K Kelly, Inc.

Review: I was given two pamphlets, one from the service manager who gave me the proposal, and one from the service technician who installed the radon system. The pamphlets were identical and had coupons on the last page. At no time did [redacted] the service manager nor [redacted] the service technician tell me I could not use a coupon. The proposal was 825. I used a coupon that was good for 10% off ANY SERVICE. The coupons do not say anything about being invalid for new customers. The coupons do not have an expiration date.I paid my 742.50 and later that day [redacted] the service manager called me and told me I could not use the coupon he had given me. The coupon was 10% off ANY SERVICE. I recently recieved an invoice from k. Kelly, Inc. that states 1-30 days past due 82.50.Desired Settlement: I want K. Kelly, Inc. to send me an invoice that states paid in full.

Business

Response:

Although a written proposal was provided and accepted for the service preformed; I recognize our brochure lacks clarity. The brochures intention is to introduce our other services while offering a discount on any FUTURE services!

Review: This complaint is in regards to a disputed invoice with K Kelly Inc, in Green Bay, WI. On April 15, 2015 K Kelly sent a plumbing service technician to my house for a service call. There was no contract or agreement as to price, or scope of service. He was at the house for 4 hours and much of the time was not productive. For example, my wife and I listened for 30 minutes about a meeting he had with a supplier; he repeated all of his diagnostic steps because he needed technical support on the phone and repeated it; he spent considerable time developing details to write a proposal for a new and unrelated scope of work. I estimated the bill should be about 3.5 hours (2 hours of productive time on site, plus 1.5 hours driving--about 45 minutes each way). They sent an invoice for 6.5 hours at $95 per hour. In response, on April 25 I sent them a reduced payment which explained my basis, and paid them for 4.5 hours (1 hour more than I observed). The check contained a statement on the back stating that it is accepted as full payment against the invoice. K Kelly endorsed and deposited the check which is accepted by Courts as their acceptance of the reduced payment. I thought the issue was closed at this point.

Around that same time, there were a couple of e-mails from the service tech that did not really respond to the issues that I raised. His replies merely re-stated what he did and that I should pay the full invoice.

Over the next several months, I received invoices for the 2 hours that I deducted, but they did not contain any explanation. This happened every three months or so, but not regularly. During those months, I sent correspondence directly to the owner, [redacted], on 5/14/15, 9/15/15 and 12/8/15 but he did not reply. All of my correspondence to [redacted] was appealing to him that the reduced payment is valid and that he should review the situation and discuss it with me before escalating it. I received no reply from [redacted].

On 1/4/16 I received a notice from a collection agency that a claim has been turned over to them. The claim also states that K Kelly authorized them to charge interest and fees, which is only allowed when the contract for services contains such a provision. In this case, there is no contract of any type so the interest or fees are illegal. I have filed a 30 day notice of dispute with the collection agency.

In summary, I followed all aspects of Common Law. I provided documented basis for the reduction and they endorsed and cashed a check which clearly shows acceptance as full payment of the original invoice. I tried multiple times to elevate the issue past the service tech by going directly to the owner. Those good faith appeals contained clear explanations and polite appeals for his help. It was all ignored and in the end and they engaged a collection agency. I believe this is an inappropriate and ill-conceived attempt by K Kelly to use a collection agency and possibly the threat of credit rating damage to collect a bill which has been clearly and properly disputed. Their customers (including me) should be able to expect them to follow the process as governed by Common Law and negotiate in good faith before engaging a collection agency.Desired Settlement: I request that K Kelly drop the claim and send me documented acceptance of the payment which was already made. In addition, I request that K Kelly ensure that the collection agency has not reported this to an credit rating agency or bureau.

Business

Response:

We will drop the claim and accept payment which was already made.

Consumer

Response: