The short form: Total Remodeling of Union NJ (the same people are at Total Renovation Center) called me even though I am on the National “Do Not Call” list. I did some followup research and found they have been successfully sued by the state of New Jersey concerning their Do-Not-Call practices.
Total Remodeling has agreed to pay $123,500 to settle the alleged telemarketing violations and $23,000 to reimburse the state for its investigative costs and attorneys’ fees. The company also agreed to pay $5,000 to settle alleged violations of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act and/or accompanying regulations.
This announcement in it’s entirety appears at the end of this post.
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At 1:57pm today, 9-16-04, I got a call… Here’s how it went:
[click click... autodialer pause]
Me: Hello?
Him: Hi, is this Mr. Sunco [slightly mispronounced]?
Me: Yes.
Him: “Hi, this is [I missed the name] from Total Remodeling. [Something about their company wanting to remodel my home].
Me: [putting on a chipper voice, hoping to scam the scammer] What was your name again?
Him: It’s [grunt] [click. hangup]
- *69 “The number of your last incoming call was 908-686-1443″
- Google for “908-686-1443″. Nothing
- Google for “908-686″. Found several businesses in Union, NJ.
- Google for ““Total Remodeling” NJ“. Found their company in Union NJ.
Contact Information:
Total Remodeling
Neil Parsons
1767 Rte. 22, West
Union, NJ 07083
Phone: 908-686-5788
Fax: 908-686-7810
- Go to Donotcall.gov and file a complaint.
- Call 908-686-5788
Me: Hi I was just on the phone with someone from Total Remodeling and we got disconnected.
Happy Woman’s voice: Maybe I can help. What was this about?
Me: Actually, it was about an unsolicited call I got. You see, I’m on the National Do Not Call List.
Happy Woman’s voice: Ok. Hang on just a minute.
[music on hold]
Greg: Hi, this is Greg. Can I help you.
Me: I just got a call from someone at Total Remodeling. The trouble is, I’m on the National Do Not Call List.
Greg: Sorry about that. We’re still working the bugs out of that system. Are you at [he recites my phone number].
Me: Yes.
Greg: I’ll make sure we take you off the list.
Me: Alright. Have a good day.
- Curious, I do a little more homework online and find that Total Remodeling has been named in a Do Not Call list lawsuit in the year 2000.
- I call back Greg.
Me: Hi Greg, I just did a little homework and found that your company has been making unsolicited calls for a long while. You really shouldn’t be doing that. So I filed a complaint at DoNotCall.gov and I’m making a web page to tell everyone about my experience with you.
Greg: Sorry you feel that way [or some nondescript apology like that]
Me: Bye. [hangup]
Here is the announcement from the state of NJ in it’s entirety:
RELEASE January 12, 2006. Contact Kelley Heck, 609-777-2600
Codey Announces First Settlement Under State’s Do Not Call Law
Company Agrees to Pay $151,500 to Resolve Lawsuit(TRENTON) – Governor Richard J. Codey today announced the state has settled a lawsuit with a Union Township business for alleged violations of the state’s Do Not Call Law, the first such telemarketing case to be resolved.
“We won’t tolerate those who violate the law and intrude upon our residents when they are enjoying quality time at home with their families,” Codey said. “Peace and quiet is a precious commodity in our fast-paced world, and it shouldn’t be disrupted by unwanted intrusions.”
Total Remodeling, Inc. (“Total Remodeling”) agreed to pay $151,500 and comply with provisions of the state’s Do Not Call Law under terms of the settlement filed in State Superior Court in Union County. The state filed suit against the company last May.
“We will continue to protect consumers from unwanted calls that disrupt important family time,” Attorney General Peter Harvey said. “New Jersey consumers should not be harassed by telephone sales pitches, which are as annoying as door-to-door solicitations.”
New Jersey residents who registered for the No Telemarketing Call List filed complaints with Consumer Affairs alleging that they received telemarketing calls by or on behalf of Total Remodeling. The state also alleged that the company made telemarketing calls without being registered with Consumer Affairs as legally required.
Deputy Attorney General Nicholas B. Armstrong represented the state in this action. The Union County CALA office worked with the state on this matter.
Total Remodeling has agreed to pay $123,500 to settle the alleged telemarketing violations and $23,000 to reimburse the state for its investigative costs and attorneys’ fees. The company also agreed to pay $5,000 to settle alleged violations of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act and/or accompanying regulations.
Under the settlement, Total Remodeling agreed to:
•Register with Consumer Affairs as a telemarketer before making future telemarketing calls;
•Refrain from calling customers on the No Telemarketing Call List;
•Refrain from representing to a customer that intra-state telemarketing sales calls are not subject to provisions of the Do Not Call Law;
•Train employees in telemarketing rules and procedures as legally required;
•Establish and implement written procedures to comply with the Do Not Call Law as legally required; and
•Disclose the name of the person calling, the name of the telemarketing entity making the call, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made and the purpose of the call within the first 30 seconds as legally required.
“Let me ask all the telemarketers who aren’t complying with our Do Not Call Law – can you hear me now? Our message is simple: obey the law or face the consequences. As we’ve shown in this matter, Consumer Affairs will investigate and take action on behalf of residents,” Consumer Affairs Director Kimberly Ricketts said.
The settlement entered by the state and Total Remodeling constitutes a dismissal of all claims asserted in the action, including those alleged against Matrix Management and Marketing Group (“Matrix”), a company closely related to Total Remodeling and named in the May lawsuit. Total Remodeling has represented that Matrix did not make telemarketing calls as alleged.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Don’t you have anything else better to do with your time? At least this people are not on the streets, they earn an honest living…did you ever think for 1 minute that the telemarketers are college students trying to earn money to pay for their tuition or maybe even a retired man trying to save money for his grandchildren to go to college….There are even war veterens that have served out country who are telemarketers!! That’s right!!! Bet you never thought of that!!! Life is too short!!!! Find something better to do with your time!
September 27th, 2007 at 5:57 am
Betty, I was put on the Do Not Call list for a reason. Because life is too short. I don’t want to have to deal with telemarketers. Bet you never thought of that.
Without the do not call list, I’d get 4 calls a day, every day for crap I don’t need. I’ve been there. Now THAT is a waste of time.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Exactly life is too short! Don’t sweat the small stuff! If you can spend time out of your day….to design a web page for such a silly issue then you obvisouly have a ton of time on your hands! 4 Calls a day…C’Mon are you serious? Just don’t answer the phone! Or politely say…I’m not interested! As I said before, at least these people are not running the streets…they are earning an honest living. And hey one day you might get a telemarketing call that you just might need what they are offering…you never know!
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:06 pm
You write “…honest…”
Please refer to my original post, especially the “…lawsuit…” part.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!! THE COMPANY ALREADY GOT IN TROUBLE….MOVE ON!!! GET A LIFE….
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:21 pm
You apparently care enough to YELL.
November 14th, 2007 at 11:22 am
You are both really passionate about this…let’s agree to disagree.
Lee, you are so right. Do not call means do not call. You can’t really argue with that.
Betty, yes, there are people at the other end of the telemarketers call and they are doing it for some, hopefully noble, purpose. For that purpose…they can call the people on the Please call list. Is there such a list? Well, somewhere, there must be.
Hugs, guys.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:47 am
The Do Not Call list should be the least of their problems. They may have a nice product..and great salesmen to sell it, however, once you sign the contract..you are stuck with nasty production staff, rude management and messy contractors who lack customer service and communication skills. Its no wonder you have to sign a contract that states “you have 3 days to cancel”, It takes 4 days before you speak to anyone in the office. I really wish my experience was better.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:00 am
neil parsons is a cheating home wrecker
April 16th, 2008 at 4:14 am
Hi. I just found this site because I’m considering doing a renovation with Total. I see a bad review from bronxyone and wonder if this is typical of their work?
April 16th, 2008 at 10:18 am
All I can say is what I know.
They continued to illegally telemarket to people on the Federal Do Not Call List, not only after the law was passed but after they were being sued. That doesn’t speak well of them. Tell us how it works out for you.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I’ll let you know if I use them. We’re visiting 2 happy customers to look at their work. I’m thinking this may be a case of a company changing some management and improving themselves. I know the guy I’ve dealt with has been there about 3 years, and brought a crew of people who have been with him for many years. So I’ve seen a couple of negatives on this company, but they seem to do a lot of work and have a lot of happy customers, too. There’s one thing I hate, though, and that’s a telemarketer who won’t take NO for an answer… so that kind of bothers me. Maybe they learned their lesson.
October 29th, 2008 at 6:32 am
I’ve had a number of calls from Total Remodeling in the past. It all started out about 2 or three years ago when I contacted them about a new roof.
They offered a free, in home estimate. Turns out that it was a high-pressure sales pitch, with the salesperson demanding, and repeating over and over again that I need to sign the contract now, otherwise a “discount” would no longer apply. I told this man over and over again that they were the first company I’d spoken with, and would prefer to get estimates from a few other contractors. But again, he kept warning me about how I’d miss out on the discount.
Eventually, I simply told him that we were finished talking, and that it was time for him to leave. He packed up all his materials, didn’t leave the written estimate, never left a business card, slammed my front door and peeled out of my driveway.
I later found out that Total Remodeling was under investigation by the State for unfair business practices. It turns out that requiring a consumer to sign right away in order to take advantage of a discounted price is a violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
Combine all that with the extremely unprofessional manner of their representative, and I’d tell you to avoid this company completely.
Read about their antics here…
http://nj.gov/oag/ca/press/unionco.htm
November 20th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I work for a company that does services for contractors. with all these crazy reviews, i am wondering if doing business with them is a good idea…
p.s I am also a telemarketer but here in my company, we ONLY call business owners at there place of business. Despite the threats i sometimes get, is there a do not call list for business too?
November 20th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
There is no Do Not Call list for businesses.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Well I see I last posted here in April when we were taking bids on a renovation. I had a final meeting with Total that was supposed to be an on the spot detailed estimate to do the job. When the Total salesman sat down, he seemed to forget why he was there. He said, “OK so if the figure we discussed is OK then we can proceed with the contract.” I reminded him, “Uh, isn’t the purpose of your being here to give me an accurate estimate for the work?” “Oh, sure, we can do that!” His friend came with him, and wouldn’t shut up for a minute. He was cracking jokes left and right while we were trying to work on details. REALLY unprofessional. At the end of it all, he give me a highball figure of $300K to which I say that is way too high, and much higher than other estimates. “OK, so what do you want to pay?” I said it certainly had to be under $250K. “OK, we’ll do it for $249K, how’s that sound!” Well it didn’t sound so good. I knew at that point our business was done. The whole thing was a sham to highball a figure and then see how much $ I had to spend. (In our first meeting this guy said joked that he had clever ways of knowing how much I had to spend!) I really should have told him I have $1 to spend, so what is the minimum you are willing to do the job for, but I knew at that point I wasn’t going near them anyway. I am currently in the middle of construction with a great contractor who was actually the lowest bid. I’m very happy with the work and cooperation to this point. If anyone needs an honest contractor in northern NJ, let me know.
December 19th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Bushka and Lee, I am happy I stumbled upon this blog by accident.
We are also considering Total Remodelling and were shocked by their prices.
Do you know a good contractor. We live in East Brunswick NJ
December 19th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Sharad - send me an email at dwhite300@verizon.NOSPAMnet and I can provide you with my phone number. I’d be happy to talk to you about my experience to date with our contractor. I’m pretty sure he’d be interested in working in East Brunswick. Our house is in the middle of a 6 month rebuild, so I can speak from some experience on this contractor.
FYI - I have no financial interest in my contractor. I think he does a great job, and want to help someone who is looking for an honest contractor, and also to help him get new business, too.
bushka