Remarkably, our experience with SoCal started off well. I called for an urgent removal of our Sub-zero after a water leak, and SoCal arrived promptly, removed the SubZero, and accepted reimbursement on the spot for the uninstallation, storage, and future reinstallation when repairs were completed. The installer was professional.
Four months later, I called to request the return of our SubZero. The employee at SoCal promised a delivery date, assured me I would get a call in advance, and when I did not and called for clarification, she told me I had the date wrong. Fortunately, she had texted me the delivery date - everything was in writing - so I corrected her. She then assured me the delivery would occur between 2 and 4pm on the original date. At 2:15, she called to tell me that after being in storage, our SubZero was riddled with mold. She indicated that we had had mold on the outside previously and that the inside and outside were now moldy after being in their storage warehouse for several months. She asked if they should deliver the Subzero inside our house or to our lawn. I declined both options for obvious reasons.
The next day she texted me that the cost to clean the refrigerator would be $500. We spoke to our insurance company who told us that, although the mold was legally the responsibility of the company, the insurance company would pay the $500 because they did not see another way to get the SubZero back promptly, and we needed to move back into our kitchen after being out for such a prolonged period. They advised us that they would need photographs to prove the mold existed. We requested these in writing, but SoCal did not initially send the photos. My husband made additional requests to them, and 3+ days later we received the photos. That same day he requested a written invoice, per our insurance company's request, and a delivery date. What ensued was 9 days of our texting and calling, asking - then imploring them - for the invoice. Even our insurance representative called on our behalf. Despite repeated promises from SoCal that the invoice would arrive immediately - "within an hour," etc. - SoCal did not send it. This left our repairs paralyzed and us still unable to move back into our kitchen. Finally, after 9 days, my husband received a text from SoCal at 10:37pm on a Saturday night with a photograph of an invoice but no delivery date.
My husband continued to request a delivery date - sustained texts, phone calls - to SoCal. We were eventually promised a new delivery date - 3 full weeks after the initial delivery date - and on the promised day, SoCal did not deliver our SubZero. My husband texted and called them repeatedly throughout the day, but we waited at home again for naught.
The next day - 22 days after our original delivery date - the Subzero was delivered to our home. There was mold everywhere - on the sides, the back, throughout the freezer and the inside of the refrigerator. (See attached photos "After SoCal's $500 mold cleaning.") The SoCal employee told us that he was told the rest of the mold could not be removed.
Because of a problem with our new cabinets, the Subzero could not be installed that day. (This was not the fault of SoCal.) This was fortunate because we were able to readily clean the mold ourselves with a rag and a chlorine product. (See attached photos "Later, after we cleaned the SubZero ourselves.") So, in fact, the rest of the mold could easily be removed.
When the installer returned the following week (after the cabinet was tailored), I asked him to call the owner to make sure the insurance company should pay the $500 since a $500 cleaning job was not done. The installer called the owner and - despite the fact that we completed the mold remediation ourselves - he said that the owner still wanted the $500.
We sent photos to our insurance company so we were not complicit. read more