Guest guest Posted February 28, 2004 Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 I have been having a huge problem with a " restoration " co. who is holding m= y belongings hostage and refuses to even return items cleaned and passed insp= ection.. I have already paind them almost 8,500. I have included a letter from the o= wner of the company ( a class B general contractor) and part of my attorney's respo= nse so you will get the flavor ot what is happening. Sometimes I don't think I can tak= e much more. I already have CFIS, IC, MCS which was brought on my mold exposure. Here is the letter from the mold remediation co: Lori: Mike said you've requested a written description of deliverable contents on= receipt of payment. Upon receipt of payment for work completed to date, which is ever= ything except the inventory you requested from Mike, we can arrange delivery of yo= ur clothing from ASAP. Your outstanding balance only covers cleaning and not = move- back charges. Those are computed in the written change order you signed la= st week. IF you've now changed your mind again and wish to not have the remaining it= ems cleaned and instead have them discarded, we would be happy to do that if yo= u sign our written authorization to dispose . Please advise Mike if you choose th= at option and he'll send you that form. Then, at job completion, we would adjust the= bill and credit you for any work not done and compute any unbilled labor. You seem t= o want exact answers to an inexact science and that's understandable but since you= 've previously been through this before we assume you know it's impossible for = any company to know exactly how long every single task will take in advance. O= ur estimate is provided as a budget help to assist you and your landlord in re= solving your dispute. I communicated that plainly to both parties last fall in mul= tiple conversations as well as in our legal documents. We're trained professiona= ls following the industry standard and assert our work practice, timelines and= communication have been reasonable. We've tried to be clear and answer all questions and will continue to do so= .. All of our work procedures were spelled out in our documents you reviewed and signed. = It's my understanding Mike spoke with you several times last week and answered all = your questions before you signed and return our change order. If something is s= till unclear, please ask Mike. Otherwise, we'll continue operating under our wr= itten agreement and reiterate our desire to continue in that way to minimize job = interruption and confusion. Your job is scheduled to resume on receipt of= the monies now due, providing we can adjust our schedule. Your directions to stop work this weekend have delayed completion another w= eek and additional storage charges will accrue on March 12, so we advise you to mak= e final decisions so we can still expedite your job and save you from spending more= unneccessarily. I will be out of town until early next week so if you have= any questions, please call Mike on any work procedures. If you need an updated= statement, please contact our Carolyn in our office and she'll fax or mail = you a copy. I hope this helps clarify your options and also hope you understand we're t= rying to serve your needs. It is entirely your decision and we stand ready to assi= st in whatever you decide. Time is of the essence. Thank you for your understan= ding. We await your response. Sincerely, We'll be there when you need us! J.C. Farley, CR, CMRS President Custom Restoration, Inc. 1601 Enterprise Dr. #5 Fairfield, Ca 94533 cridki@... tel: fax: mobile: 707.428-1232 707.429-8708 707.249-6584 This is how my attorney replied which gives most of the story: This law firm represents Ms. Lori Kossowsky regarding her contract with C= ustom Restorations to clean, store and move her belongings. You are illegally ho= lding hostage her belongings and have demanded $5,232.00 in excess of the contra= ct amount. Under legislation signed by former Governor , such conduct i= s illegal and could subject you to criminal penalties up to six months in jail and a= fine of $10,000.00. Your assertion that the move took more time than expected does = not withstand scrutiny. You assured Ms. Kossowsky that there is " no way " that= the move would " go anywhere near " $20,000.00. Your estimate and oral assurance we= re based on a thorough assessment of her belongings. You took digital photogr= aphs of her belongings and a detailed inventory. Your estimate therefore took into= account what the move would entail. Ms. Kossowsky thereafter threw away at least 3= 5 percent of her belongings, including clothing, collectables, jewelry, books, furni= ture etc. This took her two full days prior to pack-out as well as throughout pack-out. = Ms. Kossowsky paid a helper out of her own pocket to assist in the disposal of= her belongings. She has witnesses to the pack-out process. Your company ther= efore had far fewer belongings to pack and move than the original estimate. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the move did, in fact,= take more time than expected, the additional time was caused by your company's failur= e to provide an adequate number of workers. The crew ended work for the day, sa= ying that the remainder could be done in just a couple of hours. However, the= next day only one worker appeared. He did not know how to remove the alarm system, = despite your claims to expertise in this area. Ms. Kossowsky's helper as= sisted, at a cost of over $300.00, this lone worker to pack and move her belongings. I= f there was additional time it was caused by your own company. Your company has failed to live up to the contract. Your compa= ny holds itself out as having expertise in the following: total cleaning and deodorization= services of structures, contents and clothing; providing pack-out, restoration and stor= age of contents, providing total re-construction services; possessing the knowledg= e, " know-how " and ability to deal with the unusual needs and concerns of our = clients. Your advertising specifically states that you clean the following: fine f= urniture, carpets, rugs, draperies, appliances, collectibles, clothing, library & do= cument reprocessing, upholstery, mattresses and bedding. Despite this, your compa= ny told Ms. Kossowsky that you could not clean many of her things, including her= jewelry, collectables, dolls with hair, and many other items. She was forced to thr= ow away many collectables while working in an environment which you knew made her = extremely ill.. She was forced to dispose of many of these items, includi= ng her bed, desk, chair and other items, at a cost of over $1,000.00. Your company ad= vertises that you can, in fact, clean such items. You also told _____, who cleaned = her clothes, not to return them until you had been paid. Mike, the project leader, said that he would deliver the alread= y cleaned goods to Ms. Kossowsky. However, you said that she would be charged for an addi= tional move. You said you would cancel the request, but failed to do so. Ms. Ko= ssowsky telephoned Mike and canceled the " extra " move. The items were removed for cleaning on or about January 15, 20= 04 . It is now almost March and she still does not have most of her belongings. She does= not have the barest necessities to move in to my new home and has been forced to pu= rchase items that not only she had to throw out, but items that were already clea= ned and not delivered. You are aware that Ms. Kossowsky is severely allergic to mold a= nd is generally in fragile health. The stress of dealing with your company is p= utting her already fragile health at risk. You also failed to provide adequate prot= ection to her against the mold in her former apartment. Additionally, it strongly appear= s that you are taking advantage of a sick woman in a time of great stress. In additio= n to the legal penalties mentioned above, your conduct constitutes Unfair Business = Practices under Business and Professions Code section 17200 and fraud. Unless you immediately return her fully cleaned and restored possessions at no additi= onal charge, she will pursue all her legal rights and remedies. If you do so = she will take no further action against you or your company for the injuries and damages= she has already incurred. After I posted information that I was having trouble with a restoration com= pany someone wrote back and told me this franchise has been known to have problems.:http://www.disasterkleenup.com/service.html I have a feeling they sold my " discarded: items that they said they they co= uldn't clean. They said they could even clean a pillow! If anyone knows how I might find = online ( a good search string) of when they hold sales I would like to know. Also I wo= ld like to know of compaints from people using companies like these. They shoud be fri= ed. Meanwhile I wait for them to contact my attorney and hope they don't damage= or destroy my belongings. I wish to thank all the people that emailed me. I wo= uld like to start something in CA. to aid mold victims like the mold relief project in = OK. and other states. Thank you, Lori Kossowsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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