ComplaintsforMDL Restoration, Incorporated

• Initial Complaint

  09/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  2/13/23, MDL Restoration Inc completed work (job # ******) in our master bedroom related to a water leak. We signed a contract with a 5-year warranty. *** **** ****** (the MDL supervisor who led this job) was unable to locate the origin of the water leak using reverse engineering/water testing. They replaced the interior dry wall that was damaged. The contract we signed states the work by MDL will be warranted for 5 years from date of completion. 9/18/23, at 2 am: water dripping from same spot. The dry wall has deteriorated much faster. The leak was not correctly identified in February 2023. 9/18/23, I called the MDL office at 8:03 am. They sent *** **** ****** again. I inquired about the 5-year warranty. *** ****** took confirmed that water was leaking and going through the dry wall in the same spot than February 2023. *** ****** promised to talk to his boss, Mr. ******* ********* (MDL owner), and get back to us with a plan. He never did. After many attempts for a week (September 19-23, 2023) to contact MDL, *** ********* called on 9/26/23, at 2:05 pm. 9/26/23 *** ********* told me this is not covered by the warranty because this is a “new loss”. We strongly disagree. The damage is in the SAME spot, something that *** **** ****** confirmed during his in-person visit. *** ********* said he would investigate and call me back. He never did. 9/27/23 I texted *** ********* asking him to call to discuss further. He said “Ok”. He never did. 9/28/23 We still have no response from MDL. In summary: 1)This current water leak is exactly in the same spot, it is not a new loss. 2)*** ********* is gaslighting us to avoid honoring the 5-year warranty. 3)The materials used were of inferior quality. We request that MDL: 1)Reimburse us for the subpar work and breach of contract (not honoring the 5-year warranty). The total we paid: $1,676.13. 2)Or honor the warranty, identifies the origin of the leak and repair the interior. The remainder of the warranty shall continue.

  

  Business response

  10/12/2023

  *****,
  We are sorry that we were unable to come to an understanding and/or resolution regarding the warranty.
  To keep it simple, I explained to you on the phone as well as ****, came to your home to inspect and also explained to you that this is not a covered warranty. MDL Restoration Inc. inspected your roof deck 4 times including performing 2 water tests.
  We told you that you needed an HVAC company to detach the AC unit because one of the leaks was coming from underneath. There weren’t any boots on the pipes running through the roof decking. We also suggested having MDL there at the same time so that we can perform repairs after the AC was detached.
  You decided to hire a roofer that you contracted with instead to seal your roof and then repair areas with leaks but that company never moved the AC unit. We can see that the sealant stopped at the AC unit.
  MDL Restoration Inc. was not paid nor did we bill for any work on the roof. MDL cannot be held responsible for another roof leak when you hired another company to fix the roof. MDL Restoration Inc.
  offers a 5 year warranty on all work performed by MDL Restoration Inc. only. MDL Restoration Inc.
  always, and I mean always, back our warranty. I am sorry that you did not get a warranty with the roofing company that you hired but it is their responsibility.
  The pictures that you posted spackle on the blanket and the hole in the wall was from the first job that we remediated and repaired for you in December of 2022. The ladder fell over and put a hole in the wall and spackle on the blanket. I offered to clean or pay for the blanket and we repaired the hole the next day.
  Mistakes happen but we always handle our responsibility. The blanket cleaned up properly due to spackle being water soluble. I did mention a suit because in your fist review you stated that my carpenters smoked in your home, which we both knew was not true. Not one of our employees that presented themselves at your home smokes or vapes.
  You made it seem as if we were not responding to you however when you called our office at 7:12am Monday morning 9/18/23 we scheduled to come out and inspect that same day. **** was on site at 2:00pm. His first picture and moisture reading was uploaded to our system at 2:12pm. **** explained to you at that time that you had another roof leak and that voided the warranty. When I spoke to you on 9/19/23 at approximately 8:30pm I again explained to you why this is not covered by our warranty because MDL did not perform any work on your roof to repair damage and/or stop leaks. I asked that you give me some time to think about it because I was considering helping you out even though it’s not our
  responsibility. At no time did I say I would investigate whether or not this warranty claim was valid. It was clear to us from our first inspection that this was not covered under  warranty.
  In your review you also stated that MDL used inferior building materials. Only materials used were drywall, spackle and screws. Those were purchased at **** *****. Elena, I understand your frustration with purchasing a new home that has had multiple leaks since you’ve owned it. Which is why MDL performed for free. I have been dealing with newly constructed roof decks in Philadelphia for 20 years now and I am fully aware of how frustrating these situations can be. Especially since your insurance company will not pay for any exterior work on your roof deck. We are very compassionate in these situations. It’s why we conducted four inspections on your roof and provided recommendations free of
  charge. Unfortunately, you did not follow through with our recommendations. I would also like to point out that MDL performed repairs to your stucco that caused the first leak in 2022 and that work has not leaked since then. The only successful repair done to your exterior in order to stop leaks was that repair completed by MDL Restoration Inc. We are not perfect by any means, however we absolutely stand by our work and our warranty. I sincerely hope that you find success in dealing with these leaks.

  Customer response

  10/16/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  MDL Restoration Inc. states several inaccuracies in their response. Everything stated in my original complaint and in this response is accurately documented and backed up with screenshots, logs, photos and videos from our home camera. 
  
  1: **** ****** came only once (not 4 times as they say) to inspect our interior and roof. This was on 09/18/2023 (as I said in the first message). He said he will consult with his boss *********. They never called back. The only call back we had from ******* ********* was on 9/26/2023 (not on 9/18 at 8:30pm as they say). ********* never called despite my attempts to solve this on the phone in a professional manner. Their unresponsiveness and delay at responding made our water leak progressively worse.
  
  2: We followed all the recommendations by MDL. We detached the AC Unit (photo attached), recoated underneath and sealed around it. In addition, we covered with a permeable cover. There is still a leak indicating that MDL failed at identifying the leak, they fixed the interior but for nothing, because now the leak (that they did not identify) is active again and the interior is ruined. They failed at the job they were hired for and now they refuse to make amendments under the signed contract with the 5 year warranty. Having MDL at the same time as the HVAC professionals or the roofer was never mentioned or asked from us, but it would have been impossible as MDL is extremely unresponsive (********* has his voicemail consistently full, **** ****** never responded a single message or call, the office never calls back).
  
  3: We got a warranty with the roofer who has honored it and came back to help us, unlike MDL. In their response here MDL is deceiving everyone, talking about the roof fix (for which they have no information and they are talking without knowing). MDL is nto even offering to fix the interior, the job they did, under their warranty. This is a breach of contract. MDL were unable to identify where the leak comes from and now they are trying to blame someone else (roofer). MDL´s water tests are useless, as they think they can compare 1 minute of a hose stream directed to random spots on our roof versus hours of heavy rain (which is what is causing the leak). MDL keeps stating they were not hire to do work on the roof, and in this case I am extremely confused of why they kept doing water tests on our roof and keep inspecting our roof. They are clearly trying to deceive me and get away with not honoring their warranty. They have reviews by other clients who also complaint about their warranty not being honored (there are screenshots of these reviews). It is unclear to me in which scenario this warranty would cover something as now, when the water leak appear in exactly the same spot, they claim it is a different one (even though they were never able to identify the leak). They consistently contradict themselves to get away with not honoring the warranty.
  
  4: Here, MDL is responding to a google review, not this particular complaint. This is why their response addresses points that are not in the complaint. (E.g. they respond to a comment about how they stained blankets in our home, or how we caught some of their crew vaping in our premises). ********* also speaks about our home insurance covering or not the exterior repeairs. We did not use insurance for the job of this complaint, and we certainly did not talk to Litchaeur about insurance. He is spreading misinformation and talking with out knowing. ********* is also mixing the current complaint with other work they did (he talks about some stucco sealing in the outside) that has nothing to do with this current complaint. All these are only examples of their unprofessionalism and sloppiness and how he cannot keep his story straight.
  
  5. ********* never spoke to me on 9/19/23 at 8:30pm as he stated. All calls and communications are documented. I called the office more than 4 times after the first call on 9/18/23 and I never had a call back despite requesting it specifically. They NEVER said they were considering helping us. They always been very clear that their intention was to not honor the warranty, hence me filing an official complaint with BBB.
  
  6. MDL states they performed for free. They have never done anything for free (or offered to do anything for free). In fact, they overcharged us: for example, we were charged for covering our floors from the front door to the room where the leak was. This was never done. We have cameras at home showing it.
  
  7: I would like to point out that before filing this complaint, the owner, *********, sent me several texts calling me ¨horrible person¨, saying I lie, and threatening me with a lawsuit if I did not take down my honest google review about my experience with MDL Restoration Inc. (which is illegal for MDL to do this, according to the Consumer Review Fairness Act). I never came across such unprofessionalism.
  
  The very poor business response is extremely deceiving and inaccurate. It only reflects further on their unprofessionalism and disrespect to their clients.
  
  We request that MDL Restoration Inc., as they are breaching the contract, reimburse us for the amount we paid. Then we can void the contract and the warranty (which in any case is unclear if they will ever honor it if in the future if the same spot leaks again) and we will not rely on MDL in the future for this particular job (job # **-***) .
  
  ***********************

  Customer response

  10/16/2023

  The owner attached pictures of different jobs that do NOT pertain to this complaint. 

  Document Before and After-1-Oct 12 2023 **************** 

  Document  Before and After-2-Oct 12 2023 ****************

  Those 2 documents are from a different job they did in January. We have no complaints about that so far. This is very deceiving.

  The document Before and After-3-Oct 12 2023 **************** is of the first time they came and fixed the interior. It is irrelevant to our current complaint. I am attaching a picture from 09/25/2023 that shows the deterioration of the interior currently, due to MDLs inability to identify the leak back in February. That fix should have been covered by their warranty. Im attaching a picture of the current status of the interior.
  

  They also attached a text message exchange with my husband. They never responded to me (***********************) who has been the person dealing with this repair and complaint.

  Those document they provide are deceiving to the public if they were to be available.

  

  Business response

  10/16/2023

  We did not fix the roof. Homeowner hired a roofing company to fix. She did not pay MDL Restoration to fix the roof. We cannot be responsible for a roof leak on a roof that we did not do any work to. A new water loss on the same area voids the warranty.

  Customer response

  10/17/2023

  Good morning. I am attaching the contract related to this complaint and proof of payment (in 2 installments being the latest the end of the job). Thanks for your assistance.

  Customer response

  10/17/2023

  Good morning. I am attaching the contract related to this complaint and proof of payment (in 2 installments being the latest the end of the job). Thanks for your assistance.

  Customer response

  10/17/2023

  The owner claims they are not responsible for the fix because we hired a roofer. We did this per their recommendation. They put us in a catch 22 as they never informed us that if we hired a roofer to fix what MDL thought was the water entry, the warranty will be voided. This is extremely deceiving to clients. I am attaching emails from the office recommending us a roofing company and a text informing ********************* a roofer was coming. No mention of warranty voiding was made.

  Customer response

  10/24/2023

  In addition, I'm attaching my attempt to communicate with ********************* to let him know a roofer was coming. He never responded to me, the person he consistently met in person. I'm also attaching the email they sent via the office with a roofer recommendation. At no time ever it was mentioned that bringing a roofer will void their warranty.

  

  Business response

  10/25/2023

  First, we cannot see this email attachment where we supposedly recommended a roofer to you. Please can someone provide this? MDL Restoration installs ********* except for roof decks. We recommended that she find a roofing company that specializes in this type of roof. We also recommended that she hire an HVAC company to detach AC unit to check under there. We did not charge her for any inspections or any work to stop these leaks as they were out of our hands. My question is why is she not asking the roofer to pay for it? If she hired a roofer to fix the roof and the roof repair failed why would MDL be responsible for the damage? Our warranty does not provide free maintenance on her home. No contractor would do this. Our warranty covers workmanship and material failures. This is a new water intrusion. Please see attached highlighted warranty on our contract and our estimate for the work we did.

  Customer response

  10/25/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  1) I said this several times already: we had a roofer, and the roofer fixed what MDL said needed to be fixed, and followed their recommendations (I'm re-attaching the email from the office recommending us to contact *** ***** * ***** Fiberglass roofing company in PDF format). The roofer honored their warranty and came back again to reseal everything that MDL said it was the problem. Again, the roofer is not an issue that MDL should be even mentioning here. How does MDL know this is a new water intrusion if they never knew where the water was coming from into our home in the first place? Please, explain this in a comprehensive and clear manner. 

  2) I also said this before and provided photo proof. I'll repeat: We removed the HVAC unit as recommended by MDL. Again, this does not seem to resolve the problem. Another proof that MDL misidentified the water entry point making us spend $1000+ in fixes they could not do, and had to hire third parties. At no time they mentioned hiring third parties would void their warranty, even though (as MDL admits in their responses) they recommended us to hire several third parties (roofer, HVAC professional).

  3) We never asked for free maintenance in our home. Please, stop your misleading statements. We are asking you to honor your warranty: we followed ALL your recommendations, but the water leak has not stopped. You failed to recommend us the right steps to stop this water leak. If your job was just to fix the interior you should have not made any additional recommendation to us to hire third parties, and you should have definitely not run consistent water tests on our roof.

  4) The highlighted part of the warranty talks to our failure to inspect the work. We inspect our house regularly and the roof was inspected thoroughly when the roofer came to fix following MDL recommendations. This is not applicable here. They also highlight that "attempted repair by nonqualified personnel" would void the warranty. No nonqualified personnel was hired, so this document that MDL is providing does not justify their response. MDL also includes the estimate for the interior repair that they are refusing to fix now under the warranty after we followed their specific recommendations to fix the water entry point. We trusted MDL assessment and followed their recommendations to fix the water entry point. However, that was erroneous and the water came in again, thus they should be responsible to fix the inside again as they misled us identifying a wrong water entry point.

  5) Please, explain to us, comprehensively, in which hypothetical case your warranty would actually be honored if this case, according to you, is not covered. MDL explanations have been consistently poor and swinging from one point to another. We had another job done by them and we are currently concerned that their warranty is just a scam and will never be honored in any case. 

  In summary, we cannot accept MDL's response as they never explained to us that following their recommendations by hiring third parties (roofer, HVAC pro) their warranty will be voided. Their warranty was one of the main reasons we decided to hire MDL again. We trusted MDL and followed their recommendations to stop this water leak. With the heavy summer rains, the water leak re-appeared and we thought MDL would honor their warranty. Their lack of professionalism (by threatening us via text with lawsuits because they did not like our ****** review, and their unresponsiveness) has pushed us to this point. We want them to take responsibility and honor their warranty. We spent $1,676.13 just to replace some drywall that now is ruined again due to MDL's lack of right expertise. MDL is clearly ill-prepared to locate this water entry point, but they should at the bare minimum offer to repair the interior again after we locate the water entry point with the help of actual professionals. MDL has never even offered this and we doubt that they would even be reliable to come into our home to repair anything. Hence, we think the best for both parties would be to reimburse us for the job and void the contract.

  Warmest regards,
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  10/27/2023

  We would like to speak to someone at the BBB regarding this. We proved with our contract that ***** has no warranty with us. We are a paying member of the BBB. Since when does the customers review have to be satisfied in order to take the review/complaint down? Please contact me at **************.

  Customer response

  11/27/2023

  I attached the letter I received from MDL this morning via the Attorney General Consumer's Office.
  In the first paragraph at the end they admit they performed roof inspections and water tests. This is what we found misleading as they presented their work as if they were to identify where the leak was generating from (as they did in their first job which they also make reference to in this letter and for which we don't have complaints so far).
  They continue the letter to say we did not follow their recommendations which is not true, as we did remove the AC unit (pictures were provided) as per their recommendation, which they also state in this letter.
  We did everything MDL suggested and trusted them with their 5-year warranty. At no point ever it was mentioned by them that bringing third parties (e.g. roofers, hvac pros) will void the warranty. We also tried to get them in our home when the AC unit was removed but Eric never responded my text (for which I provided a screenshot for in my complaint).
  
  I hope this clarified our complaint further.
  
  Thank you for your help
  
  *****

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