Misleading billing -- got a lien on my property. Be very careful!!…read moreBe careful before you hire this man -- Tony (Anthony) Rodriguez -- or his company for any job. Up front, they told me the work would run about $10,000-$12,000 if I paid cash, but "up to $15,000" if I went through insurance -- a higher price for the same work simply because insurance was paying. Then, with a lot of smooth talk, they had me sign a work authorization with no price, no estimate, and no dollar amount filled in anywhere. When I asked them to revise it and add a number before I signed, they refused, telling me only that they'd "never had a problem with any client." Relying on that, I signed -- and paid $2,500 after signing that blank-amount contract.
After giving him $2,500 from my pocket, the invoice then came to $26,883.50 -- far above everything I'd been quoted. When I told him the bill was far too high -- $29,383.50 in total charges for a job this size -- his answer was that insurance companies never pay the full invoice, so he bills higher to collect as much as he can. My insurance company (Allstate) reviewed the charges and paid $19,807.81, so between my payment of $2,500 and the insurer he had already been paid $22,307.81. He then asked Allstate for even more, and Allstate declined twice, in writing, stating the disputed charges were not valid or required and were not the customer's responsibility. Even after all of that, the owner, Tony Rodriguez, came after me and threatened legal action and collections unless I pushed my insurer for more money. He then offered to "meet in the middle" on the balance, then 25% off, to get me to pay a number he had inflated. When I disputed the bill, he filed a lien against my property for $7,075.69. Also, a $1,500 rebate I was promised by him was never paid either.
My advice: get a written, itemized, signed price before any work begins, never sign a blank-amount contract, and save every text and email. I am formally disputing this and have reported my concerns to the appropriate Texas agencies.
