Old Towne Plumbing

[redacted] , I am following up our phone conversation from yesterday about this issueI was called to this house by the tenant to investigate a possible mold issueI went out at 7:30PM as she seemed very upsetWhen I arrived I could smell a definite issue as soon as I walked in The tenant informed me that she had been dealing with this issue with the owner for yearsThe central heating had gone out over years ago and the owner provided space heaters and portable air conditioners as a fixThe roof top unit was aban**ned and the registers covered with tape and other materials inside the unitThe roof top unit was wrapped in tarps that had seen better daysI used my thermal imaging camera and noted multiple areas around the unit (exterior walls) that had moisture issuesI conformed this with my moisture meterI then opened the exterior access panel for the tub/shower and could see where there was water damage from neglect of the bathroom tile failingI noted that the tub was sinking into the floor (This unit has a raised foundation) The grout lines had been filled up to ¾” due to the tub sinking The tenant called the owner was I was there and had me speak with himI explained my initial findings and the need for further investigation and possible testing depending on the resultsI explained to him that I would need to return with equipment to access at least (2) of the questionable areas in the bedrooms and look with a boroscope to see what if anything was going on in the cavities of the exterior wallsThe owner gave me the permission to go ahead with thisI returned the following day with the necessary equipment to access the (2) walls without causing any exposure to the house or tenantI immediately saw we had an issue and sent the photos to the owner via text and followed with a phone callI explained that we need to have testing **ne to see the what we were dealing withHe had asked about pricingI gave him the pricing for the testing for the unit of $This did not include my fee’s for work performed to this pointHe then asked if we could just test the areas I accessedI gave him a price of $for the testing aloneI did this in front of the tenant and she verified thisI expressed to him that there was active growth on all but win**w frame in the unit and I did NOT recommend tis courseThe owner stated that he did NOT want to spend the money and wanted to go forward with thisWe had a large amount of rain for the next few daysThe owner asked me about insurance covering this issueI explained to him in my experience most insurance companies [redacted] not cover this type of loss, but it depends on the carrier and coverageThe owner told me that he was going to speak with his Mother as she is the actual owner and the insurance company before moving forwardI explained to him that the health issues with the tenant were serious and delaying this process would just further the issueHe insisted on waitingI received a call from the insurance carrier days laterWe discussed the findings at this point and the course of action to follow once a decision was madeI got the call from the owner and he stated that the insurance carrier was denying coverage stating it was due to the lack of finding and reporting this issue soonerWe had rain for the next few days, but I arranged the testing company to come out and meet with the tenant to get the testing **neThe results came in and I had sent my invoice to the owner and told him we had the results in and they were NOT good and we needed to act on themThe owner called and expressed that he did not want to pay for ANY of my services and just for the testingI explained to him again that this was as discussed and agreed upon prior to me starting on the testingI did remove the initial visit charges and resent the invoiceI had contacted the tenant and explained to her that I was leaving on vacation and that the owner did not want to pay me for the services and resultsI tried to call the owner times to resolve this before I leftI checked in while I was on vacation and was informed that the owner had called asking for the results from the companyHe was told that he had an outstanding invoice that had to be paid prior to them giving them to himI returned from vacation I called the owner and he would only respond via textThe tenant called me asking about the results and what was going on as the owner was having additional workers in and out of her unit stating that they were just going to paint the affected walls and re [redacted] the bathroomI explained that there was nothing I could [redacted] as the owner was not responding to meThe tenant was worried as the workers were not licensed and did not have any idea about how to take care of the issue I got a call from Code Enforcement for the city of Westminster about the issueI explained the situation to the officerI get a call from the owner and he mailed a checkI got the check days later and deposited itI emailed the results to him and tried to discuss moving forwardHe did not return any of my callsThe tenant informed me that the City of Westminster Code Enforcement was now involved and was making the owner fix the issue completelyThe tenant informed me that Mold Masters had arranged a meeting with her to test the entire unit and to start the process of remediationI was contact by the County Health Department in regards to this house as wellI directed them to the owner and tenant as I had no further involvement on this project

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. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
*** *** said that I would need to be present in order to drill the walls for samplesI was not presentNor was I sent a contract for the workNor did I get an estimate of scope of work and cost*** *** says he told me these prices, but I did not hear itI asked for it in writing several times and never received itEverything else he mentioned is irrelevant to this case as it has already been remediated
Regards,
*** **

[redacted], I am following up our phone conversation from yesterday about this issue. I was called to this house by the tenant to investigate a possible mold issue. I went out at 7:30PM as she seemed very upset. When I arrived I could smell a definite issue as soon as I walked in....

The tenant informed me that she had been dealing with this issue with the owner for 2 years. The central heating had gone out over 2 years ago and the owner provided space heaters and portable air conditioners as a fix. The roof top unit was aban**ned and the registers covered with tape and other materials inside the unit. The roof top unit was wrapped in tarps that had seen better days. I used my thermal imaging camera and noted multiple areas around the unit (exterior walls) that had moisture issues. I conformed this with my moisture meter. I then opened the exterior access panel for the tub/shower and could see where there was water damage from neglect of the bathroom tile failing. I noted that the tub was sinking into the floor (This unit has a raised foundation) The grout lines had been filled up to ¾” due to the tub sinking.  The tenant called the owner was I was there and had me speak with him. I explained my initial findings and the need for further investigation and possible testing depending on the results. I explained to him that I would need to return with equipment to access at least (2) of the questionable areas in the bedrooms and look with a boroscope to see what if anything was going on in the cavities of the exterior walls. The owner gave me the permission to go ahead with this. I returned the following day with the necessary equipment to access the (2) walls without causing any exposure to the house or tenant. I immediately saw we had an issue and sent the photos to the owner via text and followed with a phone call. I explained that we need to have testing **ne to see the what we were dealing with. He had asked about pricing. I gave him the pricing for the testing for the unit of $1200. This did not include my fee’s for work performed to this point. He then asked if we could just test the areas I accessed. I gave him a price of $800 for the testing alone. I did this in front of the tenant and she verified this. I expressed to him that there was active growth on all but 1 win**w frame in the unit and I did NOT recommend tis course. The owner stated that he did NOT want to spend the money and wanted to go forward with this. We had a large amount of rain for the next few days. The owner asked me about insurance covering this issue. I explained to him in my experience most insurance companies ** not cover this type of loss, but it depends on the carrier and coverage. The owner told me that he was going to speak with his Mother as she is the actual owner and the insurance company before moving forward. I explained to him that the health issues with the tenant were serious and delaying this process would just further the issue. He insisted on waiting. I received a call from the insurance carrier 5 days later. We discussed the findings at this point and the course of action to follow once a decision was made. I got the call from the owner and he stated that the insurance carrier was denying coverage stating it was due to the lack of finding and reporting this issue sooner. We had rain for the next few days, but I arranged the testing company to come out and meet with the tenant to get the testing **ne. The results came in and I had sent my invoice to the owner and told him we had the results in and they were NOT good and we needed to act on them. The owner called and expressed that he did not want to pay for ANY of my services and just for the testing. I explained to him again that this was as discussed and agreed upon prior to me starting on the testing. I did remove the initial visit charges and resent the invoice. I had contacted the tenant and explained to her that I was leaving on vacation and that the owner did not want to pay me for the services and results. I tried to call the owner 5 times to resolve this before I left. I checked in while I was on vacation and was informed that the owner had called asking for the results from the company. He was told that he had an outstanding invoice that had to be paid prior to them giving them to him. I returned from vacation I called the owner and he would only respond via text. The tenant called me asking about the results and what was going on as the owner was having additional workers in and out of her unit stating that they were just going to paint the affected walls and re** the bathroom. I explained that there was nothing I could ** as the owner was not responding to me. The tenant was worried as the workers were not licensed and did not have any idea about how to take care of the issue.  I got a call from Code Enforcement for the city of Westminster about the issue. I explained the situation to the officer. I get a call from the owner and he mailed a check. I got the check 5 days later and deposited it. I emailed the results to him and tried to discuss moving forward. He did not return any of my calls. The tenant informed me that the City of Westminster Code Enforcement was now involved and was making the owner fix the issue completely. The tenant informed me that Mold Masters had arranged a meeting with her to test the entire unit and to start the process of remediation. I was contact by the County Health Department in regards to this house as well. I directed them to the owner and tenant as I had no further involvement on this project.

The tenant was present for the conversations and will verify that the prices were explained in detail prior to starting any work. Only after the results came in and the invoice was sent was there determined a problem. Then is was a argument over price. Not the safety or the health of the tenant. [redacted] even stated as much to Mr. **. Additionally Mr. ** is not the owner. From our understanding his mother is the owner. Mr. ** has misrepresented the issue. Please contact the tenant and she will verify this. The scope of the testing was determined by his cost control issue./ Only after he was investigated and forced to ** it correctly by the Code Enforcement department for the city of Westminster did he handle it correctly. He attempted to have general handymen ** the work. Not remediate it, just cover over it. We also never got a call from him after he paid the bill and got the results. He only filed this complaint.