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:12/11/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  We had a plumbing leak in April 2023. We reached out to a plumber and referred us to Cleveland Water and Fire to handle the issue as we had standing water in our bathroom and a small area of standing water in the basement. Cleveland Fire and Water came to assess the situation. They immediately recommended we rip out our entire floors before even testing for humidity. We asked them to test and they stepped back and said they could just treat it with fans and drying materials. They told me I had to sign a form for them to proceed with the treatment, and so I did.
  
  For the next week, we had large fans running in our bathroom and basement (for the small area down there) to dry the floors. During this time period, Cleveland Water & Fire staff members would periodically check our house areas to see how things were drying. I asked them numerous times if there would be any idea on pricing for this and they kept insisting they had no idea and refused to give me any estimates so I could communicate this with my insurance company (Strassman/Liberty Safeco).
  
  By the end of this, our insurance paid for $5,292.64 and Cleveland Water & Fire would wanted an additional $3,000 from us and our insurance refused to pay for more because they feel we are being taken advantage of. Cleveland Water & Fire also refused to budge as we tried to offer them $1k without any further hassle. I also learned that they did not keep an adequate dryer log and were not using the correct pricing (according to my insurance agent). They are preying on young home owners (I am a 27 y/o female) and this is a disgusting business. I ask that you please reach out to them. Drying fans should not cost $10,000. Especially after I repeatedly asked for pricing information and they withheld all of that from me. Businesses like these are predatory and they need to be punished for attempting to take advantage of my partner (******* ********* and me and harassing us along the way.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  Hello *****, thank you for taking the time to reach out to BBB and write your concerns in detail. We take these concerns seriously, and would like to make sure all issues are resolved. We would like for you to understand that it is near impossible for us, and especially the technicians, to know the cost of the work being performed. We only get this final bill once all the work is completed, because the scope changes from job to job and even from day to day since the moisture conditions are unpredictable and can change as well. We also assure you that there is no "correct" pricing when it comes to restoration work, just as there is no "correct" pricing when you go to the grocery store. As different stores have different pricing, different restoration companies have different levels of service and expenses, and therefore MUST charge different pricing. Your insurance company unfortunately does not set the pricing for the work we do. We have tried to do what we can when it comes to negotiating with your insurance for the work that we did, and we recognize that this is an unforeseen circumstance where it puts you in a situation to pay out of pocket because the insurance company refuses to cover the costs they are liable for. With us coming to this point, we would definitely like to come to a mutual agreement and help you in this situation, so we would like to honor your offer of $1,000.00 to consider this project closed out and paid in full. Please work with the billing department to issue the payment and we will close this out on our end. You can also reach out to our office directly 24/7 (440-530-4881) if you ever have questions, and in the future as well if needed for anything at all. Thank you!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/14/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. How/where do I submit final payment?
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** ******
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/11/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  This company came out and after surveying the damages, told me a cost of $5-8k. After doctoring the itemized bill - getting the square footage wrong intentionally for example - they are charging me just shy of $16,000.
  
  This is absolutely unconscionable. They doubled the quote, they lied about the services provided on the bill, and they should never have worked past the original dollar amount I agreed to in the first place. This business is a SCAM and they are predatory. I would not recommend. The individual people were fine, but as an operation, this is absolutely unconscionable.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/18/2023

  Hello ******, we are so sorry to hear that you experienced this unfortunate situation that came about due to the First Responder underestimating the job. This is definitely not acceptable and not something we would wish upon anyone, and we agree with you that its not ok to have the bill end up doubling once all is said and done. Please know that we would like to make this right and we will be reaching out directly to you to settle this as we continue the billing process for this invoice. We can offer a settlement on the amount that was issued by insurance, which would be $10,000. We understand this is higher than our initially quoted price, as there was more work that was not anticipated. Please rest assured, we would not bill for anything that we did not do, and if this is the case, then we would love to hear from you the exact line items and the discrepancies that you found so that we can correct this in the future and not make the same errors. Please consider this as a reasonable settlement for the ~$16,000 of work performed that would normally be charged if the job was estimated correctly. We would appreciate if you revised your one-star review on Google so that we can continue forward and close this matter out. Thank you ****** for choosing Cleveland Water and Fire Restoration, we hope the service we provided was exceptional! 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2022

  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.

  Date: February 20, 2022
  Amount in depute: $6,828.71
  Describe the event: The event was a flood in my basement due to unknown cause..
  Description of cost estimate: I called Cleveland Water & Fire Restoration for a flood in my basement. The Company arrived and a discussion of work and price was conducted, but the final cost was not provided. The vendor stated that he needed only $1.00 to start work and the final price was not disclosed. In a flood condition, I asked the vendor to fix the problem. A bonafide estimate of work was not provided,
  Description of work: The vendor pumped water from the flooded basement and may have sprayed a disinfectant (unknown).
  Complaint: Cleveland Water & Fire Restoration removed most of the water, but did not identify or correct the source of the basement flooding. Therefore the basement continued to flood. I contacted the company (Josh) to notify the Company that the flooding was not corrected and the basement had flooded again.
  Nature of dispute: The dispute is that the company removed flood water from the basement (one time), but neglected to identify the cause of the flooding and correct the source of incoming water.
  Nature of dispute: This company has billed for $6,828.71 for removal of water (approximately 3 hours on site). The company did not correct the cause of the flooding and the basement flooded right after this vendor left my house.
  Dispute: My dispute is that the vendor removed flood water, but did not identify or correct the cause of the flooding and the basement flooded right after the vendor left my house.
  Business attempt to resolve: The company made no effort to correct the cause of the flood. They just removed the initial flood water, but made no effort to identify the source of the flood or make corrections so that the flooding would stop.
  Business attempt to resolve: The company reduced the bill from over $10,000 to the amount stated above. Still disputed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/13/2022

  RECEIVED VIA EMAIL BY BBB STAFF MEMBER:

  Please see the attached files for all relevant material. The summary document includes our proposed final offer to settle, along with a day by day series of events that our team recorded. The CompanyCam report shows the photos our team took during the restoration process. Also included are the signed Work Authorization with the original job estimate amount ($5k), a release of liability form, and the itemized invoice updated to reflect our final settlement offer of $4,585.75.  
  
   
  
  To answer the questions/concerns posed by the homeowner: 
  
   
  
  Our $1 charge to start the work is simply a verification charge to ensure we have a payment method on file when it comes time to collect the final invoice balance. This is stated in the signed Work Authorization. We are not a plumbing company and hence we do not source leaks or fix them. We provide restoration services which is what the homeowner signed for, and the work that we did per our CompanyCam photos. We are not liable for continued flooding, therefore when continued flooding occurred at this project, our equipment was pulled and the project was ended with a signed premature equipment removal form.  
   
  
  Thank you,
  
  Nazar Dyachuk
  
  General Manager
  
  Cleveland Water & Fire Restoration, Inc

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/07/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Mediation. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  
  

  Better Business Bureau:

  
  

  I will participate in mediation in reference to complaint ID .********, in hopes of resolving this matter. 
  
  

  
  

  My availability is as follows:

  
  

  Specific dates I am NOT available in the next 6 weeks:
  
  

  
  

  
  
  Place an "X" next to the Day of the Week you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  
  
  __X__Mon. _X___Tue. __X__Wed _X__ Thurs. __X__ Fri.
  
  
  
   
  
  Place an "X" next to the Time  you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  
  
  ____ Morning __X__Afternoon 
  
  
  
  I understand
  that BBB will do its best to accommodation the information I have
  selected and that  mediations are scheduled to start between the hours
  of 9:00am and 3:00pm, and must conclude by 4:30pm.
  
  
  
  Thank You.

  
  

   

  
  

  Regards,

  
  

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/07/2022

   
  Dear BBB:
  
  Below are the details on my availability for a Mediation Hearing:
  
  Please list any dates you are specifically NOT available in the next 6 weeks: 
  
  November 23-25
  
  
  Place an "X" next to the Day of the Week you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  ____Mon. ____Tue. ____Wed __X__ Thurs. __X__ Fri.
  
   
  Place an "X" next to the Time  you are Available and work best for you: 
  
  __X__ Morning ____Afternoon 
  
  Understand that BBB will do its best to accommodation the information I have selected. Note that mediations are scheduled to start between the hours of 9:00am and 3:00pm, and must conclude by 4:30pm.
  
  Thank You.
  
  
  ****** *******
  ******* ********** **********
  ************************