Freedom Construction of Rock Hill, LLC

Service Provider Response

Most of what the customer detailed is true, but he leaves out several important details. 1. Never once was I informed that he was not the owner of the property. In fact, the homeowner's insurance is made out to him, not his brother. 2. My expectations were clear from the get-go: I work with the insurance company's quote on the house. I provided the "document of expectations" to protect myself from doing a lot of work and not getting paid for it. This, unfortunately, happens a lot. 3. When the customerand I first spoke, he told me directly that he would give me the job because I am friends with his neighbor. 4. On my second trip out to meet with the customer, he told me that he had received his insurance claim and that we could go over it and I could let him know what I could do. We would also choose the color selections. When I arrived at the property, he had another contractor leaving the property, to my surprise, as I thought we were working together. When I arrived with the color selections, he had already chosen a color and he informed me that he did not have the paperwork from the insurance company. Up until this visit, there were never any issues. 5. The document signed by the customer, that we read through in it's entirety (which he half paid attention to as I read), contains no fine print. He also had a copy of it sent to him. I believe in honest business and hiding nothing. The point where I tell my homeowner's about the $250 fee for the second trip (if a contract is not awarded), I make VERY clear and even go into further explanation as to why this point is on the document. The customer brushed this point off saying that it was not necessary because I would be doing the work. My document also includes a $250 charge against myself if I fail to show up. 4. After sending the second letter to the customer, he provided a copy of the email he said he sent me. It was sent to an email address that had not yet been set up by my web provider, so I did not receive it. I immediately called him and apologized for the misunderstanding and told him that I would no longer be pursuing the mechanic's lien. Of course, at that point I had found out that he wasn't the property owner anyway so my lien would have been against the wrong person and invalid, just as the document he signed should not have been signed by him as he is not the owner of the home. Honesty is the best policy. I am a Christian man and I am ashamed at the post written by the customer. I have many clients that would speak the exact opposite. Frustrated I may have been after driving 45 minutes one way to an appointment for a lie. Shocked I may have been by having the tables turned from a "for sure" job to a "enter a bid" job. Never once did I call in a rant, as the customer did, screaming at me that he would not pay. Never once did I lose my temper. And I did not threaten a Mechanic's Lien; I followed through on the clear expectations that I had set with the customer at the time of our first meeting. Bottom line, this claim is baseless as the original agreement was based on an untruth that the customer was actually the homeowner. A claim was also filed with the BBB. After speaking with me, the felt it not even necessary to register the complaint as a claim based on the documents I provided and the fact that the claim was filed by someone that was not the owner of the property.