FenceMax Inc

Here is a copy of the response I sent to the customer
***:
I have looked over my schedule and I will be coming out on
the 24th of this month to fix the issues you have with the
fence. I look forward to seeing you there on this date so if you could
please be there to do a walk
through that would be great

Review: We are asking this company to come to our house to repair our $900 gate they installed 8/26/2010. He never showed up and does not return our calls. They were hired by [redacted] is not cooperating either. They want us to pay $400 for 4 new gate latches. We are retired and cannot afford this expense.[redacted]Desired Settlement: FenceMax to come to my house and repair my gate.

Consumer

Response:

Regarding complaint #[redacted]

FenceMax has sent a repairman and has successfully fixed the problem.

Only with your help could this have been done.

Thank you,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Review: We hired FenceMax to do considerable work to our home. This included a new deck, railing, a wooden fence (~150 ft) and a vinyl fence/gate. The vinyl fence and gate are the primary products in dispute. Additional concerns regarding composite railing and trim pieces are listed below.

The vinyl fence was completed on the last day of service and is not up to par with any other fence of similar make from any other contractor. I have contacted the owner, [redacted], several times via telephone and e-mail asking him to repair or replace the fence. He has agreed on three separate occasions to visit our home, assess any deficiencies and complete repairs. He has failed to show up to our scheduled meetings all three times (the last was expected to be no later than Feb 7, 2014 and it is now Feb 15, 2014. Still no word from [redacted].). The first two times he called to notify us that he would not be able to make it, which is fine. The last time he did not make any attempt to contact us. This is especially frustrating after we spent nearly four and a half months after he cashed our final payment asking him to return to the job site to complete the work he had been paid to complete in full; two caps were missing from a vinyl gate he installed. He agreed to complete the work and setup times to complete the work on several occasions but never followed through. Ultimately, my wife had to drive out to his residence (~50 minutes round trip) to pick up the materials and install them herself. The installation was easy, but this is a service he was paid in full to complete and simply did not do.

I have compared the fence to over half a dozen other fences made from identical materials within three miles of my home and this fence is hands down the most poorly assembled fence of the bunch. I have also consulted other contractors regarding the workmanship and every assessment of the workmanship regarding the fence is overwhelmingly negative. Below is a summary of the oversights and uncharacteristically poor workmanship ([redacted] normally does really great work ...) regarding the vinyl fence and gate, which were many, as well as other minor oversights on the railing of the deck. This is the excerpt from an e-mail I sent to the contractor ([redacted]) on Jan 11, 2014 as requested after he did not show for the second scheduled meeting time on Jan 8, 2014. Pictures are omitted due to site limitations.

1. Although the deck and railing around the deck are generally well done, there are several significant oversights. This includes eight (8) instances of caps not being placed at the junction between railing and posts; these caps seem to be designed to hide any imprecision in the marriage of rail and posts, of which there are many. The most notable is the top and bottom rail directly by the front entryway. It's extremely noticeable. See picture 776.

2. There are two (2) instances of end caps not sufficiently covering imprecision in the joining of railing and posts along the railing surrounding the deck. These can be seen along the bottom rail of the stairway railing leading from the driveway to the upper section of the deck.

3. The vinyl gate has irreparable damage on account of the tools used (a free hand jig saw) to cut out sections of the fence. There are several instances of significant, metallic scratches exceeding several inches that we have not been able to clean or otherwise coverup. These can be noticed from several feet away to an untrained (and undirected) eye.

4. There is one vertical partition in the vinyl fence surrounding our yard that has a very noticeable gap below the top horizontal section. This is noticeable from yards away and often from across the street. See picture 781.

5. The joints on the vinyl fence (where the horizontal bars meet the vertical posts) have very large and unsightly gaps. I have looked at several fences made from the same vinyl material and I have included a few representative pictures of our fence along with a picture from one (of many) fences I have examined. There is a striking difference in the fit and quality of workmanship. Picture 772 is a nearby fence made of identical material. Picture 783 is a joint on our fence.

6. There are many unsightly screws used to attach the vertical posts of the vinyl fence to the wooden post within. This seems highly unusual given my observations of other fences; none of the other fences I have seen have any exterior screws to achieve this purpose. Oddly, the screws are the only way the vinyl posts are secured to their underlying wooden posts ... if the screws rust, the entire fence will quite literally fall down. As one of many examples of unsightly screws, please see picture 792. Please also see picture 793 demonstrating that the vinyl posts are poorly attached to the underlying wooden posts ... in this particular case, whoever positioned the screws missed 6 (!) times and left several screws exposed both inside and out.

7. One section of the vinyl fence is saddled in the middle and was at the time of completion. The reason for this is not immediately clear to my untrained eye.Desired Settlement: The fence must be repaired or replaced so it is comparable to other fences made from identical materials from other contractors. There are two examples within walking distance of our home that I will happily provide pictures of (I provided one such picture in my original e-mail) or walk the contractor to so our frustrations are better understood. If a comparable fence is not possible through repair, then the fence must be replaced entirely by the contractor. If the contractor cannot complete adequate repairs, we would ask FenceMax to pay the cost of having an independent contractor complete the repairs or replace the fence. We fully expect this to be completed in a *timely* fashion (e.g., within no more than three months of this complaint).

Business

Response:

Here is a copy of the response I sent to the customer

[redacted]:

I have looked over my schedule and I will be coming out on

the 24th of this month to fix the issues you have with the

fence. I look forward to seeing you there on this date so if you could

please be there to do a walk through that would be great.

Review: On April 8 2013 my neighbors/friends who live next door to my rental property,located at [redacted], San Diego and I met with Max Fraedrich, owner of Fencemax, to discuss repair/replacement of 45 foot section of fence.We were very pleased with his $900 quote (which he wrote out on his stationary) and he told us he could do the work within a week to a week and a half. He further stated that he would contact us as to when as soon as he checked his schedule in a day or two to let us know exactly when he would do the work. When I explained that I was scheduled to fly out of San Diego the next day to Washington State he assured us that would not be a problem. He was given all of our phone numbers.Despite making several phone calls and leaving numerous messages and even e-mailing requesting a response and again giving all contact numbers we have not heard from him since and the work still needs to be done.Desired Settlement: He a very professional and courteous person and both parties would be happy if he would simply complete the work as negotiated ASP. Or that he find an alternative fence contractor to do the work at his quoted price.Contacts: [redacted]-###-###-#### or Julie Mason ###-###-####

Business

Response:

I have contacted the customer and our company has fulfilled our contract with the customer,

Thank you.

I appreciate your business.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. The business has performed this action and I consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,