SERVPRO of Canton

It didn’t go well on my end …. They charged a lot of money, and I don’t think it warrants the service I received

Below is a summary of my experience with ServPro of West Akron. The firm threatened to place a mechanics lien on my home. They left the job in the middle, leaving a total mess! Never provided a written estimate, nor itemization of work performed until the second "bill" arrived in less than 30 days after they left the job . They billed for work NOT performed. And complained that I did not pay in full for work (they didn't actually do) in LESS than 30 days! ServPro was called on Wednesday, July 10 after the severe rain storm. Our basement drains backed up, resulting in standing water throughout our enitre basement. We are insured by State Farm for up to $10,000 for drain back up. Before ServPro arrived, our adult son had extracted all of the standing water personally and removed many wet items. ServPro arrived at my home on Saturday, July 13. My husband and I were out of town at the time. My son was there with our office manager to meet with ServPro. My husband and I talked with ServPro by phone and filed an insurance claim by phone. ServPro also spoke by phone with the State Farm claims office. ServPro wanted to remove all of the carpet and remove all of the walls. They gave us a cost of $6,324 including carpet removal but agreed to estimate wall removal when the basement was fully dry. They placed a number of air handlers and dehumidifiers and spent 3-4 hours moving wet papers and boxes from the basement to the garage. Our son helped. We were not sure what needed to be done. We asked if we could decide that after they put in their drying machines about the carpet and the walls. They said "Yes." When we returned to Akron,we also met with Gerald Woods of Orion Construction and Electric, a ServPro company, to discuss repairing the drain problem and repairing walls, etc. He explained that the baseboard would have to be removed to poke holes in the dry wall to dry it out; the walls with any mold would be removed up to 2 ft high; and the carpet should be pulled out. We agreed to pull out the mold-effected walls up to 2 ft high and the carpet. ServPro pulled out most of the baseboard and poked holes in the walls on Tuesday (leaving a few pieces, behind which, we later found mold). They pulled out their machines on Thursday. On Friday, July 19, they returned to put back the baseboards and deal with the carpet. The 2 workers indicated that the walls should be removed first but these 2 do not do that work. They also indicated that in fact they could not put back the baseboards because some were covered with mold. So, on the one hand the workers tried to insist that they needed to put back the baseboard at that time, even though the walls should be done first and then they left in disgust saying they could not put back the baseboards because some pieces were moldy! Later, the ServPro project manager called to say that they were leaving the job, would not remove the walls for 30 days if that. Then, he told me they were "firing" me; they would not complete the job. When I called the ServPro office to speak with a decision-maker about the situation, I was told that an owner would call me back. No one ever called me back. The State Farm Adjuster came the next week and saw the mess and unfinished work. Now - issues about the "bill". Our son signed a form on July 13 asking for an written estimate. We never received the written estimate. The first bill, dated July 19, was not itemized but was for the total estimate of $6,324 which also included carpet and wall removal. I knew that was not correct so I called ServPro on the day we received the bill and asked for an itemized bill and also stated that we never received a copy of the estimate in writing as we had requested in writing. I was told it would be sent. It was never sent. Today, on August 17, about 4-5 weeks after the first bill, I received an itemized "bill", which was labeled "estimate" and dated July 13, signed by my son. This was first time I received the estimate, although I know the insurance company received it, since the adjuster told me State Farm had it. The bill has a number of incorrect items - about half of the work itemized and billed was never performed and the total of itemized boxes were not left on the premised and totaled more than the number of boxes mentioned to me by ServPro when I requested the itemized bill. Along with this incorrectly itemized bill was a letter stating that the bill included a collection fee and ServPro will place a mechanics lien on my home for non-payment. I needed to consult an attorney about this shoddy work, poor billing and legal threats.