ComplaintsforAbbotts Cleanup & Restoration

• Initial Complaint

  12/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired this company for cleanup after a basement flood. They did not fix the issues, they charged for laminate but did not install it (I have pictures from the listing of my prior house to prove they did not install laminate). My insurance company paid them $19,000 and I paid my deductible. After I moved to ******* I was served with a lawsuit saying I owed $6,008 more than the $20,000 they were paid. Their collection agent said it seemed like a mistake on my insurance companys part and told me to look into it because I had time to respond. I called him by the deadline and he would not ************* until several days later and at that point he said there was a judgment. Also, I had COVID and ended up in the hospital during this terrible time which I told the collection agent. I have a medical condition and this took a big toll on my health so I called Abbotts and paid the extra $6,008 to be done with it because it was on my credit report. I have attached receipts that show payment for the additional balance and the receipts reflect a zero balance (receipts do not include the insurance payments or my deductible payment which were paid a year prior but I can provide those upon request). Their collection agent said Abbotts owned the debt and he was a middle man, which is why I paid them directly. Even though they took the payment and provided receipts, their collection company would not remove it from my credit reports. The balance was only changed to a zero balance on credit. Emails with Abbotts are attached showing they requested their collection company remove it from credit and solicited good reviews from me to show the owner. Two years later they are now garnishing my paychecks saying its for interest and costs. They would not reimburse for the laminate that was never installed. They will not stop the garnishments. This seems fraudulent and I am hoping you can help. Please contact with any questions. My number is ************. Thank you!! ****

  

  Business response

  12/22/2023

  Hello ****,
  
  I am sorry that you feel we didn't fix the issues you faced. When you contacted us on October 11, 2020, you informed us that when you returned home after being gone for a week, you found a musty smell in your house and a sub-pump covered in slime. The sub-pump had failed to remove stagnant water, which had spread to the carpeted living room and other areas of the basement. You asked for our help in drying everything up and returning it to its previous state.
  
  Our technicians inspected the affected areas and found the flooring and baseboards in the living room, mechanical room, bedroom, and bathroom were all damaged. They removed all affected materials except for tile, drywall, and vinyl flooring, which needed a negative asbestos test before removal. The technicians set up asbestos testing and drying equipment and talked to you about your sub-pump. You informed them that a plumber was coming on the morning of October 12, 2020, to take care of the sub-pump and prevent the same issue from happening again.
  
  On October 13, our technicians checked the equipment and removed the vinyl flooring after receiving negative asbestos results. However, they found that the mechanical room had reflooded and had a lot of toilet paper debris. They extracted all the water and solid materials, sanitized the area, and removed the vinyl flooring. After several moisture checks, they removed the affected drywall and tile. On October 21, 2023, all the moisture readings were within IICRC standards, and we pulled out all the equipment. You signed our Mitigation Certificate of Satisfaction, and we sent the dry logs, scope notes, and additional information to your insurance company.
  
  We received payment from your insurance company on December 15, 2020, and emailed you the same day to inform you of the payment and ask if you were ready to start the reconstruction. We received the deposit and work authorization to begin reconstruction on February 2, 2021. The original estimate included laminate flooring. We had estimate approval and had begun the job when you requested carpet instead. We obliged, and since the carpet and laminate prices were the same, we did not revise the estimate. We would have included the carpet pad if we had revised it, which we did not charge you for.
  
  We completed the reconstruction on March 4, 2021, and you signed our Reconstruction Certificate of Satisfaction the same day. Twelve days later, we sent the final invoice and additional information your insurance company needed to submit payment. We continued to work with you to collect payment from your insurance. On April 27, 2021, your insurance adjuster, ******, had a few questions about the additional work you requested us to do on your upstairs bathroom that was not affected. After we informed him it was a change order and that you were responsible for the cost, he pushed the paperwork through and issued the payment to you.
  
  By then, you had sold your home in ******** and moved to *******. On May 19, 2021, you wrote that the law firm you worked for would no longer allow anyone to work out of state, leaving you unemployed. You requested a payment plan, and we quickly got back to you, asking how much you would be comfortable paying monthly so we could set up a recurring payment plan. We sent five emails and called you several times before informing you on June 29, 2021, that we would escalate this to our legal team.
  
  After reaching out to you repeatedly we turned this over to a recovery service on September 9, 2021. On October 14, 2021, the recovery service informed us they had filed a summons after leaving five voicemails. On November 15, 2021, you were served at your home, and a court date was set for December 14, 2021. After six months of legal counsel, our company's time, and the recovery company's time, you gave us payment for the original bill you and the insurance approved on December 15, 2020. Since we had to send this to a recovery service that diligently worked on collecting the debt on this job, there is still an outstanding balance due to the accrued interest.
  
  I understand you're upset that we passed your debt on to a recovery service, and you still have an outstanding balance. Please know that we did everything in our power to collect the payment from you and work with you to find a payment plan that worked for you before turning it over to a recovery service. We completed the scope of work, and you signed the Certificate of Satisfaction for the water mitigation and reconstruction. Therefore, we will not be issuing a refund. 
  
  Sincerely,
  Abbotts Cleanup and Restoration
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In the last two weeks we had our painter pull down the ceiling drywall that ****** had put up- at the cost of $450 to see that we now have proof that ******, when they did repairs on a rental unit completed with Incorrect product, and that is why we had to ask them back 3 times to fix it, which was never done. They did not frame out for the drywall with 2x4s. They used baseboards with different patterns. They cut the ceiling in an angular way instead of right angles - We have repainted the ceiling since then at a cost of $800. And it keeps cracking--- that is because of their workmanship. We have contacted them again, and they have drug their feet for another 2 weeks...... and now they say they will give us an estimate for the job. This was a job ( through our insurance company) that should have been done right to begins with. Now. They are costing us more money- as we have a ceiling in disrepair and are trying to put the unit back on the market We just want it fixed right!! And we don't want them to drag their feet one more day !

  

  Business response

  07/02/2023

  Our goal is customer satisfaction and we clearly failed to deliver. We are sorry that ************ felt it necessary to file a complaint with the BBB to get our attention. We have worked with ************ to resolve his concerns; he has indicated that he is satisfied with the resolution. Internally we are already investigating the matter and looking for ways to ensure this does not happen again.
  

  Customer response

  07/04/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  July 29, 2022 Technician was on site for very minor water damage (not 1 inch of drywall damaged) 1.5 hours on July 29, 2022 and less than 30 minutes to retrieve fans on August 1, 2022. Technician assured me total charges for work performed would not exceed $1500.00. I was charged $2200. When I questioned the 4 hours of 'equipment setup, take down, and monitoring' that I was charged for (when the ENTIRE time the technician was at my house was a TOTAL of less than 2 hours), I was told that 'work was done from the technician's vehicle or at the end of the work day from the office'.

• Initial Complaint

  06/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2021 MY HOUSE LOCATED AT *********************************************** CAUGHT ON FIRE WHICH CAUSED A TOTAL LOSS. MY INSURANCE ALREADY PAID ME , AND I HIRED ABBOTTS ******************************** COMPANY TO BUILD MY NEW HOUSE. THIS COMPANY HAS NOT FULFILLED IN FINISHING MY HOUSE THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WOULD BE FINISHED IN FEBRUARY 2022 WHICH HAS NOT BEEN TRUE. LATELY THEY DON'T ANSWER MY CALLS AND THEY HAVE PRACTICALLY NOTHING DONE TO THE HOUSE. I ALREADY GAVE THEM AN ADVANCE OF $140,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS.PLEASE IF YOU COULD HELP ME i I i WOULD APPRECIATED BECAUSE I AM ALREADY DESPERATE AND DON'T WHAT ELSE TO DO. THIS COMPANY HAS ONLY BEEN DECEIVING ME AND LYING THANK YOU *******************************

  

  Business response

  06/20/2022

  Unfortunately, fire damage restoration is complicated. There are a lot of moving parts and, particularly in early phases, it can seem like nothing is happening. We are always willing to take calls from our customers and met with ******************* last week. We acknowledge that the language barrier (******************* speaks only Spanish) has added additional complications to the project communications.
  
  Insurance constraints, contractors hired by the homeowner, and inspection requirements have complicated this restoration. The reality is that we are 48% complete, specifically the 'rough' work is almost done. Electrical and framing inspections were performed last week; we are working with city officials to resolve the inspection variances related to out of scope code upgrades so that we can move to the finish work and get ******************* back to normal. We expect that the project will be completed approximately 3 months after the city inspections of electrical and framing are finalized.
  
  We certainly understand *********************** frustration. We would be frustrated in this situation, too! We have assigned a Spanish language coordinator to ensure ******************* is informed as to the progress of her restoration project. We are committed to getting her back to normal as quickly as possible.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩