The short version: While the crew was nice, our experience with J. Brian Day was frustrating…read moreoverall. Poor communication, surprise charges, and a lack of transparency made a stressful situation even worse.
The long version: My partner and I's unit and another in our condo suffered water damage after an upstairs neighbor left their water running. Since our neighbor hired J. Brian Day Emergency Services for mitigation, we decided to use them as well.
Unfortunately, we were assigned a different project manager, and the team began tearing down walls, not knowing our neighbor had similiar mitigation work completed. They knocked a ton of drywall into our neighbors kitchen and created an open gap between our unit and our neighbor's.Two months later, the wall is still torn down as we wait for insurance approvals.
Looking back, we wouldn't have rushed the mitigation process if we hadn't felt pressured by our project manager. Yes, we signed a contract (in a hurry) and we've definitely learned from that mistake. If this ever happens to you, please read the contract thoroughly and ask questions.
The crew doing the physical work was friendly and communicative, but communication from the project manager was lacking.
I was also unhappy with how our belongings were packed. I reached into a box and almost cut myself on a knife that had been carelessly thrown in. Multiple glass cups were poorly packed as well.
Weeks after the mitigation work was completed, a worker from J. Brian Day called from outside my condo saying he was there to pick up equipment. There was no equipment left behind, another example of poor communication.
We were eventually sent an invoice and asked to pay, though we had expected our insurance to cover everything. We had to request a breakdown from J Brian Day, as one was not provided. We learned our insurance didn't cover "content manipulation." In other words, we were being charged for the packing service. If you're in a similar situation, I recommend packing your own boxes and confirming what's covered with both your insurance and the contractor.
We were also charged a storage fee for damaged, unsalvageable cabinets that had been removed from our unit. We had to call and ask that they be disposed of and that the invoice be updated. I'm pretty sure this is the project managers job, not the customers.
Finally, I was disappointed to find out there were no follow-up mold tests. With the walls still open, it would be simple to conduct a second test for peace of mind.
To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I understand that J. Brian Day is a business, but they need to be more transparent, communicative, and compassionate, especially when customers are going through an emergency, a vulnerable time. We tried to fight the charges but had no luck and ultimately had to scrap up money to pay J. Brian Day as they couldn't wait for subrogation.
