Purofirst of Metropolitan Washington

"I personally visited the customer in her home to address her concerns after she returned from overseas. We understand that not being present during the water loss and mitigation work being performed in her home can leave one unsure about what happened and/or who to blame, however, I shared dated (timestamped) photos with the customer clearly showing the presence of microbial growth in her bathroom, prior to Purofirst being called to mitigate her unit. The photos were taken by the Certified Technician on the first day of work. We also paid for an Independent Industrial Hygienist to do a site inspection and further investigation, and it was determined that the customer has had, what seemed to be, an on-going issue with a slow leak or similar in her bathroom which caused the mold growth. We are very sorry that the customer is having to deal with this issue, but dated photographs and the Industrial Hygienist's report clearly indicate that Purofirst did not cause this mold problem - we found it, and reported it to Management as she was absent."

"It is unfortunate that our customer felt "coerced" to sign a contract before work begins, but this is standard practice in pretty much any industry when a customer calls for service in their home or property, whether it be repairs, pest control, landscaping, or emergency water mitigation services. Work does not begin until the customer signs the contract (or in this case, a form called *Authorization for Emergency Service* allowing the work to begin. Unfortunately "estimates" are not provided for Emergency Water Damage Mitigation Services. It's like asking a Fire Department "How much water are you going to use to put out the fire? I need to know beforehand" - it is simply not possible to give an estimate for this, just as it is not possible to give an estimate for damages that are not visible, such as condition under the carpet, damage behind walls, is the insulation wet or not. Another major factor is how long the drying will take, which is unknown until the drying is done (It could be anywhere from 3 days to 6 days or more, depending on level of saturation and density of structural material and whether the customer leaves the drying equipment turned on at all times). Electronic moisture meters are used to determine when the dry standard has been reached and drying equipment can be removed. Purofirst uses a standard price list provided by the insurance industry for this type of work, and all approved & certified mitigation contractors use this price list. And we are more than happy for provide a copy of this price list upon request when the initial call for service is made. Work is charged according *what* is done, as opposed to the time it takes to do it. Charges are per square foot, per linear foot, per piece of equipment etc. Even if an insurance claim has not been made at the time we perform the work, we still use this same price list in case the customer turns in a claim after the fact, and also because the prices should be the same for everyone, whether it is a claim or not. We do not create separate prices for customer's paying out of pocket. This is not to say that Water Damage Mitigation can't get pricey if damages are extensive, but Purofirst follows the proper standards and procedures set forth by the IICRC and uses the same price list as all Mitigation Companies in our area."

"Unfortunately "estimates" are not provided for Emergency Water Damage Mitigation Services. It's like asking a Fire Department "How much water are you going to use to put out the fire? I need to know beforehand" - it is simply not possible to give an estimate for this, just as it is not possible to give an estimate for damages that are not visible, such as condition under the carpet, damage behind walls, is the insulation wet or not. Another major factor is how long the drying will take, which is unknown until the drying is done (It could be anywhere from 3 days to 6 days or more, depending on level of saturation and density of structural material and whether the customer leaves the drying equipment turned on at all times). Electronic moisture meters are used to monitor and document the drying progress, and determine when the dry standard has been reached and drying equipment can be removed. Purofirst uses a standard price list provided by the insurance industry for this type of work, and all approved & certified mitigation contractors use this price list. And we are more than happy for provide a copy of this price list upon request. Even if a claim has not been made at the time we perform the work, we still use this same price list in case the customer turns in a claim after the fact, and also because the prices should be the same for everyone, whether it is a claim or not. We do not create separate prices for customer's paying out of pocket. This is not to say that Water Damage Mitigation can't get pricey if damages are extensive, but Purofirst follows the proper standards and procedures set forth by the IICRC and uses the same price list as all Mitigation Companies in our area. It is very unfortunate that the customer had to end up paying for the damages out of pocket, this is why we afforded a payment plan for her, which is not always customary in our industry."