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Emergency work order cancellation
Anonymous4 views4 answers
I had a water leak in my house and I have requested 1-800-water damage to give me a free estimate. After the estimate I was told that for them to talk to my insurance company they need me sign a document and since we are first home buyers and my our first house issue, without reading the document I signed the emergency contract/work order. After 1 or 2 days I did not want to go with them. I called them and asked them about cancellation policy and they mentioned that I need to pay 204 $ for professional services. I was curious and started to ask what kind of services they performed. As the only service they did was free estimate and filing a claim with my insurance company. They replied that I was rude and apart from 204$ they would charge me more for cancelling the contract. I want to know
Matthew Robert KaminskiDivorce / Separation LawyerSeattle, WA ·
Hard question to answer without first reading a copy of the agreement you signed. It might say you agree to the 204$ fee and it may state that canceling the agreement has a fee too. You say this is "our first house" you may want to ask your significant other to give them a call and get a copy of the agreement, since things have soured between you and the company.
Remember you can always report unsavory business practices to the Better Business Bureau.
Good Luck,
Matt
You don't say why you decided to not go with this company. However, $204.00 in administrative fees is not that high, all things considered. It isn't unusual for the cost of the estimate to be free unless and until you tell them to go ahead. By submitting the claim to the insurance company, with their estimate, they probably submitted drawings to the insurer, complete with drawings of where the damage occurred, and have computed the materials costs, labor hours, etc. It isn't a cheap process, even with fairly sophisticated software to help. I wouldn't surprised if the fee was fairly earned. That said, you do always go to the contract first to ensure that the fee was agreed upon if you canceled.
You need to ask them for the contract that you signed. There may be a provision that allows you to cancel the contract within 48 hours. There may also be a termination fee. So, getting a copy of the agreement is a start.
You also want to document everything in writing, including that you are cancelling your contract. Most agreements require a written cancellation. if you haven't done that yet, I would recommend sending a written cancellation about the phone call you had where you are cancelling.
Your insurance company will likely call you to figure out if their claim is valid, but it wouldn't hurt to be proactive and call them first.
It is not clear if you bought a brand new home. If so, check your closing documents, you may be covered by the home builder.
As with all contracts, buyer be aware. Not reading the contract you signed is not a defense nor a way to get out of the contract. The company went beyond just providing you an estimate when they filed a claim for you with your insurance company. The $204 charge seems reasonable. I would push back on any other charge for canceling your contract because you were rude. If they harass you file a complaint with the Attorney Generals' Office, Consumer Division. Good luck.
