ComplaintsforDry First, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Our insurance company mailed 2 checks that my husband and I turned over to this company for mild remediation and repair. The remediation was mediocre and had to be redone a second time due to the initial remediation zone being poorly secured, which of course became contaminated. This had our family partially relocated to another residence off and on for weeks. They flooded my wood floor, which I cleaned up, they did not take down the barrier after the second remediation, we did. We moved all our furniture and electrical, but were still charged for all of these things. They NEVER cleaned the air ducts like they said they did. Many things outlined in the estimate were not done, but we/ homeowners insurance was charged for. I reached out to the company contractor and owner to roll over the undone task fees totaling roughly 4000.00$. To be rolled over from Dry remediation to repair since it is the same company. After this verbal agreement by the owner to withhold a recision fee, and work to begin based on the need of less work. They began changing the estimate to add on fees well over the 4000$ that should have been documented on the initial estimate when the project was originally seen. their miscommunication. poor work, and argumentatory nature of the contractor, which the business owner apologized for. Made us discontinue work with them and ask them to send our owed monies back to the insurance company. Apparently this was never done. We recently received a bill from this Dry First company for 2700$, for recision fee,5 labor hours added on that were never performed, and a 1.5 percent increase. This work was not performed. They drug out the work forcing us to live in other locations incurring further costs. This then forced us to pay out of pocket for many of the costs to enclose our ceiling, and interior walls, paint, replace insulation, paint, some work we were forced to do on our own do to lack of funds. This appears as a whole as a fraudulent transaction.

  Business response

  07/29/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/05/18) */ Contact Name and Title: Dave C. - General Manager Contact Phone: 321-576-0005 Contact Email: dcarrera@dryfirst.com Thank you, for the opportunity to answer Mr. and Mrs. ****'s complaint. We will address each individual element of the complaint. 1. The remediation (mold) work is completed according to the instructions of a licensed Hygienist (mold assessor). Each project is unique as to the scope and extent of the required work. The completed work is tested by the Hygienist to assure that the remediation was completed and passed testing according to his instructions. remediation cannot be graded as mediocre if it passes the strict hygienist testing. The work passed testing. 2. The unique conditions of the remediation process may require a certain amount of time that is different from other remediation projects. Mr. and Mrs. **** decided to relocate to another residence during the remediation work. This was not necessary, due to the containment that was placed to isolate the work area. This choice was not a requirement of Dry First. 3. Their wood floor was not "flooded". A piece of equipment leaked water onto the floor, which was wiped up and resolved by the ****s, as stated in their complaint. 4. The ****s took down the plastic containment after the remediation but were not supposed to. Every step of the remediation process needs to be performed by trained and certified personnel. Taking on tasks to economize on the cost is potentially dangerous if not performed to industry standards. 5. We audited the finances of this project and have found that the following items, along with the price of these tasks, were not done or were completed by Mr. and Mrs. ****: $1,875.00 Contamination - pre & post-test - full service $59.54 Protect - cover with plastic (done Mr. and Mrs. ****) $84.04 Content manipulation (done Mr. and Mrs. ****) $61.49 Clean evaporator coil $68.06 Clean AC registers (done Mr. and Mrs. ****) $463.40 Clean ductwork per AC register $210.00 Negative air fan/Air scrubber - 24 hrs $588.84 Sand exposed framing $456.24 Seal ceiling w/anti-microbial coating $78.63 Sand exposed framing - ceiling $60.93 Seal the ceiling w/anti-microbial $4,006.17 Total 6. When we accept the scope of work and contract to complete a project, any work deletions change the terms of the agreement and create a breach, or non-compliance to the terms of the contract. The initial price to complete the reconstruction project was $8,701.09. Mr. and Mrs. **** chose to not proceed with the reconstruction project, as contracted to do so. Copy of contract is attached. It was a mutual agreement, detailed in the contract's "Recission Clause" paragraph. Copy of recission fees invoice is attached. This amount owed by Mr. and Mrs. **** is $2,770.51. We'll credit $4006.17 for the remediation work that was not completed by us. This leaves a balance owed to Mr. and Mrs. **** of $1,235.66. Consumer Response /* (3000, 15, 2022/06/03) */ ***Document Attached*** I am finally able to follow up and review this complaint.In reading what the Dry First company has submitted, it does not appear that I submitted the estimates they initially gave, and all the email communication throughout highlighting itemization of done vs not done work. Along with the suggestion that we did something against their wishes. Any removal of plastic was coordinated with the remediation supervisor prior to anything being done by us, ensuring this was not a breach of any policy. In the response from the company the gentleman explains that that they breached their own contract which is further proof that the recision fee does not apply. Along with the fact that the owner came out to our home and verbally stated in front of 3 other witnesses and myself that he would remove the recision fee. Although there had been mediocre work, miscommunications already, we agreed to move forward for repairs. After this, they began to change their estimates, adding on things to nickel and dime us (all which should have been included in the initial estimate) which you will find in the email documentation we decided to not continue further. It was clear they did not want to do any work for us. In the docs they sent you, they only included the second test results from BioPro ( a very professional company). I paid Bio Pro out of my own pocket,$935.00 as noted on the bottom of the bill from Dry First that I have uploaded. This should obviously not be included in their deductions, as I paid Bio Pro directly. Dry First poorly sealed the project which is what made it contaminate and the need for a second process and test. This is their fault not ours. After the second results were received and clear, I spoke with the crew foreman who gave me approval to take down the plastic sheeting. Nothing was done without discussing with the company. During these weeks of having construction and mold/fungus in our home circulating around, yes we did move out. We live in a small home, with animals and a child. They left us one bedroom to sleep in, so yes, with all of that being said, one adult stayed at the house, and the animals and other adult and child did leave as she were experiencing symptoms.Also, the remediation PM suggested it. On the bottom of the Dry First bill I have uploaded you will also see the amounts of the 2 checks we turned over from our insurance company. The total amount that is owed to us as you will find itemized is much more than they have shown. I am very sorry I did not send this info sooner. I hope that this fully encompasses the picture. After some research this company has a bit of a history of this behavior, and I would not want it to happen to anyone else. They have charged stories and falsified numbers. Even adding in a 1.5 percent late fee it appears. Thank you in advance for your time. Business Response /* (4000, 17, 2022/06/15) */ This complaint was previously closed. The reopened complaint has already been answered. Our previous response was based on factual and contractual data. Our previous offer to resolve this matter is still available until 6/30/2022. This offer will be withdrawn if not accepted by this date. Consumer Response /* (4200, 19, 2022/06/23) */ ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: ************************* Date: Thu, Jun 23, 2022 at 8:55 AM Subject: Re: BBB Complaint Case#********************************************* To: Better Business Bureau ******************* I have just looked over their response and they are completely lying. They owe us 4000$ as they stated, they are still charging us (as part of our owed 2700 bill) for the recision fee, which the owner said we would not be charged. Also, they are charging us for 5hrs of labor for the owner and 5 more hours of labor for the contractor/project manager. Neither of those people did any work at our house. This an inflated, and dishonest attempt to recover a portion of the 4000$ that they owe to us. Thank you, **** ****

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