Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/23/2024

  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.

  Rich M****** at Punch Services Upstate is a liar, thief and scam artist who will take your money, not show up when he says he will, perform terrible work, not finish and leave the job while taking your money and not return any attempts at getting in touch with him. Rich quoted me $20,000 to do some work on the crawlspace at my house. I gave him a $10,000 deposit on 3/8/24 and he assured me he would start on 3/22/24 and that it would be a two week job. Over the next six weeks, Rich removed the insulation and vapor barrier and started the mold remediation. Weeks would go by with Rich not showing up or returning calls. By 5/21/24, Rich had stopped coming to the job site, stopped doing any work and stopped return calls. At this point, he had only completed about $6,000 worth of work (according to his estimate and invoice). The work that was done, was done out of order, which leads me to believe Rich either doesn't know what he is doing, or he was setting me up from the beginning. Rich was hired to do mold remediation, structural work, install new insulation and install a dehumidifier. Rich sealed all of the wood under my house without doing any structural work, while every other company has told me that that step is done to all wood AFTER, the structural work is done. Rich installed a new vapor barrier, while every contractor has told me that is the last step that is done. I would never recommend Punch Services Upstate to my worst enemy.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/29/2024

   

  Thank you for taking time to have a brief conversation with me this afternoon regarding the complaint logged against my company Punch Services Upstate. The file number is ********* and the person who made the complaint is **** ******. I have sent you a ****** link to photos of before and after for the work that was completed on the project in reference. In that file there are many items to be noted. I have included text messages between the realtor and I who originally set up the project together. If you read the text messages you will see where I was never even introduced to **** until AFTER the home had closed and the PAYMENT for the work done was secured by the SELLER of the home. This was a real estate transaction where I provided an estimate to the realtor for work that needed to be done in order for the bank to lend on the home. I gave the realtor an estimate and he responded by asking to take items off my estimate because the SELLER was only willing to PAY $20,000.00 to the repairs needed. I responded by saying that I could not take short cuts for mold remediation and that I would do what I could to work with them. I cut the initial 4 part estimate from $29,392.11 to $19,989.13. This was done as a favor to the Buyer, Seller and both Buyer and Sellers agent. I expressed that due to me being flexible the new buyer (****) who I didn’t know, would need to be willing to work with my schedule. I was told it was not a problem. I gave this estimate to Lee, the realtor on January 22, 2024. On February 6, I text with the realtor who advised that the home was closing March 16. I responded that I had it scheduled to begin March 25^th due to prior scheduling. The realtor then stated that the home was closing February 16^th instead. I let the realtor know that I would be able to start on the 16^th of February as long as we had the deposit ready. I ordered several thousands of dollars in materials to prepare for the project. I did not hear back from the realtor about this particular project until 6:59 pm on February 15^th saying that the loan was not going to close due to repairs not being done before closing. The lender backed out of the deal. I had a schedule set and now it was busted and I was out time and money. I received a text from the realtor Friday afternoon saying that they had found a new lender but couldn’t close until March 1^st now. Seeing as I had reworked my schedule I was unable to accommodate an immediate start date this time around.

   

  I accepted the initial deposit on March 15^th and communicated with the new owner that I would be starting work on March 28^th. The home as you can see by the photos was 1,747 sqft of disaster within the crawlspace area. We spent the 28^th, 29^th and 30^th cleaning out the crawlspace of debris so we could work, removing old vapor barriers, insulation etc. This required setting air scrubbing equipment, running drop cords for power for lighting and other items required to fully see and work within a confined space. About a week after we started the project the homeowner became irate. Wednesday April 5^th **** text me stating that we were to start work that morning but we never did. Then states we did but didn’t do much, then states times that we were and weren’t there etc. My guys were at the house all day. I text him photos at this time of the work that had been completed. He calmed down and we agreed to see him the next day. On Thursday April the 4^th, **** asked one of my employees to leave the jobsite, said he could do the work himself and then called me in an expletive laden rage Friday the 5^th when I chose not to return to the jobsite the next day. Although roughly $3,000.00 of the initial deposit had been spent he demanded his $10,000.00. That wasn’t his money, it was paid by the SELLER to repair the homes issues so that the BUYER could buy the house. Thus the issue. I explained to him that I couldn’t give him the money personally but would be happy to send back the balance to his closing attorney minus the funds used. After a rather long phone conversation and after realizing the money wasn’t his, he agreed to move forward and so we did. At this time he asked if I could help him with additional services and I agreed to help him.

   

  April the 10^th it was raining and I text **** to let him know we would not be at his home until the afternoon due to the rain. Seeing the photos in the ****** drive, you can imagine how wet it would be under there and I cant have guys just standing in the rain, its not how you treat employees. He was once again upset and we spoke on the phone. I sent 3 employees to his home to work that afternoon. He told them to leave and I sent them back to work. We came back and worked April 11^th and April 12^th. I text him about leaking pipes within his crawlspace which were making our project hard at this point. He said he would fix them and let me know but to keep working. I agreed and placed a lumber order. The following day after his buddy (plumber) went into the crawlspace he reached out once again demanding his money back. This was April 13^th. I cancelled the order and said I was done working. I reached out to his realtor and let him know I was done working at the home, the project and asked how I could get out of the project. After a couple of conversations with Lee the realtor and ****, I agreed to continue moving forward with work to help Lee out. I had offered up two opportunities to return unused funds to the atty at this point. Both rebuffed. This time I coordinated the project with his realtor and stated we would be back Tuesday April 23^rd and Wednesday April 24^th. We did as we said, completed all remediation efforts and encapsulated his wood framing components. I agreed to return with wood the following week May 2^nd. That morning I receive an expletive laden voicemail stating we had destroyed is plumbing and not to come back. This was a weekly trend that quite frankly I was tired of. I turned around the truck, returned the lumber and went to the house where I took a video of the issues and explained to him that his issues were not mine, yet his and whoever he paid to do plumbing at his house. I sent him photos of how we left his crawlspace and videos of what his problems were. I FINALLY told him and his realtor that we were through and would not be back. At this point due to his spastic behavior I was exhausted. I was no longer going to allow him to treat my employees or myself this way. After a phone conversation with **** and then Lee I told them both I was out. However the work that had been done to this point, in addition to extra materials that I helped him with and the multiple days of sending employees away (which cost me money over and above) were over.

   

  He text me again on May 21^st and then again on Jun 3^rd to ask me to continue. I didn’t return those texts. On Jun 21^st I finally get a response from Lee who is the realtor who set this up stating the **** wanted to complete the crawlspace with another contractor and HE asked me if I would sign the remaining checks over to **** by endorsing the checks and writing pay to the order of. I told Lee I would happily do so however I would not endorse the checks for deposit, rather would ask the closing attorney to reissue the checks. MY WORK AGREEMENT WAS WITH THE BANK AND THE HOMESELLER. I DID NOT WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF FRADULANTLY SIGNING OVER CHECKS THAT WERE MENT FOR ONE PURPOSE AND SPENT ON ANOTHER. If **** was the one paying me there NEVER would have been escrowed funds. Those funds are paid for by the seller at closing and to be paid once the work has been completed. Note I never requested further payment. On Jun 21^st Lee then informed me **** still needed to pick a contractor so he would be in touch. It wasn’t until August 12^th that Lee reached out to me saying that they had come to an agreement with another contractor. I spoke to the issuing party’s attorney and signed a release form along with the SELLER.

   

  The SELLER had to agree to end the contract with me. I NEVER, had a contract with the buyer, **** ******. I never had any agreement with him. I was trying to get through and complete a project as I stated I would. Ultimately the work we did do, along with extras that were incurred did meet and exceed the initial $10,000.00 payment made to me. In this instance, the trades that were paid for and worked on only required my IICRC certifications which I hold as well as my company. I tried to make it work, we worked hard to make it work and unfortunately it just didn’t work out.

   

  Bullet Points:

   

  • I never gave **** and estimate, didn’t meet him or have his contact information until March 3^rd after the closing of his now residence. The estimate was entered January 22^nd, 2024.
  • ****s own text messages show he was asking if we were starting on March 25^th but he states to you that I said I would start on March 22^nd. I had indicated to the realtor initially that wasn’t an option
  • 1700 sqft of Insulation removed, brick, block and debris removed, vapor barrier was removed, all mold remediation completed (6 steps of physical labor with 3 people for a total of 7 days of work)($2k worth of labor for just mold remediation cleaning), Paint encapsulation completed, new vapor barrier completed. ALL MOLD REMEDIAITON WAS COMPLETED.
  • His indication of other contractors lets me know he did not share before photos with them. We followed industry standards and guidelines. The photos speak for themselves and our company’s work.

   

  Thank you for taking time to review and understand exactly what happened with this client. We showed, we completed and we most definitely did not STEAL anything from anyone.

   

  Regards,

   

  Rich M******

  Owner

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2024

  I am not going to dispute that Rich did some work and am not seeking the full $10,000.  I believe that there is $2,661.62 in dispute.

  
  

  I made an offer on the house in question.  During the inspection process, the issues in the crawlspace were discovered.  The seller at that point didn't have the funds to fix, nor did I, as I was buying a house and hadn't budgeted for those types of repairs.  After the realtors talked, we agreed that the seller was to take $20,000 of the proceeds to pay for repairs, but I was the one who had to find the contractor and present a scope of work to the lender for them to review and approve.  We met with multiple contractors and made it clear that if the work was more than $20,000 we were going to walk away.  We ended up going with Rich, only because he came back at $20,000.  I was aware he came down on price. But was told he did so to earn the work and in future hope of working with my realtor, lee Cunningham, as Rich works exclusively with realtors and the work required to close on houses.  I am going off of the document that I have attached, which is what we submitted to my lender, as required by them that shows what work was being completed by who.

  
  

  Points I am disputing in his reply.

  
  

  HHe states that he wasn't introduced to me until after the sale and the funds had been secured by the seller. The seller wasn't the one who secured the funds, the closing attorney held the funds in escrow, and the seller didn't write you a check.  I have included a copy of the initial check for $9,994.57 that clearly shows my name on the check in addition to the seller.  We were BOTH parties to this transaction, it wasn't between just him and the seller.  If there is a contract solely between you and the seller, please provide.  If there was an agreement made by the seller to a change in the quote, price or scope of work that what was sent to my realtor, please provide.  He also stated that he lowered the price as a favor to me, but he also stated that he didn't meet me until after the sale.  Did he falsify something that was presented to my lender?  I'm confused.

  
  

  Rich did accept the deposit on 3-15, but he isn't telling you that he told me he would start on 3-25 (I did initially type 3-22, I am on a cell phone and mistyped.). He told me he was going on spring break with his kids the next week.  Greenville county was on spring break 3-18 to 3-24, and that he would start on Monday, the 25th.  I called Monday the 25th to see where he was, and didn't receive a text message back until 8:00 that evening telling me he was just getting back and that he would start Wednesday morning.  He didn't include the initial text message that says he wasn't able to meet when we initially were supposed to meet on 3-8.  He did have to cancel due to a sick child, but said he would call later that day.  He didn't, which is fine, I understand.  I called again the next day, received a message saying he would call shortly, which he didn't.  It wasn't until multiple attempts on my part before rescheduling for the 15th.

  
  

  He says he worked the 28th through the 30th doing a multitude of jobs, but the text that he attached, that I sent to him on 4-5 clearly disputes all of the work he has listed.  He dropped work lights off at the entrance to my crawlspace on 3-27 and was at my house from 2-3 as I was home that day and left to pick my son up from school.  He worked from 8:30 to 12:30 (4 hours) on 4-1. And returned on 4-4 to pick up 8 bags on insulation (about 1/3 of the insulation that was to be removed)

  
  

  He did not send three employees to my house on 4-10 that I asked to leave.  He never showed up at all that day due to rain.  I have included a screen shot that shows it only rained .03 inches, hardly a sprinkle.  We did have a stern conversation on the phone where he tried telling me that it was raining too hard to work and that he prioritized installing a toilet for his client and that I wasn't his client and that he would rather make $200 off of a toilet than the $20,000 job he had with me.

  
  

  We did iron things out a little, Rich agreed he had dropped the ball and would do better.  He did send me a text on 4-11 notifying me of the leaking pipe, but the text message thread he attached says they are small and they aren't any worries.  He never mentions that they are making his job hard.  Please show me where I demand my money back on the 13th.  We had stopped all phone calls between each other at this point due to the contentious nature of our relationship.  All communication was done via text.  You can see the tone of our texts on 4-11 and 4-12 that it is a friendly one. I never had a plumber come over on 4-13, to complete those repairs, and the buddy he is referring to owns Hawk plumbing, I can provide any information on that company that is needed.  He never had a conversation with me about quitting on the 13th and certainly didn't offer two different opportunities to return funds.  We had to work together the lawyers all said we had to work this out and there wasn't any returning of funds.  I know this as I was the one leading the effort to have Rich replaced.

  
  

  We had agreed to work together as long as Rich was communicating and living up to the expectations he would set (as far as when he would be there working, as he hasn't been in the past). Work continued and the insulation and vapor barrier were removed at this point it is 3 weeks after the text saying he would begin the removal of these items.  He did spray and treat for mold and came back to work 4-24 to 4-26.  Please provide the voicemail I left saying you destroyed the plumbing.  I dispute this as I was under legal advice to not call and communicate via text as there would be a record.  Rich did provide the text where I politely notify him of the problem.  No other person had been under the house other than Richard crew.  I never received a call, email or text saying he quit.  He just stopped coming, returning texts and I did even call twice to try to work out the remaining checks I had.

  
  

  The estimate he provided where I believe the $3,651.62 comes from is as follows.

  
  

  $9994.57 paid to Rich on 3-15

  Work performed

  $595 - remove insulation 

  $294.95 - remove vapor barrier

  $3,655 - wipe down joists etc.

  $578 - install new vapor barrier

  $7,332.95 worth of services performed.

   

  The repairs were to be done after closing.  The closing attorney, Guest and Brady, held the funds in their account and gave me three separate checks that were made out to Punch Services Upstate.  I was to give the initial check for $9994.57 for the deposit, and two checks for  $4,997.28 that were to be given half way through the work and at the end.  I have included a copy of the check that was cashed that shows all of our names on it as well as the addendum that shows we had to reissue the checks to a new vendor.  I am not looking for a check to be made out directly to me, but to the new vendor that is completing the work.

   

  If the lender or seller approved a different cost structure, please let me know, as I certainly did not.

  
  

  Thank you for your time.

  
  

  ******* ****** 

  Business Response

  Date: 09/09/2024

  I have read the updated response from *** ******. I have looked at his attached documents as well as mine.
  
  My response will be brief. Originally the request was for $10,000. *** ****** stated that I stole with no work done. Upon providing you with a multitude of documentation both written and in picture form it took *** ****** over a week to respond with many of the same documents that I provided to you myself.
  
  *** ****** has now changed his stance saying in fact that we did do work and now he really just wants a different dollar amount returned. He has now admitted that we did well over half the project.
  
  I have looked back through my paperwork and see no mention of *** ****** anywhere until after the home closed. I have asked our office to provide me with a copy of any contract that has Michael’s name on it and we can’t. The only correspondence we have is with his realtor and documentation provided by his realtor.
  
  Furthermore we provided a clear and concise timeline in our initial response. The “name” on the check that he is referring to is clearly listing the parties to the transaction and not that *** ****** himself actually provided any funds. There is no name on the physical check other than my company name. It is not made out *** ******. He states in his response that he was without funds to make the transaction happen and needed the seller to close on the home to provide funds.
  
  The root of the issue is simply this. Punch Services Upstate provided services that meet and or exceeded the funds provided to it as a company for repairs. *** ****** has already changed his stance when presented with evidence to the contrary of his initial complaint. I have more proof but will withhold at this moment. *** ****** has tagged myself and my business personally in social media posts claiming that I stole $10,000.00 from him which is slander that he would be liable for. He has now admitted to the BBB that in fact his initial complaint was not factual.
  
  This was the roller coaster of daily changes we were subjected to while providing him not only the services outlined but additional services as well through the process until we no longer decided to work with him. Everything we have provided has been factual and hasn’t changed since the inception of the complaint.
  
  Thank you,
  
  Rich M******
  Owner
  
  Punch Services Upstate
  864-747-5508
  
  SCBL#1382146
  IICRC#230774
  
  “Professional-Prompt-Repair Services”

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/09/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. 
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, Please let us know below why you are rejecting the offer made by the business.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******