James Hardie Building Products

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 13, 2016/01/28) */ Contact Name and Title: Rich Klein Claims Manager Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: [redacted] @jameshardie.com Faxing over letter with exhibits below is the response from James Hardie January 27, Revdex.com Resolution Specialist Attn: [redacted] W Shaw Ste [redacted] Fresno CAXXXXX Re: Case # [redacted] Complaint Dear Ms [redacted] This letter serves to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated January 4, 2016, regarding a Revdex.com consumer complaint filed by Mr [redacted] (see attached Exhibit A) against James Hardie Building Products Inc(" [redacted] On March 21, 2011, Mr [redacted] filed a warranty claim with James Hardie's Warranty & Claims Department ("Claims") alleging that paint was chipping off the surface on a number of boards used on his garage (see attached Exhibit B)He submitted photos, along with a piece of un-installed sidingBased on the information submitted, James Hardie determined such chipping was caused by issues other than a manufacturing defect, such as shipping damage or mishandling of the products prior to installation Despite of the clear exclusions under clause 3(a) of the ColorPlus(r) Product Warranty ("Warranty", attached herein as Exhibit C) for non-manufacturing related issues, as a goodwill gesture, James Hardie offered Mr [redacted] a payment of $to cover repainting, in accordance with clause of the WarrantyHowever, Mr [redacted] contacted Claims indicating he could not locate a contractor to paint his garage at the offered payment without additional out-of-pocket costs (the contractor he obtained provided a quote of $as seen in Exhibit B)Again, as a goodwill gesture and beyond the obligations required under the Warranty, James Hardie assisted Mr [redacted] in locating a contractor and subsequently paid the contractor to complete the paint job On April 22, 2015, Mr [redacted] submitted a second warranty claim to Claims (see attached Exhibit D), alleging "the siding on the sides of the garage is shadowy as if the repaint is not adhering to the Hardie fiber cement boardAlso, the siding on the back of the garage is chalking." Mr [redacted] also indicated in his complaint "...there was never any mention that this product may require painting", and that he believed it was "maintenance free for years" As published in James Hardie's technical documents available online, via contractors, or upon request, homeowners are expected to maintain the siding, as with any siding products, which would include washing (if needed, with a soft bristle), and repainting if desired (see excerpt from James Hardie's Best Practice Guide attached as Exhibit E) The fact Mr [redacted] misinterpreted the warranty and his belief that the products did not require repainting and maintenance, indicate the issues he is encountering may be the result of lack of maintenance Homeowner indicated in his Revdex.com complaint that: "The job was completed on 9/10/& shortly after that we noticed the painted siding was shadowy & the painted surface was chalking....We were required to submit a second claim and send photos showing the issue with the siding which we submitted on 4/25/It was difficult to get a photo to adequately show the problem thus causing the delay between claims." It was difficult for Claims to identify the issues based on the photos submittedClaims requested Mr [redacted] to submit additional photos, but Mr [redacted] had refusedThe issue was allegedly claimed to have started right away, and despite the fact that the second claim was submitted more than years later with refusal to submit additional photos, James Hardie once again offered Mr [redacted] a paint voucher to assist with his concernsMr [redacted] rejected the offer and as one last attempt, Claims offered him a full refund of the pieces of ColorPlus HardiePlank(r) lap siding totaling $2838.39, which is beyond James Hardie's obligations under the WarrantyAgain, Mr [redacted] rejected the offer It remains James Hardie's position the finish issues on Mr [redacted] 's garage, including those from his second claim, are not the result of manufacturing defects, but are attributable to many causes, such as the lack of proper maintenanceThe Warranty explicitly states the coverage is for manufacturing defects, and such coverage has a prorated schedule for material and laborJames Hardie's current offer is already beyond the maximum remedy available under our Warranty and in this instance, a full product refund almost five years post installationJames Hardie has worked diligently to seek solutions for the alleged siding issues on Mr [redacted] 's garageWhile James Hardie greatly values the satisfaction of our customers, we do not believe we are responsible for either the product issues or associated labor costs that are not the result of manufacturing defectsJames Hardie's offer above for the total refund is therefore, our final offer for this warranty claim If we may be of further assistance in this matter, feel free to contact us at XXX-XXX-XXXX Sincerely, Claims & Warranty James Hardie Building Products Inc Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 15, 2016/02/14) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Please see the attached document as explanation of our not accepting James Hardie's response to this complaint

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2016/01/28) */
Contact Name and Title: Rich Klein Claims Manager
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@jameshardie.com
Faxing over letter with exhibits below is the response from James Hardie
January 27, 2016
Revdex.com Resolution...

Specialist
Attn: [redacted] W Shaw Ste [redacted]
Fresno CA. XXXXX
Re: Case # [redacted] Complaint
Dear Ms. [redacted]
This letter serves to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated January 4, 2016, regarding a Revdex.com consumer complaint filed by Mr. [redacted] (see attached Exhibit A) against James Hardie Building Products Inc. ("[redacted]
On March 21, 2011, Mr. [redacted] filed a warranty claim with James Hardie's Warranty & Claims Department ("Claims") alleging that paint was chipping off the surface on a number of boards used on his garage (see attached Exhibit B). He submitted photos, along with a piece of un-installed siding. Based on the information submitted, James Hardie determined such chipping was caused by issues other than a manufacturing defect, such as shipping damage or mishandling of the products prior to installation.
Despite of the clear exclusions under clause 3(a) of the ColorPlus(r) Product Warranty ("Warranty", attached herein as Exhibit C) for non-manufacturing related issues, as a goodwill gesture, James Hardie offered Mr. [redacted] a payment of $1446.00 to cover repainting, in accordance with clause 1 of the Warranty. However, Mr. [redacted] contacted Claims indicating he could not locate a contractor to paint his garage at the offered payment without additional out-of-pocket costs (the contractor he obtained provided a quote of $2960.00 as seen in Exhibit B). Again, as a goodwill gesture and beyond the obligations required under the Warranty, James Hardie assisted Mr. [redacted] in locating a contractor and subsequently paid the contractor to complete the paint job.
On April 22, 2015, Mr. [redacted] submitted a second warranty claim to Claims (see attached Exhibit D), alleging "the siding on the sides of the garage is shadowy as if the repaint is not adhering to the Hardie fiber cement board. Also, the siding on the back of the garage is chalking." Mr. [redacted] also indicated in his complaint "...there was never any mention that this product may require painting", and that he believed it was "maintenance free for 15 years".
As published in James Hardie's technical documents available online, via contractors, or upon request, homeowners are expected to maintain the siding, as with any siding products, which would include washing (if needed, with a soft bristle), and repainting if desired (see excerpt from James Hardie's Best Practice Guide attached as Exhibit E).
The fact Mr. [redacted] misinterpreted the warranty and his belief that the products did not require repainting and maintenance, indicate the issues he is encountering may be the result of lack of maintenance.
Homeowner indicated in his Revdex.com complaint that:
"The job was completed on 9/10/11 & shortly after that we noticed the painted siding was shadowy & the painted surface was chalking....We were required to submit a second claim and send photos showing the issue with the siding which we submitted on 4/25/15. It was difficult to get a photo to adequately show the problem thus causing the delay between claims."
It was difficult for Claims to identify the issues based on the photos submitted. Claims requested Mr. [redacted] to submit additional photos, but Mr. [redacted] had refused. The issue was allegedly claimed to have started right away, and despite the fact that the second claim was submitted more than 3.5 years later with refusal to submit additional photos, James Hardie once again offered Mr. [redacted] a paint voucher to assist with his concerns. Mr. [redacted] rejected the offer and as one last attempt, Claims offered him a full refund of the 360 pieces of ColorPlus HardiePlank(r) lap siding totaling $2838.39, which is beyond James Hardie's obligations under the Warranty. Again, Mr. [redacted] rejected the offer.
It remains James Hardie's position the finish issues on Mr. [redacted]'s garage, including those from his second claim, are not the result of manufacturing defects, but are attributable to many causes, such as the lack of proper maintenance. The Warranty explicitly states the coverage is for manufacturing defects, and such coverage has a prorated schedule for material and labor. James Hardie's current offer is already beyond the maximum remedy available under our Warranty and in this instance, a full product refund almost five years post installation. James Hardie has worked diligently to seek solutions for the alleged siding issues on Mr. [redacted]'s garage. While James Hardie greatly values the satisfaction of our customers, we do not believe we are responsible for either the product issues or associated labor costs that are not the result of manufacturing defects. James Hardie's offer above for the total refund is therefore, our final offer for this warranty claim.
If we may be of further assistance in this matter, feel free to contact us at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Claims & Warranty
James Hardie Building Products Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 15, 2016/02/14) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Please see the attached document as explanation of our not accepting James Hardie's response to this complaint