Bio Response

Bio Response, Inc. came out to the Chicago, IL area this past spring looking to pick up on the work left by area floods. They were supposed to dry out our basement, clean up any bacterial or hazardous remains, tear out the drywall and flooring, and provide us with an inventory sheet of all the damaged personal items they removed from the house for us to provide to our insurance company for recoup.
They performed some of the work we requested, though our house still smells musty. We still have not been presented with the inventory sheet of our damaged personal items. While they were doing the work, they let our dog out (who ran away, but was picked up by the police – resulting in 2 $ 75 dollar tickets), they destroyed our son’s playhouse (in the backyard – they just threw piles of debris on it until the roof caved in), and smoked right next to open windows, so the rest of the house smelled like cigarette smoke. When I stopped by to check on progress, I never found the workers actually working. They were always sitting on the sidewalk on the side of the house, smoking. So there’s my experience with the actual work part of this ordeal.
Let me be clear on this point: I have NEVER been presented with a bill. They called (and called, and called, at home and at my business) and gave me an amount they insisted be sent over right away. I have requested a copy of the bill as well as the itemized list of damaged personal items. I still, despite threats and harassment from Bio Response to pay them, HAVE NOT RECEIVED A BILL. Wells Fargo has an odd habit of not cutting checks for arbitrary amounts and will be requiring this.
However, they did send a bill to our insurance company (I still need a copy for dealing with our end of things). Our insurance agent said, «I have never seen such an outrageous bill. This is a first. This is the highest bill for this kind of work I’ve ever seen.» We were sent a check for just about $ 27K which was supposed to cover all the flood cleanup AND rebuild. BioResponse said they did $ 24K of work. Still, he went through the services with them and sent an adjusted check to me, which is notarized to myself and Wells Fargo, our mortgage holder. BUT I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED A BILL, PERSONALLY. And again, I have yet to receive the list of damaged personal items. At the end of this past week, I received another check from State Farm that’s supposed to amend the first check, but I do not know how much of this goes to Bio Response and how much goes to the rebuild. I HAVE ONLY HAD A CHECK FROM STATE FARM FOR A FEW DAYS BUT NO BREAKDOWN OF WHAT THE FINAL AMOUNT TO BIO RESPONSE IS. Their initial claim was refused because State Farm considered it predatory.
Since that time, I have received these emails from them:
Jul 2 (7 days ago) to me I have been trying to reach you by phone. there is an outstanding balance owed to us. if I do not here from you I have no orher choice but to pursue legal action against you. I intend to place a lein on your house and file a lawsuit against to compel payment
8:09 AM …I even talked to your adjuster and convinced him to give u more money for your build back. this is the thanks I get. let me tell u my plan. next week I am putting a lien on your house. then I am starting the process of foreclosure. I am not going away. I will compel u to pay one way or another“
9:42 PM (11 hours ago) to me Mrs. Piper, Your insurance company issued you a check to pay your contractors to get your house back to its original state. It is illegal to profit money from your insurance carrier. We worked very hard on your home and we would like to receive the money that is owed to us. You signed the contract agreeing upon payment once work was completed. If we do not receive a check amounting to what is owed to us, we will have no other choice but to contact your insurance company directly and advise them that you are committing insurance fraud. We called and emailed you several times requesting payment and no response. As stated per last email we will contact our lawyer and your insurance company to file suit and advise the insurance company that fraud is being committed. Kevin Santaite Bio Response Inc. 755 E 134^th St. Bronx, NY 10 454 718−569−7067″
I mean. JEEZ!
Ok, so here’s what happens when you get these kinds of services done. The company comes and does their thing. The insurance company sends you a check, but it’s endorsed to you and your mortgage company. You take the check to your mortgage company and they put it in escrow. When you get the BILLS for the work that’s been completed, the mortgage company cuts a check for that amount to the company from the escrow account.
So I can’t keep the money, because I could never get my hands on it. I can’t send them an arbitrary amount, because I never got a bill. These people are crazy! STEER CLEAR!