A pipe broke in my basement, and my plumber referred me to EcoDry to repair the water damage. The EcoDry employee who came to my home to take pictures and set up an appointment for repair told me that there would be no overtime or after hours charges for a team to come on a Sunday. The agent did not give me a copy of an estimate. All of the documents I signed were on the agent's tablet, and the agent was scrolling pretty quickly through the documents and telling me to sign here, and here, and here, etc.
EcoDry's repair team came on a Sunday as scheduled, and left several fans in my house after taking out the damaged drywall. The team advised someone would be out the next day to check on the wall and the fans. The repair team did not give a time they would be there, nor did they ask me for a time for them to follow up. The next day, in the afternoon, someone from EcoDry called me and said they would be at my house shortly. They called back and said they were running late. On neither call did they advise there would be an after hours charge to pick up the fans.
When everything was submitted to my homeowners insurance, the insurance company denied after hours charges for both the initial visit and the follow up visit for the fans; denied charges for the emergency visit fee; denied charges for a fuel surcharge fee; denied charges for an asbestos test because the insurance company paid the asbestos testing company directly.
The after hours charges were a surprise, as were the fuel surcharge fees. At no time did the person who set up the appointment tell me that EcoDry charges their customers fuel fees. I was also concerned EcoDry was submitting a charge for a test that the insurance already paid.
I got a phone number from EcoDry in Utah to call their corporate billing department in Arizona so that I could discuss these charges. The phone number goes to an AI answering service. The AI said it was routing my call to billing, rang twice, then disconnected. I called the next day in case the AI was down, but had the same issue.
I texted the person who first came to my house, and who told me specifically to reach out with any questions, and asked them for an email address or phone number since the number they gave me isn't working. That person failed to provide a different phone number or an email address.
A claims agent from EcoDry later contacted me to pay them, and I spoke with both the claims agent and their manager. Both employees said they would not remove the after hours and fuel surcharge fees because all employees know about those fees. The manager and the agent spent more time on the call trying to educate me on why they charge extra fees rather than addressing their employees' lack of transparency. Both employees also seemed unconcerned that their corporate phone number is not working correctly.
The agent and manager seemed both surprised and unaware that the insurance company had paid the asbestos testing company. Fortunately, I had insisted my homeowners insurance send an email confirming payment for the asbestos test, and I was able to send that email to EcoDry. The agent and manager agreed to remove the asbestos fee from their bill, and that was the only positive thing to come out of this experience.
If you work with EcoDry, when you first speak with someone on the phone to make an appointment for an employee to come to your home, tell them that you need the employee to bring a printed copy of all of EcoDry's fees with them. Do not sign anything until you've completely read all of the documents on employee tablets/phones. Take your time, and do not let employees rush you.
EcoDry is not transparent with their fees. The corporate office is difficult to reach. In addition, be aware that EcoDry will charge you for both your insurance deductible and any charges that your insurance denies. read more
