ComplaintsforFine Restoration LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My elderly parents house caught fire in March of 2022. We hired Fine Restoration to restore our property. They were given a very specific insurance summary from State Farm to go off of and they swayed away from the insurance summary list greatly. The restoration they were supposed to perform, and the restoration they provided were two different levels of restoration. They did a horrid job. They lied to us, and were never on time. They charged us for a slew of products, and services we did not receive. Their contractors were plugging extension cords into our neighbors house for power even though they were paid for portable electricity. Their contractors were unprofessional and scary. They are trying to charge us for products and services we did not receive. They are trying to criminally victimize us financially. We have addressed all of our issues with Fine Restoration directly. They have showed zero regard.

  Business response

  04/30/2023

  Mr. ******* is a client of ours and we have received many ******* ****** ******** *** complaints and threats of News stories and protests at our place of business from him. We have extensive emails, photo documentation, text messages and insurance documents and have turned all of this over to our legal counsel at ****** *** ***** ***.
  We were contacted by ***** ******* on March 30th, 2022 about a Fire they had at their property. We met them on site on March 31st, 2022 at 9am. The home was badly burned on the top floor and had pretty serious smoke and water damage on the other 3 floors. Beyond the fire damage, the home appeared to be heavily lived in and damaged from ongoing deferred maintenance. I bring this up because their insurance company had brought this up many times and explained that they were only going to pay to make repairs from the water, fire, and smoke damage and not for any other repairs which were from before the fire. Examples of this would be holes in the walls, broken doors, damage from leaking roof, etc 
  We provided Mr. ******* with a Service agreement at that time and had an initial estimate of $200,000 to bring back their home to like new condition. Mr. ******* signed the agreement at that time.
  We began working on the property demolition and fire, water and smoke ********** on 6/23/2022. At this time Mr ******* and his Insurance company had not come to an agreement on what would and would not be covered, so we were only able to work on the items that we knew would be covered until they were able to come to an agreement with their insurance company.  At this time, we were told that we were to communicate with ******* ******** ***** ******** business partner and that ***** was busy running his many businesses.
  
  
  On June 27th, we provided Mr ******* with our estimate for ********** and Rebuild of $197,389.69. He was to provide our estimate to his assigned insurance adjuster for approval. Attached is a copy of that estimate. 
  
  
  On August 30th we were provided an estimate from their insurance company of $144,839.89 to complete ********** and rebuild. This estimate did not include many of the items that were on our estimate due to the adjuster not paying for any of the items that were damaged not as a result of the fire. We agreed to follow the insurance estimate for now in an effort to get the ball rolling as a lot of time had passed and the ******* were anxious to get things going. Mr ******* and **** ***e had a discussion about Fine Restoration agreeing to take off $5,000 for the demo that was completed prior to Fine Restoration starting and $6,338.30 for roofing Mr ******* would take care of himself. We agreed by text message.
  
  
  On August 31st, Fine Restoration received the initial payment for the project of $40,000. By this time we had already completed a good portion of the demolition and ********** and obtained the necessary building permits to begin the work. 
  
  
  By September 21st we had completed all demolition, **********, and had reframed the upstairs and roof.
  
  
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  By October 4th we had replaced the siding, encapsulated all damaged framework and insulated all of the necessary walls, as well as new electric and passed rough in inspection from the county.
  
  
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  ** ******* **** *** ******** *** **** ********** *********************************************
  
  It was at this time we had to stop the project because Mr ******* was having a hard time getting the electric and gas turned back on, we therefore did not have heat in the home and did not want to place custom cabinets or trim in the property in fear of the cold temperature damaging the wood before we could have it sealed. We had to set up emergency heat for a few nights to keep freezing temperatures from damaging the plumbing that was already closed in with drywall. When gas was restored, the furnace was inoperable. State Farm would not pay for repairs to the furnace so Fine Restoration had the furnace repaired at our expense. 
  
  
  By November 23rd we had Cabinets, trim, doors, countertops, and initial paint on the interior complete.
  
  
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  The next 60 days we worked on Cabinet paint, trim and door paint, electrical, flooring, base shoe, plumbing, 2nd coat of wall paint, tile, hardware etc. This entire time, Mr ******* had been working on getting water restored. Mr. ******* was able to get water restored on the 8th of February.  We were able to get cleaners to the property on the 10th now that we had water. Here are the photos from that day.
  
  
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  Our next visit to their property was on 6/10/2022. At this time someone had started on the demo of the top level and removed some of the flooring and drywall. It was on this date we went over what needed to be done as well as items that Mr. ******* wanted to make sure that we included in our estimate. It was evident that the home was in a state of disrepair. We were told the goal was to make the home as nice as possible in an effort to sell the property.
  Around February 20th, Mr *******, Mr *******, and our rebuild team did a walk thru. There were a number of items pointed out such as touch up paint, some blinds that we were not aware were added in a Supplement from State Farm and a broken drain stopper. We did touch up paint, and even repainted a couple of rooms, repaired the stopper and installed the window blinds over the next week. We were supposed to do a follow up walk thru after these items were completed. We were told that Mr. ******* would do a walk thru on February 26th by himself and let us know if there was anything else that needed to be done. On February 27th, we received an email that stated that they were terminating communication with Fine Restoration and that they would use the balance owed to Fine Restoration to have the home repaired themselves. We then got an onslaught of emails and 5 negative reviews on google and BBB accusing Fine Restoration of being criminals. 
  
  
  I would like to point out that up to February 27th, we had a very good working relationship with Mr *******. So much so that Fine Restoration did a bunch of work above and beyond the scope of work that was approved by State Farm as a gesture of good faith. I will attach a list of the extra work we did that we have not billed for. These were all items that Mr. ******* asked for.
  
  
  We tried to ask by email for pictures or details about the unsatisfactory work but only received emails including more accusations and threats. We went back and forth a few times by email and it became clear the Mr. ******* was not interested in resolving the issue, he just wanted to keep the remaining balance and cease communication. We felt that our best course of action was to hire legal counsel to handle the matter as any communication with Mr. ******* only resulted in an enraged response. To date for all of the ********** and rebuild we performed at Mr ******* home we have received $70,000. We were informed from State Farm that Mr ******* has certified to them that all work has been completed and was paid in full by his insurance company sometime around 2/23/23. 
  We are very eager to get this whole matter resolved. 

  Customer response

  05/01/2023

  *** ****** ** ** ******** **** ****** ** * ****** *** **** **** ** * ****** *** *** *** ********* *** ********* ** ** ****** ** ******** **** ********* **** ** ****** ** ******* ********** ********** ********
  I am rejecting this response because: We are having the property inspected, and we will forward the findings to our lawyer who will be in contact with theirs. 
  Regards,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After being told it would cost me $1050.00 to leave equipment in basement for two days following a leak, we were billed almost $3000.00. I had them calling me about every two or four hours for two days just to ask me if filed insurance because they wanted claim number. I told them to stop calling me and take further communication with my husband. My insurance company called them out on things they were trying to charge for that weren’t right. It then was dropped to $2000.00 and we paid it right after receiving check from insurance-Nov 30, 2022. I paid through a link sent to my email (which I never check my email and didn’t know they were billing me there on a daily basis!) and now on Dec 5, 2022 I receive two certified letters stating they are filling a lien on my house. I go back to my email and see they have been billing me daily even after the payment was paid from my bank account and their link I paid them through never sent me a receipt. This has been an awful experience from the start. They really know how to scam and they are getting away with it. Very aggressive company. Why aren’t they marking it paid and leaving me alone?!

  Business response

  12/22/2022

  Incorrect information has been provided in this complaint. First and foremost a lien was NEVER placed on the property. A notice of intent to lien was sent to the homeowner in order to get paid the final amount we agreed on with their insurance company. Water damage is progressive and can only be estimated upon initial inspection. This is why it's only an estimate! Sometimes more damage is present but can not be seen to the naked eye. Such as wet insulation behind drywall. For instance, if the drywall doesn't dry we then have to take other actions that are more costly. This is part of the water damage mitigation process and is dynamic. Sometimes homeowners aren't aware of the process at which case we run into issues like this where the homeowner thinks they are being over billed. The contract they signed specifically states that the estimate can go up or down depending on the actual work that we have to perform. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY situation and it can't always be estimated on the dollar! In order to mitigate the damage properly we have to do certain things and the price may vary. Furthermore, we did not charge the customer anything out of pocket and we worked with her insurance company and came to an agreement. Homeowners think they can go online and place bad reviews to try and scare us to lower their bills or not pay at all. This is ridiculous and very unethical. Request service and then walk away without paying!  

• Initial Complaint

  02/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Fine Restoration was called to assist with a sump pump overflow during heavy rains early morning of August 13, 2022. The owners were out of town during the remediation period. The service provider unplugged a working pump in the home during the middle of the storm. Company bill is egregious and fraudulent. Items that were not used, such as gloves and masks, furniture blocking, antimicrobials, and work that was not done, such as water extraction. Company overbilled for other items such as 3 days of equipment rental, 1 1/2 disposal loads, etc. Company has a documented history of overbilling customers and insurance providers, a practice which the company admits, supported by neighbor testimony and the insurance company (****). Per owners, "If I charge you $2,000, the insurance company will come back and want to pay less. We don't want any of your money" [i.e. "We overcharge insurance."] Company billed for machine rental that was unnecessary over water soaked carpet that was removed. This resulted in $600 extra in utility charges. Questions from **** insurance about why machines ran for 2 days over carpet that was not water extracted remain unanswered. Original estimate was $6,500, followed by a bill for $13,008 (August 18), a bill of $4,500 (January 25) and $14,179 (February 22).

  Business response

  03/03/2022

  Thank you for letting us respond. The customer provided incorrect information and we disagree. Our crew was servicing a neighbor's flooded basement when say customer requested our services and was very  persistent that we come immediately to her home and mitigate her flooded basement. This was at around 2:30AM on 8/13/2021. The customer's sump pump could not keep up with the rain fall and therefore her basement flooded prior to us entering the home. When our crew walked into her basement it was already flooded and the basement was completely wet and carpet and walls were 100% saturated.   She signed the service agreement at 2:33AM on 8/13/2021. Once our crews started to mitigate the water they also placed a temporary pump to help extract and pump water out so it doesn't continue to flow into the finished basement. This is common and is a standard practice. To reiterate, the customer's sump pump failed and therefore we were requested to mitigate the flooded basement.  All information and answers were provided to ****. This is common when insurance is involved. They ask questions and we answer. In most cases they come to an agreement with us on what they will pay for and approve. This is common practice. Since the source of the damage was a sump pump failure the insurance had a cap on coverage which she found out later on. Essentially this left the customer under insured for the size of the claim. We spoke to the adjuster and since the damage was beyond her cap they must have released all funds without approving or disapproving our invoice. We understood the situation and in order to help her out we kindly tried to settle on a much lower amount than we should be billing for, however the customer turned the settlement amount down and forced us to take legal action for non payment. Furthermore, during our phone call trying to settle this matter, the customer was trying to make false claims concerning the order of events and thankfully we showed her time stamped photos to disprove her false claim.  Our contract is with the homeowner and not the insurance company. Regardless of what the insurance company pays the homeowner towards the claim the customer is obligated to pay their invoice for the services they hired us to provide. 

  Customer response

  03/25/2022

  I contacted the company on Tuesday and they were on vacation. I'm waiting to hear back in order to come to some sort of resolution. They sent my account to a collections attorney who I have reached out to, as well. Please leave the case open until we can reach a mutually agreeable resolution.
  
  Thank you,
  ********

  Customer response

  04/01/2022

  This complaint can be closed. 

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