Universal Windows & Roofing Direct

When an install like this occurs we always ask home owners to please remove any and all valuables so situations like this do not happenIn the event that something like this does happen and we cause damage we will pay for any mistakes we makeThat is why you received compensation for the broken
globeWe install hundreds of jobs yearly and growing so I understand when a home owner is asked to remove things that they might forget with all the family stuff going on etc. As far as the contract goes I can assure you that anything that is included in the contract gets fulfilled in every contract that we enter into. We have tried to work with the home owner, but some of the issues seem to be unrelated to the project we didHowever any work or service issues that are from us will be repaired at our expense. When this home owner first contacted us about issues it was just the reimbursement for the globeSo we reimbursed themThen service issues came up and they were fine with us coming out there when we had more free timeIf the home owner would have asked us to come right away we would have because service is the most important to usSo after some back and forth phone calls with the home owner we came to their house and in a situation like this we take photos because there is a lot of alleged service repairsThe photos are taken back to the office for review to determine if and what repairs need be done on our behalfAfter we reviewed the photos we did determine that most of the home owners concerns we would repairA request of waiting until the weather broke to do the repairs came up and it was reasonableWe decided to wait until spring because that was requestedSince then we had a change in department headsWe did speak with the home owner in early April and explained to them that we will repair the issues at our expenseWe did some back and forth phone calling againWe have sent a service tech there different times since then to inspect the job to make sure we have a correct material listWe are waiting and willing to do the repairs whenever the home owner has timeWe can only call and leave a message so many times

On Mon, Oct 5, at 1:PM, *** wrote:***,Friday I received a check from Universal Windows for $400: $deposit and $additional.Thank you for all your help,*** ***

[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 [redacted], and find that this resolution...

is satisfactory to me. Consumer states he has received the windows and a partial refund. 
Regards,
[redacted]

[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 [redacted], and find that this resolution...

is satisfactory to me. We didn't have further contact with the Universal Windows and Roof (the company), but we did receive a check for the full refund. I suspect it was the Revdex.com's email that got the ball rolling (due to the timing). I made the complaint on 8/8, Revdex.com forwarded it to the company on 8/9. Later we received a check dated 8/10 which was sent thru the mail and postmarked 8/12 and we received it on 8/13. Regarding my desired outcome of having the wording in their written contract to be "refunds given within one month": I have no way of knowing if they would ever make such a change especially if it is a franchise or having a corporate office that dictates that kind of thing. I was simply trying to make a point that they weren't holding to their words.I thank you for Revdex.com being available for voicing complaints like this. It truly saddened me to have to make a complaint but we had waited a long time before doing so.
Regards,
[redacted]

Universal Windows has not contacted me.  They did send me my receipt and warranty info but have not resolved the issue with the door and the window that needs to be replaced or gotten the permit from the City of New Berlin.  I am not satisfied with the company's efforts to resolve this...

matter.

because they didn't respond we had another roofing company look at the problemthey said the roof flashing were never put in correctly. causing the roof to leak.We had that company fix the problem costing us $3700.00 additional dollars

I received the settlement check from [redacted] this week and deposited it today. Once it clears I will contact you about closing the complaint  Thank you[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
On Monday 9/14/2015 @ 4:40 pm, President Eric Basten(?) left a voicemail with his phone number asking us to call him. He "wanted to talk about some of service issues we still have left on the roof". (414-881-2127) We called 9/14 @ 7:00 pm, no answer inbox full so couldn't leave message. We called 9/15 @ 7::43 pm no answer inbox full so couldn't leave message. We called office 9/15 @ 7:47 pm explained situation. Person answering phone said they would email him our message. We called 9/16 @ 1:50 pm no answer inbox full so couldn't leave message. We called 9/18 @5:27 pm no answer but was able leave a message asking Eric to return our calls. We still haven't received a return call from Eric.The response says they will repair some of the problems. I can't say I accept their resolution when they haven't said what exactly they are going to repair! Since their response says they sent a technician out three times to make sure they have the correct materials to make repairs; they should be able to tell me exactly what they are repairing and what day they are coming to make the repairs.
Regards,[redacted]

I had a service tech go to her house and fix some things. Then she still had a problem so I had my guy go back out. He recommended replace her window. It appears that she did from her complaint. I have not received one phone call from her. I'm willing g to vet that she was calling the...

service guys cell phone that he left with her and he no longer works for me. I will get a service guy out there next week or possibly sooner to fix her problem. And make sure she has the correct phone number to call for any future issues

We have worked something out with deposit and the customer plans to move forward with the project.

zilch

My experience was very positive with Universal Windows Direct of Wisconsin Inc. I had several windows and a patio door installed. I had a problem with the patio door after install and one of the windows. They were very responsive to my concerns came out and looked at it, confirmed my concern, and have since replaced the door at no extra charge, they also adjusted the window. [redacted] who came to fix my problem was very professional and courteous. I would most definitely recommend them again.
I feel I made the right choice in picking this company from the many windows installers in the area. Thank you!

Love this company! Get response from them!
They took the time to explain their product and great selection!
Their prices are in line with others, great work ethic, delivered in a timely manner.
My husband and I are return customers, I highly recommend them!

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!
Everything the sales manager promised and praised about this company couldn't have been futher from the truth. They are rated an A+ with the Revdex.com.....It's all smoke and mirrors. My experience was far from A+.
I thought I hired a reputable company, not three guys in a truck from Craigslist.
I have a 1100 square foot house and a one car garage that needed roofing with fascia and soffit replacement on the garage. According to the sales manager the job should take no more than two days....the job started late November for both roofing projects (4 days to complete house and garage) and just finished the trim work on the garage last week. It's February by the way! (3 months total)
I had to clean out the gutters because the crew did not do their job. I was going to leave it for when the foreman did the walk thru, but he never showed up and there was rain in the forecast the next day. They also left the inside of the garage filled with nails. Wish I could post pics.....words do not do justice.
The communication was terrible. Phone calls were left unanswered and emails were left unreturned. It took multiple calls to get the easiest of answers. I had to walk in the store as a new customer to actually talk to someone about completing the job.
Don't be fooled by phoney promises and hot air. Stay away from this company!

Universal windows replaced all of our windows and an entry door. The old windows were removed. New windows along with new interior wood work and exterior trim was installed. The workmanship both in production of the woodwork,and window installation was excellent.

Had I known how this company would have treated me I would have never have dealt with this company in the first place. Last Nov. 2013 I had partial gutters installed because they were old and I had a problem in the back of the house with approx. 1/4 inch standing water in the gutters. In Nov. a contractor with Universal improperly installed new gutters and since they dip in the middle and don't drain I've got approx. 1 1/2 inches of standing water in the new gutters. I was freezing in the gutrters and causing substantial weight so I asked if someone could drill a hole to relieve the standing water. 1 1/2 inch hole was drilled. There was no drainage system put in place by the company. So I makeshifted my own drainage away from the house. I had to contact the company this spring to get the corrected work done on my gutters, no one from the company contacted me. Someone was supposed to come out this past fri. at 9:00am, didn't show up until 3:30pm and didn't have all the parts to complete the work correctly. With the heavy rains this past weekend water got down into the basement and soaked my futon. This company seems to be inept, not customer friendly, and dragging their feet in getting the job done at my residence. I've called and finally started writing them so I had a paper trail.

Review: On June 23, 2014 Universal Windows Direct sent All City Roofing to do a 'tear off' of our homes roof and gutters and install new decking, rubber roofing, replace gutters and down spouts using 4" bolt hangers, reinstall lightening rods and wrought iron railing. Replace section of Fascia board, (paid for 10'). 6' of self sealing ice & water barrier. Synthetic underlayment. Extra fee was charged for workers to be harnessed. Install pod vents.

When old roof was torn off, an excessive amount of debris fell into the attic. We were never informed this could happen, so items stored in the attic were not covered or protected. Wrought iron railing was broken, lightening rods and glass globes were broken. Universal reimbursed for the glass globes. Gutters leak at every joint and sections are sagging. Gutters are not placed properly from drip edge. Hangers used are not as specified in contract. Fascia board was never repaired, existing aluminum flashing covering the fascia boards was torn and loosened from building when old gutters were removed leaving large holes and gaps. Large gaps (larger than 2") between sections of underlayment at each corner. Siding was broken off of house during tear off, leaving the wood under the siding exposed. There is no step flashing between side of dormers and roof shingles. Plywood roof decking does not butt against dormers or at corners. Roof rafters were cut into when pod vents were installed. Workers refused to wear required harnesses. Shingles don't appear to be staggered in areas. Shingles aren't laying flat around roof vents, dormers, ect. Shingles on ridge caps are too far apart.

On November 1st, 2014, a representative of Universal came to our home and viewed the roof and received a set of our photos of the roof taken during and after the work was done. Since the we received reimbursement for the globes from the lightening rods and numerous statements of "we are working on putting a crew together to fix the problems ".

Our last phone conversation was April 3, 2015. We called and were told they thought it had been taken care of and someone would contact us concerning the repairs. As of April 27, 2015, no one has contacted us.Desired Settlement: We would like Universal to make the needed repairs to the roof and gutters, and make repairs to the broken siding. We would like the flat area of the roof checked and photos of it provided to us to reassure us that section was done correctly.

Business

Response:

When an install like this occurs we always ask home owners to please remove any and all valuables so situations like this do not happen. In the event that something like this does happen and we cause damage we will pay for any mistakes we make. That is why you received compensation for the broken globe. We install hundreds of jobs yearly and growing so I understand when a home owner is asked to remove things that they might forget with all the family stuff going on etc.

We had several windows replaced by Universal last year. The sales rep. took time to completely describe all the features and options for the windows. They were custom made in a timely manner and the installation was quick and professional.
The new windows work wonderfully. Our bed is next to a window and previously my husband (who happens to be folically challenged) sometimes needed to wear a thin hat to bed. Our new windows keep all that cold air at bay.
Since our experience was terrific, we called them recently to replace some windows at a rental property that we own.

Review: On July 14, 2015 I placed an order for installation of 3 windows with the premise that the replacement work would be completed before it started getting cold. The work order stated in approximately 12 weeks from 7/14/2015, they would begin the work. Now past the expected installation date without being contacted to schedule an installation time, I used the online form to contact Universal Windows Direct - www.universalwindowsmilwaukee.com. I received an email from them within a few hours stating they would escalate the issue. Since no further attempt was made by Universal Windows Direct to contact me, I filled out the online form a second time (On or about October 22, 2015) to which I received no reply. On November 2'nd, I placed a phone call to Universal Windows Direct. This phone call was answered by [redacted] who said their manager was unavailable and he would call back later. He did not. Given they (Universal Windows Milwaukee) have both my email address and phone number from the work order, and have made no attempt to contact me on their own or after my 3 attempts to contact them, I find both their delay in work and poor customer service unacceptable and not in-line with the standards expected for a Revdex.com accredited business with an "A+" rating.Desired Settlement: Complete refund of the $1,554.00 paid in advance for products and installation which was not delivered in a timely manner.

Consumer

Response:

I received a call from the "owner" of Universal Windows Direct Milwaukee on January 25'th, apologizing for the delay in delivery, not returning my calls, that they were really busy, and asking when they would be able to schedule a installation. I informed them since I had already filed a claim with the Revdex.com asking for a refund, they would need to resolve it before we could do anything else. He said it was not possible to refund my money since the windows had already been paid for and delivered to their warehouse (After I filed the complaint through the Revdex.com). Since I understand that they have money invested in the windows, I asked if I could pick them up for what I had already paid and have someone else install them. He said he would need to talk to his business partner.February 5'th he finally got around to calling me back and asked for something like an additional $856. When I told him this wasn't acceptable and that he would need to work with the Revdex.com to resolve this issue since we weren't going to come to an agreement, he started yelling at me over the phone asking what it would take to resolve the issue now. We agreed on an additional $450 to have me pick up the windows on February 9'th to have someone else install them. Since I had to pick them up my self, I asked for dimensions or how they were packaged so I could find an appropriate truck. He said he would send me a picture, which was only another disappointment since he didn't bother.I have no idea why they refuse to work through the Revdex.com to resolve an issue (Or even take the effort to respond to it being less than 2 miles away from the Revdex.com WI office). I would not in good faith recommend their services to anyone because of their terrible customer service. I am not satisfied with their effort to resolve the issue; however, I ask for nothing further since they have already wasted enough of my time. If you have any further questions, please let me know.Thank you,[redacted]

They came to our home convincing us we need a new roof and offered a $2,000.00 off coupon if we make appointment right then.

A sales man came to our home for appt. as we told him we were not looking to do roof at this time but were thinking of selling and moving into retirement community.he told us they would do new roof and will have a lifetime warranty that is 100% transferable to new owner if we should sell house,

he wrote up a paper with the cost of the proposed job, and he wrote in contingent on them helping us secure financing with a set amount to be the monthly payment and a range of potential interest to be not less or not more than given figures. he asked for $100.00 deposit which we paid by check.

He did not tell us we had 3 days in which we could cancel this, in fact it took longer than the three days for them to get the financing they talked about, so surpassed the 2 days we should have had.

This company misled us in so many areas in the course of the next month they came back to us with 4 different amounts for this job, changed the amount for the monthly payment, changed the amount for the interest, and failed to ever provide us with new contract or paperwork to reflect new changes, failed to ever provide us with loan documents, or a truth in lending statement, nothing, no paperwork to indicate to us what was taking place, just approximate figures back and forth. When we asked, several times to see this in writing, they sent us a letter telling us that the paperwork would be brought to our home on the day of installation. Another supplier dropped off materials in our driveway, a completely different company than the name of the company that continued to tell us we were under contract with them and could not back out.

This other supplier merely dropped off materials early morning and left an invoice tucked into lid of one of the boxes. No one ever came to our door, in fact when we got up they were here and gone, did not even now anyone was here.

the next day Universal Windows Direct were to have a crew here to start this job, but before the job was to be started, we wanted to see the new figures in black and white so we could see for ourselves and then have the opportunity to except or reject these new terms before they touched our house.

The first day of scheduled work, they failed to show up, calling to tell us they were behind on another job site and would not come back until following week. We told then to come and remove the materials from our yard and just be gone then, We were having a gathering over the weekend, had a lot of guests coming to our home and we told them right out we did not want this mess all over our yard and driveway. They called back to tell us they would be here the following morning, ( being a Friday( they told s as this was a go over and not a tear off, they could have it done in one day. We told them we did not want some rushed job where they would be compromising the quality of work we were to receive for the high expense we were being charged, if they were going to do the work, we wanted it done correctly, but we still have not seen any new paperwork, and again, we want to see this all in writing before anyone starts anything.

They did come that Friday morning, the men were out of their trucks and throwing gear all around in our nicely groomed yard, as we had worked so hard preparing for the arrival of our weekends guests.

Smoking cigarettes and dropping butts , we were dismayed, we went outside and asked them to not be doing this, we asked to see paperwork, they did not have any, told us the man with the paperwork would be here later in the day. We told them to stop, pack up their things, take these materials and leave our property. We were done, finished with these people. Whom, by the way, were not even from Universal Windows Direct, but they were sub-contractors with the name of All City Contractors.

We were never informed that this business does not do their own work as they said, they never told us they hire someone else to do the work. We requested that they just leave. The crew leader approached and informed us that they already started the job and could not back out once the job is started. He pointed to the roof and told us, some guys were already up there and started laying shingles.

It began to downpour and they all ran to their truck to get out of storm. They apparently called someone from their cellphone in the truck and we got a call form Universal Windows Direct. We told them we were so upset, felt deceived and lied to, Upset that these workers had no respect for our property, we do not smoke and do not appreciate someone just coming to our home and throwing cigarette butts all over. They told us the crew is not supposed to smoke on job site and this would be dealt with. We told them we do not want workers here that would be upset because we complained about them and now would not do a good job, they assured us that would not be the case, they assured us they job would be done and how happy we would be with the results. They assured as the other guy is on his way with our paperwork and would be at our home soon, and as soon as the rain letup they would have this roof finished even if they had to work up to 7 or 8 pm, it would be done and mess would be gone before our guests arrived.

But they already started the job so they need to finish it now.

The other guy did come, as the crew was hurriedly pounding shingles and he talked very soft and cordial, very calming, very honest looking, very convincing except for one thing, he failed to bring us any paperwork. he apologized and explained they forgot it, but he would be back with it, no problem.

He also assured us the job would be a quality job and the main roof would be completed before the men left at end of day.

We actually went out to ask the crew if they would like some tacos or burgers as we offered to run get them some food to keep them going as they would be here into the evening hours, this was only after they had been working approx. 3 hours, and they thanked us but told us they were packing it in for the day. We were horrified in disbelief.

We reminded them what the company had promised, guaranteed us, assured us and now they are leaving after only 3 hours or so of work? Not even close to being half don, much less main roof completed. they informed us, they were tired, long week, it's Friday, the guys just want to go home. and they just stopped working. I had a melt down, this place looked like a battle zone instead of the nicely manicured lawn and pruned and trimmed, landscape, perky flower gardens, the nice impression we had hoped our anticipated guests would be greeted with, now we have a half baked mess on the roof, material sitting in our driveway, the crew took pallets, crates, tarps, whatever materials they could throw and threw them up on the back of our garage roof. Looked horrible, the we felt it too much weight for that one area, so they went up and started throwing things around to disperse them but still in same general area.

We were told they would be back on Monday, then they said they would be back on Saturday early to finish the job.

Saturday morning got a call from crew telling us they were going to wait for rain to stop, we told them it was not even raining here, They said they would be here in a couple hours. a couple fours later got a phone call to say they were having truck trouble. then called to say they were not coming, then called again to say they were on their way. Once here we simply requested they just finish the mess on the roof that was in the front of our home and would be seen by approaching guests, we seen no way that they could do the entire project in one afternoon. to them this is a project on a job site, to us, it is our home, it is where we live and we are the ones who have to live with their workmanship long after they have moved on. They told us they could and would do the whole job. Told us to just go about the preparations for our gathering and leave the roof to them.

We felt as if we had no choice, we already had people coming here to help set up for the party, had so much going on, we had no choice but to trust the word of this company.

At dinner time their crew leader came supervisor came back to get them as we were preparing for dinner, they told us the entire main roof was completed and would be back on Monday to do the three porch roofs that needed different roofing materials and they left.

We all were in disbelief how they could have done all this work in such a short few hours. Upon looking up into our attic, we discovered that they removed the roof vents completely and never filled in the holes, merely shingled right over them. We got our camera and took pictures of this.

There were roof boards cracked, splintered and broken from the weight of the heavy bundles of shingles that this crew just tossed and threw around on the roof, causing them to drop with such force that it shook and rattled the whole house. We had brought this to their attention several times and were told that it does not hurt anything, well it did, we discovered a broken rafter that now has to be repaired and reinforced.

On Monday a smaller crew arrived and proceeded to redo the porch roofs. They removed vents from porch roof and after they told us they were done and left, we discovered all the new vents are still sitting on the ground next to our garden shed. they never put the new vents in. They loaded up all the many bundles of extra shingles onto their truck and took them. We wanted to know if we get credit for all the materials they took or failed to use? the crew supervisor finally showed up with what he referred to as our paperwork. I pointed out the things that we asked about such as gutters the crew damaged by pushing on them with their feet as they hurriedly crawled across the roof, as well as a section of gutters they removed and failed to put back up, mentioned in the front where they did not finish the valley channel area as it is not correct and the roof vents that were removed and shingled over. He said they took the new shingles back off on Monday and put in plugs and re-shingled so that is done. I looked at the so called paperwork and it did not contain a revised contract, it did contain the written lifetime warranty, it did not contain loan documents or truth of lending statements, nothing that we were led to believe would be in this paperwork. Instead the envelope contained two pieces of paper. One was titled Completion Certificate the other was titled Certificate of Completion.

The contents of these two papers merely where typed by their company with a survey section for us to assess the job.

I asked for the contract and loan papers, the man opened the envelope to have me see inside that there were no other papers, just the two completion certificates. I told him I could not sign either of these documents as they do not reflect my words and what I fell. I am not satisfied, I have been lied to and deceived, misled by this company, I fell they misrepresented themselves and their work. No I could not and would not sign these papers. He then called his Company and talked to [redacted] the woman that has been stringing me along with lies from the get go. I could hear her talking but could not make out what she was saying, I did hear [redacted] say something about in house, did not know just what he meant by this but it had something to do with the lending I presumed.. He got off the phone and told me I was to call [redacted] to find out about the finance. We were told they had secured a loan with an actually lender, and now it is in house. He went out the door and was gone.

We looked in attic at all the damage, and the plugs that now filled our vent wholes. They have nails right through the plastic, no supports and not even installed correctly, We contacted two separate roofing contractors to inspect our roof, both gave us an estimate of what this job should cost. Both were very much less than what Universal was trying to charge us. A huge difference. Both separate contractors have told us our gutters can not be repaired, they now need to be replaced and provided estimates of the cost this will be. Both indicated how poor the workmanship is. One did not want anything to do with trying to repair the mistakes made by another company.

The other looked over this mess and he felt so bad for us as this new roof has more problems then can be corrected. He took a camera up on the roof and he took many pictures of the problems. He pointed out where shingle were not even laid correctly, he could slip his whole hand underneath. Any good wind come along and these will be gone. He pointed out where the nails are pounded right through the shingles, ripping through and sunk underneath. Some shingle have no nails and others have shingle exposed directly on top of the shingles, he pointed out so many things, we are just heart sick. We asked what we can do to fix this? He told us the only way to fix this correctly is to tear it all off and start all over. There are just too many things incorrect here.

Meantime we were getting several calls from Universal wanting their money.

We did call them back after our roof was inspected and told them of the problems, they did not want to listen to what we were trying to say, the had [redacted], the sale manager and this [redacted] both on the line and both were rude, disrespectful and belligerent, they continued to interrupt and cut me off and failed to even care to hear our concerns. I did not deserve to be treated this way by them, We did nothing wrong except trust and believe their lies. They are the ones who should be hanging their heads in shame for what they did to us.

they have caused such damage to our home that even if we still wanted to sell it, at this point we can not as our roof would not pass an inspection until this is all corrected.

They still have not provided us with the new contract or finance documents, but are now threatening us to put us in collections for not paying them, even if we intended to pay at this point, how can we pay a loan we have not even seen or signed? They have also left messages that they will now put a lien on our home.

They have made no effort to rectify the problems they have created, but harass, intimidate and threaten us. At this point I am beside myself with anguish, anxiety and so stressed, I am not able to sleep at night, I am having a difficult time doing my daily tasks, I am a nervous wreck.

I do not know how much more I can take of this. It is affecting my health and I fear what toil this is taking on me.

I would never recommend this business to anybody. This is a nightmare we are stuck in and will be a long time before we ever see daylight again. They have ruined our home, they have ruined our special gathering, they have ruined our summer plans. They have caused so much pain and so many tears.

Now we are trying to find a way to fix our roof and trying to refinance our home to secure funds to do this. But as they now threaten us with a lien on our home, that will prevent us from the refinance we need in order to correct their mistakes. They have hurt us so badly. Will we ever recover?