United Services of Des Moines

We wanted to do an addition ASAP and they fit it into their schedule and got right on it and finished it when we wanted it done.

I had a fire at my home April 2012. Someone in the neighborhood (who worked for them) recommended them. His boss even came to my home as soon as the firefighters left that very day and acted very sorry for our loss and told us what a great job they would do and to call my insurance company asap to see if their company was covered so they could get started right away. I have home owner's through USAA so I had to call a 1800 number to make the claim and asked if United was covered. I was advised I could use whoever I wanted (later to find out I can BUT USAA only backs their work if it's a preferred provider- which they weren't.) Things started off okay, some minor things not up to snuff, but when brought to their attention they fixed. The concrete in front of the house, driveway and inside the garage was scorched and had to be replaced. They subhired the job to a no name company from a nearby small town. When we arrived home from work that day we discovered a huge pile of excess concrete (about 10ftx8ft) dumped into the lawn, which obviously subsequently destroyed it. We called them and asked they remove it right away before the whole side of our lawn was dead but they said they couldn't do anything until the next day (apparently the concrete truck person didn't shut the shoot in time and poured a bunch of excess which they dumped onto the lawn.) The worst part was then we noticed a crack at the bottom of the driveway and found out through their own admittance (and the neighbors saw it) that they had driven the concrete truck up the driveway to pour at the top. We then advised them that the crack at the bottom wasn't there before and held them accountable since it is not standard practice to drive the concrete truck onto the driveway. They said they'd look into it but after a couple of days denied it was their fault nor responsibility. The bottom of the driveway was not part of the damage so neither us, them, nor the insurance company had taken pictures of this area so we couldn't prove it with evidence/pictures. I continued to press the issue as replacing this will cost another $1500 out of pocket if they wouldn't cover. The President, Kent McMillen, came out one morning and stuck a toothpick in the crack and said - No there's sediment in this crack, that means it's old- that's not from us. I reiterated that it wasn't there before and also we just had the driveway powerwashed several times due to all the soot/ash so obviously there would be sediment in it. He refused to take responsibility. Again I continued to press the issue and was threatened by the President, Kent McMillen, that I even thought about pursuing this issue or suing them, that I'd better read my contract because it specifically stated "I indemnify them from any damage, intentional, unintentional." Another major issue that occurred was payment process. Since I have a home loan all of the estimates, signatures etc had to be sent to Wells Fargo and approved since the check from the insurance company was in my and Wells Fargo's name. So Wells could not release the checks until they had the proper documentation. United failed to do this in a timely manner so they wouldn't release the check and then told me my payment was late and placed a lein on my home. I was furious and documented all my emails telling them they needed to send in the proper documentation before the checks could be released. They did offer a whopping $200 credit for the lawn damage, but only if I agreed to drop all other issues about the concrete. So I refused the $200 and continued to state that I held them accountable for the other damage. I tried to file a claim with their insurance company for the damage but was denied due to their contract they make their customers sign which indemnifies them from any damage. So all in all they damaged nearly $2000 of property (and got paid extensively for their services via the insurance company) and refused to pay anything but 200 for lawn damage. After all the turmoil, lien on my home, frustration, emails, insurance claims, time, and frustration, I still have not been reimbursed and was verbally threatened by the owner no less. In the meantime I have heard several other horror stories of their shoddy work. Let me be clear that not all of the work was shoddy. The brick layers, for example, did an excellent job and looks even better than before. But overall the experience was horrible. They were very rude and unprofessional and not willing to take any responsibility for their mistakes when they make thousands of dollars on this job. I strongly recommend you look elsewhere, or don't sign their "work agreement" or make sure your insurance company can back you up if they don't repair your home to it's original state.