California Restoration

These guys were very responsive to help us deal with water damage caused by a frozen pipe that ruptured in our home. Worked with us every step of the way with our insurance coverage. Highly recommended.

I’m only updating because it distresses me that people are still being victimized by this company as evidenced by reviews posted after I posted mine. The positive reviews must have been posted by either, (1), those paid by CR or, (2), family members/​loved ones! Their business MO is to lie about the insurance company paying to get you to sign their contract and when the insurance company refuses to pay the entire EXORBITANT bill they submit will start threatening the customer with lawsuits and collection agencies coming after you for the balance. I CANNOT warn anyone reading this review enough AGAINST using this company!!! Use ServPro instead!

California Restoration is fundamentally a criminal enterprise. Please do not engage their services! They will over bill on every line item, they will bill for work that was never done, or something that is totally unnecessary. They will not respond to request to remove their equipment so they can continue to bill you. When they find out that you have insurance they will inflate the invoices generally to over $ 20k for job clean ups that a reputable company like ServPro would complete for around $ 5600. They pad their invoice so much that they post in every Plumbing Supply house in SoCAl an offer of 20% referral fee for any plumber who brings them the job. They lie and cheat and refuse to remove their dryers even if you demand it all the while billing ²⁴⁄₇ for them. Our insurance company has calculated our job to be no more than $ 5626.66 to complete where California Restoration invoiced $ 21,234.00! They are slimy scam artists and State Farm is well aware of their shenanigans and has promised to take this to their legal department to end this fiasco, BUT, I want to end their ability to cheat people and I know that there are many victims out there that have been ripped off by them and even had their home slapped with liens. I would like to initiate a class action suit and put an end to them and their insidious fraud. If you have a complaint with them. please contact the State License Board and file online at
to have their contractors license revoked and to place a request for repayment from their bond. Please feel free to contact me if you have similar complaints and perhaps we can fight for justice together. Thank you for listening and I hope for justice for all their victims.
Theo Kerhulas 818.784.9025

I was referred to California Restoration by the plumbing company that repaired the sewage pipe leak under the house. I contacted the company and spoke with Jim to schedule a appointment for sewage clean up. Mone and Vi showed up on time and clean up the sewage spill as promised. The workers were very professional and get the job done. Although the home insurance did not cover the repair, the owner Jim was willing to work with us and gave us a reasonable price.

Everyone at California Restoration were courteous, professional and more important timely. I would highly recommend them to anyone who might have an unfortunate incident like this happen

My experience with this company was quite good. They came out at 11:30 PM when a water pipe burst and flooded our basement and the street. They followed up reliably. They were courteous and informative about what they were doing. They are quite pricey but they made a horrible experience much less painful. Lisi and Jay were good workers.

ZERO STARS!!! DO NOT CALL THIS COMPANY!!!
What a nightmare! We were referred to this company by a plumber we hired through our home warranty so I thought it was legit. (I have found out since then he is no longer employed by them) After I had them in our home the first night I got a heads up from my insurance company that they were on their list of bad company’s. I was pretty pissed they gave us the ok to hire them in the first place knowing that but they said it’s the law they cannot tell us who to use. I then found all the Unilocal reviews. My fiancé called the owner Jim, and told him his concerns after reading the reviews and that we were thinking of stopping our service then. We made it clear as day that we would not be able to pay for any work not covered by our insurance company, (since they were only one day in on a week long project). He swore up and down that insurance would cover it and it would not be a problem. Cut to when we receive a bill for $ 24,400.00!!! Of course our insurance would only cover $ 4,000 because that is what two other company’s quoted. Now our insurance is working on a group suit against them, but only after California Restoration sent my name to collections! So gross, these people should be ashamed of themselves. They lied to us on several occasions, never returned our calls and over billed us. I believe there is a special place in hell reserved for people this greedy and disgusting. I will be fighting this in court, spreading in the news and taking it to the better business bureau. I do not want to see any other innocent homeowners get screwed like us.

If I could give this company –stars I would. If you need a company to do any kind of clean up. Do yourself a favor and call serve pro. They are the ones who provided us excellent service at a fair price and worked with our insurance company. My guess is the couple of good reviews here are fraudulent like this company. Everything the negative reviews say happened to us as well, several years ago and it has not yet been resolved. These people pray on you, they lie, cheat and steal. They tell you, wait to call the insurance company until we are done. Don’t worry they will pay for this. Them they try to pressure the insurance company to pay excessive prices. Which of course they won’t do. Then They come after you. They use unfair and illegal business practices to scare you into paying. Don’t let this happen to you.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
My father had a leak and we needed remediation services. Throughout the two weeks, they missed appointments, needed calls from us to tell us what was going on, their service line was short and condescending, and at the end of it all, they charged the insurance company over $ 10K.

I’ve read all the reviews, good and bad, but I have to tell you that my experience with this company has been great! I had a raw sewage spill that was the most disgusting thing I have ever experienced in the evening when of course no one could come to help me out. The plumbers I called referred California Restoration to us and the next morning Gary called me about 8:15 am, telling me that his guys would be there in about an hour and a half. He updated me regularly until they showed up, about two hours later, but given LA traffic on a week day morning, I considered that very timely. The two men who showed up, Ofa and a gentleman whose name I didn’t get, were polite and very professional. Ofa told me that they could handle the situation and clean it up for me quickly. I requested that he throw anything out that had been contaminated at all. The sewage had covered my patio and gone under the house. The look and smell was truly horrific and my fear was that the odor would not be gone, something I don’t think I could have lived with. When I got home from work, I was amazed that the place was totally clean, totally smelled fresh and everything that had even come into contact with the sewage was gone. As I said, I don’t know about other people’s experiences, but my experience with them was that they were professional, on time, and the charge was what I would expect for the job they did. Thank you Gary and everyone at California Restoration for such a quick response and making such a miserable experience so short lived!

BEWARE– DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! Scam, Scam, Scam, SCAM!!!
They Overcharge, Bill for work that was NEVER Done AND EQUIPMENT NEVER USED, BILL FOR HOURS NEVER WORKED AND ATTEMPT TO SCAM INSURANCE COMPANIES AND INNOCENT VICTIMS OF FLOODS AND FIRES. They Lie and try to bilk consumers and insurance companies by overcharging and billing for equipment and work never done! Notorious scammers and price gougers!
They came to my house in October 2014 after a sewage backup in a small 12×12 room and tiny ½ bath after the plumber said «they knew some guys» (Plumber probably gets a kickback for the referral). I immediately called my claims adjuster and requested an estimate from the company.
The company never provided the estimate but the adjuster said go ahead and let them start the dry out and nothing else. I allowed them to start the dry out– all they did was put 3 machines in place and said they sprayed some disinfectant. (I did not witness this as I walked out of the room for a second) Then 3x they checked the moisture levels (5 min max each times) and picked up 2 machines. (another 5 min) then they picked up the last dehumidifier. (5 more min) Total max labor 1.5.
Then they send a bill for $ 7100 plus dollars for an hour and a half of work that next to nothing! They billed for 14 hours of labor, plastic sheeting and equipment they never used! The bill was was more than the plumber that was here for 3 days digging up my driveway to do repairs and more than the cost of repairing the room, replacing the drywall and trim and paint!
The ins. agreed to pay them only $ 2150 and said that was more than generous and they were told by the company that it would be accepted. This was after I told them they were lying about the bill. So after they accepted the amount I paid them yet now they are threatening suit and liens on my property for the balance and the insurance company had to step back in. I also told 21^st Century about the bad reviews and scamming they have done to others.
Gary and Jim Monroe are nothing but scam artists blatantly ripping off people and insurance agencies. The insurance agent even noted this to me that they were knows to overcharge and do «creative billing» and she was surprised I got a copy of the bill b/​c they usually bill the ins/​co and hope the consumer never knows the amount!
Ridiculously obvious scammers BEWARE-​DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! They should go to jail for stealing.

I didn’t even want to give one star! This company is extremely unethical, and I wish I had read the other reviews here before hiring them! However, when you are faced with an emergency, you need to act quickly. I will dispense with the details, but just say this… they gave us a quote of $ 2,500 to do the work. When we decided to file a claim with the insurance company, they said not to worry, they would take care of all the paperwork required. Next thing we know, they submit a bill to the insurance company for $ 13,935. The insurance adjuster said that amount was way out of line for the work they did. They paid $ 5,200 to the company, which was more than twice the original estimate. Next thing we know, we are being billed for the balance… over $ 8,000!
They are out of their minds! Someone needs to put their unethical asses out of business! Sajid needs to repost and let us know if he still feels he found a trustworthy company AFTER they did the work!

California Restoration, LLC worked my home
Prior to agreeing to California Restoration work on the house, I spoke to Gary and Jim, both of whom directly told me that this work will be covered by my home insurance policy. I provided them with the insurance policy number and claim number. They said they will contact the company and assured me their work will be covered. I allowed them to work under the house with their full assurance that this work will be covered by insurance.
After they completed their work, my home insurance requested that California Restoration email them with pictures of the damage under the house prior to restoration. They never emailed my home insurance with these pictures, and I had to call them on multiple occasions to ask for these pictures.
On July 22, 2014; I received an email from my insurance company that the restoration work that California Restoration completed would not be covered by my insurance. I was shocked; as both Jim and Gary promised me that this would be covered. The insurance company also told me that they discussed this with California Restoration the bill will be reduced to $ 5000 since I would have to pay it out of pocket.
I contacted Jim and Gary immediately, and spoke to them on the date of 7.22.2014. During this conversation I was distressed and shocked, since they promised and reassured me that this would be covered by insurance. I asked that they look at the bill and see if they could help me out with a payment plan or a small reduction in price; as I do not have this kind of money. Instead of helping me out, they yelled at me on the phone, said they do not have time to speak with me and will look at the bill when they have time and contact me another time. I was afraid to call again as to their demeanor on the phone, and waited for a bill.
I never received any bill in the mail after the date of 7.22.2014, nothing adjusted, nothing to address my concern. Instead of contacting me directly, I now received a letter in the mail that they are suing me for full payment and payment to their lawyer for suing me.
I wish I never contacted them, I wish I never worked with them.

Bad company. Lies after more lies. I decided to go with a more reputable company. 6:00 6:30 7:30.
We are in your area but something happened. We have been working since 5:00 am…
Good. I don’t want to make you work a 14 hour day. Go find another sucker to believe your lies.

This is the WORSE COMPANY IN THE WORLD. THEY BUM RUSH YOU WITHOUT GIVING YOU A REAL PRICE AND THEN AT THE END YOU GET A DEMAND FOR A $ 15,000 PAYMENT oh we’ll give you a discount and only charge you $ 6,000 but we need it right now, after you have paid the Plumber that referred them to you in the first place $ 6,000 I don’t know about you but $ 12,000 is a lot of money. I wouldn’t call them if the sky was falling. They are LIARS AND CHEATERS. DO NOT USE THEM EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER. OH YEAH! THEY also threaten to sue you over the money. I’m telling you the BBB needs to look into these people for sure. Especially Jim, he talks a good game.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! THIS COMPANY IS DISHONEST and seeks to take advantage of you and your insurance company. They told us not to call the insurance company to make a claim just so they can rack up the expenses and «tell us what to say in order to covered.» They tried to charge us over $ 18K for 1 weeks worth of work just to dry up water from under the house. PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY!!!

So today my 3^rd floor neighbor and friends condo has a toilet explode right… all the water hits my first floor unit. Holy crap moment happens and I go into high gear getting as much support as possible. I call my friends over at Carpet Savers who rush out here and survey the area and recommend this company California Restoration… I dont know the company, never had to use it, but my trust lies in Carpet Savers. Being an avid supporter of local small businesses, Carpet Savers has been a dream carpet cleaning company for our household. Any how, I get connected with
Gary — he is the owner. From the get go, I get a calming voice talking to me, letting me know when his crew will be showing up here and how things will go. He totally got me to cool down. His crew show up on time as promised, wear their little booties even without asking. They analyze everything in detail before letting me know how things will happen, the fact they handle all my insurance paperwork and communication with my condo insurance guys. Pleased completely with these guys, the crew members are not arrogant snobs, they were down to earth, patient, answered some of my questions more than once — non pushy type.
Now i have another company i can trust out there, they will be back tomorrow to start demolition as water is in the walls, etc. I will update if any other negative findings, but from what i have seen thus far, that’s highly unlikely!

DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT HIRING THIS COMPANY — THEY ARE OUT TO MAKE A HUGE PROFIT!!!
They charged over $ 3,000 to remove the wet carpet and take it away. But they left the carpet on the side of the house.
The «verbal» estimate was $ 2,500 -$ 4,000.
They throw the plumber who recommended them to me $ 500.
Then they force you to sign a bill of $ 20,000 for letting their fans run for 5 days? You’ve got to be kidding me! Then the guy finds what he’s looking for. New caulking on the baseboard. They jab their «moisture meter» in the FRESH caulking on the baseboard! Of course it’s going to read high. It’s wet caulk!
And they complain that the insurance companies are driving them out of business per the office manager Jim.
Don’t even think about hiring these sleaze balls.

OUTRIGHT, BOLD-​FACED LIARS
California Restoration scared my mother-​in-​law into falsely thinking that underneath her house was flooded and full of mold. They were referred by Curtis Plumbing of Sherman Oaks who also falsely claimed that a pipe was leaking under her house.
Like many others have said in reviews, California Restoration refused to give an estimate but made her sign a work order with the price to be determined. They claimed that this it was a big job which required dryers under the house and inside her kitchen cabinets, and then followed by mold abatement to make her house safe.
When we cancelled the appointment due to lack of an estimate, they went to her house anyway to retrieve the work order that they forced her into signing. It seems suspicious that they wanted the evidence of their deceit /​scam out of her hands.
We immediately called out a reputable company who verified that there was NO FLOODING and NO MOLD under her house. California Restoration’s claim was complete FRAUD — no question about it.

BE CAREFUL WITH THIS COMPANY!
I am a former property adjuster for a large insurance carrier and have had the displeasure of working with this company on multiple occasions. They do a decent job drying/​cleaning your home, but they’ll charge you an exorbitant amount to do so. These types of services are usually performed on an emergency basis, so you’re generally at the company’s mercy and billed after the work is complete. Use a company like this and you might find yourself in a major pickle later when you finally receive their bill. Insurance companies will only pay for what’s reasonable and customary. You may be on the hook for whatever they don’t pay. And if you’re unable to pay the difference, you’re looking at a possible lien on your home.
When it comes to water/​fire mitigation and/​or restoration, stick with one of the bigger name companies like ServPro, ServiceMaster, Belfor, Restoration Management, etc. They’ll do the same or better job but won’t inflate the bill to a ridiculous amount. If you insist on using this company, require them to provide you with a written estimate IN ADVANCE. If they decline to do so, move on.