Both OTS (company) and Robby Schiff (owner) are Unethical, Unscrupulous and border-line Criminal. Not only do they conduct themselves unprofessionally but they employ bullying tactics to intimidate and sway customers from taking action against them. As a result of a 2-year unresolved state resulting from the negligence and calculated obstruction from OTS, my case is currently being reviewed by NJ DEP Deputy Attorney General. The following is my case/situation that I am still battling through:
The property I purchased on Dec 31st, 2015 had an underground oil tank and soil contamination - which both; tank removal and soil remediation. The cleanup work was handled by the seller through the hiring of Robby Schiff's services through his Oil Tank Services (OTS) company. A standard No Further Action (NFA) letter; signed by NJ State, was issued to the seller/OTS and this letter was provided as part of the sale process. As required/recommended by NJ Law, as a buyer in these situations, I hired the services of an oil tank scan - results came back the already removed tank was the only one in the property. Additionally, following NJ Law and normal procedures, my lawyer used the NFA letter as proof the cleanup work was indeed completed satisfactorily. On this basis, we closed on the property. Fast forward 6 months, I decide to install a sump pump in the basement as a precaution against possible flooding (even though my property is not in a 'flood zone'). This is when the nightmare begins!!!
During the excavation of the basement ground a foul odor becomes to grow heavier and heavier. Once the sump pump is finished, it is extremely clear the water flowing into the pump has a thick brownish-like product (oil). After several weeks of closely monitoring the pump device, the oil products are not going away - so the decision became clear that I had to contact the seller and OTS to inform them of the situation; so I did. On March/April 2017, I went to OTS office to notify them of the situation and seek out answers. I was able to engage Bob Senior (lead engineer manager) from OTS, and for the next 3 or so months, Bob was a 'partner' and conducted lab tests, borings samples (inside and outside) and even brought the lead engineer ; Steve, who handled the original clean-up work of my property to try to get to the bottom of the situation. Both Bob and Steve verbally acknowledge the present oil was a byproduct/resulting from the original 2015 work not being done correctly or in a complete manner. Per OTS, any and all work conducted during this time period was free of charge as it states on a signed letter they issued on 6/16/17 (below). Then on July 7th, OTS issued their findings: "property has been contaminated y #2 fuel oil from an underground storage tank, and this constitutes a third party impact to the environment".
"As requested this hereby memorializes our discussions where it was affirmed that none of the exploratory work that Oil Tank Services is currently conducting regarding this matter will cost you anything"
Once this finding was sent, OTS refused any acknowledgement that the present oil was due to their incomplete / incorrect original work they had performed back on Aug-Oct 2015. To further matters, when I tried reaching Robby directly as means to give him a last opportunity to do the right thing before seeking legal expertise, he rudely attempted to bully me over the phone stating that he has over 25 years of experience and his work is impeccable and my situation is not his fault and if I disagree to sue him.
Fast forwarding almost a year that the case been in the hands of lawyers, I now have the attention of the NJ DEP Attorney General Office who is reviewing the case. But to no surprise, OTS has found new ways to obstruct justice by:
- Cleverly stall the delivery of required information requested by the seller's home insurance whom might have liability in this matter given the original cleanup work was done under their watch and therefore they become a possible responsible party if this becomes a lawsuit
- Obnoxiously and without any proof / evidence are claiming the oil contamination is a result of "off-site". This is beyond ridiculous given their actual findings released on July 7th 2017 where they discarded this possibility altogether!
- Ridiculously taking the stance that any reports, lab results, property map sketches that is needed from the exploratory work they performed on 6/16/17 for free (as evidence above) has to be something I pay for now.
These and lots of others tactics they have employed now for 2 years are purposely obstructing a just resolution.
Do yourself a favor, stay AWAY from this company and their ridiculous practices - you will SAVE yourself a headache, a house and lots lots of money $$$. If anyone needs any proof of my case, please feel free to reach out to me anytime!!!
email: gguevara12417@gmail.com read more