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Sorta DR: I need advice on dealing with a bad business (Long).
Some of you may remember my post asking how to write a bad review of the company who installed our fence (who is not a member of the Better Business Bureau). This is the same issue/company we are dealing with.
I'm going to try to make this as short as possible. Last fall we moved into our house, and in October we hired a company to install a 6-foot aluminum fence for our property. The fence went up, and about a week later, the fence started to peel in some areas. The gates were also hard to open and close, so we contacted the company about it. It was sort of pushed aside as winter was approaching, and during the winter, about 80% of the fence panels had peeled. We (the company and us) agreed that we'd address the issues and get it fixed come spring.
Spring arrives. We would call and call to get the issue resolved, and everytime we talked to the owner, he would say "yeah, Ill come look at it! I'll get you taken care of!" but it took us calling him 5 times to get him out here. He comes to look at it and says he will take care of it. 2 weeks ago, they came and took down our fence to fix it, saying that it would be back up in 2 days. It wasn't, so we called. It still isn't back up yet. A guy with the company (who has been more helpful than the owner) said they re-did the fence but we wouldn't be happy with it. It still looks bad.
I could keep going on and on- but our main issue with this company/the owner is that WE have to always call them for an update. They seem to be in NO hurry to make us happy or get us taken care of. The time we've spent trying to get this resolved is ridiculous. The ho-hum attitude of this guy makes me want to punch him in the face. If a customer is unhappy, why aren't you doing everything in your power to fix the problem? He keeps saying "yeah, we will fix it!" Sorry dude, time is up.
Here's something else that might bite us: we paid $3000 cash to get the job started last fall. There was no receipt given to us. So, as much as we want to take this wad of crap to court to get our money back, do we have any leverage or case? That's totally our fault about the receipt issue- we know that, lesson learned. We had a lot of businesses at our house last fall (stamped concrete, drywall, etc) and they've all been outstanding. This one, notsomuch.
I'm sick to my stomach writing this. I guess I'm just looking for advice (or sympathy, lol!). Is there anything we can do in a small claims court or anything else? Or is this a total loss? We are sick of waiting, and we just don't even want to deal with these guys anymore.
Leslie G.
Re: Sorta DR: I need advice on dealing with a bad business (Long).
Did you pay, literally, in cash or did you write a check? Can you see if the helpful guy can get you a receipt?
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Oh man. I would try to see if you can get some kind of receipt or statement from the only helpful guy to have for your records. I'm not sure what else you should do after that because I don't know what I would do.
TTC Baby #2 - BFP on 12/14/11 @ 10DPO - CP confirmed 12/18/11
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You can file a complaint with your state's consumer advocate office. I looked into doing that when we were dealing with my shitty wedding venue.
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I know your patience is up, but keep calling. Every day for 2 weeks straight if that's what it takes. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. You have nothing to lose but your $3000. Without a contract (?) and without a receipt, I don't know how things would turn out for you in court, so my advice is to keep hounding them.
And don't feel too bad - we once had a contractor run off with $2k in materials money. We're all smart people. You just meet so many good workers that it sometimes takes a bad apple to remember the procedures you should go thru every time.
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Is a contractor required to pull permits in your area? This could serve as proof that work was done. Also, I would get on some written communication - STAT. Dont wait. Use phrases like: "As per our phone conversation today where you agreed to come back and fix it... blah blah.." I also agree with calling constantly. Maybe even try to get a witness there the next time the contractor is there.
They definitely have the upper hand because you paid cash. In the future, even if working with cash, either get a receipt or get a money order to give them. Something that can be traced.
Im sorry you're going through that, but at least they even took your call to begin with. They could have totally blown you off from Day 1 and say, "sucks to be you." So though it sounds like its not the top of his priority list, he's at least giving it the time of day.
I might consider straight-up lying in the hopes of getting a receipt or invoice in this situation (i.e. 'We're having our house appraised, and the appraiser says he needs a copy of your invoice.' ) Maybe it would be worth a shot...Other than that, I'd keep calling...and calling....and calling. Man, I'm sorry Leslie.
I know you mentioned that they aren't a member of the BBB, but do they come up on Google, Facebook, or any place like that? If so, you might want to consider writing a review there, if only to warn others about your experience (or maybe something that you can tell them you'll do if the fence isn't installed by X date).