Contents Solutions, Inc.

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 9, 2016/02/25) */
Good afternoon, I received a check in the amount of $750 from content solutions through regularly mail . Thank you for helping me resolve this matter . Again I really appreciate it.

Hi Bertha,   I appreciate you answering my questions regarding complaint #1263340. Per our conversation, I have attached some of the documentation pertaining to this client. Please let me know you need any further documentation from us.   Contents Solutions Inc was referred to a multiple...

unit fire loss by a construction company we work with often. One of the unit owners was Ms. [redacted]. I personally attended meetings with Ms. [redacted], her insurance company and her contractor prior to the start of our work. Her insurance company requested an estimate for our work as Ms. [redacted] had limited personal property coverage in her policy. Approximately $40k. We submitted two estimates. One for the contents pack-out, contents cleaning from fire and smoke damage, storage for 2 months at our offsite facility as well as the pack-back of the contents upon completion of construction. This estimate totaled $20,630.22.  The second estimate was for the dry cleaning of all clothing, bedding and linens. This estimate totaled $24,797.01. Ms. [redacted]'s insurance company approved the work but since there was limited coverage they could only issue the max policy amount of $40k. We confirmed that the insurance company issued $40k directly to Ms. [redacted]. We began the contents pack-out 10/24/2016. During this process Ms. [redacted] requested that we only have select items dry cleaned since the funds were limited. We are always happy to help in any way so we sent out the clothing she bagged herself for dry cleaning. Ms. [redacted] paid $15k upon completion of the pack-out and stated she would pay the remaining balance once everything was finished. We continued to store her contents while the construction was taking place. We made contact with Ms. [redacted] as we approached the 2 month storage estimate to inquire if she was ready for her personal property to be delivered. She stated construction was going to take longer and the items could not be delivered at that time. We then explained the amount of storage ($960) per month. I reached out again in February of 2017 regarding construction progress. (See Attached February Emails) Ms. [redacted] again, stated the work was going to take longer. Ms. [redacted] also stated she felt there were many issues that were caused by our company regarding her personal property. We responded with what we felt was fair and in accordance with industry standards. (See Attached February Emails) Upon completion of construction, Ms. [redacted] contacted me to schedule her pack-back date where I then forwarded her to my A&R department for payment of the outstanding invoice. (See Attached October Emails) Ms. [redacted] stated she did not owe us anything and demanded her items be delivered. We expressed our understanding for the situation but explained it is in our company policy to withhold any personal property if there are outstanding invoices. Ms. [redacted] had accrued 10 additional months of storage leaving an outstanding invoice of $9,600 billed from 12/26/2016 - 10/25/2017. Ms. [redacted] stated she would not pay this and still demanded her property be delivered. In an effort to help Ms. [redacted] we gave several discounts to the outstanding invoice bringing down the cost multiple times. (See Attached October Emails) We came to an agreement by collecting $2k from Ms. [redacted] and $2k from her contractor making it a total of $4k paid as a settlement. The grand total amount paid was $19k which is under the original estimated amount and well under the invoices accrued. Prior to the start of Ms. [redacted]'s pack-back we asked her to sign a Hold Harmless to release CSI of any liability regarding our involvement in her insurance claim. Ms. [redacted] signed this document (attached) along with our pack-back release forms since she would not allow us to properly unpack the contents. The pack-back was successful and we have not hear from Ms. [redacted] since.   At this time Contents Solutions Inc feels we have been extremely cooperative with all things considered. We believe the settlement of $19k is more than fair given the dollar amount in invoices for work actually performed was substantially higher. CSI respectfully denies the request for a full refund.     Bertha, you'll find our specific responses below in red.   My home was damaged in a fire, I hired Content solutions to pack and store all of my possessions at which point I initialed documents that were later referred to as "a contract". This is our Work Authorization Form which is a binding contract between Contents Solutions Inc and the owner of the personal property, Ms. [redacted]. The "contract" had seven boxes that I initialed, these items were what was included in the "service pack out"- 1 (boxes bubble wrap, shrink wrap, blankets, and paper). This service was completed. 2 Storage was for "the duration". This line items states the client allows CSI to store their personal property at our offsite facility for the duration of construction. In this case, for 10 months. 3 Clean, sanitize, deodorize, ozone, including dry cleaning of clothes and linens. Ms. [redacted] opted out of the cleaning process and chose a specific amount of clothes to be dry cleaned only. All other personal property was not cleaned. 4 The total inventory of all items. This is for the inventory of items that are damaged beyond repair. This service was completed. 5 Dispose of the "total loss" items upon completion of inventory with a spreadsheet of "total loss". This service was completed. 6 Pack in and stage as the original location. Ms. [redacted] requested that we stage furniture and boxes in original areas. No boxes were opened. This service was completed. The amount for all of this was in writing as $20,000. An estimate in the amount of $20,630.22 was created for the approval by the insurance company who in turn paid Ms. [redacted] in full to use whom ever she chose to handle the work. The estimate included pack-out, cleaning, offsite storage for 2 months and pack-in. Our contract is written with a To Be Determined or "TBD" amount since we cannot foresee how long construction will take and things constantly vary from project to project. I paid $15,000. at the beginning and remaining balance prior to delivery. $15k was paid but the remaining balance was not paid in full. None of these services were done as discussed or stated in their contract. Ms. [redacted] opted out of the cleaning and pack-in processes in order to save money. All other services were completed in accordance with company standards. I have pictures to back this up. My garage was full of boxes of items just tossed in carelessly, Nothing was cleaned, dry cleaning was not done per contract and direction. The boxes inside the garage contained items we cannot store like food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, batteries and candles. This was all outlined to Ms. [redacted] in detail several times. Ms. [redacted] opted out of the cleaning. Dry cleaning was done per Ms. [redacted]'s specific request. Many things were missing and/or broken. Ms [redacted] signed a Pack-in Release form which removes CSI from any liability for damaged or broken items since we were unable to unpack the boxes. My living room-couch (for one), but was found days later. Not sure how these things are missing when I was told (and the document says) all of my belongings would be in its own separate and climate controlled vault, later found out that was not true. Client personal property is stored in our climate controlled warehouse. We do not have climate controlled vaults nor do we have any documentation that states so. All couches are kept in a separate area of our facility. We keep detailed warehouse manifests and were well aware of where her property was at all times. The couch was never lost but simply the last item to be delivered. Long story a little shorter, I could not get my items back until I paid storage fees cleaning fees etc.., (at first they wanted an additional $10,000.) these were already in the contract, and should not have been an additional fee. Ms. [redacted] was well informed of the monthly charge for storage of $960 per month. Refer to Attached October Emails. We attempted to settle with Ms. [redacted] on several occasions. Refer to Attached February Emails. Also found out they threw away two beds and a custom-made "sleeper couch", which after the fact asked me to sign documents allowing them to do this, which I did not. Per the CSI Work Authorization Contract, Ms. [redacted] agrees to allow CSI to dispose of personal property deemed a total loss from damages caused by the insurance claim. Cleaning of clothes was not proper or done at all as I was able to smell my perfume still on my clothes, colors ran together, all of my clothes are not fit to wear anymore. All of the items were discolored or shrunk, dresses were in a box and wrinkled (that were said to come back and hung). All of the dry cleaning requested to be performed by Ms. [redacted] was in fact performed. This is the first we are hearing about the quality of the dry cleaning. Everything was a complete mess. I paid what they wanted to get items delivered. Ms. [redacted] paid $2k and her construction company also paid $2k to help the situation. As a sign a good faith we agreed to deliver her contents even though it is against company policy to deliver property when there are outstanding invoices. The settled amount was well under the invoiced amount. Refer to Attached October Emails. I have called and left messages and never received a callback. There have been no calls or voicemails from Ms. [redacted]. We have always responded to her diligently. I want to be refunded in full so that I can replace all of the miss handled items from beginning to end. The fire was on 10/24/16 and my items were returned November 29, 2017.     Thank you,   [redacted] General Manager