Dry-Out Contractors

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Dry-Out Contractors
Just yesterday, after an impact with a hose bib
outside the home, water poured out from inside
the wall. I, as a trusted Grandpa, was asked to
come over and assess the situation. I took along
my trusty 16 ounce claw hammer and upon arrival,
began breaking the sheetrock. Viola! There was
the pipe inside and it was easy to see that a
copper line had broken and needed to be soldered.
Having found the leak, we called for a plumber to
solder the pipe and I left for other Saturday
activities. The plumber came out and soldered
up the line and charged 169.00. Fine. But then
the plumber did something Ole Grandpa would
never approve. He recommended that a Dry-Out
Contractor
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be called and the loving relative whose home was
damaged did just that. The Dry-Out Contractor was
there immediately. A Dry-Out Contractor is one
who comes to the home and dries out the walls,
?oor, and inside the walls. He or she will use
blowers to do this, kind of like those machines
installed in restrooms to dry your hands.
Sometimes the services of these companies are
critical, especially to prevent mold from
growing. However, since the beginning of this
blog twenty years ago, I have railed against the
agreement that the contractor wishes the
homeowner to sign. I think this issue was
brought up in one of the ?rst three blogs I
posted. The agreement that the Dry-Out contractor
requires is called a work authorization. By
signing the agreement, the homeowner agrees to
pay what is billed. Insureds have signed these
for decades and upon completion of services
rendered, the Dry-Out Contractor will go to the
insurer for payment. But wait! This incidence is
not a claim that will be presented to an insurer.
The homeowner will have to pay the bill. I think
there is something wrong with this and con?icts
often ensue, especially when the bill is
presented to the insurer by the Dry-Out
Contractor. The Insurer has more power over the
transaction and will often pay a portion of the
claim after which the Dry-Out contractor will
look to the homeowner for the balance. This has
happened in the past on claims which
Brown-OHaver was
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involved and, when the Dry-Out Contractor sued
the homeowner for the balance, we insisted that
the insurer defend the homeowner through the
liability portion of the policy. The insurance
company did and the Dry-Out Contractor backed o
and dropped the lawsuit. I once maneuvered one of
these cases to a judge who ruled that the
agreement violated the elements of a contract
which are (1) oer (2) acceptance (3)
intention (4) consideration (5) capacity. The
judge ruled that the open end of consideration
was not appropriate. He ruled that there had to
be an amount upon which all parties agreed and
this was not done in this case. Unfortunately,
this ruling was not posted or ?led. Back to the
beginning of my story, the Dry-Out Contractor
came immediately and used two people and a
number of blowers to dry out the home and was
there for approximately two hours. The
bill 2,000.00! What a crock! If you encounter
such a loss before the involvement of Brown
OHaver, take the agreement and pencil in an
amount that will be charged and cross out the
part of the agreement that gives the Dry-Out
Contractor a power of attorney to sign all
insurance checks issued in your name or which is
a direct pay authorization which allows the
insurance company to pay the restoration
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contractor directly. Right up front, agree to an
amount that the services will not exceed. We are
here with advice and services oered at any time
you need us.