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:03/13/2025

  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.

  After a fire at our home on 2/23/23, we called a contractor to assess our damages. Mr. **** ********* of ***, showed up at that time. He and the contractor, Mr. ****** work together. For 10% of insurance payout, Mr. ******** claimed to be able to get us "enough more" money from insurance to make it worth it for us. We hired him, and gave him permission to pay Mr. ***** directly for rebuild costs, but we did NOT give him permission to keep most of our "replacement of contents" check, which is what happened. When the rebuild was done, we waited for a "contents" check, & when Mr. ******** sent us 2 checks, we thought they were for that. But he said that we owed most of it to Mr. ****** and Mr. ***** showed up almost immediately to collect the money. His invoice was hard to decipher, so we trusted him and paid him. We called ***** Mr. ******** about the contents check, but Mr. ******** would not return calls. The *** main office became agitated and angry when I asked questions about the checks. Later, Germania, our insurance *** told us that a check for $51,057.86 had been issued for "replacement of contents". We never knew about this check, and Mr. ******** didn't tell us it existed. In the end, Mr. * kept more than 10% from all the checks paid out, and we only kept $17,029.88. We asked for a breakdown of transactions, and a later e-mail shows that he kept at least $43,549.40, plus kickbacks from Mr. ****** we suspect. To us, we should've received $51,057.86 minus $5,105.79 (Mr. *'s 10%), which is $45,952.07. Since we kept $17,029.88 from the last 2 checks, we feel that ***/ Mr. ******** owes us $45,952,07 minus $17.029.88 (which we kept), which is $28,922.19. Mr. ********** personal phone # is ************* and his e-mail address is **************************** However, you will probably have to call the previous number we entered, to get through. My last e-mail to *** (attached) was never answered. We appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you!

  Business Response

  Date: 03/16/2025

  Please see the attached for the response to the complaint.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/31/2025

  There were numerous allegations in the letter from GFR which were not true.  I couldn't figure out how to add attachments, but I have the letter with my highlighted sections where they aren't being honest.  Two people at GFR really did become angry with me over the phone, and ***** and I were not informed of the $51,087.56 check, until we heard it from *********

  In addition to the $2,400.00 check they sent us, they have also sent us a second check for a little over $4,000.00.  It appears that they think that if they pay us a few thousand of the "$28,000 plus" check that they owe us, we will "go away".  

    Yes, we did receive some checks at the end, but they never informed us that one of them was our "Replacement of Contents" check.  ***** asked **** if there would be more checks coming, and he was vague.  GFR has gaslighted us, and in their response to you, I see that they are doing the same thing with BBB.  Thank you for any help you can offer.  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/08/2025

  Better Business Bureau *** Public Adjusters *************************** staff treats every client with respect and gives every effort to answer questions on claim issues that most people do not deal with frequently. It is understandable that clients get frustrated with the claim process and may not recall conversations after several months of getting a claim settled. We apologize if a client feels like a phone call was not handled properly and the *** associate will be addressed if we know who is at fault.

  
  *** has reconciled the account and the insured has the documentation that details the settlement of the claim with Germania. We are not attempting to get the insured to go away. An insurance claim of this magnitude takes time and has several moving parts. *** would like the insured to understand the settlement with Germania. ***** **** handled the communication with *** throughout the claim process especially relating to the insurance updates and checks received. He was always to the point and complimentary.

  
  *** Public Adjusters has been communicating with the insured via email regarding the accounting adjustments that surfaced when *** audited the account. The attached documents and emails contain the insurance paperwork and reconciliation of the insurance proceeds. The insured has not responded to the insurance companys request for information that can help the insured receive up to $20,354.73 that Germania held back on Contents Recoverable Depreciation. The Depreciation was held by Germania when they approved the Contents $111,600.00 policy limit,minus $40,187.41 paid directly to ServePro for contents cleaning, issuing a $51,087.56 check for the balance. Sixteen months later, the insured stated they have not replaced any of the contents that were included in the insurance estimate of damages. Normally, the Recoverable Depreciation is released from the carrier to the insured when the damaged items are replaced in the timeframe specified in the insurance policy. Germania needs the insured to respond so they can address the release of the depreciation.

  
  There is nothing vague about the settlement of this claim. If the insured does not understand the specific information, we would like to discuss their questions.

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/11/2025

  I am rejecting this response because:   **** ********/ GFR are trying to divert our attention from the real issue.  He is providing us with lots of figures which were part of the insurance process, but the fact remains - five checks were issued by Germania, and one, in the amount of $51,057.86, was designated specifically for replacement of personal property.  Mr. ******** should have taken his 10% out of that check, which would have been $5,105.79, & that would have left $45,952.07 for us.  ******** was not allowed to disclose any information to us, the customers, until the process was complete.  We received two checks around the first of December 2023, in the amounts of $46,500.00 and $43,636.21, which we thought were for our contents.  ***** **** spoke with Mr. ********* and thanked him for getting these checks for us.  Mr. ******** then said that we would need to pay the contractor, *** *****, out of these checks, which totaled $90,136.21.  Almost immediately, Mr. ***** called and asked if we had received two checks, and that he needed to collect $73,106.33 from us, which was what he said that we owed him.  Mr. ******* final invoice was impossible to decipher - he wrote in "all caps", did not punctuate, misspelled words, and wrote in "run on" sentences.  We were trusting, and paid him, thinking that we would still be getting a "contents" check.  Mr. ******** never told us that the check for $43,636.21 was actually the remainder of our contents check, after he took 14% out of it (4% more than the 10%, in our contract with him).  We were able to keep $17,029.88 out of the $90.136.21 (total of the 2 final checks).  Mr. ******** was vague when ***** **** asked if we would still be getting a contents check.  It was ******** who finally told us the truth, after the process was over, that a check for contents, in the amount of $51.057.86 had been issued in October 2023.  We would never have paid Mr. ***** more than the $46,500.00, which he was due.  The $45,952.07, which we should have gotten, minus the $17,029.88, which we were able to keep, equals $28,922.19.  Mr. ******** never responded to our subsequent e-mails or phone calls requesting information, until we filed this complaint.  Since we filed the complaint, he has sent us two checks totaling $6,419.41, hoping that we will settle for that.  The $28,922.19 which he owed us, minus $6,419.41 (checks that we are holding), equals $22,502.78, which is what we feel he now owes us.  Thank you for your assistance.