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Essential Retail Services Pacific Heating and Air, INC. Breech of contract and refusal to pay for services rendered. Roseville California
In November 2017 my company received a call from Ally Bradley for an estimate to a client of Essential Retail Services/Pacific Air and Heating INC., a local urgent care company. They needed a fence installation around the premises and parking lot, and Ally asked we have done retail maintenance before, which we have done since opening up business in 2016. I filled out their vendor form, and provided all necessary documents that were requested but I neglected to see the bottom where it specifies I agree to a national account service agreement (NASA) which I will get back to. We set up a time and go out to the clients location and meet with the facility manager who describes the job he wants done (full installation of a 6ft high chain link fence 400 ft long). I take my measurements and go back to my office and start compiling together a material list based on the footage, and as well as the cost of labor. It takes a few days being I had other jobs I needed to finish but by the beginning of December I was able to fully submit my completed invoice with the quoted bid price.
It was until after the new year that I received another call from Ally explaining the bid was accepted and did I receive the necessary documents needed for completing the job. I ask them about taking a material charge being I do not lay out for materials and advised Ally that the payment can be made via check or card via PayPal but there would be a 3%processing fee. She agreed and told me she would get back to me when she was ready to provide type of payment. This went on for a week of playing phone tag with Ally and getting no where in regards to material charge. Ally asked if we could use Lowe's or Home Depot for materials and supplies, we explained that we can and she advised us to go order materials and apply then to their account with Home Depot. Then I read the bottom of the invoice service report (ISR) the emergency service request that states we need a NASA form. So I call back and tell them of the lack of my copy of the NASA form and Ally just happened to be unavailable so I asked Cheyenne to provide me with the NASA and she said to me "we don't provide those until the job is finished," to which I replied "uh no! Your work order clearly states work does not commence with out a copy of the NASA". Long story short she provides me with the form we're the first thing I see is they're incessant need to take out a 12% marketing fee, for all invoices.
Immediately I email Ally about our refusal to having to pay a marketing fee being we didn't ask then for work they called us. Ally tells me the next day via a phone conversation that the fee is to be added by us (the vendor) in order for them to bill the client and they make their money so we get the full amount we asked for. Afterwards we head to Daytona Beach, the closest Home Depot store where we spent two hours in the store ordering the materials, and certain supplies which we needed to have delivered minus a bag or two of supplies. We were asked by the clients facility manager to add a gate to the fence line which changed price of the bid which I got approvals for through Ally which also changed the price on the invoice as well as the nte amount on the work order. We were rushing to get this all done prior to 7pm being according to Ally they close at 4pm PST. We're in Florida and are 3hrs ahead of them. So we rush around trying to get all the material make sure count is right, Etc. Etc. We do it. We get the final price of the material and some of the supplies including $80 delivery bringing the total price to $2663.34. I use their account, put the order in my name and my wife's name making it to be we can be the only ones to sign for the material that was to be delivered that Friday 1/20/18. Well then I realize they only paid for the supplies I can purchase. They didn't provide enough of my material charge that is required especially being I needed to cover incidentals like damaged/wrong material, disposal of any mess made, and extra supplies that needed to be purchased or rented. I told Ally about the insufficient material charge and she told me to back charge the extra $747 on to the rest of the bill. Which we did as well as add the instructed amount by Ally for the 12% of $609.54. So materials take a little longer than they should having been changed by Home Depot themselves due to inventory issues from the 20th to the 27th which I emailed Ally about the minute I found out about it. So we had a clear schedule since the materials were supposed to delivered to the site that first Friday and that gave me and my helper time to provide prep for the job site (by marking the fence line with stakes and twine, as well as digging holes for the posts). It took us the few days extra due to the delivery being rescheduled to get the job site prepped and ready to which they delivered the material on time on the 27th.
We get right to work and pour the cement in to the holes for the posts set the posts and what not as well as hang the fence and finish the job by Monday the 29th, where I called the facility manager to come assess the job. He was pleased and had some minor issues with the gate swinging the wrong way and a post extending too far past the property line (both of which were taken care of after he signed off on the invoice service report). We made the client happy, and then toon pictures and sent in the required paperwork. The ISR and the signed and dated work order, which were sent over to Ally but also to the vendorinvoices@essential4services.com that is stated on the work order. I even called Ally as soon as they're office opened which was hours after getting everything together and sent out to them. She confirmed that they had everything and that we would receive payment within 30 days timeframe.
Fast forward to March 2nd. We had a family emergency out of state and I was gone until the 8th of March. Which upon my return hone I checked my mail and their was no check in the box. So I know I need to call and double check see what's going on being the NASA and the ISR and the work order all say 30days for payment. I call then the next day and I ask to speak to Ally... She's apparently out sick! It's Friday I could see it, so I give them the benefit of the doubt and call again that Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday, well Friday comes again and I still haven't heard from Ally, I've sent multiple emails, and left plenty of messages for her to call me back in regards to the money owed to us in the amount of $3856.54. which was the labor and remainder of supplies I came out of pocket for. It was clear by this point they were avoiding me giving me excuses like "Ally's in a meeting" or "the accounts payable lady had a death in the family, she won't be back until next week" so on and so on.
Now it's April and I have taken every excuse I could have at this point when I find in the small print on the bottom of the ISR that clearly states that 'the customer agrees, that if payment is not made within 30 days of invoice date here of, customer shall pay a service charge of 1.5% late fee plus all costs including but not limited to interest, collections, attorney, leins and court fees, regardless of suit is filed. The company has the right to retain title to any equipment and material furnished until complete payment has been made. If settlement is not made as agreed, the company has the right to remove any and all equipment and material without being held responsible for any damages resulting from the removal.' There it is in black and white on the ISR that was dated and signed the 29th of January. I call again this time telling them if I don't speak to someone they're going to have to explain to the client why I am ripping out the fence, and after two calls with the threat of having the police called on me for removal of their material (which I have a receipt for in my name). They tell me to call a different number for Pacific Air and Heating inc. their other company that they supposedly split from in the two months I've been waiting for my money.
Well I speak to Mary, who is nice at this point even though in ready to rip a fence out of the ground and scrap it for money owed to me before I put a lein on the company for non-payment which is my right as per Florida law (which according to the NASA form I need to give then 90days written notice) Mary explains that they split off from ERS and that they didn't have my business information and asks me to resend everything over to her admin1@pach-pacific.com email. Which I do, and then I ask her if they still do the 12%addition to the price, to which Mary answers" no we don't want you to add an extra hour of a labor charge) so she asks me to rearrange the invoice which I do, and email her the copy of it for the new balance of $3168.64. which is $687.90 (a little more then 12% including a late fee) since technically they were past the 30 days for payment to be received.
Now here we are on the 21st of April still not check besides a email copy of the check with the 12% taken out after I was told to take the 12%off, in the amount of $380.24. Everytime I call to talk to these people they are rude, and try to be little my intelligence on regards to the law based on my background in criminal justice and knowing the laws I need to abide by. I am now receiving the "checks in the mail" excuse but I don't believe it much. So I am on to arbitration.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
deland,Florida,
United States
Payment received
#2Author of original report
Sun, April 22, 2018
While we finally received payment today or was over $1000 less then what was invoiced and way past their 30 day limit for payment. At this point we will no longer do business with his company.