A & E Environmental, Inc

For anyone who has a mold problem I would highly recommend A&E Environmental. I live in Sutton and we had an issue with a horrible mold smell in our home, we used the Better Business listing and called 2 other companies, both came to our house with only a flashlight and basically said there was nothing they could do because they could not see the mold growing on anything, yes were heard how if we had an issue they would see the mold growing on our leather chair or our luggage in the closet, all the while the smell was growingly offensive. One guy suggested we wash everything with antibacterial soap and call him the odor returned, which it did, and he never returned my call after three attempts. A&E on the other hand not only arrived prepared to help us investigate but actually discovered the issue and allowed us to take the next steps in ridding our home of this horrible smell. I strongly recommend them and would use them again (hopefully not anytime soon) They were willing to come out on a Sunday to help us do the clean up. Diane and her team are true professionals in the mold detection and removal business.

For anyone who has a mold problem I would highly recommend A&E Environmental. I live in Sutton and we had an issue with a horrible mold smell in our home, we used the Better Business listing and called 2 other companies, both came to our house with only a flashlight and basically said there was nothing they could do because they could not see the mold growing on anything, yes were heard how if we had an issue they would see the mold growing on our leather chair or our luggage in the closet, all the while the smell was growingly offensive. One guy suggested we wash everything with antibacterial soap and call him the odor returned, which it did, and he never returned my call after three attempts. A&E on the other hand not only arrived prepared to help us investigate but actually discovered the issue and allowed us to take the next steps in ridding our home of this horrible smell. I strongly recommend them and would use them again (hopefully not anytime soon) They were willing to come out on a Sunday to help us do the clean up. Diane and her team are true professionals in the mold detection and removal business.

Down payment of $1000 not being returned.On July 28, 2013 I gave a $1000 deposit for asbestos removal in my home due to an offer made on my house. I was notified by my realtor the closing wasn't going to be until the end of October and informed A&E immediately of this information. They agreed to hold on to the deposit until time for filing purposes. Two weeks later, to my surprise, the buyer backed out of the sale and I contacted A&E immediately of such and they had agreed to return my deposit. They never did. Approximately 6 weeks after (still waiting to hear from A &E), the buyer decided she wanted the house and a decision was made to go with a different vendor for asbestos removal. I contacted A&E again as to disposition of my deposit and was told they would get back to me (again). They never did. Several weeks later, I called them again and was told they never had a situation like this before. The [redacted] was hurt because she thought we had a good rapport and I should have come to them but admitted they couldn't meet the price of the new vendor for the same work. Mention was made also as to "well we did go out and do an estimate". I said $1000 is an awful lot for an estimate, they then stated "we don't charge for estimates". The proposal does not mention anything of cancelation fees. To go with a different vendor had nothing personally to do with A&E other than it was a business decision. I've contacted them 3 times and they never return my call with an answer as to disposition of my deposit. I've been more than fair in waiting for a response and now a decision has to be made. I feel the situation is more of a personal nature vs. a business decision.Desired SettlementFull $1000 deposit returnBusiness Response On July 28th, 2013 [redacted] signed into a contract with A&E Environmental, Inc. and gave a deposit of $1,000.00. [redacted] had asbestos containing Thermal System Insulation on pipes in basement she wanted to remove. At the time we looked at the piping she stated she needed to have it done for the sale of her home but she should probably have it removed anyway. Upon receiving the deposit that Sunday on Monday morning I notified for the work to be performed in ten working days. A few days after I set this up we received a call from Ms. [redacted] informing us that the closing would not be until the end of October so she asked us to hold off until closer to that date so I canceled the notification. Once October came around we heard from Ms. [redacted] and she stated that the sale of her home had fallen through and would like to know if she could get the deposit back. I stated that I needed to talk this over with someone in my office and get back to her but I believe that I could but I would have to charge an administrative fee because we had already processed the paper work on this for her. [redacted] mentioned that if that is what we had to do that was fine. Upon reviewing this with my office I was reminded that [redacted] wanted to have the work performed regardless and was surprised she canceled the work. [redacted] followed up with a phone call to the office on October 18th, 2013 and asked why the deposit check had not been returned to her less the administrative fee. I called Ms. [redacted] back and I let her know that I was looking online and noticed that another company notified for this project to be done. She stated then that the original buyer had decided to buy the house again and that she hired another company that was less expensive to do the work and that she was sorry but it was a financial decision. I informed Ms. [redacted] that I would get back to her on Tuesday because she signed a contract with us I did not get back to her by Tuesday like I had stated because I was awaiting a call back from our lawyer. I have not been put in a position like this from a client in all the years that I have been in business. However, I knew the laws I just wanted my lawyer to confirm the Massachusetts laws states that once a consumer signs a contract and gives a deposit they are entitled to change their mind within three business days of that contract. I personally felt bad when Ms. [redacted] buyer had backed out for she was going through a lot at the time but the minute I found out that she had hired another contractor and was not even going to disclose that information to me I realized that Ms. [redacted] was not being honest and that feeling bad was not a good business decision. We have every right to hold Ms. [redacted] to the contract she signed with us. I would like Ms. [redacted] to understand our plight that we were going on her word that the buyer backed out of this contract and only to find out that she hired someone else at a lower rate and they performed the work in the same month we were going to perform the work. A reputable realtor referred her to us and at this point we are losing our creditability and now a complaint has been filed and we don't even know if the sale fell through and even if it did she is well beyond the three business days to change her mind about the contract she signed. At this time we would like to request proof that the sale did fall through. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)One return phone call telling me your intentions would have prevented this. But you did not return my calls, twice.There was no disclosure on the contract stating "once a consumer signs a contract and gives a deposit they are entitled to change their mind within three business days of that contract consumer deposit. " I was not told in our initial meeting or anywhere on the contract of cancellation policy. I have found out that if a contractor is reputable they could work something out with the client to an amicable ending.You are asking me to understand your plight, understand mine, being a [redacted] and thinking about my financial situation is not against the law. That is being responsible. I feel I have every right to look at my situation and reassess as needed and that's what I did and made the decision not to go forward at that particular time. Actually as you state we signed on Sunday and Monday you notified the work to be performed and then a few days later I called you to cancel. That seems to be at least 3 days for me. You are admitting you were going to refund my deposit minus the administrative fee and when you were found out I went to another company when the buyer redecided to buy, then you made it personal and not being honest yourselves. You seem to be focused on your reputation. I also want to go on record stating that I got your name out of a phonebook and not from any realtor, nor have I spoken to any other realtors about this situation. Your actions are speaking for themselves and if you feel that keeping my deposit that you have won, is it worth your reputation?The sale of my home has nothing to do with this complaint, it's the return of my deposit (or a portion of minus admin fees).Final Business Response Dear Ms. [redacted], Once a client signs a proposal the next step is for us to notify for the job. We do not have to wait the three days in case a customer changes their mind. Again, we have never had this happen before. Most clients once they have signed the proposal and give a deposit they are done shopping around or getting prices.You did not call within three days to cancel you called to move the job out to October.Then once October came you wanted to cancel because you had hired someone else.Because we are caring company and listened to your plight and sympathized with you and stated that we could possibly give deposit back less the administration fee only to find out later on that you had hired another company.We would have been within our rights to hold you to that contract buy you explained even if we kept your deposit the job was still cheaper going with someone else.I was willing to compromise with you if you could me with proof that the buyer backed out. Now you are saying that this isn't about the buyer backing out it is about financial reasons.It is unfortunate that you signed a contract with us and gave a deposit and then months later hired someone else to perform the work. We as a company were counting on that project and our workers were expecting to perform the work instead it had gone to another contractor after you signed a contract with us months later.You did not cancel within in three business days of signing the contract and we are not legally entitled to return the money back to you.We could have held you to the whole contract but we are not going to do this. Unfortunately, now this has cost me more money because I have to consult a lawyer now on two occasions regarding this and have had to take time to reply to this complaint.When I feel all of this could have been avoided by you not signing the contract until you had performed your due diligence.