Bpg Home Inspections- Charles Daniels

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Daniels did identify some minor electrical and plumbing repairs and noted that the garage had not been properly converted. However, a few days after closing on the property, we noticed a long crack on the bottom of the Master Bathroom shower. We had not moved into the property yet or used the shower when the crack was discovered. BPG has a 90 day warranty for home inspections which Daniels confirmed with me on the phone prior to scheduling the appointment. When I contacted the GA office, I had a very terse conversation with the Risk Management Director Brian Eisenman who immediately denied any responsibility for missing the crack even though showers are within the scope of the inspection. He was not even willing to come out and inspect the crack. They stated there was no way to determine when it happened and they were not responsible for inspecting floors even though the shower is a one piece fiberglass unit without a separate floor pan. They reasoned because Charles detected other minor issues with the toilets being loose in the 2 other bathrooms of the home, he must have thoroughly inspected the Master Bathroom. They followed up the verbal denial with a written denial. In addition to the crack, the shower floor was bouncy and squeaking. The grate on top of the drain at the bottom of the shower was completely unattached- there were no nails in it, no grouting or caulking around it. It was sitting on top of the drain and we were able to pick it up. None of this was brought to our attention at the time of the inspection. We had a contractor come out to look at the shower. He determined that the shower was installed improperly because under normal use a shower should not display those issues. He also stated, that the one piece fiberglass unit was not secured to a shower pan and was just sitting on nothing. He indicated it would continue to crack if we tried to use it and that it could not be repaired, it must be replaced. He questioned why the inspector did not see this. So do we. We made complaints to the BBB against BPG, but they have continued to deny that they were at all responsible for detecting the defect. They stated that their 90 warranty only applies to major mechanical systems. Accordingly they have refused to pay for the replacement of the shower or even to refund their inspection fee. We also made complaints against the company with both the NC Atty General's Office and the GA Office of Consumer affairs. Daniels' failure to properly inspect and detect the problems with the shower has caused us a lot of hassle. Had he discovered it prior to closing, we could have addressed it with the seller. We would have requested a replacement or simply walked away from the deal. We would have had the right to do since as we were still within the Due Diligence period of the contract which allows a buyer to terminate the contract and get his earnest money back under NC LAW. Now we are stuck trying to remedy this problem. because BPG is not standing behinds its services. We have since learned that the average inspection of a 3 BR home lasts about 2 1/2-3 hrs. I believe there is no way that Daniels could have done both a thorough home and termite inspection in 1 1/2 hours. Accordingly, I would NEVER recommend this home inspector nor anyone else with BPG Home Inspections based on this horrendous experience. Update 10/19/11: After making complaints with the BBB, GA Consumer Affairs Office and the NC Attorney General's Office, BPG finally agreed to refund the home inspection fee less the charges for the termite report which was not in question. I honestly do not think it should have taken this kind of extraordinary action to get a refund. At a minimum, they should have offered this from the start of the complaint. They still maintain that Daniels did not miss the crack. As part of his inspection, they claim that he would have checked the shower for water pressure and visibly inspected it . To do that, he would have had to open the shower door, turn on the faucet and look at the shower floor and walls. As soon as you open the shower door, you immediately see a long crack the length of the shower floor. In my opinion, this is further indication that he didn't properly inspect because he wouldn't have missed that if he had looked inside the shower. Since no issues were raised by Daniels regarding the Master Shower, we didn't think we needed to go back and check after him, especially for something so obvious. If I hired another inspector, I would go over every item inspected with a fine tooth comb instead of accepting the inspection report as is, even though inspectors are licensed professionals. We were referred to Daniels by our real estate agent. Had I researched BPG prior to hiring them, I would have seen that they have a C rating on the BBB. I will definitely do a more in depth inquiry if I need another home inspector in the future. Update: 9/12 After filing a complaint with the NC home inspectors board, an investigation was done and they found that Daniels had not violated any major regulations. Apparently missing a crack in the shower floor is not a violation. Who knew? Daniels, in his response to the board, denied that the crack in the shower was visible and that the drain was unattached both of which were not true. If the crack wasn't visible why did he offer to fix it? I encourage prospective home buyers to carefully review the list of requirements for home inspectors and make sure they cover what they are supposed to. This info is listed on their website. Additionally you need to go behind them and check that they have gotten all visible defects noted on the repair report that you will submit to the seller. If you make a complaint against the inspector after the fact, it becomes he said, she said and it seems that the buyer has very little recourse or power in that situation; they are looking out for their own, IMHO. And if is not egregious it doesn't seem like much will be done to address the issue. ( I was shocked at how few things that inspectors are really responsible for) They did find that Daniels violated minor rules regarding giving a Summary Statement in the report, providing a written contract that was signed before the inspection (BPG emailed it) and not describing the plumbing drain or vent piping materials in the report. Apparently the Board was also reviewing another complaint concurrently with my complaint from another home buyer in the area. The two complaints were ruled on together. He received a minor probation, certainly nothing like the hassle we were put through as a result of his lapse. We did not belong to Angie's list when we hired this guy. If we ever need another home inspector, I will definitely come here to research one before taking my realtor's advice. I will also be more vigilant in going behind him to make sure every repair is noted in the report. I will also contact the Board ahead of time to determine if complaints have been made against the individual. And contact the BBB too. It is probably a good idea to research inspectors when you start the house search so by the time you are ready to make an offer, you have already found an inspector you want to use. Then you are not rushed into making a quick uninformed decision like we were. A lesson learned the hard way.