Business ProfileforCaring Transitions of Central San Diego

Be careful in using this company. They sell you a bill of goods using the term continually "giving you back your house." They do all the work per say and keep 90% of all the proceeds from the auction. If you have explained to them that the funds from the auction is to be used for the care of a loved one, they do not care, the still take 90% of the proceeds or if you do not meet their minimum you end up paying them for your belongings. BE CAREFUL USING THESE FOLKS

We are sad when one of our clients is not satisfied with our services; however, it is important to respond to the feedback provided. The services we provide are move management/relocation, decluttering, clean outs, and liquidations. In each case, we are dealing with a segment of the population where it is important to be sensitive and caring in our interactions. Our staff are all W-2 employees and background checked and we are transparent and up front in our proposal of costs. The first interaction we have with any potential client is a free, in-home consultation to discuss the goals that a client is trying to achieve. It is important that we are all on the same page. Following the consultation, we provide a written proposal outlining each service and the cost associated. If the client agrees to the service, we provide a scope of services agreement outlining the details that must be signed before work can be scheduled. In each of the steps, we are available for questions and to clarify any details. During this process, if the services include a liquidation, we make sure that the client understands that the value of anything is the price somebody is willing to pay at a particular moment. We explain that, in the resell market, items typically only bring a fraction of the price that was paid or what the client may think its worth, given the sentimental attachment. We also clarify that the client is often not going to make a lot of money off the items and we use the proceeds to pay for the services we provide. When we do a liquidation, we photograph, post the items, market the items, organize them for pickup and shipping, handle the shipping, and final removal to make sure the work is all completed. There is a great deal of labor involved to do this and we specify a minimum cost for doing the work to ensure we can stay in business to provide these services to the community. There is staff to pay and other business expenses to cover. If a sale does well, we share in the proceeds with the client based on a commission split. In this case, we met with the client to explain our services, our fee structure, and to discuss their goals. The goal that was expressed was to clear out a room in the house where the client had consolidated the extensive and unique collection. They had consolidated the collection, so it wasnt a constant reminder of their loved one not being with them each day. Because the collection was so unique, we discussed that it might be difficult to achieve any meaningful value and, if that was the goal, it may take more time than our projects run to achieve that. The client assured us that they just wanted the collection gone so it wasnt a reminder. The client proceeded to sign the scope of services agreement with our fees clearly detailed. We scheduled our staff and proceeded to run our online auction process. While our staff was working, discussions were had with the client about the uniqueness of the collection and how it had to be grouped in different lots to attract our buyers. The client inquired as to how much the auction may bring. Our staff clarified with the client that we cannot guarantee any value and items may not sale. During this conversation, the client stated that money was not an issue, and they just wanted the items to be removed so they were not a constant reminder. A similar discussion was had later in the process and, as we discussed the room being cleared, the client mentioned that they would probably call us back after this auction was done to continue decluttering other parts of the house. Once the auction began, the client expressed some concern about how pictures were displayed, items were grouped, and descriptions were written. All fair and valid feedback that we used to improve the postings and to train our staff. During this conversation, we had another discussion on the goal of our work - to make money or to get the items cleared out of the house. Again, the client agreed that they just wanted the reminders gone. The auction then closed, and we were excited to see that it performed quite well, given the uniqueness of the collection. We were excited to have achieved the goal of clearing out the room in the clients house at very little cost as we were able to partially refund the clients initial deposit. However, at this point, the client became dissatisfied with our services. As stated in the clients feedback, they felt we were keeping too much of the proceeds from the sale even though it had been clearly stated and discussed multiple times during our interactions. Again, we are saddened when a client does not have a good experience. Our goal is always to help our clients and make sure that our business practices are as transparent as possible. We wish this client and his loved one the best.