DuraClean / Daniel Herbert Daniel Herbert, Gary Gorin DuraClean Inflates Prices for all work to pass off to insurance, allows theft as the insurance company will pay for ti. Riviera Beach,, Florida

I am submitting this report to let you know about the way the Riviera Beach DuraClean Franchise conducted their business with me during 2009 and 2010. I understand it has been awhile but the conduct of the employees, account representives and owner proprietor of the Riviera Beach Franchise. I have lodged my complaint with Citizens Home Owners Insurance who referred me to Duraclean and was advised they were going to halt dealing with this franchises. I have registered a complaint Better Business Bureau of Palm Beach. I have contacted the Florida State Insurance Regulator and the Department of Financial Responsibility reporting the same information. I have also authored a document about the pitfalls of of managing an insurance claim that includes selecting a remediation company including my experience and the lessons learned. It was only today I realized that there must be a corporate office for these Duraclean Franchises. The following is the complaint that I have and will continue to inform anyone who is in a position to affect this company and the way they conduct business. After reading this complaint I would interested if this is the way your franchises are trained to conduct business. I have attached this complaint which is a copy of what I sent to the Palm Beach Better Business Bureau. The bold writing below has been added for this email.

Consumer's Original Complaint :

* The contract was presented to me while in the Jackson Memorial Burn Unit for injuries sustained from the house fire. I was on heavy pain medication was asked to sign a contract so work can begin. I was in no condition to be making any decisions. After discharged from hospital (3 weeks after fire 09/13/2009)I began the process of getting insurance, contractors, building permits etc. 

I should have never been asked to sign any contracts under the influence of of heavy medications.

* It was my understanding ( I was never told what Dura Clean was hired to do, I just assumed it was inventory)  Dura Clean was hired to inventory personal items,either pack to be cleaned, repaired or determined to be not repairable and to be disposed of after being accounted for.

It is only now as I have finished unpacking all the box's I have become aware of the scope of theft that took place under the guise as an employee said " The insurance will pay for it all so it does not matter".  It does matter that management allows theft as I made management aware and they directed me to talk to the employees working at my house. They have been left to think this type of theft is a victimless crime. Some things can not be replaced. In my case my personal losses were more than the amount ($80,000) of insurance I had. Then I am charged $55 an hour for a supervisor and $39 an hour for a technician. These workers are no more than unskilled labor that I get an up charge of 200% +. 

* I began to get quotes from contractors for demolition in preparation for rebuilding my house. The Dura Clean crew saw that this was happening called the sales rep, project manager (Dan). I got a call from Dan asking soon after asking what I was doing. I explained I was getting quotes for demo and for rebuilding the house. He became noticeably agitated from the sound of his voice and asked me stay at the house, he would be there in 30 to 45 minutes. When Dura Clean Dan arrived I had another contractor looking over the property in preparation to make to give me a quote. Dan arrived and began to verbally fight and insult the contractor, Dan then asked me to come out to his car to talk. It is at this point he said he thought had got all the work, Inventory,Restoration,Demolition and reconstruction. I told Dan he was welcome to give me an estimate and be involved. He then came back in the burned house (80% to 90% destroyed). The other contractor explained that everything but the slab and cinder block exterior walls would need to go. Dan jumped in saying that all that needed to done was spray a mold smell retardant inside walls. Replace part of the roof and some of the ceiling. I told him that I thought it was to far gone to just fix part of the house. He got very very mad, called the other contractor names and left. I got a call about 30 minutes later saying if I did not agree to give him all the business he was going to pull the Dura Clean Crew currently working on the inventory and restoration. I said again he was welcome to bid on the work, he hung up on me and the works left that afternoon with the job incomplete. 

To have a account representive behave in the manner Dan did is embarrassing, unprofessional, intimidating and for Dura Clean to QUIT in the middle of the business they had the go ahead on caused me undue stress at a time when I had to much already. I had to hire people to complete the unfinished work of Dura Clean.

* I hired workers to remove the remainder to a storage locker.  This cost me an additional $1000 +

* I had to move to an apartment for 13 months and I called Gary Gorin (manager at Dura Clean) asking if I could get some of my furniture to use at the apartment and I was told I had to pay the bill in full before I had access to anything. 

I am sure because of the break down in communication due to the account managers behavior this attitude of ALL or NONE was in place. It cost me $2500 to rent items for the month.

* As the time to move back into my house I had to begin a negotiation process to get my property back from Dura Clean. They wanted $5000 to move my property back from W.Palm Bch. to Sunrise. I agreed to do it myself. They wanted $400 a month for the 100 sq ft storage space that has a street cost of $130, in the end I was able to get $30,000 down to $15,000 but I was still being taken advantage of.

The method used to accumulate profit is very oblivious. Storage space at 300% more than the street cost. I have the bills for the 100 sq feet I rented at $130 vs. the $400 Dura Clean charges. As I unpacked the boxes that I am charged for each box I find 1 or 2 items in the box and the rest is stuffed with packing material I am charged for. So by packing only a few items in each box I ma charged for more box's, I am charged for more packing material, and since this method creates more box's I am charged for more storage space. (I can not make this stuff up but it is the pattern and it true).

* During the inventory process all items to be disposed of were placed in a room. I noticed that there were items listed to be disposed that were not in the pile, my PS3 and all PS3 games, other electronics. I had sent an email to the Dura Clean office saying I was suspicious of items missing but never got a reply.When I went to move my personal property from the Dura Clean storage I reply. When I noticed an entire Broyhill bedroom suite (I paid well over $5000 new) was missing. I asked the person supervising the release of property that the Bedroom Suite was missing. She left for 10 ro 15 minutes and said here talk to the person who worked at my house. I asked what happened and I was told "why do you care, the insurance will pay for it" I said I had already hit my insurance limit and everything missing came out of my pocket. No Owner, Manager or Decision maker ever addressed this theft.

Since unpacking the remainder of property I have found even more items missing, most were teen oriented item, 2 $500 remote control cars, Games, Audio equipment. I sent several emails asking if it was being dealt with and I have never received an answer. Above are only the items I am aware of, remember I had and were in a place where they could not of been damaged or in an area where like items were left. The PS3 sat next to a PS2 gaming consol but only the PS3 was stolen, the PS2 was left. All the PS3 games were stolen but were in the same drawer that the PS2 games were in and left. The bedroom suite was in a room on the opposite side of the house and was undamaged but was stolen, the matteress for it was left and marked as being good. The remote control cars were in a closet in a room on the opposite side of the house and everything else that I am aware of from that closet was left and packed. It was the bedroom suite I complained about ($5000) and instead of management getting involved they got the employee on the phone for me to ask where it was. That employee said they marked off as damaged so it did not matter since I would get it paid for by the insurance company. I can not make this type of response up, it is how this Dura Clean is run and starts at the top for encouraging account managers to behave like children, for employees to be allowed to steal as if it were a benefit. All inventory should be accounted for and all items marked damaged need to be accounted for and either discarded in a responsible manner by employees with accountability or sold so the insurance company can recoup some money.  There is a common thread to this theft, it was my daughters bedroom suite that was stolen, it was children's PS3 consol and games stolen, it was expensive remote control cars ($1000) that would appeal to a child or teenager that were stolen. It is my guess that one of the 2 or 3 people working at my house have children or teenagers that these items were stolen for.

IT IS NOT OK TO STEAL JUST BECAUSE THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS PAYING FOR IT!  We are all paying for it in increased premiums. For an employee to say that to me as an excuse is a slap in the face on top of all the out of line conduct Dura Clean of Riviera Beach has displayed.