"United we bargain, divided we beg."

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Can't Let This Rest

For anyone who lives in Skagit or Whatcom counties: Please do not hire Joostens roofing. Not only did they do a shoddy unprofessional job, but when my husband asked them to come back out and inspect the damage, they told him "take me to court" and hung up on us.


Given that response, I wrote a letter to the better business bureau, and I forwarded a copy to Joostens roofing. Their response to that was to call my husband on his cell phone, start yelling racial slurs at him, tell him to "go back to Mexico" and threaten to "sic immigration" on him.

Yeah, I know! We were both just totally aghast. I have never personally witnessed such vicious, blatant racism. Oh, I know that much worse happens every day, to all kinds of people - I just hadn't actually heard anyone SAY such things out loud. When I myself spoke to Mr. Joosten, he started talking about how I must be a liberal and he was a conservative and that was "the difference." I reminded him that racial discrimination is illegal for conservatives as well.

I was so angry at that point that I couldn't keep speaking to him. I wrote this letter instead:

Mr. Joosten
>
> this letter is inform you that we have filed a complaint with the
> Whatcom Sheriff regarding the threats you made to my husband on the
> phone yesterday. You are on record. Frankly we are both shocked by
> your bigoted, offensive, and bullying behavior. The idea that you
> would "sic immigration" on a client whom you believe to be
> vulnerable and without recourse rather than address that person's
> complaints speaks volumes both to your business integrity and to
> your personal character. I invite you to reflect on your actions.
>
> I still willing to talk with you about how we can come to an
> agreement regarding the damage done by your poor work. Please feel
> free to call me directly at 206-xxx-xxxx (I doubt my husband is
> interested in speaking with you). However, don't call if you want to
> shout at me or insult me or otherwise harass me: only to calmly
> discuss resolving the professional issue.
>
> If you do not choose to resolve this privately in a very short time
> frame, we will relunctantly be forced to contact our attorney. Be
> aware that if we do so, your racially charged language will become
> part of a racial discrimination suit. If that is the case, we will
> also be contacting all relevant offices that regulate fair business
> practices in Washington, such as the department of licensing and the
> Attorney General's office.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> E.D.

10 comments:

Christy said...

I'm proud of the action you are taking. It isn't easy but has to happen to begin go put an end to thT type of behavior.

Anonymous said...

OMG!!! I am so sorry. You must take action against this guy. He needs to be taught that he cannot get away with this behaviour. Again I am so very sorry and tell your husband I am. Again, I think you should take him to court and sue him for your money back to get the work done properly. Also sue him for damages and attorney's fee. I do realize that when you win he will try not to pay but you can file at the courthouse against his house and business and he will eventually pay. Again, I am so sorry. I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving. Peace!

The Agrarian said...

Oh my goodness - I am soooo sorry that happened to you and your husband.

A very similar thing happened to us (bad roofing job) and we filed a complaint against his license. The license board made him come back and redo his work and they came around and checked up after him. It was amazing - but the process took about 2 months.

Again, so sorry. Tell your husband to throw it behind him and screw the guy to the wall (in a way that will really hurt - his license!).

Farmer

Olive said...

Oh Aimee, how awful. Take him to court, nothing hurts more than a hefty whack in the back pocket.
On the other hand, I congratulate you for keeping calm and writing such a good letter. I don't think I'd be able to keep my cool.
The same thing has happened here to my husband who is a German immigrant to Australia.

Dr24Hours said...

I would hire a private investigator to comb through (using legal means only of course) any prior complaints and judgements against him or his company. Things which might be relevant at trial.

Anonymous said...

I am really sorry thsi is happening to the both of you but really glad you are following through with consequnces for his offensive behaviors. Let us know what happens. Here's hoping justice and decency will prevail.

Garden Lily said...

I don't encourage legal action unless absolutely necessary, since I've seen some really unfortunate cases where all parties except the lawyers came out losers... But I am really appalled that a business person would treat their own customer so badly, and add racial insults on top of that. Good for you for pursuing this, and in your level-headed way.

Unknown said...

Hey there, I'm sorry you are dealing with these fuckwits and hitting them where it hurts (financially) through a legal process is the way to go but.....please be careful. People are nuts! UDG

Dea-chan said...

Holy fuck. That's... highly unreasonable on their part. Seriously, he said that OUT LOUD? What the hell could he have been thinking? And it was the OWNER of the company who said that on the phone? Unacceptable. Take 'em out.

linda said...

I'm so sorry to read about such outrageous behavior. I agree with others who advise to take him to court. I believe that you can find information about past complaints against this company through the Better Business Bureau.
I have been verbally attacked by whites with heavy foreign accents in recent years....telling me to go back to my country. I am an American with dark hair and skin. Its hurtful but at the same time, there are ways to deal with these types of racists and that is to use the legal system against them if you can. Please keep us updated!