Smoke damage to clothing

[sarzyJ]

I need some advice, help, feedback... we had a house fire. the damage to the house is a small area but the smoke damage to clothing, linens, furniture etc is a nightmare. all of our clothing was picked up by a restoration facility that has been in business for over 25 years, very well known, etc. well we got our first batch of clothing back and they smelled of chemical like you wouldn't believe, hand wash lay flat to dry items were not, and the length in several items had shrunk. we are a tall family, we know when something has shrunk. Those were considered a "total loss" at that point they had all of the soft goods from our home. we were hoping it was a one time thing. I was able to go and pick up more items and once we were able to try them on we realized that again, they were shrunk in length, they were not soft more scratchy, and the instructions on some of the tags was not followed. we were told they would be washed in "tide and downy" there is no way they did because they smell stale. I write all this asking if anyone else has had this type of experience. what did you do? what was your outcome? having a house fire was traumatic enough. being out of our house for the next 6 months and dealing with headaches like this is more than enough.. in the beginning it was all smiles and whatever you need whatever we can do and now that our items coming back are not how they were pre fire, the tone of every conversation has changed. OH and the "estimate to complete everything was in the 10s of thousands of dollars. our contents weren't even worth that much. Had we known it would cost this much and come back the way they are we wouldn't have even went through the headache we would have grabbed a few sentimental items and said total the rest... any feedback is appreciated.. thanks!
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[FredC]

This is a conversation you should be having with your adjuster.....

 

[sarzyJ]

we will be this week, I also have an appointment to meet with the owner of the restoration company. I really wish it all would have been explained to us better in the begining

 

[Cleanworks]

we will be this week, I also have an appointment to meet with the owner of the restoration company. I really wish it all would have been explained to us better in the begining

If you are not happy with the results of the service, let you adjuster know. I used to do contents cleaning. Rather than do it ourselves, we would subcontract to a drycleaning company. Everything would come back professionally cleaned according to fabricate specs, wrapped in plastic, ready to use. Anything less is unacceptable and you need to let your adjuster know.

 

[J Scott W]

Sorry you are experiencing this. Discuss with adjuster at first opportunity.

 

[sarzyJ]

im just worried that being we signed a contract we will be stuck with whatever happens. one thing i did notice, numbers were never discussed with us. no pricing or anything. even on the company's website they dont list any numbers. When i called the project manager from the company she told me that all items will need to be sent to a 3rd party company to be measured and inspected. as if what we are saying isnt true and we are lying. its so frustrating...

 

[Cleanworks]

im just worried that being we signed a contract we will be stuck with whatever happens. one thing i did notice, numbers were never discussed with us. no pricing or anything. even on the company's website they dont list any numbers. When i called the project manager from the company she told me that all items will need to be sent to a 3rd party company to be measured and inspected. as if what we are saying isnt true and we are lying. its so frustrating...

You will probably not get anywhere speaking with the project mgr. You need to have a conversation with the adjuster and be firm with saying the results are not acceptable and you want compensation for the damaged articles.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Unfortunately unlike any of the TV commercials the adjuster really doesn't care how you came out. In fact he only cares about doing what the policy specifies. No where in the policy does it state "too your satisfaction".

Start with your agent, see he or she is willing to come to your home or if not take a meeting in their office. The agent has a vested interest in your satisfaction, the adjuster does not. Explain your disappointment being left out of the pricing loop. How it costs more to restore than the value, and how you didn't receive acceptable goods in the end.

Don't expect him to do too much though. Nobody is going to care as much as you do, expect push back. Prepare for a fight and decide what it is you are willing to settle for. Unfortunately its always the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.

What real options do you have? You can expose the situation all over social media. However many of these companies have little worry of social media because the insurance companies continue to feed them work due to preferred vendor programs.

Seeking an attorney is likely your best Avenue if you can't come to an equitable settlement. Are you willing to invest money to receive what you want? Those are the options you'll need to weigh.
Good luck!