I'm in the process of buying a home and just had a home inspection performed. The inspector pointed out a couple of issues that should be repaired by professionals. The exposed copper wiring in the electrical panel had blue and purple discoloration, and using an infrared camera, he detected moisture buildup in the wall between the master bath tub and kitchen.
I reached out to Cornerstone for a couple of repair quotes, since they had good reviews and their site advertises that quotes are free, so I could try to negotiate the sale price on the home. After submitting the details on their website, I was called less than 15 minutes later to be informed that technicians would have to go onsite to inspect before giving me quotes for my requests, but that they would give me the reduced rate of $39 for each, rather than full price. Not quite free as advertised, but I agreed on that price thinking it was gonna save me some money on the house.
After scheduling the appointments for 2 technicians, I wasn't able to get my schedule cleared to be onsite while they were there. Cornerstone told me I could provide them my CC to have on file, and as long as someone was present to let the technicians in, they could perform what was agreed to, call me to let me know what was recommended, and if their was anything to be done immediately, get my authorization to do so. I let them know the current home owner's renters would be present to let the technicians in, so all was set.
The electrician calls me and says he doesn't see any discoloration in the electrical panel wiring. I saw it for myself, and had the pictures in my inspection report.I told him my worry was about a possible fire hazard, because that's what the inspector told me to be wary of. He said there weren't any problems, so I thanked him and that was that. I never spoke with the plumber. He left me a voicemail stating he couldn't find the leak. Well of course not, it's behind the wall. And I didn't need it to be found yet, just a quote on what it could cost to find it and fix it, given the different things that could be causing it. I called him back, and left a message saying as much, but he never called me back.
So I've effectively paid $80 and have no quotes to show for it. I emailed Cornerstone, because I felt what I submitted on their web form, wasn't properly communicated to the technicians, especially the plumber, and I wasn't getting what I asked for, which should have been free in the first place. I provided the pictures from the inspection report to try to be as clear as possible. The following morning, I received 2 voice mails, one person asking for a call back, the other saying they would send another plumber back to the property. I call back, and neither person is available, so I explain to the new person on the phone, I don't need service performed, I need a potential repair quote to negotiate the sale price of the house. After being put on hold for a few minutes, I was finally given some $$$ figures to go along with several different scenarios, which is all I wanted in the first place. They typed it up and emailed it to me to provide to my agent.
But my experience gets worse from there. I had 2 charges show up on my credit card, as expected. One was for the agreed $39, the other was for $213!! I call Cornerstone back and ask for an explanation, since I was told $39 for each one. They tell me the plumber performed a visual inspection and this is how much it costs. Again, I was told $39 which is all I agreed to. Anything more than that, they were supposed to call me for authorization. They said they didn't know who authorized the extra charge, which made me irate because why would you accept an authorization and not know who gave it, especialy when it's not the person paying for it! They asked if I would like someone from management call me to discuss further, because they couldn't do anything about the charge at this point. Damn right I did! They were supposed to have a manager call me within 24 hours. 2 full business days have come and gone, no call.
Seems pretty clear to me this company uses false advertising, poor communication and plain dishonesty, to try and get money out of people. read more