ComplaintsforPillar to Post - The Tim James Team

• Initial Complaint

  07/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 14, 2024 I hired an inspector to come out to inspect a home I was looking to purchase. The package I purchased was the premium package total of $705. During these inspections the inspector is supposed to run test and water through out the home. The inspector failed to run the water in the kitchen sink. Without knowing this information I purchased the home and on the second day of receiving my keys I rained the kitchen and water and found out the home kitchen sink is stopped up very badly, which leads to plumbing issues the home has. I feel if the inspector would have ran the kitchen sink water like they are supposed to , this issue could have been addressed and I would have been aware before I purchased the home

  Business response

  07/08/2024

  To Whom It May ******************** style="font-size: 0.875rem;">Your complaint was sent to our Pillar to Post franchise which is based out of **********************  The franchisee that needs to be contacted is *** James in ***********, ********  His email address is **************************************************************.  Contact number is ************.  
  

  Regards, 

  ***********************
  Office Manager
  Pillar ******* Home Inspections
  Office:************
  ********************************************************
  www.pillartopost-pinellas.com
  
  

   

  Business response

  07/09/2024

  My operations manager previously addressed this directly with the client. Our team protocol is to run water from every faucet and ensure it runs down every drain. We generally take photos of the faucet running with the associated piping beneath the faucet to show the drain assembly. In this situation, the drain was leaking inside the cabinet, so the inspector shutoff the water and took a photo of the affected area. It is not part of the **** or state standard of practice to take photos of running the water as proof, but we normally do it anyway. Also, our inspector documented that the kitchen sink was leaking, with photo proof and made it a summary (front page) item so you were aware of it and that would not happen without running water. This was documented in the Plumbing section under 10.4. It is in our best interest to discontinue running water when leaks are present to prevent unnecessary damage to cabinets, or cause excessive cleanups. Backups were not identified in any other areas tested throughout the home and we tend to run a significant amount of water throughout our process to help identify leaks or backups. Additionally, a reinspection was performed to confirm items that were requested to be fixed were completed as requested and 10.4, the kitchen sink leak, was not part of the requested items to be repaired or included in the reinspection process. We have completed over ****** inspections, I teach inspections in our region and throughout the state of IN and our inspectors are all very well qualified, licensed and seasoned. I feel that we addressed the concern professionally and we conducted our inspection above and beyond what state standards require, therefore we did not feel that any monetary compensation was justified and we do not assume liability of conditions that do not present during an inspection or are not disclosed by the sellers.

  Customer response

  07/12/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Im not satisfied with the response because when the manager came out he never showed photos of the kitchen sink water being ran
  Sent from my iPhone
  

  
  

  
  

  Business response

  07/13/2024

  Im sorry that you are choosing to reject our reasoning and questioning our proof, but I think the logic and documentation in the report are more than satisfactory. Again, the water was run and was shutoff because a leaking condition was identified on the drain in the cabinet. It would be careless for us to continue running a substantial amount of water through a drain that is leaking water. A picture of the leaking area was included in the report. A leak would not present unless we ran water. Just because your specific condition didnt present while we were testing that faucet and drain doesnt mean we caused it or are now responsible for it.

• Initial Complaint

  12/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had my home inspected by pillar to post, specifically *******, who did not adequately perform the job. I was told during that time that the furnace was in working condition, plumbing was appropriate, roof was good, and there was one piece of insulation missing in the attic. After multiple appointments and further inspections, it was determined that the roof had multiple leaks, multiple plumbing fasteners were not correct causing dry wall construction and the entire home was not insulated properly. So much that the home cannot be occupied, and is currently 34 degrees.

  Business response

  01/03/2023

  I wanted to ensure we address your concerns once again since you chose to re-direct them to the BBB. To clarify, you did speak with both the inspector and our operations manager who handles any degree of customer concerns if they cannot be clarified through our inspector. All inspectors on our team are ASHI certified, fully licensed and follow ASHI standards of practice. Your report was presented with full details, pictures and 2 pages of major items listed. ******* is one of our senior inspectors, helps train other inspectors and I am fully confident in his approach and due diligence in the field. As far as your listed concerns above, I offer the following clarifications for you:

   - The furnace was identified as 5 years old, the burners kicked on, flame patterns appeared good, the inducer motor and blower motor all sounded good. There were no indications of malfunction and no diagnostics visible at that point. It was listed as it operated during the time of the inspection.

   - The plumbing section has about 6 items identified as deficient and in need of further evaluation or repair. It is unclear what is meant by "causing drywall repair," but we can only identify issues as they present themselves during an inspection. You must review the seller disclosures and read our reports in full as issues may arise once the home is being used continuously. We cannot guarantee that every issue will present itself during our testing protocols.

   - The roof has numerous photos in the report. It is an architectural shingle of unknown age, but does not appear to have any visible damage or significant wear patterns. The attic did not show any signs of active leaking either, nor was any pattern identified on the ceilings corresponding with the attic space. Infrared scanning was used as well and no indications were identified by the inspector. Not sure how it was determined that there were "multiple leaks," but conditions were sunny and around 50 degrees on the day of the inspection.

   - The attic has multiple photos, some of which show gaps or missing insulation. The comment from the report is as follows: "Gaps in Coverage - Contact a qualified insulation professional to install the proper insulating material uniformly across the attic space." This does not indicate "one piece of insulation missing" and there are multiple pictures on various gaps between the floor joists in the attic.

   - As far as the entire home not being insulated properly, we cannot verify the adequacy of insulation material inside of a wall cavity. This area is not visible to us and outside of our inspection protocol as we cannot remove or deconstruct a home. The home was built in ****, so there's no way to verify or expect that insulation properties would be that of today's building standards, but shouldn't be so deficient that the home would maintain near freezing with an active furnace installed. If that is the case, then we would suggest reviewing the seller disclosures as this would not be a new condition and something that deficient or ineffective should have been disclosed to you as a hazardous living condition.

  It's unfortunate that you are experiencing issues within your home, but I am confident with the process our inspector followed and the completeness of the report provided to you given the conditions present on the day of the inspection. Our team has performed over ****** inspections in the last 7-8 years and have the most credentialed staff in our area. We are available if you have any further iniquiries.

   

  Take care, 

   

  *** *****

  Owner

*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. ↩