Service Master Elite

I’m writing in response to a complaint that we received from Ms [redacted] with regard to services we provided at her homeWe are in agreement that we arrived at Ms***’s home on 3/at 9:AMShe had requested our services after she had suffered some water damage at her homeUpon arrival, our two technicians discovered that there really was very minimal water damage and without Mrs***’s consent to remove some of her flooring there was nothing more for us to doWe billed her for a service call as this is standard billing practice for any company similar to oursBecause we were at her home on a Saturday, which is after our business hours, both the service call and the technician’s labor was billed at our afterhour’s rateAgain, this is a very standard billing practiceWhile we do typically include all technician travel time in our invoices (this is where the three hours came from – technicians for hrs each), in order to resolve this issue and demonstrate the importance of our customer satisfaction, we will agree to revise the invoice to reflect only hr of service (minimum charge is one hour of labor)The “water extraction and remediation after hours” she refers to is simply the title of our technician and reflects their laborPlease make Ms [redacted] aware that in order to settle this matter and hopefully address and resolve her concerns, we are willing to accept $for payment in full

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] Please add your rejection comments below As I said, my husband and I feel there has been no resolution to the issue involving the charges by SMESME still expects full payment and we (as noted in an earlier email) have agreed to pay for their employees driving down to RutlandWe did agree to have SME come to our house for a visit on 3/8/so we'll pay the service call of $plus the initial setup of $which totals $We refuse to pay all other charges.I called [redacted] ( [redacted] ***) today 6-4-and we discussed the bill/charges in detailShe has given me permission to use her name and discussion points in this emailShe forwarded me a copy of the itemized bill which we went over togetherWe don't understand why SME didn't also send me an itemized bill when I am the responsible party for paying the bill.We both agreed that once I denied SME demolition of our wall above the window that the professionally trained employees should have told me the equipment was worthless in that situationThere was no way a fan was going to dry out a space that was enclosed by sheetrock, 3/inplywood and 2x6'sThe same is true for the upstairs bathroom and closet where they put fans and a dehumidifierMy husband and I realized this shortly after the employees left and unplugged the equipment and put it by our front doorObviously, we had no idea we were going to be billed for "rental" of the equipment as we would have called SME for immediate removal.There were/are inaccuracies in both the charges and [redacted] knowledge of the apptcalls Let me preface this by saying [redacted] is probably being given information from different sources at SME and unfortunately for her it is not all accurate.First; no one spoke with me or my husband on 3/or 3/about confirming an apptto have an employee come to the house on 3/for an equipment check No one ever spoke directly to us yet in [redacted] email she wrote that we "agreed" to all visits to our house which is not true When I got home from work on 3/there were two voice messages on my phone - one from an employee who was at my house that afternoon and another from an employee who wanted to schedule an equipment pick upWhen the employee came to the house on Wed3/11/to pick up the equipment I asked him why SME would send a person without confirming with the homeowner -- his reply was, "that it happens sometimes".Secondly; on the bill as #it is noted that the "equipment take down" time was hours longAs noted on the itemized bill we had all of the equipat the front door, the employees took a moisture reading only in the family room, packed the van and left -- approxminat my houseIf I were an employer and saw that it took my employees hours to pick up equipI would question the validity of the entry......Thirdly; [redacted] mentions in her initial email that [redacted] agreed and approved the bill so that should support SME's billing practiceThe bill was reviewed by Contractor Connection first, but only to make sure that the "industry standard" fees were aligned HM has to rely on the honesty of the businesses for their entriesSo, Contractor Connection didn't know that the pick up was actually 45mininstead of the hour entry.........Again, the professionally trained employees should not have left the equipment when it was not going to remedy the situation We will pay $Regards, [redacted] ***

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted] [ [redacted] at Service Master Elite Elite Construction showed up to our house the day of the fire claiming he was dispatched to our home by our insurance company, which in fact he was notOur insurance company told us that they did not call Service Master at all, the called another company to come to the fire [redacted] had us sign paperwork and stating that everything would be billed to the insurance companyThe contract that was signed was from Elite Construction and [redacted] at Elite Construction is claiming that Service Master Elite Elite Construction is not affiliated with Elite Construction which in fact they areSo if [redacted] works for Service master then why is he having us sign an Elite Construction contract? We never asked for an estimate of work to be doneWe told [redacted] and [redacted] right up front that all rebuild work would be done by our contractorWe did not know that we would be charged for an estimate we didn't ask forIt seems rather unethical to charge people for an estimate and to have them sign all this paperwork the day of a fireWe do not feel like we should have to pay for an estimate we did not ask for [redacted] said we had to pay the bill and said we could come to an agreement on an amount, which was $and we did pay; but we feel like we shouldn't have to pay for something we didn't ask for since we were lied to from day oneIf Elite Construction is not part of Service Master Restore then the contract that was signed by [redacted] at Service master is not valid and we shouldn't have to pay for the estimateThe contract t***s people into paying for the estimate, that is not ethical.We want the $refunded Regards, [redacted]

We disagree with the story suggested by the customer, and have tried to resolve amicably While we work with insurance companies, we never represent that we are dispatched or work for insurance companies, and didn’t in this case Our paperwork and contracts are very clear with our terms and we abide by them In this case, the customer clearly signed a contract with Elite Construction, but then chose not to work with them To try to alleviate the customer’s concerns, we dramatically reduced the customer’s charges from $to $even though there was significant time and resources into the work

Again, we’re sorry that you are feeling confused about the process, and have dramatically reduced the price of services to try to make it more bearable That said, we had a significant amount of multiple people’s time into preparing and negotiating an estimate for you And you signed a contract that very clearly stated you would be charged for that estimate So, we’ve tried to show good faith by reducing our price from $(contracted price) to $(covering our costs) Since this hasn’t resolved your frustration, and it’s important to us to have satisfied customers, we will refund your $Please contact us at your earliest convenience to make these arrangementsThank you,***

Property destroyed by their crew that needs replacement ASAP or compensation made for their errors
The Service Master Elite employees removed a 12' x 12' section of insulation from under our screen porchThis area is not connected to the area that got water damage from a broken water pipe that effected our bedroom, laundry area, closets and part of the kitchenThe Field Manager (***) stated that the workers removed the insulation because their meters told them it was wetOur insurance adjuster has confirmed with *** and the Service Master Slite people that this is was NOT involved in the damage NOR were we paid for the area listedI've made many attempts to get these people to take care of this problem but have been ignored by them
I will be contacting the Insurance Commissioners Office as well as the Attorney General about this company and their business practicesAt this point we can't be sure if it's just because we're Senior Citizens that we're treated like this or if th

Again, we’re sorry that you are feeling confused about the process, and have dramatically reduced the price of services to try to make it more bearable.  That said, we had a significant amount of multiple people’s time into preparing and negotiating an estimate for you.   And you signed a contract that very clearly stated you would be charged for that estimate.  So, we’ve tried to show good faith by reducing our price from $1135 (contracted price) to $435 (covering our costs).  Since this hasn’t resolved your frustration, and it’s important to us to have satisfied customers, we will refund your $435. Please contact us at your earliest convenience to make these arrangements. Thank you,[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted].  
[[redacted] at Service Master Elite Elite Construction showed up to our house the day of the fire claiming he was dispatched to our home by our insurance company, which in fact he was not. Our insurance company told us that they did not call Service Master at all, the called another company to come to the fire. [redacted] had us sign paperwork and stating that everything would be billed to the insurance company. The contract that was signed was from Elite Construction and [redacted] at Elite Construction is claiming that Service Master Elite Elite Construction is not affiliated with Elite Construction which in fact they are. So if [redacted] works for Service master then why is he having us sign an Elite Construction contract? We never asked for an estimate of work to be done. We told [redacted] and [redacted] right up front that all rebuild work would be done by our contractor. We did not know that we would be charged for an estimate we didn't ask for. It seems rather unethical to charge people for an estimate and to have them sign all this paperwork the day of a fire. We do not feel like we should have to pay for an estimate we did not ask for. [redacted] said we had to pay the bill and said we could come to an agreement on an amount, which was $435 and we did pay; but we feel like we shouldn't have to pay for something we didn't ask for since we were lied to from day one. If Elite Construction is not part of Service Master Restore then the contract that was signed by [redacted] at Service master is not valid and we shouldn't have to pay for the estimate. The contract t[redacted]s people into paying for the estimate, that is not ethical.We want the $435 refunded.
Regards,
[redacted]

I’m writing in response to a complaint that we received from Ms. [redacted] with regard to services we provided at her home. We are in agreement that we arrived at Ms. [redacted]’s home on 3/14 at 9:19 AM. She had requested our services after she had suffered some water damage at her home. Upon...

arrival, our two technicians discovered that there really was very minimal water damage and without Mrs. [redacted]’s consent to remove some of her flooring there was nothing more for us to do. We billed her for a service call as this is standard billing practice for any company similar to ours. Because we were at her home on a Saturday, which is after our normal business hours, both the service call and the technician’s labor was billed at our afterhour’s rate. Again, this is a very standard billing practice. While we do typically include all technician travel time in our invoices (this is where the three hours came from – 2 technicians for 1.5 hrs each), in order to resolve this issue and demonstrate the importance of our customer satisfaction, we will agree to revise the invoice to reflect only 1 hr of service (minimum charge is one hour of labor). The “water extraction and remediation after hours” she refers to is simply the title of our technician and reflects their labor. Please make Ms. [redacted] aware that in order to settle this matter and hopefully address and resolve her concerns, we are willing to accept $254.63 for payment in full.

We disagree with the story suggested by the customer, and have tried to resolve amicably.   While we work with insurance companies, we never represent that we are dispatched or work for insurance companies, and didn’t in this case.  Our paperwork and contracts are very clear with our...

terms and we abide by them.   In this case, the customer clearly signed a contract with Elite Construction, but then chose not to work with them.  To try to alleviate the customer’s concerns, we dramatically reduced the customer’s charges from $1135 to $435 even though there was significant time and resources into the work.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below.  
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
As I said, my husband and I feel there has been no resolution to the issue involving the charges by SME. SME still expects full payment and we (as noted in an earlier email) have agreed to pay for their employees driving down to Rutland. We did agree to have SME come to our house for a visit on 3/8/2015 so we'll pay the service call of $180 plus the initial setup of $112.63 which totals $292.63. We refuse to pay all other charges.I called [redacted] ([redacted]) today 6-4-15 and we discussed the bill/charges in detail. She has given me permission to use her name and discussion points in this email. She forwarded me a copy of the itemized bill which we went over together. We don't understand why SME didn't also send me an itemized bill when I am the responsible party for paying the bill.We both agreed that once I denied SME demolition of our wall above the window that the professionally trained employees should have told me the equipment was worthless in that situation. There was no way a fan was going to dry out a space that was enclosed by sheetrock, 3/4 in. plywood and 2x6's. The same is true for the upstairs bathroom and closet where they put fans and a dehumidifier. My husband and I realized this shortly after the employees left and unplugged the equipment and put it by our front door. Obviously, we had no idea we were going to be billed for "rental" of the equipment as we would have called SME for immediate removal.There were/are inaccuracies in both the charges and [redacted] knowledge of the appt. calls.  Let me preface this by saying [redacted] is probably being given information from different sources at SME and unfortunately for her it is not all accurate.First; no one spoke with me or my husband on 3/9 or 3/10 about confirming an appt. to have an employee come to the house on 3/10 for an equipment check.  No one ever spoke directly to us yet in [redacted] email she wrote that we "agreed" to all visits to our house which is not true.  When I got home from work on 3/10 there were two voice messages on my phone - one from an employee who was at my house that afternoon and another from an employee who wanted to schedule an equipment pick up. When the employee came to the house on Wed. 3/11/2015 to pick up the equipment I asked him why SME would send a person without confirming with the homeowner -- his reply was, "that it happens sometimes".Secondly; on the bill as #3 it is noted that the "equipment take down" time was 3.5 hours long. As noted on the itemized bill we had all of the equip. at the front door, the employees took a moisture reading only in the family room, packed the van and left -- approx. 45 min. at my house. If I were an employer and saw that it took my employees 3.5 hours to pick up equip. I would question the validity of the entry......Thirdly; [redacted] mentions in her initial email that [redacted] agreed and approved the bill so that should support SME's billing practice. The bill was reviewed by Contractor Connection first, but only to make sure that the "industry standard" fees were aligned.  HM has to rely on the honesty of the businesses for their entries. So, Contractor Connection didn't know that the pick up was actually 45min. instead of the 3.5 hour entry.........Again, the professionally trained employees should not have left the equipment when it was not going to remedy the situation.  We will pay $292.63. Regards,
[redacted]

I am responding to the complaint that was filed against our company by [redacted] on 5/5/15. I have outlined below the series of events that pertain to the services we provided for Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] and [redacted]. Please let me know if you need any additional information from our...

company. Thank you,[redacted] On 3/7/15 at 8:35 PM we were contacted directly by the [redacted] insurance company and were asked to reach out to the [redacted] to assist with the water damage they had suffered at their home due to a washing machine that overflowed. Due to the time of night, [redacted] requested that we go out to the house on 3/8/15 rather than going that same evening. I personally spoke with him and confirmed that it would be our technicians that would be at the house the next day and they would be completing all necessary work to remediate the water damage and get the affected areas dried out. This could possibly include removing wet carpet, drywall, and insulation to which he agreed.Our technicians arrived at the home on 3/8/15 at 2:10 PM. After inspecting the damages we noticed that the bathroom/ laundry room, master bedroom, closet, and living room all had suffered water damage. We have moisture meters that are used to detect the presence of moisture in materials in a home and identified areas in each room that had moisture and have a record of these readings. We recommended removing drywall from the wall and ceiling in the living room in order to dry out the wood framing but Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] refused this service, signed a waiver and told us that their brother would take care of any demolition that needed to be done and we just left drying equipment at the home (3 fans, 1 dehu). This equipment was left in the closet, living room, and laundry room (we have photos that show this equipment in all rooms). We informed the customer that we would need to come back to check on the equipment and how everything was drying. We called the customer on 3/9/15 and confirmed an appointment for us to go back to the house on 3/10/15 between 12:00-2:00 PM. When the technicians arrived on-site at 1:00 PM on 3/10/15 there was no one home and no one answered the phone when we called. Our technicians had to leave the home, leaving the equipment there. We were able to get in touch with the [redacted]s on 3/11/15 and scheduled a time for our technicians to return to the home. We arrived at the house on 3/11/15 at 4:53 PM. All equipment was by the door when our technicians arrived at the house and although there were areas still wet, the [redacted]s asked that we remove all of our equipment which we did.We have only asked the [redacted] to pay for the services that they received from us and nothing more. We made three separate trips to their home (all of which they agreed to) and left drying equipment which at the time was in high demand as we were dealing with CAT events from snow, ice and water damage throughout the east coast. Their insurance carrier, for which we are a preferred vendor, agreed to and approved our invoice amount as well further demonstrating that the charges we billed were in line with this type of service.