StraightForward Fence Co. , Inc.

Straightforward Fence installed a Certainteed Imperial Select Cedar Select fence. I purchased over 350' of fence which cost over 20k.  When they first started the install they installed one of the 4 sides and they installed it wrong. The spacing between the post and the semi private slats were significantly different and it was noticeable installed wromg.  I asked them to stop and the owner came out and agreed the fence wasnt right and they fixed the problem (they blamed it on the fence but they fixed it so no hard feelings).  Then the picks that certainteed sent had very noticeable coloring issues which certainteed replaced so straightforward fence had to take the fence apart to correct the discolored slats/picks (certainteed paid straightforward to correct the issue).

 I will say they did correct all the issues that came up (but I did owe them a ton of money still so they kind of had to to get the final payment).  So the install, though rocky, they did a good job.  

Now the issue I have is that the fence post caps blew off in a storm in 2018 and my neighbors ran a few over with their lawn mower and others just couldn't be found.  It took no less than 7 or 8 calls and multiple emails before they would return my calls.  I only wanted to purchase the pieces and have them shipped direct to me.  Why would they not want the business?

Fast foward, 2019 a I needed a couple replacement pieces again because my son threw a baseball threw one of the slats/picks and again they refuse to return my calls or emails.  

I spent over 20k for a fence and you would hope with that kind of investment that you can not only get it installed correctly but some degree of customer service and access to replacement parts when you need it (certainteed doesnt sell direct).  Also if something went wrong with the install and they got their final payment I doubt they would have corrected the issue by their lack of responsiveness.  I never said a bad word about them but honestly, once they get your final payment dont expect them to ever come back or return your calls

I would be willing to retain $of the deposit for services rendered and give her back the other Will still need her to sign a release from contract formMarta *S***, CFOsecr/treasStraightForward Fence Co Inc###-###-#### ###-###-#### Fax ###-###-####

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I accept the $fee from the Straight Forward Fencing Company. Thank You ***
Regards,
*** ***

In response to the complaint regarding fence at [redacted] in [redacted]:The customer has completely misrepresented the situation  We originally did an estimate on 8/19 which she was unable to be present for - then left messages for her three separate times 8/19, 8/20, & 8/25 with no...

response When she  finally called us back she was frantic saying the fence needed to be done immediately.  She accepted our quote  for  a PVC (vinyl) fence  called Certagrain (which has a texture) that she specifically requested.  We made an appointment with her to sign a contract on Sat 8/30, the only day she could meet with us, even though we were already booked that day, we moved appointments around and squeezed her in. When Gary (the owner) arrived at her house to go over the layout of the fence, she told us she wanted the fence in a different location then what we had quoted her. We were unable to sign the contract that day and therefore you will see the contract date was revised and changed to 9/2 (See attachment #1)  I agreed to finalize the contact with her after hours on Tuesday night (Monday was a holiday) because she was in such a hurry to get the material ordered We ordered the material first thing Tuesday morning (before we even had a signed contract or deposit) out of good faith that she would come that night to take care of the paperwork.  When we signed the contract she kept reiterating that the bid had to say PVC  per the historic  department of the City of [redacted] and she stated several times that they said it had to be PVC .   The next day , 9/3 she called and said [redacted] at the historic department needed to see a sample of the fence to approve the permit I phoned [redacted] to explain to him that she had chosen a custom fence and custom color  and other then sample chips we had no sample of the fence to show him ( it was a greenish color that no one had ever ordered before) At this point he informed me that she was only allowed to have a white fence and that she had applied for a white fence and never mentioned a color at all.  I told him we could sell her a smooth white vinyl fence or she could still purchase a Certagrain fence that would be white but would still have a texture and asked if he would allow that.  He stated he needed to see it first.  He also informed me that contrary to the customer saying it had to be a PVC fence, the historic department does not usually allow vinyl fences at all - they were trying to accommodate her also.   I immediately called the customer to let her know what was going on I also called the manufacturer to place a hold on the order. As usual I was unable to reach the customer and did not hear back from her until 9/4 When we spoke on 9/4 I explained to her that  [redacted] was under the impression the fence was white and told her we would meet with him the next day to see if she could still install the white textured fence.  She called me back later and said not to worry about it just install the smooth white vinyl and I didn't need to go there with a sample I insisted it was no problem and Gary would stop there the next day. [redacted] left early the next day Fri 9/5, so we were unable to meet with him until 9/8 Monday  morning at which time he said no vinyl fence was acceptable because it is not a solid material all the way through ( it is hollow inside with a wall thickness to the lineals that make up the different components of the fence) He said they would only allow a COMPOSITE material which is NOT vinyl The customer had insisted and stressed from the very beginning the material had to be PVC (vinyl)   We immediately notified her once again of what we had learned from [redacted] I explained to her the composite material he recommended called [redacted] is much heavier of a product, she would probably have issues with her gates being extremely heavy and difficult to utilize. and it was more expensive then PVC (vinyl) fence. She got upset that the price would go up so I told her to call one of the other contractors who sell [redacted] that [redacted] recommended (not knowing we sell it also) so she could see for herself the difference in price I told her if we were unable to match the other estimate then we would return her deposit and she could go with someone else to do the installation I informed her at this time there would be a fee deducted from her deposit (which the contract clearly states is nonrefundable) for our time and any restock fee from the manufacturer. This was on 9/10 and we left it that we would wait until she got the other estimate.  She then called us again on Friday 9/12 demanding we cancel the contract and give her the money back that day I explained I was not in the office and I would have to calculate our time and expense spent on the project to date including meeting with the Historic Dept of [redacted] - [redacted].  She then screamed at me that she told us we didn't need to go to the meeting with him, however if we had listened to her and installed the plain smooth white vinyl fence she said was ok, he would have made her remove it (at her cost). On Monday 9/15 I again took time out of my schedule to type up a termination of contract  (see attachment #2) so she could have her deposit back  My secretary called her to ask her if she wanted us to email or fax the termination of contract and she said she would not sign anything and hung up on her.  We have a signed contract saying we are responsible for installing a fence on her property, I will not release a check until she releases us from that responsibility. We have done nothing but gone completely out of our way to help this customer not only get the fence she wanted but to get it installed quickly We have spent many man hours between myself - in my off hours, multiple phone calls, several times a day at all hours of the day/night, ordering and the cancelling material   , Gary- meeting with her at her home and going to the historic dept to meet with [redacted], the estimator and my office staff - having to type and retype all of her changes and we feel this is a fair amount to hold from her deposit.  We are not charging her a fee because our vinyl is "inappropriate" as she states and in fact we informed her she was not able to get a PVC fence at all after I talked to [redacted].  The days she lists as having spoken to us have nothing to do with getting her deposit back, the first time she asked for it back was on Fri 9/12 and I cut the check on Mon 9/15  We will return  the balance of the nonrefundable deposit as a courtesy once she signs the Termination of Contract (mailed to her on Tues 9/16).

We absolutely were there on 7/3 and made adjustments

I highly recommend this company. We had StraightForward Fence Co. install a boundary fence and remove a small area of asphalt. No other fence company we spoke to was capable of doing the entire scope of work. StraightForward Fence Co. lived up to their name by making the entire process easy for us from permitting through installation. I knew they were taking care of all our needs. They performed the work seamlessly and were kind and professional with every interaction. We love our new fence and will certainly use them again if another need arises.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
See attached document.
Regards,
[redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: THEY SAID THEY CAME OUT ON 7-3 THEY DID NOT IF IT IS NO LONGER COVERED THEY SHOULD HAVE SAID IT ON THE MANY TIMES WE CALLED. AS FOR TAKING OUR LATER CALLS AND RETURNING CALLS OR MESSAGES THEY DID NOT! IF PAYMENT WAS NEED FOR REPAIRS WERE NEED THEY NEVER SAY ANYTHING. I WILL FIND ANOTHER COMPANY. TO FIX IT SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE CUSTOMER. IF I NEW ABOUT THIS BEFORE I CALLED THEM I WOULD HAVE WENT WITH A COMPANY WITH  HIGHER CUSTOMER STANDARD. AS FOR THE TREES THE TALK ABOUT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN THERE IN ABOUT THREE YEARS. I GUESS IT'S A LESSON LEARNED TO CHOSE A CONTRACTORS WITH MORE CARE.
Regards,
[redacted]

The customer called us in the middle of May  and  requested a repair to their gates  for a fence that was installed in 2009. This fence is 6 years old and the labor warranty was only for one year therefore this is not covered under warranty. However the last two years we have had...

incredibly strange weather during the winters with a lot of freezing/melting/refreezing which has caused the ground to heave - this is NOT an issue with the fence. Because the ground heaved, it has lifted some posts out of the ground (concrete and all) which results in latches in gates no longer lining up. We as a company have been trying to service this problem without having to charge the customer. Unfortunately almost everyone having this issue waited until the spring to call us - when we are in the middle of our busy season. We are trying to get to everyone in the order they called us and this customer was in fact on the schedule the last full week of June. Gary was unexpectedly hospitalized and it was therefore pushed back to the first week of July.  This service was completed on 7/3.  Several posts which had heaved out of the ground have been tapped back down, with additional concrete added at no charge The gates were functioning when we did this service.  The other issue we saw is that a tree growing in their yard has lifted up a section of the fence and caused the rails to bend We are not able to correct this until the tree is taken care of and again this is NOT a warranty issue. The customer certainly has the option to call someone else to do any of these repairs and they will in fact have to pay for that service. None of these issues are covered under warranty. We also never stopped taking anyone's calls, every call is answered or returned.

Review: I [redacted] signed a contract with StraightForwar Fencing on 8/30/14, The company's product (material) had to be inspected by [redacted] Office for Historic Properties for the City of [redacted] NJ (###-###-####) at [redacted] City Hall before being installed, in order to get a permit. The permit was rejected because the PVC was not appropriate. I called StraightForward Fencing Company immediately after **. [redacted] called me and informed me that PVC was not appropriate. The worker tried to coerce me into waiting for her to locate the fencing city wanted installed. The Company is trying to charge me a fee of $500.oo dollars because their product was not appropriate. I am sending you all the papers I received and the notarized letter I sent to the owner of StraightForward Fencing CompanyDesired Settlement: $3000.00 and highest interest rate compund daily allowed in the State of PA and NJ.

Business

Response:

In response to the complaint regarding fence at [redacted] in [redacted]:The customer has completely misrepresented the situation We originally did an estimate on 8/19 which she was unable to be present for - then left messages for her three separate times 8/19, 8/20, & 8/25 with no response When she finally called us back she was frantic saying the fence needed to be done immediately. She accepted our quote for a PVC (vinyl) fence called Certagrain (which has a texture) that she specifically requested. We made an appointment with her to sign a contract on Sat 8/30, the only day she could meet with us, even though we were already booked that day, we moved appointments around and squeezed her in. When Gary (the owner) arrived at her house to go over the layout of the fence, she told us she wanted the fence in a different location then what we had quoted her. We were unable to sign the contract that day and therefore you will see the contract date was revised and changed to 9/2 (See attachment #1) I agreed to finalize the contact with her after hours on Tuesday night (Monday was a holiday) because she was in such a hurry to get the material ordered We ordered the material first thing Tuesday morning (before we even had a signed contract or deposit) out of good faith that she would come that night to take care of the paperwork. When we signed the contract she kept reiterating that the bid had to say PVC per the historic department of the City of [redacted] and she stated several times that they said it had to be PVC . The next day , 9/3 she called and said [redacted] at the historic department needed to see a sample of the fence to approve the permit I phoned [redacted] to explain to him that she had chosen a custom fence and custom color and other then sample chips we had no sample of the fence to show him ( it was a greenish color that no one had ever ordered before) At this point he informed me that she was only allowed to have a white fence and that she had applied for a white fence and never mentioned a color at all. I told him we could sell her a smooth white vinyl fence or she could still purchase a Certagrain fence that would be white but would still have a texture and asked if he would allow that. He stated he needed to see it first. He also informed me that contrary to the customer saying it had to be a PVC fence, the historic department does not usually allow vinyl fences at all - they were trying to accommodate her also. I immediately called the customer to let her know what was going on I also called the manufacturer to place a hold on the order. As usual I was unable to reach the customer and did not hear back from her until 9/4 When we spoke on 9/4 I explained to her that [redacted] was under the impression the fence was white and told her we would meet with him the next day to see if she could still install the white textured fence. She called me back later and said not to worry about it just install the smooth white vinyl and I didn't need to go there with a sample I insisted it was no problem and Gary would stop there the next day. [redacted] left early the next day Fri 9/5, so we were unable to meet with him until 9/8 Monday morning at which time he said no vinyl fence was acceptable because it is not a solid material all the way through ( it is hollow inside with a wall thickness to the lineals that make up the different components of the fence) He said they would only allow a COMPOSITE material which is NOT vinyl The customer had insisted and stressed from the very beginning the material had to be PVC (vinyl) We immediately notified her once again of what we had learned from [redacted] I explained to her the composite material he recommended called [redacted] is much heavier of a product, she would probably have issues with her gates being extremely heavy and difficult to utilize. and it was more expensive then PVC (vinyl) fence. She got upset that the price would go up so I told her to call one of the other contractors who sell [redacted] that [redacted] recommended (not knowing we sell it also) so she could see for herself the difference in price I told her if we were unable to match the other estimate then we would return her deposit and she could go with someone else to do the installation I informed her at this time there would be a fee deducted from her deposit (which the contract clearly states is nonrefundable) for our time and any restock fee from the manufacturer. This was on 9/10 and we left it that we would wait until she got the other estimate. She then called us again on Friday 9/12 demanding we cancel the contract and give her the money back that day I explained I was not in the office and I would have to calculate our time and expense spent on the project to date including meeting with the Historic Dept of [redacted] - [redacted]. She then screamed at me that she told us we didn't need to go to the meeting with him, however if we had listened to her and installed the plain smooth white vinyl fence she said was ok, he would have made her remove it (at her cost). On Monday 9/15 I again took time out of my schedule to type up a termination of contract (see attachment #2) so she could have her deposit back My secretary called her to ask her if she wanted us to email or fax the termination of contract and she said she would not sign anything and hung up on her. We have a signed contract saying we are responsible for installing a fence on her property, I will not release a check until she releases us from that responsibility. We have done nothing but gone completely out of our way to help this customer not only get the fence she wanted but to get it installed quickly We have spent many man hours between myself - in my off hours, multiple phone calls, several times a day at all hours of the day/night, ordering and the cancelling material , Gary- meeting with her at her home and going to the historic dept to meet with [redacted], the estimator and my office staff - having to type and retype all of her changes and we feel this is a fair amount to hold from her deposit. We are not charging her a fee because our vinyl is "inappropriate" as she states and in fact we informed her she was not able to get a PVC fence at all after I talked to [redacted]. The days she lists as having spoken to us have nothing to do with getting her deposit back, the first time she asked for it back was on Fri 9/12 and I cut the check on Mon 9/15 We will return the balance of the nonrefundable deposit as a courtesy once she signs the Termination of Contract (mailed to her on Tues 9/16).