Complaint Review: One Call Services

I too worked for a company that was in the same situation with One Call Services.  When I started my employment with the plumbing company there was an outstanding balance from them.  One job, one time no pay.  I beleive the work was for a chain clothing store.  The total balance owed was just over $800.00.

I started by calling, faxing and mailing the invoice with a polite letter.  "Did you sign and return the contract I sent?" I checked the file and found that all corespondence had been by email and phone.  I told him that we never received it to sign, but had his approval letter and signature to do the work, as well as the store managers signature.

At this point he tried to get out of paying by saying, "well I can't pay without the contract."  I told him that was fine we could just go remove the water heater since it would not be paid for.  He responded by saying (I am paraphrasing) that he would meet us there and call the cops if we entered the premesis and that we would regret any action.  He would make sure that we did not get past the front door.  So I asked him "aren't you in California, do you not realize we are in Indiana?".  He became more threatening each time we spoke.

I then realized that it was not for Mr. Esnayra but for a property management company.  I googled Once Call Services (OCS) and Robert Esnayra and when the search completed the entire first page was rip off reports and bad reviews.  I called one more time and told him he could pay in full now, or I would take further collection action.  He opted not to pay and hung up on me.  I started researching different options and the first call I made was to the mall in which the store was located.  I talked to a very nice gentlemen who gave me some information, but the most important thing he said was "file for a mechanics lean, it will violate their contract and they will get an eviction notice and if they do not resolve they will be evicted".

I also called the store and the manager said she could pass along a message to corporate, that she was sorry but could not help.  After about an hour of different websites, I stumbled upon the phone number listing for corporate.  I luckily was able to contact the V.P. of maintenance operations for this major clothing chain.  I left a detailed, but short message about everything that happened, leaving just enough out that I would hopefully receive a call back.  I DID!!  (I also told him to google One Call Services and Robert Esnayra that he would see that this was not a one time thing, that many other service company's had been taken advantage of by him.)

The V.P. went on to tell me that they had not had this problem with Robert before, this guy knew him well.  He apologized and stated that he had contacted Robert and I should hear from him to settle the debt.

Within the hour I received a call from Mr. Esnayra, he was irate and said that per our agreement, I was not allowed to contact the corporate office.  I explained that we did not have a contract, just an authorization to perform the work.  He was very threatening, and I don't quite understand it because he was over 2,000 miles away.  I think he had used intimidation tactics in the past and it had worked.  I explained to Mr. Esnayra that it was well within my rights to contact the store and corporate as I saw fit, because, although he contacted us and was the property manager, he refused to pay.  He had already been paid by the store for the work we performed and did not pay us.  He was still threatening me and I calmly explained this:  "If we do not receive payment in full within 5 business days, I would be forced to contact the store and the corporate office everyday until this was resolved."  I also told him "you have had over 8 months to dispute he invoice and you have not.  I will not be threatened by you via email, phone or fax.  Again you have 5 business days to pay or we will pursue this aggressively." I then said "Goodbye" and hung up the phone.

GUESS WHAT??!!?? He called in the next morning and paid the invoice in full by credit card over the phone, he was told to hold while the ran the card and when it processed and paid, our manager picked the phone up thanked him for his payment and told him to expect a receipt in the mail.

If it was not for ripoff reports website, I would have never known that this is his common practice, to schedule work with mostly small companies, not pay them and then collect from the store.  He was rude, he sometimes pretended to be different people when we called.

I have no doubt that he will have a rebuttle, he always does.  I would also like to say I understand that slander is an offence if it is not true, however when it is in writing it is called libel, Mr. Esnayra.

I find it hard to beleive that there is a country wide conspiracy to out you.  You keep telling everyone that it is former employees and disgrunteled customers who are writing these reports.  I am neither.  I collected the money that was due our company because I was able to stay one step ahead of you.

If you are thinking of doing any work for this company, please reconsider, or at least get payment in full before services are performed.  Also keep information about the store and if possible the mall you do work at.  This will all become important when he doesn't pay.