ComplaintsforServiceMaster of Lancaster County

• Initial Complaint

  06/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We contacted ServiceMaster on Friday, April 14 early evening about needing help with drying up a water leak from our basement ceiling. It was decided that they would be coming out Saturday, April 15 to bring a dehumidifier. Upon going into the basement and seeing that the water only affected the ceiling, he indicated that it would not be a huge cost because we had caught the water leak early and only needed the ceiling dried out. Only rental of the equipment is needed. The dehumidifier was set up Saturday morning and picked up Monday morning two 24-hour periods, with two air blowers being left for one 24-hour period with pickup on Tuesday morning. We received the bill on Tuesday, May 30th and were totally surprised at the $******** bill. We called ServiceMaster and tried to talk to them about the lack of detail on the first bill so they sent a more detailed one. We wanted to understand the detailed invoice charges and they just kept telling us all the costs are “industry standard”. We asked how they calculated their time and they kept saying that is what we charge. Considering their employees were here for 15mins to plugin the equipment and remove it, we wanted more detail on the hours we were paying for. Also, the dehumidifier cost came in at $******, different amount than we expected ($**) and hours charged. Overall, transparency on costs were not provided. We thought we would be getting a $***-$*** bill instead it was over a $*****. The last call we made was on Wednesday, May 31 in trying to get the details of the bill figured out and hoping to get them to see our side of the billing and Jason was not interested in working on this together. He did say he would ask his employee what he told us and that was on May 31. We have not heard anything back as of 6/5/2023.

  

  Business response

  06/05/2023

  The customer requested emergency water mitigation service on Saturday, April 15, 2023. They did not request an estimate prior to service and apparently made their own assumptions as to what our services should cost. As we provided service on a Weekend, there is after hours charges associated with working on a Saturday. With regard to the pricing, it has been explained to the customer that we do not set our own prices. We use a third party pricing program that sets the prices regionally for our industry. We used that program to generate the bill for the work provided. We provide free estimates within and around ******* to our customers. The customer did not request an estimate and only complained after the bill was received and we would not lower to the $*** they requested to pay, which is a **% reduction and unacceptable. Our pricing for the work performed is reasonable based on the equipment, manpower and other associated expenses with performing service on a weekend. We provided them with the billing they requested, and the customer uploaded that information in their complaint. 

  Customer response

  06/05/2023

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

  Estimates are not given on weekends (as told to us by Jason), so not sure how we were to get a cost estimate. If we would have known the cost of the service upfront, we would have not used this service as the cost is not reasonable for the work done. We were told by the employee we would get an estimate on Monday but did not. Why?

  The equipment charge is not correct. The dehumidifier was here from Saturday morning till Monday morning, 2 -24 hour periods not 3. The same with the fans, brought on Monday morning and picked up on Tuesday morning, 1- 24 hour period. Actual time records and pictures are needed to understand your method of charging.

  We want to see their actual time spent that they calculated on doing this job. We can only account for 2.25 hours based on travel time and equipment set-up and they account for 3.5 hours, we want to see how they account for this time charged.

  Our overall understanding is not totally baseless on the cost. Why did we not at least get an estimate from the employee that came to our house? If this is an industry standard method of charging, why were we not told about the costs involved by the employee? The employee could have provided us this information for us to make a better decision instead of making us feel comfortable in moving ahead. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Jeanne *****

  

  Business response

  06/06/2023

  The customer requested service on Saturday, April 15, 2023. At no point did they request an estimate for the service. Our field technicians are on call on weekends only. They are not qualified nor responsible to answer pricing questions, provide estimates, etc. They are on call to go out and service emergency situations.  The customer did not bring up pricing until after the bill was received and it was more than what they thought it should be. They could have requested an estimate prior to work starting when setting up service. To come back after the bill is received and state that our on call employees said something is nothing more than a "he said, she said" scenario. As for pricing, the dehumidifier was placed on Saturday morning and picked up on Tuesday. That is 3 days of use, and that is what we charged for. The air movers were added on Monday and picked up on Tuesday. That is also what is charged. The monitoring charges are standard per the industry. As we have indicated we do not set our own pricing. The review of the file is complete, the charges are justified.

  Customer response

  06/08/2023

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

  The business did not answer our questions we posed in the last communication nor did they provide documentation showing hours spent and the use of the equipment. Any number can be put into an invoice. Providing us the same billing and saying the same thing over and over does not justify nor explain their pricing methods. We still stand behind the fact that we are being over charged for the work done (hours and equipment use), regardless of industry standard and not getting an estimate. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Jeanne *****

  

  Business response

  06/13/2023

  I have no idea what the customer is requesting here. They have uploaded the very documentation we sent to them. We have explained our use of the dehu and the air mover over and over to them, they refuse to accept the billing, simply because they feel it is too much. If it will help, as a one time courtesy, I will take $****** off the billing. This is simply to try and resolve the matter. If this is not acceptable, then the full amount of the invoice will be due. I cannot explain the situation any more than I already have.

  Customer response

  06/19/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********. Send new invoice with $*** deduction.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Jeanne *****

*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. ↩