15. All estimates and invoices were signed by her and we have those copies on file. 

  16. No Lien was ever filed

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/12/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:  

  Hello *******,

  I'm responding to the email from Michael & Son Services as follows:

   

  1. On August 18th 2023 we quoted and completed plumbing repairs. On the same day we quoted restoration work because of the extensive damage present.                                                           (1.)  A plumber came to fix my toilet and he did but he said he had to notify his Employer about a possible mold problem. ***************************** phone no. ********** came to my home and said he could smell mold and did I have homeowners insurance which I do, he said call them and he'll take it from there. He gave me the phone back and an insurance adjuster was telling me everything will be fine, while I'm still on the phone with the insurance adjuster 2 men came in with 1 giant dehumidifier and some other huge machine both about the size of my house and then the plumber who fixed my toilet said please sign this for the work he performed on my toilet not for what came next. ****************** was in one ear while these 2 gigantic loud machines were in my other ear. I couldn't even hear myself think. So these machines were running around the clock, they started ripping up my floors and walls then told me it looks like you may have asbestos and I'll have to pay for the test. The first test came back negative but Michael & Son Services had two more tests performed and the 3rd test came back positive only after they dug through 3 or 4 layers of my kitchen floor exposing the original flooring when my house was built in 1963. The insurance adjuster thought they may have disturbed asbestos particles causing a positive test. I called ******* several times but his voicemail stayed full. I even contacted customer service and they acted like I had no right asking them to get a message to ******* just because he's out in the field "supposedly working" and never responds to customers' concerns even though he's the one that advised me to contact my homeowner's insurance company which I did, after that I talked to him once but never heard from him again. Someone had Michael & Son emailed me that the balance due was for $12,134 so I  forwarded it to the insurance adjuster. After speaking with my insurance adjuster he had sent an email to Michael & Son asking them if he could send them $8100 just to show them he was doing this as a sign of good faith. Apparently they weren't interested.  Over the next 1, 2 or 3 days my bank contacted me about suspicious activity concerning my checking account. They had documented that $8000 had unsuccessfully been withdrawn from my checking account but over the next two days an amount of $3000 each day had successfully been withdrawn for a total of $6000. After sharing this information with the insurance adjuster he said that Michael & Son were being very difficult and shady about not returning the paperwork etc. he requested and needed to get work started on my house.   

   

  2. ******** accepted quote and signed estimate for work to be done. 

   

        (2.)     I never accepted a quote or estimate. The only thing that was brought to my attention on 8/18/2023 was paying the plumber for work done to fix my toilet. That's all. I received a bill for $12,134 from Michael & Son and that was sometime in late November early December.

   

  3. We scheduled the work that the customer approved

   

       (3.) I was going by what the insurance adjuster said and he was just as lost as I was when it came to working with Michael & Son. He'd call them, email them and they never did contact him or me. I have some of the emails where he stated to Michael & Son how he didn't want to contact me concerning a possible lien on my property. I had no idea it had gotten that bad. He stated how he tried working with them concerning the asbestos issue but Michael & Son didn't  or wasn't qualified how to handle asbestos restoration work. He advised me that he had a contractor who could do all the restoration work needed to complete this job.  I believe Michael & Son knew this and that's why they just bombarded my home before I could understand the magnitude of what was going to happen. They could only complete some of the work but not all of it because they weren't qualified to do all of it.

   

  4. We completed the work

   

         (4.) Please see answer to question 3. above.

   

  5. We worked closely with the insurance company and had no issues.

   

        (5.) Please refer to answers 1,2,3 and 4.

   

  6. Once work was completed and payment was due, all of a sudden she would not answer phone calls or answer the door

   

         (6.) I didn't answer phone calls because I never received any until ******************* who works in the accounting ***** I believe,  at Michael & Son and I still have his voice message twice saying a lien is on my property not a lien is going to be placed on my property.called me twice to tell me that a lien had been placed on my home

         I didn't answer my door because I had been told to leave my home on 8/25/2023 by Michael & Son.

   

  7. After multiple attempts we went and questioned the adjuster (thinking maybe she had not been paid by them yet) and he informed us he had cut her a check and that not only had she accepted, she had also cashed it.

   

         (7.)  Michael & Son should've been working along with the ins. adjuster just like I was.  When the check was sent it went through ***** which is another option for transferring funds without all the hassle.  At the time I didn't have Zelle setup on my account. When I talked to the insurance adjuster he explained it to me and said the payment was sitting in Zelle and I should set it up on my account and to let him know when it was set up. I believe 12/28/2023 I finally was able to move funds from ***** to my checking account and it took all of 1 business day for funds to show in my checking account. Then I received 2 voice messages from ******************* stating a lien was placed on my property. I wasn't trying to hold out on paying them. I wanted to be done with this whole process so me and my son wouldn't miss another Thanksgiving, another Christmas and both our birthdays like we had for 2023.

   

  8. We ended up turning this over to our collections department after weeks turned into months of not being paid. 

   

       (8.)  This never would've happened if Michael & Son had some competent customer service representatives, field techs etc. who could've kept the lines of communication open which they did none of. As for the collections ***** I've heard of customers hanging up on managers but not the other way around. ******************* hung up on me not once but twice. I finally spoke with someone, I believe her name was *** she should be Qais manager and not the other way around.

   

  9 We finally informed her that if she did not remit payment we would place a lien. 

   

       (9.) I was told the lien was already placed on my property and to pay the remaining balance. I consulted with 2 lawyers who explained to me before a lien can be placed on property they must be notified either in person or by certified mail. I received neither.

   

  10. She decided to pay her bill at that point and she told us to run her card for 3k at a time due to max limits at her bank.  

   

       (10.) Not once did I ever tell Michael & Son to run my card for 3K at a time. I was notified by my bank that 2 separate payments had been deducted from my checking account without my knowledge. I  called ******************* to let him know that I never authorized Michael & Son about the amounts they deducted from my account.

   

  11. From what we were told she was fully reimbursed for the difference by her insurance company

   

        (11.) I was not fully reimbursed. I took a loss of $4100 and the deceitful ways Michael & Son went about getting it is so disturbing to me. I know if this happened to me how many others have been treated the same way?

  12. No money was ever withdrawn without her knowledge

   

       (12.) Yes it was after the fact. 

   

  13. No transactions were made without her being fully informed.

   

       (13.) That's another Lie!! I informed the insurance adjuster about this company's actions. He had nothing positive at all to say about Michael & Son and neither did I.

   

  14. All conversations and calls between her and Michael and son were recorded 

   

       (14.) Yeah all three calls, and that was from the accounting office or collections. I was cc'd in on some emails. My insurance adjuster contacted them about how they would go forward on the asbestos cleanup process. He said he couldn't get any return calls or emails or anything. Oh and the insurance adjuster told me that the reason why he hadn't approved the hotel stay for me, my son and 3 now 2 cats, was because a manager named ****** said my home was still livable and has 2 bathrooms. (NOT). How can you live in a home with 1 bathroom and the only toilet is sitting in the living room floor for over 5 mos? 

   

  15. All estimates and invoices were signed by her and we have those copies on file. 

   

       (15.) I knew I hadn't signed or received any quotes, estimates accept for the plumber technician who did fix my toilet. That's where they got all there documents signed I'm pretty sure.

   

  16. No Lien was ever filed.

   

         (16.) Just another lie from Michael & Son Services.  I also have the only 2 of 3 calls I received from Michael & Son Services and I do have the voice messages.

   

  ************ I'm sorry it took so long. We are still trying to get back to some normalcy around here. I hope this can be documented. I have never gone through anything like this and I pray to GOD I never have to again. No one should have to go through this.

  Thank you

   

  *************************

  
  
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/24/2024

  Ok Lets clear this up. 

  We have the following forms signed and I will be attaching them. 

  -Signed Authorization for repairs and payment

  -Signed customer responsibility form

  -Signed Direct Payment Authorization form 

  All of these forms were time stamped and correlate with GPS records of our techs at her home. 

  Furthermore:

  We have well over 650 time-stamped photos from ******************** Job and I have attached a screenshot of her photos section of her profile 

  She claims there have only been 2-3 phone calls, we have 19 recorded phone calls and I have attached a screenshot of her profile. 

   

  Even though she has called us liars; We would like to give **************** the benefit of the doubt and say she was confused following our interaction. 

  She states no contract was signed yet we have uploaded three

  She states we only called 2-3 times yet I have uploaded evidence of 19 recorded calls. 

   

  What else are we supposed to do here? 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/25/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:

  I never received a document from Michael & Son showing itemized transactions. The invoice I have shows one transaction $12,134.00. Please send me an invoice showing a breakdown of all payments/transactions charged. Please send me "all" photos that were taken while working on my home please. I would also like for someone to call me so I can at least listen to those 19 recorded phone calls, unless there's a way to forward them to my voicemail at **********. Also,  If I  was confused, as you stated, it's because Michael & Son didn't consistently keep the lines of communication open between me and the Insurance adjuster causing me to be shuffled around from hotel to hotel 4 times. So if I sound frustrated, I am.  Please send me an itemized copy of all transactions Michael & Son charged me including the 3 asbestos tests. I'm sure $12,134.00 should've been enough to cover the costs.

  ************************;

   

   

   

   

   

   
  
  

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/25/2024

  This is simple. **************** is either lying or extremely confused. 

  1. She states there is no signed contract.... we have 3 separate signed contracts with her. 

  2. She states there were only 2-3 calls made - we have 19 recorded phone calls with her.

  3. She states we didn't complete the job - We have 680 time stamped photos from the job that show the job start to finish.

   

  We have uploaded the documents and have an abundance of evidence proving her wrong. 

  She has brought ZERO evidence to the table, just baseless allegations. 

  Nothing she has alleged is correct. 

  This is simply libel and defamation.

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/30/2024

  I have attached 4 signed documents. 

  The signed estimate has the grand total owed. 

  The "Resto - Authorization for Repairs and Payment.pdf" document clearly states that, "Owner understands the total cost of repairs, less any deposits already received, are to be paid upon completion of work."

  It also states, "Owner understands that he/she is liable for payment of any deductible and for any and all charges not covered by ***************** company."

  I have also resubmitted two additional documents regarding customer responsibility and direct payment authorization.