Crystal Dry, Inc.

Dear Mr***, I am sorry for any delay in responding I was out of the office last weekAs previously stated we are not able to offer refunds for inspections that have occurredThe next step in the process, if you have not been able to come to an agreement with the builder regarding the repairs, would be for you to request that the case be sent to mediationACES acts as an aide providing third party dispute resolution and administers to the WarrantyThe Builder is the full Warrantor and responsible for repairs that are deemed necessary by the third party reportWe always strive to contract with the highest quality third party engineers and inspectors in the business, but we cannot guarantee that every report will please all parties, nor that the reports will always go in your favor There are specific standards that must be met to find that an issue is a defect and thus must be repairedWe are sorry if this first step in the Warranty’s Intervention Process has not been effective to resolve your problems, but there is the option of mediation with your builderMediation would allow an opportunity for both parties to come to an amicable agreement on the repairs or settlement of the issues Kind regards, Shawn

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint that response will be for my next complaint not this one The report is in my favor, but you still have not addressed the issues with the inspection Do you believe I told the inspector not inspect the tiles, how many emails and pictures have you received from me concerning this issue? Do you seriously believe he had enough notes to write his report weeks later? And what about the items that were left out of his reportWe cannot come to a resolution with the builder when the inspection has not been fully completed Do you believe the inspector had the tools to do his job? Answe those questions!
Regards,

First of all, thank you for your feedback about the neutral third party inspectorWe will reassess our relationship with this vendor immediately as a result of your feedbackIn the warranty book that Mr*** reviewed prior to closing and signed at closing, the ACES Intervention Process is
clearly definedThe first step of this process is a neutral 3rd party inspection The cost of the inspection is split equally between the builder and homeowner to ensure that the inspection is unbiased and represents the performance standards in the warrantyPrior to scheduling the inspection, our dispute resolution manager explained to the homeowner that the initial invoice for the inspection is an estimate based off of the number of issues to inspect, estimated time to complete the inspection, and time for the inspector to write the reportOnce the report is completed the final invoice will be sent to ACES by the inspector and any difference will be billed or credited to homeowner and builderThis particular inspection was completed on June 21st and took approximately hoursACES is currently waiting to receive the written report from the inspector and will furnish a copy to the builder and homeowner as soon as it is received in our officeAll the third party inspectors we work with have been trained on the ACES Warranty standards, but even the most experienced inspectors may need to refer to the warranty book for clarification in order to ensure the home is inspected fairly against the warranty criteriaThe ACES Warranty terms are very thorough and detailed, so we encourage inspectors to refer to the book as much as necessary to ensure that the report accurately reflects the Performance StandardsThis inspection report has not yet been completed, thus Mr*** has not yet received the report to determine whether his requested items are or are not deemed to be his builder’s responsibilityThe ACES Resolution Process is completely 3rd partyWe contract with entirely independent inspectors to interpret the Warranty and examine the homeowner’s requested items according to it’s standardsTo further ensure neutrality we have the parties split the cost, so that the inspector is neither hired by builder or homeowner, but is there solely to help resolve the dispute in a neutral unbiased manner.The goal at ACES is to complete a fair dispute resolution process starting with a neutral inspection, while facilitating open lines of communication and encouraging collaborative resolution to any disputes between the homeowner and builder Please let us know if you have any questionsWe are always happy to be of service.Thank you,ACES Builders Warranty

Thank you for your response We appreciate your feedback on the inspection and again apologize that you were unsatisfied with the inspector that completed the inspection.The money ACES collected upfront from the homeowner was paid directly to the inspection company ACES does not retain any portion of the inspection feeIt is forwarded in it's entirety to the third party inspection company We attempted to request a refund on the homeowner's behalf due to the issues he cited about the inspector in his original complaint; however, the inspection company does not issue refunds of inspections that have already been performedThe only situation that a refund will be issued in is if the inspection is cancelled hours before the inspection occursThe reason they give is that the inspector spent time traveling to the home, going through the home with the builder and homeowner, making determinations about the issues the homeowner complained of, and writing his report His report does find many of the items in favor of the homeowner Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance We are currently working with the builder to formulate a resolution to the items that were found to be builder repair by the inspector under the warranty and performance standardsACES will be in touch with you once the builder has finalized arrangements for your homeI appreciate your patience

Revdex.com:
I reject this response because I never asked the inspector for a refund, because I didn't pay him I asked ACES for the refund because they are the ones that provided the inspector You should not have been asking on my behalf, you should have been asking for a refund because the person who did the inspection did not complete the job he was paid to do. If you think leaving your notes behind, skipping items on the list because a contractor already inspected them, and not having the tools to do his job is worth paying for, then that is your choice Again, I never asked him for a refund, and I don't care if they give one I paid ACES for an inspector, but that is not what I got Please refund my money, it is bad enough that you are allowing this inspection to be considered valid Without his notes I don't see how anyone could remember everything that was in his report And if you look at his report pictures, the ones that have a level in them, look at how far the level bubble is over to the side How can that be within standards, when the item is not even level
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards,

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards,
The inspector has finished his report and I have found several issues that need to be addressed. As I said before, the inspector did not even bring his tools or have the correct tools to do his job, the inspector wrote in his report that I told him to ignore items on his list, and several items are missing from his report.This report took almost weeks for the inspector to write. I am sure he has had other jobs, but this is probably due to leaving his notes at my house. I found his notes the day he was here, I even tried to call him but he did not call back.Some of the items he was inspecting required a foot ladder or more, and I was not able to provide footer for him. The inspector was holding a Tape Measure, reading a level, and taking pictures from the top of a six foot ladder. I don’t believe this is the best way to get good photos or accurate measurements. The report is missing several things that I know we went over. He took pictures of the electrical issues, and the crooked walls in the bathroom but I don’t see this noted in his report. The inspector also states that I told him to ignore the tile complaints so he did not check them. This was in fact the main reason I was having the inspection and I would never have told him that, in fact is was the opposite. I told him to skip some of the other items, like the smoke alarm and other minor defects so he would have time to check all of the tiles. His response after looking at a few of the grout lines was that he would have to clarify with ACESThis report was compiled without his notes from the inspection, he did not have the tools to properly complete the inspection, and he left out items from his inspections

We are not in a position to offer a refund on a third party inspection. Please be aware that we have used this inspector on numerous occasions and never had a complaint before. The builder was satisfied with the report and the inspectors professionalism, and indicated that agreements where made during inspection to skip over some items to get to the meat of the issues. The builder is now in the process of trying to resolve the issues with the homeowner in the form of a monetary pay settlement.  If that is not acceptable to Mr. [redacted] then as mentioned before there is the option of mediation with the builder.

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.  
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards, ACES,I do not care if my builder offers to buy my house,this complaint has absolutely nothing to do with them anymore.  This complaint is for the charge that you made me pay for an inadequate inspector and mediation is not going to solve this.  The warranty stated several items that were supposed to happen before the inspection took place, and you required me to perform all of them but you did not enforce any of them on the builder.  You have violated your own contract and you still try defend this inspector when you can clearly see he did not do his job correctly.  Now you suggest going to mediation, another process that ACES handles. No, that is not happening.You do have the option to refund my money, you just do not want to because you believe that this inspector completed his job accurately.  He did not know how to interpret the warranty and he was going to go back and ask you about it, but if he has to confirm with you then he is not a unbiased 3rd party, he is just someone who works for you.  I did have him skip some items, but he did not have his notes to remember which ones those were so he made it up when he wrote his report.  If I did tell him to skip something, he should have documented it and took his notes with him instead of leaving them at my house.  Bree does have something written down if you would like to know which of those items I said he could skip, but the Tile was not one of them, nor the electrical problem with my TV outlet, and several other minor items.  The "MEAT" of this inspection was the Tile, and you know from my emails and contact with you that the TILE was the "Meat" and he skipped it.  Ask Bree if I told him to skip the Tile, and ask for her paperwork she actually left my house with it.  The fact that no one has complained does not defend the legitimacy of this inspector, but the documents I just uploaded should give anyone else who has had an inspection from this man a legitimate reason to ask for another inspection and a refund.  I have friends that are building houses with my builder, and there are other people who will use this warranty who are in danger of being scammed by ACES. I will make sure I do everything I can to show what your company has been doing to me, and many others.  Your only intention is to look out for the builders interest, as is proof by the defense of this report in face of so much evidence that contradicts his report. I have tried to handle this just between us, a refund would have shown that you recognize the issue and will address it later but that is not the case.