Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/02/2023

  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.

  We hired All New Again September 6th, 2022 to remediate our home for multiple mold problems. They began work on our home October 2022 and finished working on our home December 2022. We paid them, $84,924.06. Upon final testing, we still have the presence of toxic mold. Our general contractor found additional mold in the same spot All New Again left. We were planning to move back into our home and we still cannot live there. We have to pay another company to remediate the mold and have paid several companies to finish parts of the job that were left unfinished. There was no supervisor on site at all, as promised to check. The workers caused more damage than necessary during the demolition.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2023

  ***** Response to H363**73932383**831H
  
  All New Again (ANA) is in receipt of the complaint and 11 documents submitted by ************** (Customer) on August 2, 2023. This reply is in response to this complaint.
  ANA is sorry our Customer is unhappy with the services we performed at their home. The H363**73932383**831H is a great place for those customers that feel services may not have been to their standards to voice their perception of unhappiness. However, it is also a place for the company the complaint was filed against to respond.
  While this was a very challenging and complicated project, ANA will diligently and transparently respond in detail so any potential customers that may read this complaint and response can decide based on facts and supporting documentation to validate the facts whether or not the complaint was justified.
  ANA will first start with an outline of events, followed by responding directly to each sentence of the one paragraph complaint, and closing with a summary.
  
  SUMMARY OF EVENTS BY DATE
  March 29, 2022
  Customer contacted ANA regarding mold in the attic.
  
  April 15, 2022
  ANAs Supervisor visited the project. The Supervisor noted the following: Met with Customer and walked through entire home. Accessed all three attic spaces and two crawl spaces.Searched all five areas for mold or other related water issues that could be creating a hazardous air quality environment. Apprised customer of my findings.Had a very long discussion with Customer and their father about the overall process of attic and crawlspace mold remediation and insulation removal and replacement. Spent over two and a half hours with Customer. 
  
  April 18, 2022, through April 26, 2022
  ANAs Manager exchanged 4 emails with the Customer.
  
  Aprill 26, 2022
  ANAs Manager and Supervisor met with the Customer to further discuss options and a potential scope of work.
  
  April 28, 2022
  ANA traveled to project and set up air filtration device in upstairs bedroom (apparently where family was sleeping) as a sign of good faith that ANA is concerned about their concerns of possible mold spores in their house.
  
  April 29, 2022, through July 27, 2022
  Manager exchanged 13 emails with the Customer.
  
  July 28, 2022
  Manager and Supervisor met with the Customer to further to discuss a possible scope of work.
  
  August 3, 2022, through August 29, 2022
  Manager exchanged 7 emails with the Customer.
  
  August 29, 2022
  Customer signed ANA’s Time and Materials 17 line Scope of Work.
  
  August 31, 2022, through September 12, 2022
  Manager exchanged 6 emails with the Customer.
  
  September 12, 2022
  ANA started working in the home.
  
  September 12, 2022, through September 22, 2022
  Manager exchanged 6 emails with the Customer.
  
  September 22, 2022
  Customer signed ANA’s Time and Materials 16 line item Supplement/Change Order.
  
  November 4, 2022
  An independent Industrial Hygienist retained by the Customer tested the indoor air quality. The Industrial Hygienist noted: Post-clearance air testing confirmed indoor air quality very good.  Mold spore counts were below averages, and even below industry standards.  Indoor air quality PASSED!
  
  November 9, 2022
  ANA removed all equipment, removed the monitored lockbox, and returned Customers key.
  
  
  Response
  
  Customer
  We hired All New Again September 6th, 2022 [sic] to remediate our home for multiple mold problems.
  
  ANA
  ANA was hired on August 29, 2022. See attached signed Scope of Work.
  ANA was not hired just for multiple mold problems. ANA was hired to remediate suspected mold problems since the Customer had indoor air testing done and the results showed elevated mold spores were in their home. While there are mold spores in EVERY home in Washington, elevated means they are above the average levels.
  ANA was also hired to remove damaged and saturated building materials from cat urine (nothing to do with mold) in the entire upper level of the home.
  
  
  
  Customer
  They began work on our home October 2022 and finished working on our home December 2022.
  
  ANA
  ANA begin work in the Customers home on September 12, 2022.
  ANA achieved post-clearance air testing on November , 2022.  
  
  Customer
  We paid them, $84,924.06.
  
  ANA
  ANA received a total of $97,917.21 from the Customer. This also included a credit for an overpayment.
  The total paid price was for the following:
  Equipment rental
  Mold remediation
  Removing damaged and saturated building materials from cat urine
  Asbestos testing and lab results
  Containment barriers
  Floor protection
  Insulation removal of the entire attic and crawl space
  Disposal fees
  
  Customer
  Upon final testing, we still have the presence of toxic mold.
  
  ANA
  As outlined above, the Customer retained an independent Industrial Hygienist who tested the indoor air quality AFTER ANA was finished.
  Post-clearance air testing confirmed the indoor air quality was very good.  Mold spore counts were below averages, and even below industry standards.  Indoor air quality PASSED!
  The Customer hired a contractor to repair dry rot that was from a previous roof leak. ANA warned the Customer that while we removed the drywall covering the dry rot which tested positive for mold, dry rot is fungal decay, and the contractor should set up containment barriers and seal off registers before disturbing the dry rot in the inside of the home or cross-contamination is a serious risk which could decrease the quality of air ANA worked hard to achieve.
  The pictures attached to the complaint from the Customer are very alarming. They show a huge amount of fungal decay, and one shows a massive amount of debris in an uncovered register inches away. If these areas were not contained, and the registers were not sealed, and moisture was allowed to migrate in, then the contractor who made the structural repairs could have absolutely cross-contaminated the home.
  
  Customer
  Our general contractor found additional mold in the same spot All New Again left.
  
  ANA can only assume the Customer is talking about the dry rot since those are the pictures he attached to the complaint.
  This is not additional mold, this is fungal decay that has been at the home for years and years because of the roof leak.
  ANA received an email from the Customer on January 6, 2023, that stated: our contractor discovered  mold and dry rot in the sunroom when he removed the plastic placed by your Team. The wood was black and crumbling. This statement confirms all along that the Customer knew there was dry rot as he states: removed the plastic by your team and black and crumbling. Exactly! The plastic was installed over the dry rot to avoid cross-contamination as this was structural damage that needed an engineer, building permit, and temporary support.
  ANA replied to that email the next day, January 7, 2023, and stated: It is true dry rot existed.  Dry rot is a type of fungal wood decay known as Serpula Lacrymans. It occurs when wood has a constant moisture content of over 20% (typically for many years) and the fungus attacks the wood.  The term dry rot refers to the condition of wood after it has been infested and deteriorated by the fungus.  However, the fungus went dormant when the leaky roof was repaired.  Fungi needs constant moisture, and when the source of the moisture stops, so does the fungi and it lays dormant.  The structural damage you are seeing is the results of many years of a leaking roof. All New Again treated the dry rot with an anti-microbial agent (even though it was dormant) as a precaution.  Moreover, All New Again removed the drywall where the Stachybotrys, Chaetomium, Aspergillus, and Ulocladium attacked the paper on the back of the drywall as a food source and then colonized and migrated a few inches in either direction.  All New Again only removed drywall that was reasonably necessary to perform mold remediation services.  The drywall had clean margins all the way around confirming we were successful in our efforts.
  
  Customer
  We were planning to move back into our home and we still cannot live there.
  
  ANA
  ANA has no idea why the Customer cant move back into their home. As outlined above, on November 4, 2022, an independent Industrial Hygienist retained by the Customer tested the indoor air quality. The Industrial Hygienist noted: Post-clearance air testing confirmed indoor air quality very good.  Mold spore counts were below averages, and even below industry standards.  Indoor air quality PASSED!
  Perhaps the Customer decided to stay out of their home while their contractor remodeled their home. If so, ANA 
  
  Customer
  We have to pay another company to remediate the mold and have paid several companies to finish parts of the job that were left unfinished.
  
  ANA
  ANA is confused by this statement, as the Customer stated they hired a contractor to repair the dry rot.
  As outlined above, if this contractor did not contain the removal of the dry rot, then yes the home ANA have to be purged again of high mold spore count.
  ANA and Customer agreed to perform services on a time and materials basis. It is true there were items not completed by ANA. However, the Customer did not want to pay ANA to perform these tasks.
  On November 9, 2022, the Customer wrote an email that stated: there was roof debris in the attic and remaining insulation.
  On the same day, November 9, 2022, *** replied: Yes, we are aware that the roofer left shingles in the attic, and there are small areas of insulation debris.  This is not a quality control issue, as the cost for All New Again to remove roofing materials makes no sense as it has nothing to do with mold or mold remediation.  Same with insulation small amounts of insulation debris.  All New Again does not use lets say a ShopVac as the air movement it creates is a negative as it could blow potential contaminants around.  The only way to get all the minor insulation and small debris and assure no potential cross-contamination is with HEPA vacuums and this is considered excessive in an uninhabitable space.  You cannot remove all the dirt and dust in a crawlspace.  We were successful with mold remediation in the crawlspace and attic.  However, if you want All New Again to clean up the roofers debris and use HEPA vacuums to get the small insulation debris, although excessive, its your wallet and we certainly have no issues with this at all.  Being on a time and materials basis, we did not want to spend wasteful money on something that is not interfering with what we needed to remediate.  Moreover, you stated multiple times on the phone that the cost is exceeding what you anticipated.  All of that said, as stated above, please just let us know how to proceed and we are more than happy to do so.
  On November 19, 2022, the Customer emailed ANA and stated: I am thinking we are done with your role in the job, thank you. **** can confirm as this is mostly a financial decision. We did want the crawl space vacuumed of remaining insulation especially in the areas that we go in out of like the furnace area, but maybe this is something we will do ourselves.
  
  Customer
  There was no supervisor on site at all, as promised to check.
  
  ANA
  There was a Supervisor on site 46 days from the commence of work to the project being finished.
  There was a manager on site 12 days from the commencement of work to the project being finished.
  There were 67 email exchanges between ANA and the Customer regarding their project. 
  
  Customer
  The workers caused more damage than necessary during the demolition.
  
  ANA
  When ANA removed the baseboards, some of the paint above the baseboards was damaged. The baseboards were caulked to the wall at the top after installation. When the walls were painted, so was the caulking and baseboards. Even carefully using a utility blade to separate the caulking from the walls, this incidental damage happens in almost every restoration project.
  On November 9, 2022, Customer sent an email that stated: baseboard had been removed without cutting the top edge caulking, which left the sheetrock above torn and ripped and in need of un-necessary repairs.
  On the same day, November 9, 2022, ANA replied: Regarding the baseboards, the caulk lines were cut before removing.  However, there were many areas where the paint was damaged as the wall paint was painted to the baseboards.  This damaged the wall paint during removal.  This is not a mistake by All New Again, this is what happens (even when you cut the caulk line) when removing baseboards where wall paint has been painted to the baseboards.  Even if the wall paint was not painted to the baseboards, this is very common and expected in the industry as secondary damage or incidental damage.  In fact, this is so common, and such an industry standard, it is written in All New Agains Scope of Work Disclaimer and again in the Work Authorization Additional Terms & Conditions that this can happen and if so, those secondary damages are beyond our control and All New Again is not responsible for this secondary damage.  I have circled them on the attached for your review (last page of scope of work and line #** on page 3 of the work authorization).
  
  
  SUMMARY
  
  While ANA is empathetic to the Customer, we will not consider reimbursing the Customer for an additional 8-months of them being out of their home as this was out of the control of ANA. The extremely detailed documents justify EXACTLY the stellar communication ANA had with the Customer, and the services we provided. The pictures attached to the complaint by the Customer actually authenticate the pre-existing dry rot and ANA’s communication regarding the structural damage. The invoice from Arrow Insulation Is for new insulation in the attic and crawlspace and have nothing to do with the complaint. The invoice from Vestige is for removing the roofing shingles left behind from the Customers roofer (which the Customer told us not to perform). The invoice from Josef C. Piha is for the repair services and have nothing to do with the complaint (and ironically has the same last name as the customer). The Mycometrics report states that the Customer conducted their own air samples and then took them to the lab for analysis. Although the lab report is inaccurate and incomplete, and sampling was performed by an unlicensed and certified mold specialist, the lab results indicate species consistent with dry rot which confirm EXCATLY what ANA communicated to the Customer.
  
  ANA considers this case closed. If further unwarranted and unreasonable demands are presented, ANA will send the file to our attorneys and request the Customer do the same. 

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2023

  Hi there,

  I accidently added the wrong Word Doc titled the same name (it was empty). Can you please replace what I submitted with the attached.
  

  Thanks much!

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