Thanks for that info Nick, the following is not directed at you.
From the letter
“This is false. We will NEVER contact your clients, or sell their information to a third party unless they express their interest by giving their explicit consent to do so.”
Is anyone else skeptical of when or what this consent looks like?
How many of you have “consented to terms of service” without reading it just to get to the info you need?
How many hoops or consents will the client have to go thru just to read the inspection report?
For the record, I purchased HG for the sole purpose of report generation. Not for HG to peddle their wares.
Last straw for myself and I am the creator and Admin. of HG Users Group. Daunting task changing software, HG has been the only software I have used for over 10 years.
And, here. we. go.
If my clients are giving their “explicit consent to do so”, doesn’t that mean that you have asked them a question? I really don’t think they will contact HomeGauge out of the blue and say “ya, you have my consent to do what you want with my information”, So I guess you have contacted my clients some how.
In my mind, you are a third party…and I am not giving you my consent to contact my clients…
**
….and we will not share any contact information with a 3rd party without the homebuyer’s consent.**
**
Damn it, I don’t want you “asking for consent” to share their data.
Just let the user access their uploaded report, no more BS and extra steps!!!
Allow your inspector users to turn this nonsense completely off for all uploads, permanently.
I totally agree with the comments, I’ve been a HomeGauge user for over 10 years and when Russell ran things it was great!! I don’t use the payment system or anything else but the inspection and schedule programs. The rate increases are hard to take and I feel like we are paying for useless upgrades like Webwritter. I don’t like the direction HomeGauge is going, I will continue to use the desktop which I have a life lease.
It has not happened yet, but I suspect they will stop supporting this software and its associated cloud service. In which, you can still survive on .pdf reports but if you are multi-inspector you will likely be left out in the cold.
@gromicko “We are also consulting with Nick Gromicko to make sure everything we are doing is transparent and aligns with InterNACHI’s code of ethics.”
I am glad you are in the loop. I think Paul is missing the bigger picture. He wants to market to our clients via the report writing software.
We want report writing software, not a marketing platform which serves HG’s interest. Especially at an increased cost. In fact, our cost should be decreased because we found the client, not him!
Personally, I am currently seeking other software options. I have no interest in his offerings.
I’m sure Nick is OK with that, unfortunately. Over the years he has backed all the other vendors that have done that. Now he is even on the Porch bandwagon.
If the consumer asks to be contacted by AmFam, I don’t see a problem if AmFam does what the consumer asks.
In my email in my report using software I pay for. Pimpin" is not my style.
I’m not a HG user so I should probably butt out, but the consumer isn’t really “asking” to be contacted from the demo I saw. They are answering prompts on whether they would like to be contacted.
“Asking” makes it seem like they are actively searching out more information. In reality, they are having to decline or agree to receive more information, for something they did not go actively seeking.
What they are actually “asking” to do is view their report. And there should be as few hurdles as possible to do so.
But that’s not quite how it is going with HomeGauge/American Family. American Family is the one asking if the consumer wants to be contacted, by giving them the choice, when all they’re trying to do is view their home inspection report . A consumer that they would not even know existed if it were not for us (home inspectors)
So it AmFam asking the consumer if they want something BEFORE they get the inspection report, or after?
It is done before getting the report, have to click through the opt in or opt out boxes they deem appropriate to progress to the end goal of seeing the report. BUT, once there at the dashboard or report they get an advertising banner across the top of the screen for move in services.
Yes, they have to wade through many extra steps, beyond just signing in, to gain access to the report.
So many of us complained about 3rd party vendors, client data and privacy and trying to prevent the HI industry from getting a black eye.
I think this was easier to avoid than it is to fix, some asked if it could be made an unethical activity to glean/share/profit from client’s information to both protect our industry and client information, remember?
Well, I don’t participate in any of this kind of thing and many thought it was OK if there was some fine print to tell people that their service provider was making money off their data, turns out companies invested in systems to do just that. What now and more important, what’s the next thing?
Here is the point that everyone seems to be missing - American Family does not want your client’s personal data. They want the data on the house.
When your client files an insurance claim that American Family (or the other insurance carriers they sell the information to) will try to deny, photos that you have taken or comments that you included (or excluded) from your narratives will stay with the house — whether your client buys it or not.
I’m in the business of turning insurance company denials and underpayments into big cash for the building owners. Insurance companies are often wrong in their interpretation of damage and coverage with many adjusters (who turn over their jobs, monthly) knowing very little about what they inspect.
When the claim or coverage is denied and the insurance company is sued by the homeowner’s lawyer, the data they use to deny it will become a part of that suit. They will likely be compelled to name the source of that data to the plaintiff. Do you want to be that guy?
The NACHI code of ethics and standards of practice have absolutely nothing to do with State laws concerning the licensing of home inspectors, State COE or State SOP’s in the State of Ohio.
This is the part that I consider borderline
" Article 3 - Confidentiality.
(1) Licensees shall not disclose inspection findings or client information without prior
written client approval.
Agreed. Unfortunately, that’s not in our faces. They’ll deny that until the cows come home.
I guess I could counter this with my client.
Dear client,
By accepting this report, your may be solicited by the owner of my report writing software (which was once me, but no longer). Not only will they want you to buy their home owners insurance, when you file a claim, the information in this document may be used against you in order to deny your claim.