Accessible Entry

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• By Anonymous

  September 19, 2018

  ADA Home Modification

  First let me state that I live 25 miles (37 minutes) from Accessible Entry, LLC located in Denham Springs. I wanted a local business to deal with rather than one out of town. I needed a new ADA toilet installed, a safety rail that bolts to it, 3 grab bars installed in tub area, and five 36" x 36" aluminum ramps placed (not bolted, just placed) in various locations just outside the house. The total paid for this was $3847.50. The couple are quite courteous and pleasant in person and over the phone, however, this is offset by what followed.

  I found that I was no longer a priority of theirs after they were paid as it took over two months for a follow up regarding initial installation. I also discovered an unreasonably huge markup on materials and I found their labor charges to be extremely high. In addition, I questioned the installation procedure for the grab bars as being substandard.

  To be clear, I am part of a state funded "trust" that allows a specific maximum yearly amount to be used on home modifications and a lifetime cap as well. So once this is met, I am done... No longer eligible to receive any further assistance. I feel Accessible Entry, LLC. took advantage of that. You see, they were the sole bidder on this project. No one else bid because I excluded the other vendor due to their location being in New Orleans. What that boiled down to was essentially Accessible Entry, LLC was guaranteed the bid as long as it was under 5k. It is my feeling that they took advantage of this aspect.

  My advice... Buy your materials yourself. After the follow up visit 10-1/2 weeks later and the shoddy attempt to resolve a simple $13 problem which left a sour taste in my mouth, I took the liberty to review their original estimate and gain pricing on the exact items they purchased. Accessible Entry, LLC marked up the materials for my small project over 90%. That's right! 90 percent markup. I could have purchased the same materials (and I itemized each item down to the toilet supply hose and valve) as a do it yourselfer from retail vendors (not contractor's price) for $1,400. Yet Accessible Entry, LLC billed $2672.50 for these same materials, then charged an additional $1,175 for labor. All in all Accessible Entry, LLC walked away with a $2400 profit margin after spending no more than $1400 on materials.

  Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with someone making a profit..., but I do have a problem with marking up the cost of these materials over 90% and claiming that was their cost, then tacking on a hefty labor charge of $1,175 for spending 5-6 hours at my house. That's a whopping $196 per hour. That's just wrong any way you cut it and I believe most would agree. Taking advantage of the disabled was clearly demonstrated in my mind.

  As if that wasn't bad enough I had to contend with delayed follow up (10-1/2 weeks). There was an issue with a grab bar that was either defective or improperly installed, as the trim ring popped loose and would not snap back over the flange. This happened within the first week after install. I called Accessible Entry, LLC and informed them of this issue. They told me they would call me when they were in the area..., which they did without notice. I was on my way out of the house heading to the tire store when I got a call from them. They asked if they could come now or in the next hour. I said I was leaving and would not be back in an hour. Over two months later I decided to call because I never heard back from them. A few days later they were out and made things worse.

  He could not get the trim ring back on and he even removed the adjacent trim ring to tighten the other flange as it was loose, but now he could not get the other trim ring back on either. He elected to try and hammer a punch mark in the trim rings in hopes they would snap back and remain on instead of replacing the entire $13 grab bar. YES!!! A $13 grab bar was apparently too much of a hassle for them. After seeing what he did to the trim ring (dented, out of round and marred) I couldn't believe it. I stopped him from putting this back on, asked if he would put this in his house, then I sent him away and washed my hands as his willingness to do such a thing was appalling to me.

  The experience above was enough to convince me that I'll never use Accessible Entry, LLC again for anything of any nature. They are seemingly very helpful until they get paid. Once they have a check, you are put at the bottom of their list as far as follow ups. Then there was the shoddy work installing the grab bars (failed to apply silicone behind flanges to prevent water seepage from entering bolt holes and damaging wall board behind tub surround) along with his decision to mar up the trim rings instead of replacing a $13 bar. Not professional in my opinion. Top it off with the exorbitant figures makes me ill, left to wonder how someone can justify their actions.

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