JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Big bills and a moldy mess.
For the past two weeks, the Ask Anthony team has received several emails and phone calls from viewers who feel they were misled by a mold remediation company called "Water and Mold Insurance Rebuild" with offices three-and-a-half hours away in Stuart. The company has been doing business in Jacksonville.
Anthony Austin has been in contact with the company's attorney, who says this is not a case of trickery and WMIR is a legitimate business. But, he wanted to get to the bottom of this problem.
He went to an expert to see if these hefty bills are correct for the amount of work done.
"It's very clear and evident when you come in here (bathroom) there was water damage," Sean Gist said.
Sean Gist is the Vice President of Emergency Restoration Xperts. He has more than a decade of experience with mold remediation and other services.
"Looks like it's been leaking for years at this point," Gist added.
Anthony brought him and David Williams with Atlas Environmental to the home of Jose and Joan Flores.
The elderly Jacksonville couple hired WMIR in September to remove mold in their home. The Flores' received a letter in December that their insurance was not willing to pay the costs of their invoices, which totaled $28,570. The company claims they put a lien on the couple's house after they couldn't pay the bill out of pocket.
Gist said the costs of the project was excessive.
"I would hate to do a ballpark number, but it would be $28,000 to do the entire bathroom," Gist explained.
The Flores' hired WMIR after seeing an advertisement that said "You paid your insurance. Let it cover the loss. We bill the insurance company directly."
They trusted the company's word that their insurance would foot the bill.
"Make sure that the insurance company is speaking with that organization. When the insurance company says the proposal looks good, that's when it gets approved for the work to start," Gist said.
Jose Flores signed a contract that he admits was hard to read. It said the Flores' are responsible for whatever amount the insurance company doesn't cover.
"The contract I saw was basically one huge paragraph of terms and conditions and didn't mention anything about what type of work is going to be done," Gist responded.
Gist took a look at the invoices given to the couple after they signed the contract.
"There's nothing anywhere on any of these documents showing any type of rebuild."
One invoice was for more than $13,000, another over $15,000.
"They're running equipment for way too long. You don't need dehumidification for seven days with multiple dehumidifiers for an area that small," Gist said.
After taking a look at the work done and the price charged, Gist made an offer of his own.
"I hate to see people in the community taken advantage of like this. It does pull on our heart strings. So, ERX and our team are going to come in and take care of the bathroom for them," Gist added.
WMIR has not responded to any requests for comment. However, Anthony has been in communication with the company's attorney, Michael Friedman, for the past two weeks.
Anthony called Friedman and left a voicemail about our expert's opinion. He did not receive a response by the time this story was published.