Empire Upholstery

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 5, 2017/07/10) */ Mr [redacted] 's general dentist contacted our office on March 21, and scheduled an appointment for him to have root canal therapyAt that time it was indicated to our office that Mr [redacted] was a first time patient of the general dentistWe informed the office to explain to Mr [redacted] that we would require him to pay in full regardless of insurance at the time of serviceWhen we confirmed Mr [redacted] 's appointment we explained that he would need to pay the amount of [redacted] at the time of serviceMrs [redacted] confirmed that Mr [redacted] heard something about [redacted] but he did not understand and did not inquire further(We have no knowledge of what a patient does or does not understand if they do not inquire further after our policy is explained)Therefore, feeling that the patient understood the statement, our office did not give any further information in regards to payment or if we were a contracted provider for his insuranceOur office tries to inform every patient about our payment policies prior to their treatment, but if a patient just says yes or ok when told that we will require payment in full at the time of service, we do not belittle the patient by asking if they fully understood what we saidNeither Mrnor Mrs [redacted] contacted our office to inquire about our payment requirements or if we were a provider for their insurance company prior to Mr [redacted] 's treatmentIf, as Mrs [redacted] states, they would have went elsewhere or not had the procedure done with the knowledge of the cost and that we are not contracted with their insurance company, I feel that would have been something she would have inquired with our office prior to the treatment being performed After Mr [redacted] was treated on April 4, he was informed that he would need to take care of the account in full as we had indicated when he confirmed his appointment with usMr [redacted] wrote a check for [redacted] The next day Mrs [redacted] contacted our office to indicate that she had put a stop payment on the checkShe indicated that we could not ask for payment in full because they had insuranceRegardless of insurance coverage we have the right to ask the patient to pay in full for the services we render at the time of service I was not in on April 5th therefore I received the message from Mrs [redacted] the next day and shortly after received a phone call from her explaining that she had put a stop payment on the checkAfter a lengthy conversation I explained to Mrs [redacted] that I would deposit the check in order to have a record that she had issued the stop paymentI also explained to her that if the account was taken care in full, within days after we received payment or notification of non-payment from the insurance company, that we would treat the incident as if it never happened Unfortunately that was not the caseThe insurance payment was received on April 18, A statement was mailed to the patient on April 19, As of May no payment was received on the patients accountI sent another statement and called patient's cell leaving a message that account was delinquent As of June 6, still no payment was received nor any response from the patientI called the patient's wife's work number (which she had given to me to contact her originally) and left a message that the account was delinquent As of June 20, three months after treatment was completed and months after the insurance had made their payment we still had not received a payment or any contact from the patient or his wifeI again left a message on the patient's wife's work and cell phone stating that the account was in danger of being sent to a collection agencyThe patient's wife returned my call but did not ask to speak to meShe asked to set up a payment planThe person who answered the telephone transferred the call to meMrs [redacted] then proceeded to ask me to remove the $charge we had placed on the account due to the stop payment of the checkI explained to her that I would have removed the charge if the account had been paid in full prior to days after the insurance check was receivedShe said that she informed me that she had stopped the payment on the check therefore I should not have deposited itI told her that I needed a record that the check had a stop payment placed on itShe then asked to set up a payment planI explained that we do not set up payment plans for the balance of what insurance does not cover but because it appeared that the account would not be taken care of otherwise I would agree to a payment planI asked when they would send the first payment and how much it would be, she explained that her husband would send a check for [redacted] tomorrowWhen I asked how they planned on taking care of the balance after the initial payment she could not give me that information and indicated that she would have her husband call to let us know how he would be paying the balance On June 29th (nine days after our conversation) we received a payment of [redacted] There has been no further contact from the patient or his wife as to how they plan to take care of the balance on the account which at this time is [redacted] At this time we will not be removing the service charge from the patients account This situation has taken a great deal of time (which in turn costs money) to navigate and we still do not have a resolve on how the patient plans on taking care of the account Situations as described above are what led us to create our current policies regarding payment Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 7, 2017/07/17) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) It is untrue that I was told that the amount would need to be paid in full at the time of the procedureThe dentist office told me what the estimated amount would be and said nothing moreAlso when the lady called to confirm the appointment, she did the same, just said what the estimated amount would be and said nothing about paying it when I was seeni'm not sure where this lady gets the information that I didn't understand, I understood perfectly what I was toldWhen the procedure was complete, I went to the counter and she told me the cost and I said that I had insurance and would be awaiting a statementshe told me at that point, immediately after a root canal, that I needed to pay the amount in fullNot, being of a clear mind I wrote them a check, and my wife contacted them the next dayShe is correct I was slow to start paying, and I am currently making paymentsBut the fact remains, the communication and expectations was not present in the beginning of the process I did not ask extra questions because with my insurance I have no co pay, so I assumed it would be the same, they never told me they were not contracted with insurance companies until after the procedure Thank You, [redacted] Final Business Response / [redacted] (4000, 9, 2017/07/25) */ Below are the reasons that the decision was made not to delete the service charge on the check that was issued and then cancelled I explained to the patient's wife, after the stop payment was issued on the check, that if the amount that insurance did not cover was taken care of within days after the insurance payment was received, we would treat the incident as if it never happenedThat was not the caseThe account was not taken care of, in full or partial, nor did the patient or his wife contact me with a plan to take care of the account It is now more than days after the insurance payment wad received on the accountAt this time we do not have any type of commitment from the patient or his wife as to how they plan on taking care of the balance on the accountWe have only received one payment on the accountI made telephone calls to the patient or his wife regarding the delinquent account and sent statements prior to receiving that one payment on June 29th (more than weeks after the insurance paid) The patient was incorrect in saying that his "insurance has no co pay"His insurance only covers [redacted] of the fee therefore his co-pay would be the other [redacted] Also, the patient's insurance company allowed our entire charge for the procedure, even though we are not contracted with them, and then paid the [redacted] that they coverTherefore not being contracted with the patient's insurance company did not affect the coverage they received

I am sorry I have not been in better communication with you I had unexpected throat surgery and have not been healing well I am working but a little slower I got so far behind I have not been able to do my phone calls to all my customers It is still a little hard to talk too I have it started and can have it done in one week Once again, I am sorry I have not been in better communication with you Russell P [redacted] 467-

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2017/07/10) */
Mr. [redacted]'s general dentist contacted our office on March 21, 2017 and scheduled an appointment for him to have root canal therapy. At that time it was indicated to our office that Mr. [redacted] was a first time patient of the general...

dentist. We informed the office to explain to Mr. [redacted] that we would require him to pay in full regardless of insurance at the time of service. When we confirmed Mr. [redacted]'s appointment we explained that he would need to pay the amount of [redacted] at the time of service. Mrs. [redacted] confirmed that Mr. [redacted] heard something about [redacted] but he did not understand and did not inquire further. (We have no knowledge of what a patient does or does not understand if they do not inquire further after our policy is explained). Therefore, feeling that the patient understood the statement, our office did not give any further information in regards to payment or if we were a contracted provider for his insurance. Our office tries to inform every patient about our payment policies prior to their treatment, but if a patient just says yes or ok when told that we will require payment in full at the time of service, we do not belittle the patient by asking if they fully understood what we said. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. [redacted] contacted our office to inquire about our payment requirements or if we were a provider for their insurance company prior to Mr. [redacted]'s treatment. If, as Mrs. [redacted] states, they would have went elsewhere or not had the procedure done with the knowledge of the cost and that we are not contracted with their insurance company, I feel that would have been something she would have inquired with our office prior to the treatment being performed.
After Mr. [redacted] was treated on April 4, 2017 he was informed that he would need to take care of the account in full as we had indicated when he confirmed his appointment with us. Mr. [redacted] wrote a check for [redacted]
The next day Mrs. [redacted] contacted our office to indicate that she had put a stop payment on the check. She indicated that we could not ask for payment in full because they had insurance. Regardless of insurance coverage we have the right to ask the patient to pay in full for the services we render at the time of service.
I was not in on April 5th therefore I received the message from Mrs. [redacted] the next day and shortly after received a phone call from her explaining that she had put a stop payment on the check. After a lengthy conversation I explained to Mrs. [redacted] that I would deposit the check in order to have a record that she had issued the stop payment. I also explained to her that if the account was taken care in full, within 30 days after we received payment or notification of non-payment from the insurance company, that we would treat the incident as if it never happened.
Unfortunately that was not the case. The insurance payment was received on April 18, 2017. A statement was mailed to the patient on April 19, 2017.
As of May 31 no payment was received on the patients account. I sent another statement and called patient's cell leaving a message that account was delinquent.
As of June 6, 2017 still no payment was received nor any response from the patient. I called the patient's wife's work number (which she had given to me to contact her originally) and left a message that the account was delinquent.
As of June 20, 2017 three months after treatment was completed and 2 months after the insurance had made their payment we still had not received a payment or any contact from the patient or his wife. I again left a message on the patient's wife's work and cell phone stating that the account was in danger of being sent to a collection agency. The patient's wife returned my call but did not ask to speak to me. She asked to set up a payment plan. The person who answered the telephone transferred the call to me. Mrs. [redacted] then proceeded to ask me to remove the $15 charge we had placed on the account due to the stop payment of the check. I explained to her that I would have removed the charge if the account had been paid in full prior to 30 days after the insurance check was received. She said that she informed me that she had stopped the payment on the check therefore I should not have deposited it. I told her that I needed a record that the check had a stop payment placed on it. She then asked to set up a payment plan. I explained that we do not set up payment plans for the balance of what insurance does not cover but because it appeared that the account would not be taken care of otherwise I would agree to a payment plan. I asked when they would send the first payment and how much it would be, she explained that her husband would send a check for [redacted] tomorrow. When I asked how they planned on taking care of the balance after the initial payment she could not give me that information and indicated that she would have her husband call to let us know how he would be paying the balance.
On June 29th (nine days after our conversation) we received a payment of [redacted]
There has been no further contact from the patient or his wife as to how they plan to take care of the balance on the account which at this time is [redacted]
At this time we will not be removing the service charge from the patients account.

This situation has taken a great deal of time (which in turn costs money) to navigate and we still do not have a resolve on how the patient plans on taking care of the account.

Situations as described above are what led us to create our current policies regarding payment .
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2017/07/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
It is untrue that I was told that the amount would need to be paid in full at the time of the procedure. The dentist office told me what the estimated amount would be and said nothing more. Also when the lady called to confirm the appointment, she did the same, just said what the estimated amount would be and said nothing about paying it when I was seen. i'm not sure where this lady gets the information that I didn't understand, I understood perfectly what I was told. When the procedure was complete, I went to the counter and she told me the cost and I said that I had insurance and would be awaiting a statement. she told me at that point, immediately after a root canal, that I needed to pay the amount in full. Not, being of a clear mind I wrote them a check, and my wife contacted them the next day. She is correct I was slow to start paying, and I am currently making payments. But the fact remains, the communication and expectations was not present in the beginning of the process.
I did not ask extra questions because with my insurance I have no co pay, so I assumed it would be the same, they never told me they were not contracted with insurance companies until after the procedure.
Thank You,
[redacted]
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2017/07/25) */
Below are the reasons that the decision was made not to delete the service charge on the check that was issued and then cancelled.
I explained to the patient's wife, after the stop payment was issued on the check, that if the amount that insurance did not cover was taken care of within 30 days after the insurance payment was received, we would treat the incident as if it never happened. That was not the case. The account was not taken care of, in full or partial, nor did the patient or his wife contact me with a plan to take care of the account.
It is now more than 90 days after the insurance payment wad received on the account. At this time we do not have any type of commitment from the patient or his wife as to how they plan on taking care of the balance on the account. We have only received one payment on the account. I made 3 telephone calls to the patient or his wife regarding the delinquent account and sent 4 statements prior to receiving that one payment on June 29th (more than 10 weeks after the insurance paid).
The patient was incorrect in saying that his "insurance has no co pay". His insurance only covers [redacted] of the fee therefore his co-pay would be the other [redacted]
Also, the patient's insurance company allowed our entire charge for the procedure, even though we are not contracted with them, and then paid the [redacted] that they cover. Therefore not being contracted with the patient's insurance company did not affect the coverage they received.

I am sorry I have not been in better communication with you.  I had unexpected throat surgery and have not been healing well.  I am working but a little slower.  I got so far behind I have not been able to do my phone calls to all my customers.  It is still a little hard to talk...

too.  I have it started and can have it done in one week.  Once again, I am sorry I have not been in better communication with you.
 
Russell P[redacted]
467-5263

Review: On 7/17/2013, [redacted] from Empire Upholstery visited my house to look at a chair I wanted to have reupholstered. He gave me a quote and He asked that I give him $200 to cover the cost of the upholstery that I chose. I did give him a check made out to Empire Upholstery And it was endorsed with the company name and cashed on 7/18/2013.He said he would return on Monday, 8/19/2013 and pick up the chair. I called to remind him prior to that date and on that date. He did not return my calls and he did not pick up the chairs. I continued to call and did make contact with him the middle of that week and he said he would be at my house on Friday no latter that Saturday 8/24/2013. When he did not show up or call I began to call I the morning and late afternoon and he did not return the messages I left for him. I even tried using my cellphone to see if he would answer a number he did not recognize. It did go to a message but before I could finish my message it cut me off.Desired Settlement: I would like to have my $200 refunded or the fabric for the chair if it is what I ordered and enough to cover my chair.

Business

Response:

We had a lack of communication that worried the customer. I had got caught out of town dropping my son off at college when we got a call that my wife's brother was passing away with cancer. So my trip went longer then excepted. When I got home I called her the same day and to explain and to set up an appointment to pick up the chair. She said she wanted her deposit back instead, so I mailed it back that same day. She has cashed the check, so I believe I have resolved the issue. Sorry for the lack of a phone call. I will take numbers with me next time I will be out of town.

Review: see Attached documentDesired Settlement: see Attached document

Business

Response:

I did recieve a call from her 3 years after I had done the chair to complain that the cushion was sliding out. I took the chair and fixed the cushion, no charge. I have video to show the chair was dirty, having been used for three years and a video to show that the cushion doesn't slide out anymore while sitting on it. As far as I am concerned I have taken care of her chair. I told her I was delivering it and when we got there, someone was in the house but would not answer the door. So we left it by the door. Once again I was not being paid to make several trips out to try and deliver.

I can not respond about a sofa as we have no contract conerning a sofa, nor has any money been given. I do not wish to do anymore work for this customer now or in the future. That makes her mad and she left a treatening message on my anwsering machine which I have. I will not be forced to do work just because someone would like me to. Plus money is required for my work and I set the price not my customer.

My contract on the chair is complete, has been for 3 years. The dirt mark was there before, I will not be cleaning it for her.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9647263, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Mr. [redacted] came out to look at my sofa in November 2012, he gave me a verbal contract of "$500" total for doing the sofa, he also said that he needed "12 yards of material to do the job" which I provided him with. I made an investment in this verbal contract. I did not come up with the $500 figure, he stated this was how much it would cost to reupholster my sofa. Also he told me that he would need 12 yards exactly to do it. My husband witnessed this transaction. I mentioned that the chair cushion slips out and does not go all of the way back and meet the back of the chair, he looked at it and "VOLUNTEERED" to redo the cushion and said that he would pick up the chair when he picked up the sofa. He promised to have both done by Thanksgiving 2012. He finally picked them up on Dec. 5, 2012 with the promise that they would both be done by Christmas 2012. Each Holiday came and went with the same promise. These were some of his excuses because he had many . . . "his son was sick, he was ill, he was moving his parents, he was at a wedding, he was at a funeral, he was on a trip, and the last one received was that he was having trouble with his B & O taxes," there was always an excuse.

As far as the stain on the chair is concerned, it was clean and no stains were on the chair. It still looked like new. We had it in the same place in the bedroom, and used it rarely. The back of the chair was to the wall, there is no way that oil or grease and dirt could have been placed on it while in our bedroom. He was the one who originally placed it in the bedroom when he first finished and delivered the chair. He moved it in to my bedroom, and then he moved it out when he came to repair the cushion. It had to have occurred in transport or at his shop.

When Mr. [redacted] told me he was done and bringing "it" back, he hung up. I called back and did not make threats, I stated, "he didn't know me", meaning that I planned to contact the Revdex.com. I was not threatening, I was letting him know that I was serious and my patience was done with his inability to keep his promises and complete this job.

Regarding leaving the sofa and chair unfinished unannounced on my front lawn, I was NOT at home and there was no call ahead or appointment made so I didn't know when he was coming. There was also no message left on my phone that he was coming or had been here.

In the pictures that were originally sent with my first letter, you can see where the cushion still does not meet the back of the chair. Because there is a large gap, the cushion continues to slip forward. I sent more material for him to make a new cushion, he did not repair the cushion as he stated he did in his reply.

I would never be a customer of Mr. [redacted] again because of the stress he has caused me with no results. I just hope that I can find someone who can repair what he started and did not complete, since he has cut into the 12 yards of material I sent with the sofa, again, which I provided. I am only filing this complaint to help others from going through what I have been through. I am thankful this is now on record.

Business

Response:

She is not a customer of mine and will not be in the future. I have pictures to refute claim on the chair. No gap, repair was done. Picture of the chair before and after. I take picture because people do blame others for damage already done. Once again I have her voice recorded if you want to hear it and pictures of her chair, before & after the fix. As far as I am concerned our business is finish. She hears what she wants to hear. I work with contracts and deposits.

Review: see Attached documentDesired Settlement: see Attached document

Business

Response:

We are working to finish the chair & ottoman by the 16th to resolve this matter with the customer.

Review: Dear Friends,

As you can see from the enclosed invoice, we called [redacted], owner of Empire Upholstery, the first part of August 2013 to see if he would be interested in recovering our living room chair and ottoman. We had purchased it from Dania several years before and it was in excellent condition except for being dirty and dingy. He arrived on August 12th with several of his sample books. We Selected a fabric we liked and he and his son came to our house on August 28 to pick up the furniture. He said that we would likely receive it back following Labor Day on September 4th. It is now December 3rd and it looks like we will never see our furniture again. I have talked to Mr. [redacted] many time over the past 4 months and he always has some kind of excuse why the work has been delayed. First, the fabric had been water damaged - then his father was ill in Utah - then his father died. When I talked to him the week before Thanksgiving, he promised we would receive it by the 27th. Didn't happen. When I talked to him on that day he said that he had damaged the mechanism that allows the chair to recline, but would go to Lowe's that afternoon and purchase a new part. I guess that didn't happen either. We haven't heard from him since. We are beyond frustrated and have no idea how to proceed. At this point we would prefer to have our furniture back, whatever condition it is in as well as our $450 deposit so that we can either purchase another chair and ottoman or have someone else do the job.

We an are older, retired couple living on a small fixed income. We don't need this kind of aggravation or loss of funds.

Anything you can do for us would be moooooooooooost appreciated. Our hope is in your capable hands. Thanking you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[redacted] and [redacted]

Phone [redacted]Desired Settlement: At this point we would prefer to have our furniture back, whatever condition it is in as well as our $450 deposit so that we can either purchase another chair and ottoman or have someone else do the job.

Business

Response:

Yes it has been a long time with the chair. I should have been in better contact with the customer. The part to fix the reclining part has been ordered. I talked to the customer and will get to chair put together as soon as the part arrives. Should be here by Monday. If the part doesnt work I will gladly refund her deposit.