Servpro of Santa Ana South

Dear Ms***:
File: ***
Please forgive me for not responding earlier to Ms***'s allegationsWhile
we take all complaints seriously, unfortunately, we first needed proof Ms
*** was paid by the insurance companyHer payment, based on an
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estimate we provided the Insurance company was calculated using a software
program and pricing database State Farm provides us
Attached is proof Ms*** was indemnified for all of our servicesBecause
she still has an outstanding obligation of $369, we will not be issuing her any
refundHowever, the estimate was sent to the adjuster and we presume
funds have been provided
While It's correct her insurance company recommended us, It was ultimately
Ms*** who signed the authorization instructing us to commence
mitigation effortsWhile we are highly experienced professionals used to
making "quick assessments", it's still not unusual for people to initially be
"shocked" at some of the protocols we have to take in order to meet IICRC
guidelines, standards those in our industry must followThough difficult for
most claimants to deal with catastrophic loss, preferred vendors such as us
always design our efforts to allow for restoration rather than replacement
At the time of the flood, in our professional opinion, to protect it from
sustaining water damage that will cause mold growth in a home, her personal
property needed to be removed from the dwelling as soon as possible
According to the State Farm's Summary of Loss report, while Ms*** was
indemnified for abatement, mitigation, temporary housing, structural
damage, contents pack out and even OC mini movers pack back, she was not
paid for any personal property, namely because no personal property damage
loss occurred
In addition to personal property that had to be removed from the dwelling,
because the structure-itself was test by a licensed industrial hygienist and
proven to contain asbestos, a licensed abatement firm was contacted to
remove wet structural materialsThey agreed that prior to incepting asbestos
abatement, all personal property needed to be removed from wet areasThe
abatement company did the demolition and we then dried the structure
Because Ms*** did not have room in her garage in which to place all of
her personal property, it had to be removed off site from the dwellingAs she
resides in a high density condominium complex, the use of any portable
storage devices was not feasible
Prior to being transported, personal property was photographed,
professionally wrapped, boxed and inventoriedBefore being removed from
the site, an itemized inventory, for which she signed, was given to Ms***
The final amount of the pack out, which was about a thousand dollars less
than the original estimate, was paid to Ms*** by State Farm on August
13, The loss summary proves Ms*** was indemnified by State Farm
the exact same amount as she was billed for the pack out, $
Once Ms*** received a copy of her inventory, all boxes were transported
to the warehouseThere, for safekeeping, they were offloaded Into storage
vaultsThey were to remain In those vaults until such time as repairs were
complete and the boxes could then be returned to her home
Ms*** volitionally chose to notify us that she intended to come to the
office with another moving company in order to retrieve her contentsWe
agreed to comply with her request and assisted the other movers by moving
the vaults out of the warehouse and near the truck where OC Mini Movers
were locatedMs*** has not paid $for the time spent assisting the
other moving company In retrieving her boxes
While we recognize it was Ms***'s right to hire another moving company
to come and gather her personal property from the warehouse, because of
erratic behavior and foul language she used while at our facility, all of which
was witnessed by several of our employees as well as OC Mini Movers, Ms
*** was asked to remove herself from the premisesIn addition, an
incident report outlining her conduct was filed with the city of Santa Ana
police department
Because of the $outstanding balance owed, we have yet to close our file
Thank you in advance for your cooperation In updating our reliability report
*** ***, *** Santa Ana South

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Good evening Ms. [redacted],
 
I am not surprised by the response from [redacted] from [redacted] Santa Ana South. From my first experience with him and the company, I found them to be highly unreliable, uncredible and deceitful. Once again, they are true to form and their representation is far from the truth. I stand completely behind my complaint submitted to the Revdex.com on 08/12/2014.
 
I will now respond to the comments made by [redacted]:
 
[redacted]'s reason for not responding to your multiple earlier requests for a response regarding my allegations was that "we first needed proof Ms. [redacted] was paid by the insurance company". I fail to see the correlation between the two. I personally hand delivered a money order, Number [redacted], in the amount of $5,319.26, the invoice amount, to [redacted] on 08/25/2014.  As of 08/25/2014, in the provided attachment, [redacted] hand wrote "Paid $5,319.26 8/25/2014" on the official [redacted] Santa Ana South Invoice. The only reason I could surmise as to [redacted] ignoring your repeated requests for nearly a month and a half and now finally sending his late response to the Revdex.com is so, as stated in his own words, you will update their "reliability report".
 
In response to [redacted]'s statement that I "still have an outstanding obligation of $369.00" as their reason for not issuing a refund:
 
[redacted] stated, "The estimate was sent to the adjuster and we presume funds have been provided." If funds are "presumed to be provided", then why is [redacted] stating I own money? Wouldn't a well managed company know if they have been paid?  This is a very ambiguous statement made by [redacted]. To follow up, I have placed a call to my insurance adjuster, [redacted], on 10/17/2014 and he said as far as he knows everything is paid but he will check and let me know. I was never told I owe any more money by any [redacted] Santa Ana South representative either in person, through my attorney, by U. S. Mail or via email.  This is just an effort by [redacted] to discredit me in retaliation for making this complaint to the Revdex.com.
 
The day the flood occurred at my residence, I made mitigating efforts to move and box all of my belongings that were directly in contact or in the vicinity of the source of the flood. Due to this quick action on my part, not much permanent damage was caused to my belongings. [redacted] was not called out to my house until the fourth day after the flooding took place.  [redacted] packed belongings, after the fact, that were not in imminent danger of damage. [redacted] wrote they "always design their efforts to allow for restoration rather than replacement". The only water damage in the upstairs was in the bathroom and on the landing. However, [redacted] decided that the walls as far as 20 feet from the water source needed to be removed. Neglectfully, they did not think the walls surrounding the closet for my heating unit needed to be removed which was in direct contact with water thus causing mold to grow.  Also, while replacing the bathroom floor, my contractor found that [redacted], in spite of removing all of my flooring entirely in the two upstairs bedrooms, where no water damage was evident, left moldy ply wood on the bathroom floor, ground zero of the flood. Please see attached pictures of mold and rot. My contractor also saved samples for me which I personally viewed. The reason [redacted] decided to pack all my belongings and have the abatement company tear out so much of my walls unnecessarily, is so they could charge me exorbitant storage fees and they thought I would actually let them perform the restorations. Every contractor who has stepped foot in my house has been shocked as to what they see. I have been told that work beyond the scope necessary has been performed.  I know [redacted] will have an excuse for this but I truly believe and trust my contractor with 30+ years of owning a highly successful construction firm over a fledgling [redacted] franchise owner.
 
The reason the final amount of the pack out was "about a thousand dollars less than the estimate" is that, when I was witness to [redacted]'s daughter, whom I was paying to perform work at an hourly rate, flirting, sitting around and mishandling my cherished personal items, I informed [redacted] of this and he said he will make deductions as to the work she was to be paid for but not actually performing. Also, [redacted], when referred by State Farm, deducts a certain percentage to the final bill the insurance company has to pay. 
 
As I have been unpacking the boxes [redacted] had packed, I am finding my items not at all "professionally packed." See pictures attached. Many items were just thrown haphazardly into boxes and other boxes were barely filled. I presume this is because [redacted] wanted to charge me for more boxes and storage fees.
 
Now I will address the harassment I received by [redacted] and others at [redacted] Santa Ana South when I hired my own professional movers to retrieve my belongings from [redacted]'s warehouse in order to immediately disentangle myself from this [redacted] franchise.
 
I was under no obligation to store my belongings at the [redacted] warehouse for the duration of my home's restoration. Once I to [redacted] of my intention of moving my belongings from his facility, he became very defensive and cold and stated his rates are the cheapest around. He was attempting to charge me over $700.00 per month for storage fees. I had previously conducted research and found out I could self store my property, which I would feel much more comfortable doing considering only I would have access to my possessions, for just over $200.00 per month. I told this to [redacted] and he immediately got angered and told me if I opt to store my property elsewhere, I will have "cockroaches all over" my belongings. At this point I did not feel comfortable leaving my belongings in their possession as I was witness to them mishandling and damaging my belongings (all of which [redacted] denied) and I was in fear of retaliatory actions.
 
Upon my arrival to the [redacted] Santa Ana South storage warehouse, [redacted] and the employees were very hostile to me so much so that I was in fear of my safety. I went into the office and presented [redacted] with my money order for the full amount of [redacted]'s invoice. I was given a receipt for payment then went back out to the street to speak with my movers. Not long after, [redacted] came out to the moving truck that was on public property and told me that I cannot use his restroom. I don't know why he said this as I never once requested to use it nor did I have a need to use it. I feel he was just attempting to intimidate me once again. 
 
No "erratic behavior and foul language" was displayed on my part. On the contrary, [redacted]'s daughter, [redacted], who happens to be the office manager, began yelling at me once I told her to contact my attorney as he represents me and I wish not to speak to her directly.  She was very agitated and lunged toward me in such an aggressive manner so much so that [redacted] had to hold her back and tell her to go inside the building. At this point, I told them that I had the Santa Ana Police Department on speed dial and I will call the police if they do not stop harassing me.  I stated to [redacted] that, " I just want to cut my losses and sever all ties" with their company and retrieve my property. My movers were witness to this and could provide sworn affidavits upon request as they witnessed the aggressive behavior directed toward me.  My movers, whom I did not know before this incident, are unbiased third party witnesses to the events that unravelled, whereas [redacted] employees are either immediate family members or over-worked and under-paid employees who are merely trying to eke out a living. Thus, they would lie for and not speak ill against their employers. I told the SAPD officer I wished to go to court to have a protective order issued due to the fact that I was in fear of my safety.  The officer went to [redacted] and, in particular, [redacted] to request voluntary information from them and they would not comply. Subsequent to this, I spoke to a judge I work with and be stated I would be completely justified in obtaining a restraining order against [redacted] as she lunged at me, knows where I live and [redacted] employees had previously had access to my house key. 
 
I believe they were so angry at me because I was not going to hire them for the restoration of my house and I was not going to keep my belongings at their ware house.  They are a money hungry franchise and will go to any length to acquire as much money as possible.  During the time my movers were moving my belongings into their truck, [redacted] told them that he "makes over $3 million dollars a year". He also asked them if they needed real jobs. Both of which is highly inappropriate. [redacted]'s money is ill begotten by taking advantage of and ripping off their cus[redacted]ers. As a side note, my attorney, who is a retired commissioner for the Superior Court will be looking into the business practices of [redacted] for law violations relating to [redacted]'s relationship with insurance companies. I intend to forward any findings to the Revdex.com and the Attorney General. 
 
In closing,  this is not about money for me as [redacted]'s costs were paid by my insurance company. I know I will not get anything from them nor will I ever do business with them and urge others to not do business with them either. I have nothing to gain or lose from relating my experience to the Revdex.com. I want to inform others of the business practices of this company so others don't fall prey to [redacted] and [redacted] Santa Ana South and of unprofessional, inappropriate and harassing treatment from a company who claims to be, but falls so short of being "highly experienced professionals". I will never recommend them to anyone and, by the way they are doing business, they will probably be out of business soon.
 
I cannot bear to continue to read untruthful statements made by [redacted]. I know he will deny everything I have stated in this response. It is in his nature.  I pray this matter is resolved so I can finally attempt to rid this excruciating experience from my thoughts. 
 
Please feel free to contact me anytime.
 
Thank you once again for taking time to read my concerns.
 
 
 
Regards, 
[redacted]

Review: I had a flood in my townhome (which in itself is a very stressful situation) and my insurance company recommended [redacted] to perform the dryout. Since insurance recommended [redacted] and I was in dire need for the dry out to begin, I called [redacted] and they came out to my property. They immediately insisted their company had to pack out all my property and they needed to transport my property to their storage warehouse for storage for the duration of the restoration. I was shocked at this quick assessment but, as I reflect, I know that [redacted] just saw dollar signs when they looked at me. My adjuster agreed with me that this was an extreme measure and they exceeded the scope of work that really needed to be performed. [redacted] systematically took advantage of my misfortune to defraud me of as much money as possible. The co-owner, [redacted] and his wife, [redacted], as well as other employees, including their daughter (whom I witnessed not working and flirting much of the time while on the clock) were very unprofessional and rude to me, their paying cus[redacted]er. They damaged and mishandled my property, including my antique/vintage items and when I voiced my concern about this to [redacted] she simply said, "They are only human." I also overheard the foreperson, [redacted], telling the daugher, while they both were snickering, that "we should tell her that someone stole all her stuff." One of the employees, who was actually working and unrelated to [redacted] and his wife, told me in confidence that the daughter, "does not even work much of the time and everyone has to pick up her slack." I have a lack of confidence in this company and would not refer them to my worst enemy!On top of all this unprofessionalism, lack of integrity and disrespect shown to me, they had the nerve to charge me $5,300.00 for the pack out and storage!!! This is almost a third of the insurance money I am to receive and now I might not have enough money to restore all of the damage because [redacted] squandered my money. I was ripped off!Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for half of the amount of $5,300.00 billed. I do not want this company, [redacted] Santa Ana South, to take advantage of any one else's misadvantage and stressful situation in order to line their own pockets.I am going to tell everyone I know, and even those I don't know, in person and via the internet to NEVER use [redacted] Santa Ana South for ANY work.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. [redacted]:

File: [redacted]

Please forgive me for not responding earlier to Ms. [redacted]'s allegations. While

we take all complaints seriously, unfortunately, we first needed proof Ms.

[redacted] was paid by the insurance company. Her payment, based on an

estimate we provided the Insurance company was calculated using a software

program and pricing database State Farm provides us.

Attached is proof Ms. [redacted] was indemnified for all of our services. Because

she still has an outstanding obligation of $369, we will not be issuing her any

refund. However, the estimate was sent to the adjuster and we presume

funds have been provided.

While It's correct her insurance company recommended us, It was ultimately

Ms. [redacted] who signed the authorization instructing us to commence

mitigation efforts. While we are highly experienced professionals used to

making "quick assessments", it's still not unusual for people to initially be

"shocked" at some of the protocols we have to take in order to meet IICRC

guidelines, standards those in our industry must follow. Though difficult for

most claimants to deal with catastrophic loss, preferred vendors such as us

always design our efforts to allow for restoration rather than replacement.

At the time of the flood, in our professional opinion, to protect it from

sustaining water damage that will cause mold growth in a home, her personal

property needed to be removed from the dwelling as soon as possible.

According to the State Farm's Summary of Loss report, while Ms. [redacted] was

indemnified for abatement, mitigation, temporary housing, structural

damage, contents pack out and even OC mini movers pack back, she was not

paid for any personal property, namely because no personal property damage

loss occurred.

In addition to personal property that had to be removed from the dwelling,

because the structure-itself was test by a licensed industrial hygienist and

proven to contain asbestos, a licensed abatement firm was contacted to

remove wet structural materials. They agreed that prior to incepting asbestos

abatement, all personal property needed to be removed from wet areas. The

abatement company did the demolition and we then dried the structure.

Because Ms. [redacted] did not have room in her garage in which to place all of

her personal property, it had to be removed off site from the dwelling. As she

resides in a high density condominium complex, the use of any portable

storage devices was not feasible.

Prior to being transported, personal property was photographed,

professionally wrapped, boxed and inventoried. Before being removed from

the site, an itemized inventory, for which she signed, was given to Ms. [redacted].

The final amount of the pack out, which was about a thousand dollars less

than the original estimate, was paid to Ms. [redacted] by State Farm on August

13, 2014. The loss summary proves Ms. [redacted] was indemnified by State Farm

the exact same amount as she was billed for the pack out, $5319.26.

Once Ms. [redacted] received a copy of her inventory, all boxes were transported

to the warehouse. There, for safekeeping, they were offloaded Into storage

vaults. They were to remain In those vaults until such time as repairs were

complete and the boxes could then be returned to her home.

Ms. [redacted] volitionally chose to notify us that she intended to come to the

office with another moving company in order to retrieve her contents. We

agreed to comply with her request and assisted the other movers by moving

the vaults out of the warehouse and near the truck where OC Mini Movers

were located. Ms. [redacted] has not paid $369 for the time spent assisting the

other moving company In retrieving her boxes.

While we recognize it was Ms. [redacted]'s right to hire another moving company

to come and gather her personal property from the warehouse, because of

erratic behavior and foul language she used while at our facility, all of which

was witnessed by several of our employees as well as OC Mini Movers, Ms.

[redacted] was asked to remove herself from the premises. In addition, an

incident report outlining her conduct was filed with the city of Santa Ana

police department.

Because of the $369 outstanding balance owed, we have yet to close our file.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation In updating our reliability report.

[redacted] Santa Ana South

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Good evening Ms. [redacted],