TULSA, Okla. -- The owner of a north Tulsa home, who leases it to a day care, was left in tears after a fire ripped through the residence in March.
The man hired a fire restoration company to help restore the house but said that's where his troubles began.
Dwaine Morgan said he felt the job wasn't done properly, but was getting nowhere on resolving the issue
“I’ll never have this house right again,” Morgan said.
Morgan said he watched his livelihood go up in flames.
“I was lost, and this is my income from my retirement,” Morgan said.
Fortunately, everyone was OK, but the damage left behind would soon become a big problem.
“I’ve got a house I’m losing $750 a month on,” Morgan said.
He said he hired SERVPRO of Rogers County to do the cleanup. The company was on scene of the fire the day it happened.
“This house, I was told when they got done with it, my contractor would be able to walk in and immediately start the work,” Morgan said. “That is the furthest from the truth."
When the job was finished, Morgan said he was to meet the man in charge of the job for a final walkthrough of the property just to make sure everything was up to par.
“Look at the streaking… it is soot still there,” Morgan told 2 Works for You as he walked through the home.
Other parts of the home show similar soot streaks across the walls, and Morgan said he isn't satisfied with the remaining smell of smoke. He also said his insurance check of $8,000 to do the job was already cashed. From that point on, Morgan said he had a tough time getting SERVPRO to come back out to the home. That’s when he called 2 Works for You Problem Solvers.
"I'm here to resolve whatever issues that we have,” Brad Peixotto, owner of SERVPRO of Rogers County said.
Peixotto agreed to meet 2 Works for You at the home. Our team went room by room with the owner, looking at the itemized bill to check if each task completed was done correctly. Peixotto assured our team it was.
“This is semipermeable material,” he said. “What happens when smoke and soot sit on the semipermeable materials, they ebbed themselves into them further and further.”
Peixotto explained that even though the soot was cleaned to begin with, it can resurface along with the smoke smell if it is not sealed and painted immediately. He said in this case, the owner did not pay to have that done.
After some conversation with SERVPRO, both parties were able to come to terms. SERVPRO offered to satisfy the customer.
“If we come up with some sort of agreement that makes everybody happy, I am good with that,” Peixotto said.
SERVPRO is sticking by the work they were paid to do by the insurance company but is now willing to go beyond if it resolves the issue.
If you find yourself in a position where you are dealing with an unforeseen incident that forces you to file a claim, make sure you are in constant contact with your insurance company. They will be able to tell you what jobs are covered and what you will need to pay out of pocket if you are not satisfied.
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