ComplaintsforAmerican Water Damage of Baltimore, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  08/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  American Water Damage provided water remediation services at our residence in Wilmington, DE in May 2024 due to a leak from our first floor bathroom toilet flange. During their work, they caused additional water damage due to a leak from the hose attached to their dehumidifier (causing water to get into the hallway outside the first floor bathroom). They admitted to their mistake in an email sent to me on 5/21/24 (see attached). Given this mistake, they had to spend five additional days running heated fans and dehumidifiers 24/7 at our house. In a series of emails with Suzanne P***** (SP*****@americanwaterdamage.com) of American Water Damage starting on 6/15/24, I asked for remuneration for electricity used during those five days. American Water Damage initially refused to remunerate, but did ultimately agree to remunerate $50.66 for electricity on those five days in an email dated 7/1/24. Unfortunately, American Water Damage has not kept their word and did not send any remuneration as they had promised. Our bill for their services has been paid in full through our insurance carrier Nationwide as the original water damage (from the toilet flange) was an insurance claim. This claim is now closed. As we do not owe anything to American Water Damage, there is no reason for them to be withholding our remuneration for electricity as they had originally agreed to.

  Business response

  08/05/2024

  Mr *******- 

  My apologies, for the delay in the check for the electric. I was not made aware of this, and for that I apologize. I will send it today and hopefully this will rectify the issue in the complaint. 

   

  Nicholas D*********

  Customer response

  08/05/2024

  
  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

  03/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Household Appliance Category 1 Water Damage Issue Friday, February 16, 2024 We had a water damage issue (refrigerator’s water filtering system went bad) on Friday, February 16, 2024. Water leakage on main floor in kitchen near refrigerator and basement right below kitchen area. We immediately purchased from **** ***** a ****** Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum and cleaned up the water (main floor & basement) to address the issue before an 8-10 AM appointment with a Howard County Permit Inspector regarding another issue. Then a *** *** ******* technician arrived after 10 AM and confirmed that the water damage was due to our refrigerator’s water filtering system and he recommended we contact American Water Damage (AWD) to help us with this issue. Before *** *** ******* tech left, AWD was at our doorsteps. Like one of AWD’s former customers, after they completed their water mitigation and demolition of our home’s main floor and basement, we “received an invoice that can be described as egregious at best and fraudulent at worst.” The company has already revised down some charges but this was a clean water loss and we are being charged for category 2 class 2 water damage which to us seems like an up charge. Our insurance company has only approved our claim for a household appliance category 1 clean water loss and AWD has refused to accept this assessment. Like one of AWD’s former customers, “there was no sewage backup, no failure of an ejector pump and clearly no contamination.” We’re requesting that AWD accept our insurance company’s assessment so we can pay this invoice and be done with this company. We’ve already filed a complaint with the Maryland Attorney General’s office and once we’ve received the final water mitigation payment from our insurance company (expected this week) we’ll send the insurance approved payment to AWD and continue to pray that this issue is resolved.

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  Mr. *******-
  The IICRC Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration (IICRC S500) is a procedural standard that defines the 3 categories of water. Here are definitions of Category and Class for water damage loss.
  The IICRC S500 defines: 
  Category 1- water loss is when the water originates from a sanitary water source and does not pose a substantial risk if ingested or inhaled.
  Category 2- water loss is when water contains contamination and has the potential to cause sickness if contacted or consumed by humans.
  Class 1- water losses may only affect part of a room or area, or they may include larger areas with materials that have absorbed minimal moisture.
  Class 2- water loss affects at least an entire room of carpet and cushion. Water has gone up the walls less than 24 inches. There is moisture remaining in structural materials like plywood, particle board, structural wood, VCT, and concrete.
  Class 3- water loss the ceilings, walls, carpet, insulation, and sub floor are saturated in the entire area.
  With these definitions, it may be easier for you to understand that although the water could have started as a Category 1, at the time of our work it most certainly was category 2. I think you would agree that the water that was removed from your home by our company contained contaminants and may have cause sickness if a human consumed. Also, should the leak have been fixed and addressed immediately, it could have been a class 1. However, multiple rooms on 2 levels were wet, including ceilings, walls, floors etc. In my opinion, this would be Category 2, Class 3. It looks that we billed Category 2 Class 2. I understand your frustration with this bill, but it seems to me that your insurance, *********, has underpaid you for the services we provided. I have seen this many times, specifically with your homeowner’s insurance company. They will come up with a comparative, cut the homeowner a check and close the claim. I would ask, has your adjuster come out to your property to assess the damage caused by the leak?  It he or she a large loss adjuster? I addressed this in the previous complaint, and suggested that you and your Ms. ******* file a complaint with the Maryland Insurance Commission and perhaps obtain the assistance of a public adjuster.  Additionally, you can contact your adjuster’s supervisor and/or work up the chain of command within *********. You have a covered loss and there are invoices and costs to repair your property to the pre-loss condition. We have, to no avail, drastically reduced our invoice already to come to an agreement with your adjuster. I understand you have placed a claim with the Attorney General and perhaps other places and are awaiting a payment from *********. If you are unable to obtain the remaining balance of our invoice through *********, we would be willing to work with you on financing the balance. However, at this point, we are unable to adjust the invoice any further. 

  Customer response

  03/26/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  as we stated in our initial complaint, we had already cleaned up the water in both areas (main floor & basement).  The water AWD is referring to was due to Len the Plumber’s tech diagnosis of issue and he left the water running after diagnosing the issue and I had to turn it off.  Regarding fixing and addressing the leak immediately, AWD was onsite before *** *** ******* left so I disagree with the clean water they removed being contaminated from the basement area.  Also, the debris AWD cleaned up (on day one) was from their staff tearing down the ceiling’s drywall in the basement (below the kitchen area).  Our insurance adjuster asked AWD several times what did they clean up and that their “drying equipment and application of antimicrobial would be sufficient (see extract below of Q&A and insurance adjuster/AWD’s replies).”
  
  Our insurance adjuster also disputed AWD’s measurements of our home & AWD did not correct them (see extract below).
  
  Also, not sure why there are multiple pictures of a home that is not ours when AWD submitted their invoice (AWD’s photos document exceeded size limit (over 9MB), however pictures 38-41 are not from our home).
  
  AWD keeps asking our insurance adjuster whether he has been onsite to assess the damage caused by the leak.  He was onsite half of the day (Friday, February 23rd) when my wife was trying to get AWD to remove all its equipment. 
  ————————————————————————————————————————————————
  Clean water Q&A between our insurance adjuster and AWD:
  The cleaning line item should be removed as this is a clean water loss. There is no cleaning required as the drying equipment and application of antimicrobial would be sufficient. “Removed line 17. Lines 15 and 16 will remain, as the photos clearly show a very large area of flooring that needed to be cleaned. 
  Cleaning of the studs is appropriate as this is a CAT 2 loss. Any loss that requires WTR GRMB should be applied to the open/affected studs as well.”
  
  The decontamination costs should be removed as this is a clean water loss. 
  “AWD employs a maintenance supervisor who meticulously cleans and disinfects all equipment, tools, and vehicles prior to their deployment on site. The cost for this service, which includes wiping down equipment, application of germicide, and labor, is accounted for in the Xactimate pricing system. We can reduce this to AS and dehu, leaving off air movers.”
  
  The cleaning line item should be removed as this is a clean water loss. There is no cleaning required as the drying equipment and application of antimicrobial would be sufficient. “Removed line 33. Lines 15 and 16 will remain, as the photos clearly show a very large area of flooring that needed to be cleaned. 
  Cleaning of the studs is appropriate as this is a CAT 2 loss. Any loss that requires WTR GRMB should be applied to the open/affected studs as well.”
  
  Please see insurance adjuster’s March 18th reply to AWD:
  “Thank you for making the adjustments. Per your email the demo was not completed until 2/21 and the drying equipment should not be placed until the demo has been completed. Drying of course will not be completed timely if fans are running and the wet materials are still in place. Per your email, demo was completed on 2/21 and equipment picked up 2/23. If the demo was completed first prior to placing fans, the structure appears to dry out within the standard 3 days. The issues outlined in my email are not supported in your email response. I do not agree with the use of air scrubbers/decontamination/filters on the loss as this was a clean water loss and not warranted. I appreciate you adjusting the monitoring hours but they are heavy. I am also unclear of the cleaning of floors and stud walls given the clean water loss. What exactly is being cleaned on the stud walls and floors as there is no evidence of any growth and the affected flooring/drywall removed.  I appreciate the explanation of the basement measurements but the measurements are not correct.”
  
  AWD’s March 19th reply to our insurance adjuster:
  “Good morning,
  
  Demo in the basement began on 02/16 and was completed 02/20. 
  Demo for the upstairs began on 02/20 and completed on 02/21.
  Equipment had been on site since 02/16 (4 dehu, 1 AS, 6 fans), 02/17 8 more fans were placed, 02/19 equipment count was 6 dehu, 1 AS, 24 fans, as of 02/20 the equip count was 5 dehu, 1 AS, 41 fans. That is the total amount of equip. 
  Again, there were 3 days of demo and equipment was on site for a total of calendar days. We have generously revised the air scrubber charges to 4 days and HEPA to .5. 
  
  The Air Scrubber and its accompanying HEPA Filter are deployed on site once the demolition work has started. As per the manufacturer's guidelines, the HEPA Filter is replaced after each water mitigation project. This protocol is consistent with the details outlined in the Xactimate line items. AWD has made adjustments regarding the duration of time for deployment and the frequency of filter replacements in an effort to reach a compromise. The demolition primarily involves the removal of drywall, baseboards, etc. This line item will not be removed.
  
  The cleaning floors charges are just that, there was debris, on the floor, from the demo. If you look at the photos
  you can clearly see water and debris from the ceiling on the dark flooring in the basement. You can see in the photos where the fans are set facing the ceiling, that the dark flooring had been cleaned. I've attached a few photos for reference.
  
  I am willing to work with you on cleaning studs, stud wall charges. 
  Regarding the measurements, this is the information that was provided by the certified techs on site. If the measurements are off, I have no problem correcting that. I will speak with the tech supervisor regarding this. Have you been onsite? Would you please provide the comparative?”
  ————————————————————————————————————————————————
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

  Business response

  03/26/2024

  Thank you for that rejection response. I am aware of the communications with you, the adjuster and my billing department. We will not be revising our invoice any further and we have explained, in detail, in the response you just sent/provided, as to the reasoning and justification of everything we did and the billing. Please refer to our rebuttals to your insurance company. Once you receive and submit the payment from your insurance company, please feel free to reach out to our office and we can work on a resolution for the remaining balance. It seems your frustration is with us, however we are just billing and attempting to collect on the work that we did for your property.  

• Initial Complaint

  08/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Technicians, from a company that came to perform remediation for a sewage backup, that are NOT CERTIFIED OR LICENSED to work with asbestos, removed asbestos tiles from my basement bathroom against my wishes and their own company policies, subsequently contaminating my entire home.

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  Ms. ** ****- 

  After comparisson of the inspection photos (before) and the post demo photos (after), it is clear that some asbestos had been removed/disturbed prior to American Water Damage beginning work at your property and our technicians only cleaned the flooring which was probable asbestos. The flooring that was removed in the bathroom has no indications of being Asbestos. I too, would like to have an asbestos abatement contractor come out and test all of the tiles in the basement. We have approval from your insurance and would like to get the ball rolling on this. Your insurance company would provide a hotel for you during this time period if needed. I will have an abatement specialist reach out to you and begin the scheduling process asap! 

  Thank you-

  Nicholas D*********

  Operations Manager

  American Water Damage of Baltimore

  Customer response

  08/28/2023

  I hold AWD completely responsible and liable for any and all negligent work and improper actions they performed, hence will not accept any resolution that involves my insurance company. I informed Peggy of AWD, on 08/24/2023, that all billing and future communications should be directly addressed to me as AWD's services (and lack thereof) will not be paid or handled via my insurance claim.

• Initial Complaint

  08/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had a sump pump failure in my basement on 7/30. There wasn’t a lot of water but we still had to replace the sump pump and get a new drain installed as a precautionary measure. Next American Water Damage came out and tore out all the vinyl flooring, some baseboards and cut some drywall. I then received an invoice that can be described as egregious at best and fraudulent at worst. The company has already revised down some charges but I can’t bring myself to pay the invoice until it is accurate. This was a clean water loss and I am being charged for category 3 water damage also known as grey/black water which to me seems like an up charge. There was no sewage backup, no failure of an ejector pump and clearly no contamination. All I’m asking is that AWD revisit the category 3 charges to category 1 so I can pay this invoice and be done with this company. I’ve already filed a complaint with the attorney generals office and I’ve received payment from my insurance company which I would like to turn over to AWD but I cannot in good faith make any payments until this issue is resolved.

  Business response

  09/11/2023

  Based on the totality of the information that I was given and the explanations from both the homeowner and the billing department, it was decided to meet the Homeowner at some of his requests to reduce the claim from CAT3 down to CAT2. 
  The Homeowner has made a partial payment towards his invoice, and it is my understanding that this has been resolved and the Homeowner will make the payment for the remaining balance once he returns from vacation. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We utilized American Water Damage after having a leak from our bathroom to our living room. Our original bathroom was tile, with bullnose tile and decorative tile. The rebuild was supposed to be done with similar materials and this is what is in our contract. However, the rebuild was done with metal edging instead of tile. The metal edging is installed incorrectly. It is bent in some areas and has very sharp edges in others. We requested that the edging be replaced with matching tile. AWD agreed to replace some of the edging but not all of it as they say it was installed correctly. However, we never agreed to use this product. Further, there are many areas of poor workmanship, unfinished / unsealed areas. Several rounds of repairs were done but the overall results are still poor. AWD offered to settle but only offered a small price that is not sufficient to replace all of the unacceptable and unsafe areas.

  Business response

  02/22/2023

  I am currently in communication with this homeowner and someone from our business has maintained contact with the homeowner throughout. There are issues with the metal edging, and we have offered to fix it as well as pay for another company to do it. This homeowner is requesting a full gut and remodel of his bathroom. Over $18K. I offered him just over $7K for the tile work, but he is claiming that is not sufficient. I am working towards a settlement with this homeowner. 

   

  Customer response

  02/23/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response.

  This is my latest email to Nicholas D*********:

  Thank you.
  As of now, we can not agree to AWD or its contractors coming back out.
  Multiple repairs were done. They were not done poorly.
  The customer service has been unacceptable.
  Communication has been poor and we have been given wrong information many times.
  
  Your settlement offer addresses:
  
  Tile shower - 101 to 120 SF Remove and Replace
  
  Tile tub surround - up to 60 SF Remove and Replace
  
  Tile floor covering - High grade Remove and Replace
  
  In order to hire another contractor to do these items, the other line items will also have to be done as well.
  This should be no surprise to you as when you were originally hired to do the work, the leak was only in the shower wall and floor yet the entire bathroom had to be replaced so that the bathroom would have a satisfactory finish.
  How can this be done properly without removing and replacing the toilet, counter, sink etc? Without hauling the waste etc?
  
  Just as all of these were covered by **** for your company to address, you should also address all of these costs that are listed on the estimate.
  
  And to be clear, AWD previously refused to replace all of the metal edging and insisted that it was installed correctly. 
  
  If we accept your offer, the settlement amount will not be adequate to do the necessary work to restore the bathroom to a similar state as it was prior to AWD's involvement.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ****

• Initial Complaint

  06/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My name is *********** and I would like to file a formal complaint against a company called the American Water Damage of Baltimore. On March 18, 2022, I discovered a water leak in my house due to a damaged drain pan in the shower and a toilet in the hall bathroom was also leaking. ****************** Company was called to come in to survey the problems. After their assessment, the American Water Damage of Baltimore was called in to do the repairs. They came to my home to repair the damage caused by the water leak. They tore down part of the ceiling over my entryway and the hallway. The first problem that I encountered was when they went to repair the ceiling it was completed with a styrofoam product. My ceiling is a popcorn-type ceiling and it does not match what I already have. The second problem was they ended up leaving part of the ceiling towards the entryway was not even properly replaced. The third problem I found was scrub marks on the bathroom door and paint marks on the inside of my jacuzzi tub. These marks were not on my door or tub prior to American Water Damage of Baltimore providing their services. The fourth issue I have is a hole was left with a pipe sticking out. My last complaint is one of my light fixtures was broken. I spoke with the Project manager Mike who then came out and saw the five problems. Mike assured my wife and me that these problems would be taken care of. Shortly after the crew returned supposedly to correct the issues but they did not. We could not address the concerns because the crew left without even telling us they were leaving. Therefore, we were never given the opportunity to inspect what was done prior to them leaving. I called the Project Manager Mike once again and as of today, I have not heard back from him. I have already paid them a third of the payment. All I'm asking is that the repairs are made properly and I can pay them their balance. I have provided pictures concerning all of my issues.

  Business response

  07/12/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/06) */ Mr ***** & BBB- To first address your issues: 1- The "styrofoam" is an applicator to give your ceiling a pop-corn texture. 2- The second part of your ceiling was repaired and redone multiple times for you. (It would should be noted, that on 6/6/22 and 6/10/22 we told you we would do our best to match the ceiling as close as possible, but it would never match completly because we were only doing what **** paid for, which was a patch, not the whole ceiling. Our crew also pointed out another area of your ceiling that had dust on it that didnt match either.) 3- Scrub marks and paint marks were addressed, and this was taken care of. 4- The Hole with the pipe sticking out, was already there and not part of our scope of work. 5- Light fixture, this is the first I have heard of this. When we came to your home, you had 1 lightbulb working. There was no work to be done to the drywall in your bathroom. The real issue you are having is that ****, only allotted for a certain amount of work to be done, and we were only contracted to do said work. There are many issue at your home, but that was not within the scope of work which we were contracted to do. I consider your job completed based on what was contracted. I can send you an out-of-pocket estimate for the other work in your home if you would like. I have added the 2 photos showing the damage to your property prior to our work. You are correct in that you only paid 1/3 of the invoice you have a balance of $7,689.71. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2022/07/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) Thank you for following up on this matter on my behalf. I have decided to move forward by paying the rest of the invoice and closing the case out. I just ask that someone come and take the lock box off of my door. Thank you for your cooperation, ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  03/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On August 4th my husband and I discovered a leak in our home. We contacted home serve whom we have a warranty with. They came out discovered the leak and gave us American Water Damage to clean to do the repairs. I sat down with Traci N*****, the project Manager of the company to go over what would happen. There were a lot of moving parts that we did not really know about which would not have been a problem. Upon speaking with Traci, I was asking about the cleanup of our items she informed me that they would do a clean pack out and buildup. I asked about the furniture that was damaged and she assured me that they would try to clean the furniture take pictures of the damage to provide to me if they could not be cleaned and deemed unsalvageable. I later discovered that the clothing and electronics would be contracted out after they did the pack out. The electronics and clothing were contracted out to a company by the name of First Team who actually did an excellent job. They were allowed to pick up the electronics from AWD. When the electronics came back a lot of items were missing, and we later discovered that all of our electronics had not been turned over to AWD and was just sitting in the AWD storage facility. When First Team asked if they could come to the storage facility to pick up the rest of the electronics, they were told no just meet AWD at the client residence and you can get it from our truck to yours. The reason that was now the attitude of AWD is because the contractors came into our house, and it was a complete disaster. They cut our doors to put carpet down, carpet is not even tacked down in a lot of areas, you can still tell where the drywall was replace, they did a horrific job. They did not provide all damage photos therefore we cannot get reimbursed for well over 5000 dollars from insurance company. I have asked for the photos from Marty and was told I will get them to you never provided them to me. I have lots of evidence.

  Business response

  03/08/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/03) */ All photos of the initial loss, damaged materials and damaged personal property that is/was in American Water Damage possession had been sent to the Home Owner (multipletimes) as well as the insurance company. ******* is a secondary company that specializes in the cleaning of textiles, furniture and electronics. American Water Damage partners with them because they do great quality work as supported by the customer. ******* bills to the insurance seperately as we do not offer the services they do. American Water Damage recommends ******* to customers, but it is ultimately the customers decision on whom they would like to clean their belongings. American Water Damage tried on many occasions to satisfy this customer on the reconstruction post water loss. It was my understanding that after multiple attempts, the customer signed the Certificate of Completion and has paid in full. At that point this file was closed. The last corrispondance with this customer was her attorney requesting our attorneys information, which was provided 01/21/22. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/03/07) */ I received photos half are mine and half belongs to another one of their customers. Example my couch loveseat and chair no pictures. They kept sending the same pictures which do not belong to me and I have all the files they sent and I will upload and when I speak with you and when you speak with the insurance company they will tell you they did not provide all the pictures. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/03/07) */ Unfortunately this customer's file is closed on our end (as well as the insurance company's end, I believe) and was referred to our attorney once the customer had an attorney contact us. I have no further information to provide regarding this matter. AWD did the work we were contracted for.

*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. ↩