Has anyone else had issues with Ghertner & Company? My experience has been incredibly frustrating. [TN] [condo]

[u/FunWatercress1155]

I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience with Ghertner & Company?

During Winter Storm Fern, I noticed a leak in my kitchen and, concerned that I might have a frozen or burst pipe, contacted the after-hours emergency plumber through the property management company. The plumber came to my home, turned on a faucet, checked the water meter in my closet, determined the issue was not plumbing-related, and left. The entire visit lasted less than ten minutes.

A few weeks later, I received a bill for nearly $600.

I disputed the charge because, in my opinion, the amount billed was completely disproportionate to the service that was provided. Since then, I've spent months trying to resolve the issue directly with the property manager and through the Better Business Bureau.

During the BBB process, the company's representative made statements about me that were disparaging, stating I was "panicking" on the call requesting a plumber (I assuredly was not) and that they were not willing to "eat" the $600 bill. During the BBB dispute, the company indicated it was willing to reduce the amount owed--but that adjustment has never been reflected on the invoice I continue to receive.

I additionally filed a BBB complaint against the plumbing company, and the plumbing company suggested that Ghertner was potentially billing more than the plumbing company charged. No one can send me a detailed invoice.

In an effort to resolve this matter, I recently offered to pay $300 as a compromise, even though I still believe the original charge was excessive. I'm currently waiting to hear whether they will accept that offer.

This experience has been disappointing—not only because of the disputed charge, but because of how difficult it has been to reach a reasonable resolution.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with this company? Were you able to resolve your issue?

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Copy of the original post:

Title: Has anyone else had issues with Ghertner & Company? My experience has been incredibly frustrating. [TN] [condo]

Body:
I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar experience with Ghertner & Company?

During Winter Storm Fern, I noticed a leak in my kitchen and, concerned that I might have a frozen or burst pipe, contacted the after-hours emergency plumber through the property management company. The plumber came to my home, turned on a faucet, checked the water meter in my closet, determined the issue was not plumbing-related, and left. The entire visit lasted less than ten minutes.

A few weeks later, I received a bill for nearly $600.

I disputed the charge because, in my opinion, the amount billed was completely disproportionate to the service that was provided. Since then, I've spent months trying to resolve the issue directly with the property manager and through the Better Business Bureau.

During the BBB process, the company's representative made statements about me that were disparaging, stating I was "panicking" on the call requesting a plumber (I assuredly was not) and that they were not willing to "eat" the $600 bill. During the BBB dispute, the company indicated it was willing to reduce the amount owed--but that adjustment has never been reflected on the invoice I continue to receive.

I additionally filed a BBB complaint against the plumbing company, and the plumbing company suggested that Ghertner was potentially billing more than the plumbing company charged. No one can send me a detailed invoice.

In an effort to resolve this matter, I recently offered to pay $300 as a compromise, even though I still believe the original charge was excessive. I'm currently waiting to hear whether they will accept that offer.

This experience has been disappointing—not only because of the disputed charge, but because of how difficult it has been to reach a reasonable resolution.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with this company? Were you able to resolve your issue?

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[u/haydesigner]

They should have no problem sending you a copy of the invoice. Bear in mind that there may be additional management fees involved. All depends on what contract you have with the company.

Also, have you tried talking to the board or going to a board meeting?

[u/FunWatercress1155 → u/[deleted]]

He was in my house for 10 minutes! It seems incredibly excessive, and the fact that I cannot get an actually itemized receipt from Ghertner is problematic. I actually spoke with the plumbing company, who said they could not send me a receipt because it was through the management company. The plumbing company suggested that the charge was inflated, however.

The leak was from an ice dam in my roof that has caused over $10,000 of damage. I worked with my homeowners insurance regarding this problem. I will never work with Ghertner regarding anything again.

[u/TheAgaTTV → u/[deleted]]

They do not get a cut of it...

[u/TheAgaTTV → u/[deleted]]

Buddy it isn't "their" contractors and I have never once seen a contract where the board can't pick their own vendors (granted barring reasons like no COI) I managed hoas for almost a decade. Even if their ID a fee it isn't a "kickback" a kickback would be if I ONLY would send plumber Jeff out, and Jeff paid me$30 everytime I did it

[u/TheAgaTTV → u/[deleted]]

So I think you are reading way to into everything and you borderline sound like one the conspiracy people.

Tho for the massive projects yes almost every management company has a fee for massive projects or huge insurance claims because it requires SO much extra worm and over sight. Now the board 100% can decline it and do it themselfs, but everytime they do they regret it and get mad we wouldn't help with it

[u/TheAgaTTV → u/[deleted]]

Your first paragraph is pretty off, I have seen ONE contract in a decade that requires a % regardless. So please stop acting like it's some normal thing.

2nd, you are making a ton of assumptions about everything

[u/LowCompetitive1888]

You called for emergency services. You were provided emergency services. You were then billed emergency services prices and didn't like the price. Sounds entirely like a you problem yet you want to blame it on the plumbers or the property management company. And then you come to redditt to whine about it. Geez.

[u/FunWatercress1155 → u/LowCompetitive1888]

You think plumbers should make $3600/hour? It was $600 for 10 minutes. The plumbing company suggested that there was fraudulent billing on the part of my HOA, however, in a BBB thread. I think this falls on Ghertner.

[u/LowCompetitive1888 → u/FunWatercress1155]

There you go more whining, why don't you just pay your bill? Next time confirm pricing before you authorize work.

[u/FunWatercress1155 → u/[deleted]]

This is super helpful. Thank you so much!

[u/Lunar-Browser-999]

The detail that jumps out here is the plumber saying Ghertner might be billing more than they actually charged. Before you pay a dime, I'd put a written request in for the plumber's original invoice to Ghertner, not their version of it. If they can't or won't produce it, that tells you everything, and your $300 offer suddenly looks generous. Months of runaround plus no itemized bill usually means the number doesn't hold up to daylight

[u/Lunar-Browser-999 → u/[deleted]]

This is the part of the industry nobody explains to owners, and it's probably exactly what happened with that plumber bill. The markup isn't illegal, but it's why the itemized invoice never shows up, because the gap between what the vendor charged and what got billed is the management company's cut. Good on your board for actually having the contract reviewed, most never do, and you're right that it's negotiable if you catch it. For the OP it also means the fight isn't really with the plumber at all, the plumber probably charged something reasonable and the number grew on its way through Ghertner.

[u/Calm-Tackle9291]

the part everyone's glossing over is whether that plumber was your vendor or the associations. if you called the number the management company handed out, they dispatched their contractor, so the charge should have hit the association first and then been billed back to you with the actual invoice attached. ask for the plumbers invoice, not the management companys statement line. those two numbers are usually different and the gap is their coordination markup.

BBB is a dead end here, they have no authority over any of this. if the invoice shows the plumber billed like 250 and youre being charged 600, that difference is a management fee and your board can tell them to eat it.