ComplaintsforNorth American Home Services

• Initial Complaint

  11/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This inspection company performed our home inspection for the sale of our home. They all came on the 28th of October and gave us a report stating the costs to repair the items mentioned on the home, roof and pest reports. They came on the 9th of November to complete the work mentioned in the report. I was at home when the repairs were being done and I did a walk through with the repairmen after the work was completed. NO ADDITIONAL FINDINGS WERE REPORTED AND I WAS REASSURED THAT EVERYTHING HAD BEEN TAKEN CARE OF AND REPAIRED. Then, on November 14th, I was told by my agent that they had sent him a supplemental report that states that additional repairs were needed and that I needed to pay an additional $1,014 for additional repairs that were found "during the time of the repair". I requested a copy of the so-called supplemental report and it states that "additional rot was found during the time of repair". It was dated October 31st. NO ONE FROM THEIR COMPANY CAME TO PERFORM AN ADDITIONAL PEST INSPECTION ON THAT DAY. And if it states that the "additional items were found during the repair", then why was it dated 10/31? Why weren't the additional findings mentioned on the 9th of November, the date the repairs were done? The repairs were performed on the 9th of November and I have receipts to prove this. Very dishonest company. I also have video evidence from our security cameras to prove that NO ONE FROM THEIR COMPANY CAME ON THE STATED DATE OF INSPECTION OF 10/31/2022 TO JUSTIFY THE ACCURACY OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT. Information on supplemental report is fraudulent and false.

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ***** ****** from *** ****** ** *********** ***. hired North American Home services to conduct a pest inspection of our home. The inspector who arrived on 8/13/21 at 0900 named *********** aggressively and unprofessionally damaged our home by banging his 6-foot inspection probe into our house. He also promoted his company’s construction division to complete the work before and after his inspection due to the whole repair needed following his inspection, he explained the costs would be between $12,000 - $15,000 from his current estimation. The inspector did not want my wife and I to watch his inspection while conducted and we felt uncomfortable due to his aggressive behavior.

  Business response

  08/16/2021

  It is unfortunate that these homeowners felt this way. As a Pest inspection company we are licensed with the Structural Pest Control Board of California. This means that when we perform our inspection we have to follow the rules and guidelines per the SPCB act. In order for us to find the dry rotted wood and/ or termite activity we do what's called a probe or tap inspection. This consists of a small metallic rod that looks like a screw driver with a rounded point and this metal probe is attached onto a painting pole so we can reach higher. Then we tap the wood on the exterior of the home to find the "hollow' or soft areas of the wood where dry rot or termite damage could be found. 

  Often times when we do this inspection we are doing it for the buyers or people that are looking to buy the home. They hire us to come out and perform an inspection on the structure for the presence of any wood destroying organisms such as termites, beetles or dry rot. When we perform this inspection using our tap/ probe method as required by the SPCB and our licensing this sometimes upsets the sellers or current owners of the home. When they are inside their house and hear what sounds like metal taping against their wooden home they could get annoyed. 

  During the inspection process we often times will identify that the wood that appears to be looking good after we tap on it caves in or is found to be brittle due to damage from wood destroying organisms, we make the recommendation to remove and replace the damaged wood members. This sometimes also creates animosity towards us as the inspector because the current owners or the sellers of the home often times are requested to fix the damaged wood members by the buyers of the house.

  So We understand why on this particular case the homeowners or the sellers are upset. But we didn't do anything wrong. As a matter of fact we were hired by the buyers of the home to do just that: inspect the home for wood destroying organisms. The sellers gave the buyers permission to have an inspection company inspect their home. SO when we showed up to do the inspection they weren't happy with the fact that we found issues or problems. But we didn't damage their home, we only identified and reported on the damage that is already excising on the home so the buyers that paid us to do the inspection can make an informed decision on proceeding with the purchase of this house.

  Finally it is standard practice for the Termite or as often called Pest Inspection company to produce an estimate or bid on the repairs of the work. So we bid on the replacement of the wood that is damaged and provide a bid on the chemical treatments as necessary for the control of termites or other wood destroying organisms. Sometimes people will hire us to preform the work and sometimes they will just use our estimate to understand how much damage is on the home they are buying even if they buy it as is. There is nothing bad or unethical about this and it is legal and governed in the state of California by our licensing department the Structural Pest Control Board. 

  It is unfortunate that someone is so upset with our inspection that they feel the need to file a claim with BBB. Our goal is to be respectful and curious when we do our work inspection homes and I hope that something like this could be ramified through and explanation. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩