Nichols Fence

Initial Business Response / [redacted] (1000, 10, 2016/05/13) */ [redacted] The customer does not owe for the bill they filed this complaint forPhoenix Loss Control that is billing us for the repair to the customer's neighbor's cable line billed the customer erroneouslyWe spoke to the customer on several occasions and let him know that we are trying to work with Phoenix to show that we are not at fault that the locate company missed marked the linePhoenix is trying to use a scare tactic by billing the customer when they have no right to do soWe did some research and the customer should have reported Phoenix to the Attorney General for harassment and unfairly billing him for a charge that he had nothing to do with instead of usWe attempted to reach out to the customer to explain this to him but our calls have been left unansweredNichols Fence is willing to take this to litigation with Phoenix over this chargeThe bill totals $1,and they just tried to negotiate it down to $with no mention any more of billing the customer We do not feel the customer is justified in asking for his entire installation over $to be refunded over a bill that was sent to him just as a scare tactic by Phoenix to get us to pay a bill for something that was not our fault As of today we are not paying Phoenix nor are we refunding the customer his installationWe will take this to litigation where we feel we will be absolved of this billI do not believe Phoenix will be contacting the customer in the future since their scare tactic did not work on us If the customer would like to contact us he may do so and we will give him any new information we have pertaining to this billWe stand by our position that we did nothing wrong to warrant the bill from Phoenix Initial Consumer Rebuttal / [redacted] (3000, 12, 2016/05/24) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I have NEVER spoken to anyone at Nichols about this matter since our fence was installed months agoThe only contact has been one call from Jim VanZant to my wife claiming he would contact Phoenix and not to worry, this matter would just go away If Nichols is working with Phoenix on this matter, why do I continue to receive a bill for the $1,I would accept this response if I receive a notification from Phoenix and Nichols stating I am not liable for this claimI am tired of being stuck in the middle of this matter as I only hired Nichols

Sorry I missed your email answerWe started checking into vinyl fencing about Oct3, knowing very little about the fencingWe talked to a few installers, we decided to go with Nichols Fence*** had a couple of major operations during the latter part of She received her OK to travel just after Nichols Fence completed their job about January 3, by installing a revised bracket on the gate located next to the (house) chimneyWe were not explained the different locking systems before or after the jobI did notice there are key slots on both sides of each gate but, I didn't know the locks only lock/unlock from the outsideWe didn't have time to understand the gate locks before we left to Florida January 11, for the WinterWhen we returned form Florida May I found that the gates could not be locked/unlocked from both sidesAlso, realized the gate at the chimney could not be converted with a key lock on both sides without extending the fence a few feet from the chimneyI'm sure the Cuyahoga Fails Department wouldn't agree with the locks installed with what could happenIt could be a hazarded/hassle being locked inside the back yardWe were on a budget to have the fence installed, now it seems we're being overcharged for the correctionNichols Fence wants a service charge to correct the jobI do not agree with such it was their miss planning at the chimney, etcI can understand a reasonable material charge to extended the fence but, not a overcharge as asked

Nichols Fence did accept a quote on December 7, to install a vinyl fence to replace an existing chain link fenceNichols Fence due to weather issues started installation of the fence on December 27,and the installation was finished on January 4, 2017. The customer called into our
office on January 6, paid the final payment and told us they were happy with the fenceOn June 5th the customer called in and said that they were not happy with the way the gates locked. At the time of the estimate and while the installers are installing the fence, we go over the standard latches with the customers to make sure they understand how the gate(s) will function for them. If the standard latch is not appropriate for the way they need to use their gate, we offer an upgrade to the customer for a $per latch charge to upgrade to a different latch. When the swing and the latches were discussed with the customer they decided at that time they did not want to upgrade their latches. The standard latches were used. The customer prior to us installing the fence had a wheelchair ramp installed that required one of their three gates to open differently from the other two. The way a gate swings affects the way a standard gate latch will lock. In June when the customer called with their issues with their latches we offered to upgrade the latches once again at a discounted rate to $per latch but with a $service call for a total of $195.00. The customer declined that offer and asked that our salesperson come back to their house to discuss the issues. On June 8th our salesperson went back to their home and the customer explained that they wanted to change the swing of one of the gates and they wanted to upgrade the latches. The wheelchair ramp at that point had been removed so the gate could accommodate this swing change. The customer also did not want holes to show in their posts so that would require us to take the posts out of the ground and turn them around. Since it had been months since we installed their fence and since we followed the contract we signed at the time of the initial installation we could not do the changes they were asked for free under our “year workmanship warranty.” While we do offer and stand behind our workmanship warranty, this work they were asking for has nothing to do with workmanship. The installers followed the contract they were given and installed the gates and the latches that were a part of this contract. To remove the posts and reset them in new concrete footers, re-hang the gate to open inward and to upgrade the latches the quote came in at $570.00. The customer is not happy with paying for Nichols Fence to do more work at their property. While we understand additional charges can be frustrating, we feel we have been more than accommodating and have tried to be fair and reasonable with our pricing of the extra work that the customer wants done. We stand behind our decision that if the customer wants to just upgrade their latches a cost of $is appropriate. If they want the additional work to be done a cost of $is appropriate. As to discussion with the **-*** Attorneys we did submit a letter to them and have not heard anything back

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2016/05/13) */
[redacted]
The customer does not owe for the bill they filed this complaint for. Phoenix Loss Control that is billing us for the repair to the...

customer's neighbor's cable line billed the customer erroneously. We spoke to the customer on several occasions and let him know that we are trying to work with Phoenix to show that we are not at fault that the locate company missed marked the line. Phoenix is trying to use a scare tactic by billing the customer when they have no right to do so. We did some research and the customer should have reported Phoenix to the Attorney General for harassment and unfairly billing him for a charge that he had nothing to do with instead of us. We attempted to reach out to the customer to explain this to him but our calls have been left unanswered. Nichols Fence is willing to take this to litigation with Phoenix over this charge. The bill totals $1,101.94 and they just tried to negotiate it down to $936.65 with no mention any more of billing the customer.
We do not feel the customer is justified in asking for his entire installation over $6000.00 to be refunded over a bill that was sent to him just as a scare tactic by Phoenix to get us to pay a bill for something that was not our fault.
As of today we are not paying Phoenix nor are we refunding the customer his installation. We will take this to litigation where we feel we will be absolved of this bill. I do not believe Phoenix will be contacting the customer in the future since their scare tactic did not work on us.
If the customer would like to contact us he may do so and we will give him any new information we have pertaining to this bill. We stand by our position that we did nothing wrong to warrant the bill from Phoenix.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2016/05/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I have NEVER spoken to anyone at Nichols about this matter since our fence was installed 10 months ago. The only contact has been one call from Jim VanZant to my wife claiming he would contact Phoenix and not to worry, this matter would just go away.
If Nichols is working with Phoenix on this matter, why do I continue to receive a bill for the $1,101.94. I would accept this response if I receive a notification from Phoenix and Nichols stating I am not liable for this claim. I am tired of being stuck in the middle of this matter as I only hired Nichols.