Consumer complaint received 2025-01-20 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Attempted to collect wrong amount
Company: TRANSWORLD SYSTEMS INC
State: MI

Complaint narrative:
On XXXX, I called XXXX to fix a plumbing issue when I had a water backup in my basement. They fixed the problem on XXXX and that bill was paid in full. They informed me that they have a restoration team that they always send out to customers ' homes to assess the damage and give a free quote and to see if it would be covered through my homeowner 's insurance. 

On XXXX, XXXX XXXX, Project Manager of the Restoration Team, came to my home to assess the damage. He told me that my home was contaminated from sewage and that everything in my basement would either need to be cleaned or taken outside and then they could start the restoration process. He assured me that if everything was in totes, that the workers would move everything for me. So, on XXXX, I put everything in totes and cleaned and sanitized what I wanted to keep. 

On XXXX, I was told someone would be coming to my house to start work, but no one ever showed up. I asked XXXX for an estimated price for the services they planned on providing, which I never received. He told me that it would " definitely be covered by my insurance, '' so I didn't need to be so worried about it. Meanwhile, my house has been sitting with water damage for 3 days at this point. 

On XXXX, XXXX & XXXX came to my house because they were supposed to start working. They got here at XXXX. They said that there was too much stuff in my basement and they couldn't do the work and they stated that they didn't even have the right truck with them to do the job. Even though, everything was in totes except for my furniture. So, they set up the dehumidifier and an air scrubber and left. Which, my insurance adjuster said that I did not even need an air scrubber for my situation. Also, come to find out, the dehumidifier was not working correctly and it did not pull out an moisture from my basement. So, I should not have to pay for a non-working humidifier and an air scrubber that was not needed since it was a clean water backup, not sewage like they had told me. Just another thing to try to bill me for. After they left, I moved everything out of my basement by myself since they didn't want to. 

On XXXX, XXXX & XXXX came to my house at XXXX. They pulled my old carpet from my entry way area and the family room in my basement and threw it away. ( A total of 249 sq. ft. worth of carpet ). They threw out a perfectly good leather chair that was not damaged. They also laid plastic on top of my furniture in the basement ( 2 chairs, 2 desks, and 2 freezers ) and put plastic on my steps. They left for lunch and CAME BACK to tell me that they were done for the day. They worked a total of 2 hrs. This is the day that I talked to my adjuster and she informed me that this was not under dwelling coverage. This was covered under water backup, which is only {$5000.00} worth of coverage. I had {$15000.00} in damages. Though her assessment of damage shows less than that. So, I shouldn't be billed for the dehumidifier after this day since no one was able to pick it up for 2 more days. 

On XXXX, XXXX texted me to tell me that his son was sick and no one would be working at my house. The insurance adjuster came to my house and so did XXXX. Adjuster confirmed that I am only getting {$5000.00}. XXXX was the one confused and he apologized repeatedly. He told me that since nothing had been done yet, to just use my money to try to fix my basement myself. That I wouldn't be billed at all. He felt bad that he steered me the wrong way and made a mistake about the situation. 

On XXXX, XXXX & XXXX picked up the dehumidifier. They were taking pictures of my basement before they left and I asked them to stop and they wouldn't. I had been working in there all night and they were taking pictures of the work that I did. This tech ended up submitting to XXXX that he did all of that work when he really did not. I would not sign the Completion of Work form because nothing was completed. I actually have more damage now after letting everything sit for so long. I called XXXX to tell him that I was not signing the Completed Work form and he then said my bill " would definitely be less than {$1000.00} '' since they didn't do anything. Not sure why he would now say less than {$1000.00} after he told me the night before that I didn't have to pay anything, but that is what he said. 

A few days later, I received an invoice for {$3900.00} and I was shocked. I contacted XXXX billing department and XXXX XXXX and told them that the bill was incorrect because they did not even start the decontamination process. Which, my house not even contaminated, that was all a lie. All they did was removed 249 sq. ft. of carpet and threw out my leather chair. They told me to email them my complaint so they had it in writing. So, I emailed them the information. They harassed me for months and refused to correct my bill. My insurance adjuster also emailed them and told them to correct the bill because she was at my house when XXXX XXXX told her what was done at my house by them. Instead of making the appropriate corrections, they sent me to TSI, collection agency. I contacted TSI to dispute the charge. They mailed me the information that was provided to them from XXXX XXXX This is when I realized that they forged my signature on a form agreeing to pay them the {$3900.00}. I also saw the work report submitted by their service tech, XXXX, and he had submitted work that was not done by him. They are trying to bill me for the work that I did by myself in my home. I have an appointment with an officer at my local police station tomorrow to file a police report against them because this is fraud. 
I have also filed a complaint with the FTC and I will be submitting a complaint to the Attorney General as well. They can not get away with this. This is fraud!

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation