Dishonest company!!!…read more
On Mother's Day, my family found water leaking into our home in our kitchen from our ceiling/wall. I have always recommended Protechs Restoration as a firefighter, through their 800-Boardup connection. So, I called them and they responded to our home for water mediation.
Our baseboards were already removed, due to our kitchen floor being replaced. The employees looked at our roof (from MY LADDER) and probed the wall with a moisture meter. They went into our newly finished basement and probed the ceiling in a vent directly below we're the water was on the floor above (using MY LADDER and SCREW DRIVER).
The supervisor arrived and said they were going to set up a dehumidifier, and 2 fans to dry the wall. He said they would return "tomorrow" to check the wall and pickup the equipment.
The next day, I saw an hour meter on the dehumidifier and the wall was dry and Protechs Restoration didn't show up as we were told. Because I didn't want to be charged, I shut off the dehumidifier and the fans, at 23 hours. Protechs didn't show up until Wednesday and they picked up the equipment without saying anything to us.
Our insurance paid part of the cost of the entire incident, but it was under 1k after our deductible. Our insurance said they didn't cover the roof, because it was "wind driven rain". I heard this term from the protechs supervisor when they responded to our home. Our insurance received a bill from Protechs (we never disclosed our insurance information) and the Protechs bill said "Wind driven rain". We didn't call them to diagnose the cause, we called them for water mediation. Protechs provided us with a bill for $1,368.87, but not itemized. I was told by a former employee of the company that they offer discounts to first responders, so I inquired about a discount and was denied.
I requested an itemized bill, to see what exactly I was paying for and it was provided. They charged us with 3 days of drying, with 3 days for each piece of equipment. I contested the 3 days and I was told that was their minimum dry time. I asked why they told me they would return the next day, and they never replied to me. I asked again in a long email and the response was pay your bill, because your insurance approved it. Excuse me? I never signed anything, and was never provided any information from Protechs. My email also asked for the removal of the two days of drying that wasn't done. I was more than willing to pay for the work that was completed.
A few weeks went by and we were given an ultimatum, pay the bill or it would be sent to collections. I thought about fighting this in court, but I don't want a lean or something stupid put on my home by this dishonest company for $413.80, so we reluctantly paid the full amount.
I will no longer recommend Protechs or 1-800-Boardup to anyone. If this company will treat a firefighter this way, how will they treat the victims of fires or other water losses. I encourage all my firefighter brothers and sisters to really think about who you recommend to your scenes. Protechs is the 1-800-Boardup company for our area, and I intend to reach out to them as well.
Since my insurance didn't cover the roof, I tore the shingles off above the leak. Guess what, not wind driven rain! There was a damn hole in the roof, under the shingles, and it finally started leaking. I ate the cost of repairing the roof, which cost me over $600 in materials. I did the labor myself with the help from a good friend, which saved me some money.
I'm also encouraging all my friends in the insurance business, as my wife and mother in law have been in their entire careers. DO NOT RECOMMEND OR MENTION PROTECHS TO YOUR CLIENTS!!
I will now inform anyone looking for a restoration company about my experience and tell them to research Paul Davis, Water Out, ServePro, etc... and make an educated decision of who they want to entrust their property too.