Underhanded and fraudulent work estimate and final bill. I was given a $4,500 quote for mold removal in my basement from The Best Air Quality and Restoration. It included a $2,000 deposit at the time that work was completed, then the remaining $2,500 was due when they returned to pick up their blowers several days later. It seemed reasonable given that I was told that the work was estimated to take 4 days. (In actuality, it was a one day job, so the $4,500 cost definitely wasn't a good deal.) The job was completed while I was at work, so I left the deposit check with my son who was at home and told him to pay the worker when the job was finished, which he did. Several days later when the deposited check cleared and I was able to see the actual check online at my bank, I saw that the worker asked my son to write the check to him personally, but not to the company. I thought this was strange because the worker's name was not listed as an owner on either the company or BBB's website. I immediately became concerned that I had been given an inflated estimate by the worker who intended to pocket the initial deposit for himself. I wondered if the actual cost of the job was really only $2,500 and not the full $4,500. Today, I called the business number listed on the company website and also online at the BBB, and asked to speak with the owner. The person who answered, Val Salikhov, said the owner was not available. I asked him if they employ sub contractors to do their work (thinking that might explain why the check was written to the individual), and he said no, all workers are actually employed by the business. I then asked who the business owner was and he said Serguy Salarev, (which matched the name listed on the BBB site). I asked if I could speak with that person and he said "no", I should speak with him, because he's the business manager. I also asked him to explain their estimating and billing practices and if they allow workers to have checks written to them personally instead of the business, and he said "sometimes". When I asked why, he could not explain a reason for it. I told him that I was concerned that the worker was possibly diverting the company's money to his own pocket and therefore, I wanted to speak with the owner. He refused all of my requests to do so and became combative with me when I insisted. Val was also the person who took my final payment ($2,600) for the job by credit card 3 days after the work was completed when they came to pick up their blowers. I'm concerned that Val Salikhov and the worker, "Carlos", are engaged in a skimming operation, and the cost of my job was inflated to allow them to skim $2,000 off of the top. Or perhaps this is how they get around paying taxes on their services? If their business practices were above board, one would think they would have no problem giving me the owner's phone number to verify their claims. I told him that I intend to submit a complaint with the BBB and Angie's List, and he was dismissive with me. Also, when Carlos was at my home last week to collect the air movers, he told me that I should allow him to use an anti microbial to clean my duct work because harmful spores could be in there. He said the service would cost an additional $350 and would "protect my family from harmful allergens". I told him I wouldn't pay more than $100 for that. He agreed, and he then proceeded to pull out a squirt bottle of some cleansing agent and released 20 squirts of the substance into my filter and AC air duct. That's all he did! $350 for that? Ridiculous! Then he asked me to pay cash for the 20 squirts. He wanted to pocket that money too. I refused to pay cash and when his office called minutes later, I added the $100 to the charge with the remainder of the service payment. This upcharge was a total scam. Finally, I asked Carlos why IF they did actually treat the mold the week before, there was still a large amount of black mold still evident on the floor directly in front of the main mold concern area. He shrugged his shoulders and then told the worker he had with him to get the squirt bottle and a rag and clean it up. This wasn't a new spot and it should have been addressed the first time. I honestly don't think they actually treated the mold areas. I showed him that two doors still had mold on them and he told me to clean it with bleach. Isn't that what I hired him to do? Something should be done about this company's business practices. Is there any way to find the actual owner and share these concerns with him? Also, I would like to receive my $2,000 back, because the full amount that I paid is clearly is not the true cost of the services that I received. They charged me $4,500 to remove the carpet, affected furniture and a small amount of drywall around half of the basement (see photo). If you are smart, you won't use this company.