ORLANDO, Fla. — Navy veteran Aliah Humber was trying to get used to civilian life. She had just moved to Orlando and needed help mounting a TV on the wall.
An Google search led her to Taskrabbit, an online service that connects people with skilled taskers for many types of jobs; like electrical, plumbing, and handyman work. She chose a contractor with an hourly rate of $70.
“He started drilling. Immediately, the power went out and he looked at the breaker box,” Humber said.
The drill bit went all the way through the electrical panel on the other side of the wall, creating two holes through the circuits.
“There were definitely sparks. It was extremely scary. And he tried to act like everything was fine, but I saw the panic in his face,” Humber explained.
She said the Tasker then told her he needed to go check the line outside.
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Humber continued, “He just left. He said he would be right back and walked out the door and didn’t come back in.”
She had to spend several nights in a hotel, lost all the food in her refrigerator and paid over $4,000 for a new panel. Leaving her in shock over the nearly $5,000 this ordeal cost her.
“It was definitely enraging. I immediately emailed Taskrabbit,” Humber said.
The company has what’s called a ‘happiness pledge’ that offers up to $10,000 to cover damages resulting from a Tasker’s not-so handiwork.
But Humber said she sent them receipts, hopped through all the hoops, and her claim was still rejected. “After looking at other reviews. Multiple people have the same issues that I have.”
Action 9 spoke with Alma Galvan from the Better Business Bureau.
“You could see that they have a total of 364 complaints in the last 36 months.” Galvan said.
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Taskrabbit is rated F with the BBB. Many complaints from consumers involve unpaid claims for damage. One homeowner wrote that a plumber ‘irresponsibly placed a hole in my wall and cut a perfectly functioning pipe.’
Galvan says consumers should do their homework. Check if the job requires a license and if the contractor is properly insured, in case things go sideways.
“As consumers we do have to take that extra step and extra precaution, so if something goes bad, (we know) what will happen,” Galvan said.
After Action 9 contacted Taskrabbit, the company reached out to Humber and told her they are now offering a ‘reimbursement of $4.102.’
While she’s relieved to finally be getting some money back, Humber said she won’t be using contractor referral services anytime soon.
“I was extremely angry. I trusted Taskrabbit to basically know who they hire as Taskers and hire experienced people, and they failed on that part,” Humber said.
Taskrabbit, which is owned by IKEA, did confirm with Action 9 that their customer support team is now working to resolve the issue, and she will in fact be compensated for the damage.
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