One Call Home Harassment -- When Angie's List Goes Horribly Wrong...
The woman went on and on about their company's do-it-yourself assessment that involved taking photos and measurements of the area to be repaired, filling out a form with a description, dimensions, etc, . When I tried to explain that I am not a contractor, am not sure what needs to be done to finish the project, and am not in a position to do the self-serve estimate for several reasons, she talked over me, asking me why I couldn't do this and that, and couldn't I estimate the square footage, etc. She was very pushy about the email estimate.
If she had allowed me, I would have told her that option would not work for me, because I am a 61-year-old, partially-disabled woman with a bad back and no grasp of numbers due to dyscalculia, but she just talked over me.
When a business call came in, not being able to get a word in edgewise, I took the call while the One Call Home Team woman kept talking. I called back when I could, apologized for having to take the other call, explained it was a busy day, and asked if we could cut to the chase of what it would take to have an on-site estimate. My other line started blinking about the time she said it would cost $125 to get an estimate everyone else is doing for free. I said "no thanks," hung up, and posted the following brief review:
"I did not hire this company because having them come out to provide an estimate would have cost $125. No thanks."Because no work had been done on the house, this short review would not have affected the ratings of their actual service. Plus, I am not the only customer to give One Call Home Team an F-rating, but isn't that what Angie's List was built upon -- that fact customers can provide ratings that reflect their good or bad experiences???
That's When the Harassment Started
On July 9, a person named Michelle Hall requested friendship on Facebook. Since we had 14 friends in common, I accepted her request with no idea who she was. I found out who Michelle Hall was when she began invading my privacy by posting photos of MY HOUSE from 2014 on my Facebook profile with a VERY lengthy and fabricated account of our conversation, accusing me of "boasting" about "running off" my former contractor, being rude, not taking care of my house, and making other disparaging comments about me.
Stalked Via Facebook & Email
It didn't stop there. Stalker Michelle, who is the "personal assistant" at One Call Home Team, found my Skin, Health & Beauty business page on Facebook and posted the info and photo there. She uncovered two of my email addresses and sent the same vitriolic message to both accounts. She had already posted the same misinformation and personal attacks on Angie's list in response to my review. Angie's List reviews customer posts, but apparently businesses can say anything about the customers.
I removed the harassing posts on Facebook and blocked Michelle Hall to stop the public harassment, but another one showed up on my Christian Activities business page on July 10 as seen above. She also invited three of her friends to come like and comment on her post trying to escalate her harassment. I wonder who else Michelle Hall has stalked or if am I her first victim?
On July 11 after finding the Christian Activities post, I reported her posting photos of my home with her harassing, character assassination comments to Facebook, but by then, she had already started removing the evidence.
Publicly Mocked for Needing Home Repair
My house needs some work done following the Nashville Flood and all the runoff from the hills behind me. I didn't have flood insurance, so I just finished getting the inside liveable again and have only recently been able to start repairs to the outside. That's why I called One Call Home Team in the first place. To attempt to turn that sad situation around and belittle a customer who called to get a repair estimate and then publicly accuse them of "not taking care of their house" (which Michelle Hall has never seen because I opted not to pay their rip-off estimate price) is completely uncalled for and unprofessional. It should definitely deter others who might consider calling One Call Home Team because they need home repairs to know the company representative might turn around and mock them publicly for needing the repairs.
Abuse of Angie's List Clients
So far Angie's List is not living up to the hype for providing a service that helps people find the best contractors, because some of their contractors abuse Angie's List. Consumers need to be aware some companies like One Call Home Team will publicly conduct a smear campaign by misrepresenting what you tell them, posting photos from Google maps, real estate and/or gov. records, and fabricating the rest to try to embarrass and intimidate you if you leave a bad review. And I have learned Michelle Hall got some of the contact info she used to harass me with from Angie's List, because when you leave a review, Angie's List adds your contact info to it.
Although Michelle Hall's account is predominantly vitriolic fiction, the fact is, a customer should be able to call a contractor Angie's list recommends, hang up multiple times, and even yell, "Your mother wears Army boots!" without having to suffer the type of vindictive harassment and online stalking I endured from One Call Home Team.
As I stated in my updated review on Angie's List today:
"Michelle Hall has single-handedly turned "One Call Home Team" into "One Call Home Harassment." If you are looking for a vindictive, unprofessional company that will air things publicly on social media not based on the facts in an effort to humiliate, disparage, intimidate and harass you, by all means hire this company."
Updated on July 13, 2015 with info about the Christian Activities post, the Facebook photo review and Angie's List providing customer contact info on all reviews.
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