Building Inspector Of America

We were promised a discount on a future home inspection after an unsatisfactory experience. The [redacted] reneged after we paid for our next inspection.On October 26, 2011, we scheduled a home inspection with [redacted] of the Building Inspector of America. The house we were considering purchasing was outdated but we were surprised at the amount of problems with the home. Every time [redacted] identified an issue, he would go into a laughing fit. While I believe the laughter was truly from nerves, after a 1 hour inspection we were thoroughly unamused by [redacted] and found his laughter to be highly unprofessional. At the end of the inspection, we paid [redacted] $420 and went our separate ways.That night, we noticed that our paperwork from [redacted] said that B.I.A. offered a 100% satisfaction guarantee on services. The guarantee does say that if you are unsatisfied you should not pay on the day of the inspection. As this was our first experience with a home inspection, we decided to speak with the company to see if they would be willing to honor their guarantee. The following day, my fiance contacted the business's main office and asked to speak with the [redacted]. When the [redacted] called back, he identified himself as [redacted]. When my fiance explained the situation, [redacted] said he was not surprised and that even though [redacted] was a very nice person he sometimes did get complaints about his personality. He also said "When I looked at the report, I can see why he was laughing. The house had tons of problems." While we did not think potentially wasting $100k+ of our money was comical, we ignored the comment. [redacted] told my fiance he was sorry about the inspection and told him he would give us a discount on our next inspection if we chose to stick with B.I.A.On May 14th,2013 my fiance contacted B.I.A. to set up a home inspection for a different house. When he spoke with the [redacted], he explained the previous situation to her and asked for [redacted] to personally do the inspection. She said that [redacted] would not be available until May 21st. To comply with our Offer to Purchase we needed our report by 5/21, so we were forced to use a different inspector. I called back to adjust the time of our appointment and spoke with the business [redacted]. Three separate times during my conversation I mentioned to the [redacted] that we would be expecting a discount on our inspection. The first two mentions the [redacted] dodged by saying "Well, you will really like this other inspector. He's very nice and easy to deal with." The 3rd time I brought up the discount, the [redacted] said "I will need to talk that over with [redacted] to see what he wants to do." I did not hear back from [redacted] or the [redacted] prior to our 5/19 inspection. Our 2nd inspector ([redacted]) was very nice and professional. I felt that our inspection was thorough. When it came time to pay the bill, [redacted] handed me an invoice for $420. When I told him that we were expecting a discounted inspection, he said he knew nothing about it. Stupidly, we paid the inspector and decided to take up the situation with [redacted] the following day. My fiance left messages for [redacted] for over a week before finally getting a call back on 5/30/13. [redacted] said that the discount he offered was ONLY for inspections done by him personally and that should have been told to us before. At no point was this discussed with either of us prior to THIS conversation. When my fiance questioned how this response honored B.I.A.'s 100% satisfaction guarantee, [redacted] said "My inspector's do a great job," and hung up the phone!! While my fiance and I in no way discredit the quality of the inspection report we received, the customer service from this company is appalling and we would NEVER recommend this business to a friend. Since our incident with [redacted], we have spoken about the experience with several other people in the real estate industry. Several have commented that they cringe when they see a B.I.A. logo pull up the drive way for their client's inspection because [redacted] is such a difficult person to work with. BUYER BEWARE!Desired SettlementWe are requesting that B.I.A. honor their 100% satisfaction guarantee by issuing a partial refund of services rendered, due to the poor customer service skills from [redacted] AND [redacted]. We have now spent $840.00 on a company that we NEVER would have went back to had we not been told we would receive a discount. The company's website boasts a customer satisfaction policy - we want B.I.A. to put their money where their mouth is!Business' Initial Response For your information, all of the inspectors who associate with The Building Inspector of America own and operate their own company. This was explained to[redacted] and her fiancé. It is also are third paragraph of our inspection contract, which reads: "Home Inspectors are professionals, who are individually licensed; home inspection companies are not licensed. Home inspectors is solely responsible for the content of the inspection and report.We take great pride in performing a professional home inspection that meets or exceeds the MA State Standards, which is also the highest in the nation. The initial complain was after [redacted] performed a home inspection. [redacted] at the time was a [redacted] with 50 years' experience in the trades. It turns out that [redacted]'s inspection did not miss a thing and was exceptionally thorough. The problem was with [redacted]'s verbal delivery, his reactions, mannerisms, chuckle. That is, it appeared to be a personality clash. This was and has been the only complaint with [redacted]. [redacted] offered a discount and would perform the next inspection himself. They scheduled an inspection with [redacted] of The Building Inspector of America, who was unaware of the discount offer. At the time of the second inspection it was never brought up, [redacted] received his fee and performed another exceptionally thorough inspection. Our satisfaction guarantee is a performance guarantee. All our inspections will meet or exceed the State Standards. We do not give a discount or refund money based on a house that is in poor condition, or you don't like the way the inspector smiled or laughed. [redacted] is the [redacted] of The Building Inspector of America and he and his inspectors are respected throughout the home inspection profession. As always performing in a professional and top notch manner. [redacted] is a certified building official, he is the [redacted] of home inspectors for the commonwealth of Massachusetts and is one of the primary authors of 266 CMR the home inspection standards and has never had a customer complaint. In closing, he will continue to offer a discount to[redacted] and her fiancé of $75.00 for a home inspection for themselves or one they would like to refer to a friend as long as he personally does the inspection. Or he will send a free dual air radon canister kit. And it is most important to remember both inspections and reports were thorough and accurate.Consumer's Final Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)It appears that [redacted] has an interesting definition of "professionalism." I honestly care that [redacted] is a [redacted] as much as I would care if he was a novice elephant trainer - NOT AT ALL! I CARE that he was unprofessional and rude in our home inspection. You are absolutely correct that we had an issue with [redacted]'s verbal delivery - a.k.a. his "customer service skills." Attempting to downplay our complaint as if it's illegitimate shows exactly where this company ranks in customer service and exactly how much they value customer relationships. Your description of you and your home inspectors as "performing in a top notch manner" is laughable (maybe that's what [redacted] found so funny in our inspection?)Some of the items that [redacted] presented as fact in his response are blatant LIES - when [redacted] initially promised the discount, he said that he would give us a discount on our next inspection AND he would perform it personally. He did not say that his performing the inspection was a condition of the discount. When I contacted the H.I.O.A., I told the business [redacted] the situation and she asked when we would need the inspection done by. She told me that [redacted] was completely booked for over a week, which would've been past our home inspection contingency date. That's convenient isn't it? Sounds like a great way to shut people up when they complain, and then hope they are not trusting enough to actually return for another inspection! I then asked several times if we would be still be receiving a discount if [redacted] completed the inspection, which the [redacted] dodged except for saying "I'll have to talk to [redacted] about that." I didn't realize that this meant that we needed to contact the [redacted] before the inspection to make sure she did her job. [redacted] performed the inspection and he did a great job, but we most certainly did tell [redacted] that we were expecting a discount, contrary to [redacted]'s response above. [redacted] suggested that we follow up with [redacted] after the inspection, which we did, and led to this baloney.In closing, are you honestly trying to tell me that the Home Inspectors of America (aka [redacted]) is receiving no proceeds from each inspection performed and is allowing inspectors to use his company's name with no personal benefit? If [redacted] is operating his own company, then why did [redacted] offer a discount on our next inspection in the first place? BECAUSE HE ACKNOWLEDGED HIS OWN RESPONSIBILITY AS THE [redacted] OF THE COMPANY, and is now reneging because he's actually being held accountable for his inspector's actions! [redacted] has every right and ability to provide a refund, and is refusing because it would mean digging into his own pockets. We are not a couple of scammers looking for a free ride - we were honestly offended by our initial home inspector and this complaint was intended to give the company an opportunity to make things right. Instead they decided to pretend that the complaint was invalid. I will never use or recommend this company ever again, and find the [redacted]'s offer of a $75 discount on ANOTHER inspection insulting. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

We were promised a discount on a future home inspection after an unsatisfactory experience. The [redacted] reneged after we paid for our next inspection.On October 26, 2011, we scheduled a home inspection with [redacted] of the Building Inspector of America. The house we were considering purchasing was outdated but we were surprised at the amount of problems with the home. Every time [redacted] identified an issue, he would go into a laughing fit. While I believe the laughter was truly from nerves, after a 1 hour inspection we were thoroughly unamused by [redacted] and found his laughter to be highly unprofessional. At the end of the inspection, we paid [redacted] $420 and went our separate ways.That night, we noticed that our paperwork from [redacted] said that B.I.A. offered a 100% satisfaction guarantee on services. The guarantee does say that if you are unsatisfied you should not pay on the day of the inspection. As this was our first experience with a home inspection, we decided to speak with the company to see if they would be willing to honor their guarantee. The following day, my fiance contacted the business's main office and asked to speak with the [redacted]. When the [redacted] called back, he identified himself as [redacted]. When my fiance explained the situation, [redacted] said he was not surprised and that even though [redacted] was a very nice person he sometimes did get complaints about his personality. He also said "When I looked at the report, I can see why he was laughing. The house had tons of problems." While we did not think potentially wasting $100k+ of our money was comical, we ignored the comment. [redacted] told my fiance he was sorry about the inspection and told him he would give us a discount on our next inspection if we chose to stick with B.I.A.On May 14th,2013 my fiance contacted B.I.A. to set up a home inspection for a different house. When he spoke with the [redacted], he explained the previous situation to her and asked for [redacted] to personally do the inspection. She said that [redacted] would not be available until May 21st. To comply with our Offer to Purchase we needed our report by 5/21, so we were forced to use a different inspector. I called back to adjust the time of our appointment and spoke with the business [redacted]. Three separate times during my conversation I mentioned to the [redacted] that we would be expecting a discount on our inspection. The first two mentions the [redacted] dodged by saying "Well, you will really like this other inspector. He's very nice and easy to deal with." The 3rd time I brought up the discount, the [redacted] said "I will need to talk that over with [redacted] to see what he wants to do." I did not hear back from [redacted] or the [redacted] prior to our 5/19 inspection. Our 2nd inspector ([redacted]) was very nice and professional. I felt that our inspection was thorough. When it came time to pay the bill, [redacted] handed me an invoice for $420. When I told him that we were expecting a discounted inspection, he said he knew nothing about it. Stupidly, we paid the inspector and decided to take up the situation with [redacted] the following day. My fiance left messages for [redacted] for over a week before finally getting a call back on 5/30/13. [redacted] said that the discount he offered was ONLY for inspections done by him personally and that should have been told to us before. At no point was this discussed with either of us prior to THIS conversation. When my fiance questioned how this response honored B.I.A.'s 100% satisfaction guarantee, [redacted] said "My inspector's do a great job," and hung up the phone!! While my fiance and I in no way discredit the quality of the inspection report we received, the customer service from this company is appalling and we would NEVER recommend this business to a friend. Since our incident with [redacted], we have spoken about the experience with several other people in the real estate industry. Several have commented that they cringe when they see a B.I.A. logo pull up the drive way for their client's inspection because [redacted] is such a difficult person to work with. BUYER BEWARE!Desired SettlementWe are requesting that B.I.A. honor their 100% satisfaction guarantee by issuing a partial refund of services rendered, due to the poor customer service skills from [redacted] AND [redacted]. We have now spent $840.00 on a company that we NEVER would have went back to had we not been told we would receive a discount. The company's website boasts a customer satisfaction policy - we want B.I.A. to put their money where their mouth is!Business' Initial Response For your information, all of the inspectors who associate with The Building Inspector of America own and operate their own company. This was explained to[redacted] and her fiancé. It is also are third paragraph of our inspection contract, which reads: "Home Inspectors are professionals, who are individually licensed; home inspection companies are not licensed. Home inspectors is solely responsible for the content of the inspection and report.We take great pride in performing a professional home inspection that meets or exceeds the MA State Standards, which is also the highest in the nation. The initial complain was after [redacted] performed a home inspection. [redacted] at the time was a [redacted] with 50 years' experience in the trades. It turns out that [redacted]'s inspection did not miss a thing and was exceptionally thorough. The problem was with [redacted]'s verbal delivery, his reactions, mannerisms, chuckle. That is, it appeared to be a personality clash. This was and has been the only complaint with [redacted]. [redacted] offered a discount and would perform the next inspection himself. They scheduled an inspection with [redacted] of The Building Inspector of America, who was unaware of the discount offer. At the time of the second inspection it was never brought up, [redacted] received his fee and performed another exceptionally thorough inspection. Our satisfaction guarantee is a performance guarantee. All our inspections will meet or exceed the State Standards. We do not give a discount or refund money based on a house that is in poor condition, or you don't like the way the inspector smiled or laughed. [redacted] is the [redacted] of The Building Inspector of America and he and his inspectors are respected throughout the home inspection profession. As always performing in a professional and top notch manner. [redacted] is a certified building official, he is the [redacted] of home inspectors for the commonwealth of Massachusetts and is one of the primary authors of 266 CMR the home inspection standards and has never had a customer complaint. In closing, he will continue to offer a discount to[redacted] and her fiancé of $75.00 for a home inspection for themselves or one they would like to refer to a friend as long as he personally does the inspection. Or he will send a free dual air radon canister kit. And it is most important to remember both inspections and reports were thorough and accurate.Consumer's Final Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)It appears that [redacted] has an interesting definition of "professionalism." I honestly care that [redacted] is a [redacted] as much as I would care if he was a novice elephant trainer - NOT AT ALL! I CARE that he was unprofessional and rude in our home inspection. You are absolutely correct that we had an issue with [redacted]'s verbal delivery - a.k.a. his "customer service skills." Attempting to downplay our complaint as if it's illegitimate shows exactly where this company ranks in customer service and exactly how much they value customer relationships. Your description of you and your home inspectors as "performing in a top notch manner" is laughable (maybe that's what [redacted] found so funny in our inspection?)Some of the items that [redacted] presented as fact in his response are blatant LIES - when [redacted] initially promised the discount, he said that he would give us a discount on our next inspection AND he would perform it personally. He did not say that his performing the inspection was a condition of the discount. When I contacted the H.I.O.A., I told the business [redacted] the situation and she asked when we would need the inspection done by. She told me that [redacted] was completely booked for over a week, which would've been past our home inspection contingency date. That's convenient isn't it? Sounds like a great way to shut people up when they complain, and then hope they are not trusting enough to actually return for another inspection! I then asked several times if we would be still be receiving a discount if [redacted] completed the inspection, which the [redacted] dodged except for saying "I'll have to talk to [redacted] about that." I didn't realize that this meant that we needed to contact the [redacted] before the inspection to make sure she did her job. [redacted] performed the inspection and he did a great job, but we most certainly did tell [redacted] that we were expecting a discount, contrary to [redacted]'s response above. [redacted] suggested that we follow up with [redacted] after the inspection, which we did, and led to this baloney.In closing, are you honestly trying to tell me that the Home Inspectors of America (aka [redacted]) is receiving no proceeds from each inspection performed and is allowing inspectors to use his company's name with no personal benefit? If [redacted] is operating his own company, then why did [redacted] offer a discount on our next inspection in the first place? BECAUSE HE ACKNOWLEDGED HIS OWN RESPONSIBILITY AS THE [redacted] OF THE COMPANY, and is now reneging because he's actually being held accountable for his inspector's actions! [redacted] has every right and ability to provide a refund, and is refusing because it would mean digging into his own pockets. We are not a couple of scammers looking for a free ride - we were honestly offended by our initial home inspector and this complaint was intended to give the company an opportunity to make things right. Instead they decided to pretend that the complaint was invalid. I will never use or recommend this company ever again, and find the [redacted]'s offer of a $75 discount on ANOTHER inspection insulting. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

We requested our money back per their 30 day warranty pursuant to a terrible home inspection. No response rec'd until our 3rd written request. Had a home inspecton on 7/6/12 and inspector missed many issues which were discoverable when we moved into the property. We complained on 8/4 requesting our money back. No response was received. I called on 9/3 and they told me that it was my fault and a signed a contract. I explained that you can contract away negligence. My husband sent a demand on 12/6 again requesting a refund. No response was ever received. We sent another request on 9/3/13 and the home inspector blamed me again for having my child at the home inspection and said we never gave them an opportunity to address the issues. We gave them more than enough time to rectify this situation. The response was demeaning and belittling. I am not a home inspector, I paid someone to do the job and report on essential building defects. As a result of what was missed we have spent over 20,000 correcting the defects. Desired SettlementWe want the refund of 480.00 as the contract promised if we were not 100% satisfied with the inspection.Business Response A home inspection was performed on 7/6/12 and was nothing but professional and to the 266 CMR MA Standards and the home inspection report was accurate and thorough. The clients account for communication however is not accurate. Written requests were never submitted, prior to the 9/3/13 demand letter. Phones calls on 9/22/12, 9/23/12, 12/5/12 and 12/6/12 were the only form of communication. We have accurate accounts of the conversations and the messages that were left and not returned by client or clients husband/Atty. The complaints made in the 9/3/13 demand letter were answered/clarified not only in our response to the demand letter, but in the original home inspection report. There is no validity to the complaints, therefore relief for demand was denied. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)We have copies of all correspondences sent including the defamatory statement alleging that a woman with her child at a home inspection is inappropriate. The home inspection was very poor and we will be seeking legal action and filing a small claims action for negligence and breach of contract. Final Business Response We never indicated that bringing a child along is inappropriate. We encourage whole families and extended families to come during a home inspection. It is critical that someone is paying attention to the home inspector's comments so they can maximize the education they are getting regarding the home they are about to purchase. We have only received one written correspondence and everyone of the clients concerns was answered in the home inspection report. And in that response we stated that we never received any previous written requests. The compliant letter indicated that they had one other written request. The clients complaint that came into the Revdex.com on 10/7/13 indicated 2 additional written complaints that we never have received. We track all phone calls and all complaints and answer everyone to all out clients. We are very proud of the excellent service we provide to our clients.

We requested our money back per their 30 day warranty pursuant to a terrible home inspection. No response rec'd until our 3rd written request. Had a home inspecton on 7/6/12 and inspector missed many issues which were discoverable when we moved into the property. We complained on 8/4 requesting our money back. No response was received. I called on 9/3 and they told me that it was my fault and a signed a contract. I explained that you can contract away negligence. My husband sent a demand on 12/6 again requesting a refund. No response was ever received. We sent another request on 9/3/13 and the home inspector blamed me again for having my child at the home inspection and said we never gave them an opportunity to address the issues. We gave them more than enough time to rectify this situation. The response was demeaning and belittling. I am not a home inspector, I paid someone to do the job and report on essential building defects. As a result of what was missed we have spent over 20,000 correcting the defects. Desired SettlementWe want the refund of 480.00 as the contract promised if we were not 100% satisfied with the inspection.Business Response A home inspection was performed on 7/6/12 and was nothing but professional and to the 266 CMR MA Standards and the home inspection report was accurate and thorough. The clients account for communication however is not accurate. Written requests were never submitted, prior to the 9/3/13 demand letter. Phones calls on 9/22/12, 9/23/12, 12/5/12 and 12/6/12 were the only form of communication. We have accurate accounts of the conversations and the messages that were left and not returned by client or clients husband/Atty. The complaints made in the 9/3/13 demand letter were answered/clarified not only in our response to the demand letter, but in the original home inspection report. There is no validity to the complaints, therefore relief for demand was denied. Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)We have copies of all correspondences sent including the defamatory statement alleging that a woman with her child at a home inspection is inappropriate. The home inspection was very poor and we will be seeking legal action and filing a small claims action for negligence and breach of contract. Final Business Response We never indicated that bringing a child along is inappropriate. We encourage whole families and extended families to come during a home inspection. It is critical that someone is paying attention to the home inspector's comments so they can maximize the education they are getting regarding the home they are about to purchase. We have only received one written correspondence and everyone of the clients concerns was answered in the home inspection report. And in that response we stated that we never received any previous written requests. The compliant letter indicated that they had one other written request. The clients complaint that came into the Revdex.com on 10/7/13 indicated 2 additional written complaints that we never have received. We track all phone calls and all complaints and answer everyone to all out clients. We are very proud of the excellent service we provide to our clients.