|
Review content:
Automated Home Solutions is really just a DBA for V&E Medical Imaging Services, Inc. The real Automated Home Solutions, Inc. is an inactive corporation owned by Stefan Birgh. Stefan sold the business to the present owners in 2003 and the new owners kept the name as a DBA.
In 2004 - 2005, electricians from Automated Home Solutions (current owners) came into our home to do the high voltage wiring for Home Improvement Help, a renovation company. Coincidentally, Stefan's dad is one of the owners of HIH. Stefan was both Secretary of HIH and VP of Automated when they worked on our house.
To sum up, let me say things did not go well.
To begin with, we were told the electricians from Automated were really employees of HIH. Not until the job was over and Automated began dunning us for money did we learn that Automated had been present as a subcontracting corporation.
I suppose what we objected to most was really a small thing: The metal drain in our bathroom tub was electrified at 110 Volts AC by a dedicated 20 Amp circuit from the main service panel. It was a potentially deadly arrangement, but luckily, none of us were fatally electrocuted. http://RenovationTrap.com/ahs/#11
Automated also left live wires terminated without housing in the shower stall, live bare wires hanging out of the walls, switches without function, and functions without switches. They left 18 inches of live cable sticking out of the back of the house where a lantern was supposed to be installed, and power cables loosely criss-crossing the rafters in the attic, a potential hazard to anyone who has to go up there to do maintenance.
Automated obtained some permits for the work, but other permits they should have purchased, they ignored. Of course, those items not permitted were not inspected, either, and therein lie some of the problems.
The main service panel was not grounded properly, according to professional investigators. Automated had not obtained a license for the work, and they did not ground correctly to the cold water pipes, the hot water pipes, and gas pipe as required by the Building Code.
A year after the renovations were finished, Automated filed suit against us and Home Improvement Help for more than $14,500, claiming they had never been paid for the high voltage work. Allegedly, Automated continued working for four and a half months without being paid a dime by HIH. Automated's court filing can be found at http://RenovationTrap.com/legal
When they filed their papers with the Court, Automated said they had done ALL the work in a workmanlike manner. But months later, Automated admitted to a Labor and Industries investigator that while they held the permit for wiring the home, other unlicensed people (non-electricians from Home Improvement Help) did some of the work. Automated permitted this practice "to keep costs down," as they told the investigator. On more than one occasion, Automated's electrical foreman went behind the unlicensed workers and corrected their work. The L&I investigator's report can be found at
http://RenovationTrap.com/hih/#23
In corroboration of that report, HIH billed us an additional $5,559.00 for electrical work and supplies, even though HIH had no licensed electricians. See http://RenovationTrap.com/hih/ocr_05.pdf#page=13
Automated's accounting practice also has problems. According to records furnished to us by Automated, they ordered supplies on our account on April 11, 2005, the last day of work, and charged them to our account. Those supplies were not shipped until April 19, and we have seen neither the goods nor a refund. In the meantime, Automated ordered more supplies in our name on April 18 that were not shipped until April 29. Again, neither goods nor refund has come our way. Automated billed us twice for the same waterproof light for the shower, but kept both units and did not install either one.
Automated's bills can be found at http://RenovationTrap.com/ahs/#4, and discussed in detail at http://RenovationTrap.com/electric.html#toc_21
Professionals we have consulted say that $20,000 ($14,500 + $5,559.00) is very expensive for wiring a 4-bedroom house where the plaster is removed from most of the walls and ceilings. Part of the "labor" seems to have been used up in 33 separate shopping trips for supplies. http://RenovationTrap.com/electric.html#toc_25
Professionals in most trades say that having all the supplies in hand at the beginning of the job is one essential for working efficiently.
We have detailed this information on our web page, http://RenovationTrap.com/electric.html Automated's financial claims in court are somewhat inflated from the original invoices, so the numbers in the web page article do not match up perfectly with this review. For this review, the current legal information seems the most relevant.
|