ComplaintsforBlinds and Designs

• Initial Complaint

  02/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Long story short, there have been an impressive amount of issues with my project. The project has been going on for almost 2 years and its still not completed. The company charged me for the remainder of the job ($10k) without connecting with me first. They claimed they were charging me for the work they completed but they havent finished the entire job and theyre trying to get as much as they can and leave the job unfinished. They cut a hole in my wall by accident and planned to fix it but never did and charged me anyways. 2 years for a project like this is absolutely insane. I have pictures and documentation of everything. They wont call me back but instead decided to respond to my negative review online. I emailed, called and left voice messages asking for them to call and they have not responded. I communicated with the owner that I would pay an agreed upon amount when the job was done but the owners son (who has been a nightmare to work with and who has missed meetings entirely without notice) decided to charge me anyways. Paid: $14k upfront and another $14k to be paid upon completion but that number went down to $12k and then $10k and keeps changing. I disputed the last. Garage of $10k and have already paid $14k

  Business response

  02/29/2024

  
  Attached and below is the email thread of **** acknowledging completion of the project and the thread of ** confirming. 
  
  I would also like add the cables noted in the thread were sent out right away, and that we acknowledged the patch and paint was not to our standards either thus why we wanted to hire a professional to do that. There is not a whole in the wall just a switch we installed that he wanted us to move after the fact, you can see the patch if you look closely. Unfortunately, the painter referred through the building did not want to attempt it as they were concerned, they would have a similar experience with **** as he is apparently a difficult person to deal with by people who have met him. I have continued to work on finding someone to get the painting done to his standards and that is why we left a ***** balance until completion. 
  
  The payment taken was for the work we were contracted to do and completed. Not to mention the extra work our company did out of pocket to accommodate his requests that were outside the scope of the contracted job. 
  
  2.5 months have passed since completion he has ignored our attempts at communication to close out the balance. Magically, as soon as the progress payment was taken he claimed on an email and a review to the job did not work, and now to you something completely separate. He had no problems communicating any issues prior to completion, but once it was done we had not heard anything, nor a response to our emails to discuss closing out. 

  It is clear **** is trying to not pay for the project as contracted and has gone to extra ordinary lengths to claim issues that are not there once it was time to close out his contract. You have his own words acknowledging completion attached. If you need a statement from any of our installation crews we would be happy to provide that as well
  

  *******************;<*****************************>

  
  Seems like thats it. 
  
  
  
  Let us know
  
  Thanks
  
  
  <image001.png>
  
  
  ***********************;
  Blinds & Designs Inc.
  1845 ***********
  ************* ** 94109
  P ************
  *********************************************************
  www.blindsdesigns.com
  
  Making ***************** for 30 Years
  
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  From: **** creativewindowcovering.com <**************************************;
  Attached is a picture of the wall with a painting needs to be complete.
  <IMG_20231213_105218515.jpg>
  

   

  
  

  Customer response

  03/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21366753
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  First of all, I want to start off by addressing the part about me being a difficult person. Im not a difficult person, Im just someone who has been dealing with a 2 bedroom project for 18mo and its still not completed. Below I will outline my experience but apologize in advance for the lengthy statement but I wanted to be thorough:
  
  -the initial installation started in the summer of 22 and the job is not completed because the shades have not all worked since install
  -the patched job on my wall was not because I wanted the switch moved but because the installer tried putting it where there is a stud. This is easily confirmed by looking. Its difficult to think they are saying I wanted it moved when it was a clear mistake by their team. A switch cant go where the patch is and thats a mistake on their end that I was ok with them fixing because people make mistakes but they havent fixed the issue. The hole was made December of 2022 and theyre claiming they cant find a painter. It is currently March of 2024.
  -I will absolutely pay when the job is completed and have talked to the owner about paying. The blinds are still not level or completed (pictures attached). They sit too low and touch the bottom of the window (theyre automatic blinds so I cant adjust them - they have to).  
  - I dont know what theyre talking about in terms of finding a painter to do this. Since moving to CA in 2020, I have never had any reason to hire a painter so I have no ill will with any painters. If they want me to find a painter I will and I can bill them for the job. My building has suggested painters that can and are willing to do the work. I have no outstanding issues except for with this company.
  
  -there are plastic stoppers on some of the blinds that arrived broken and were supposed to be replaced but never were
  
  -the blinds were never set up on the app like the team promised as a part of setup 
  
  -the company says they have tried contacting me multiple times but they used an email address I asked for them to not use because I no longer use it (I asked more than once) and have provided another email address and my phone number. In the time they say they tried contacting me I never received one phone call, one text, one mailer or one email to the requested email address.
  - *********** continues to say that they went above and beyond the contracted work but the project is 18mo in and is still not completed. They need to fix these problems regardless of if they think I said we were all done. I didnt say it was done because its clearly it is not done. In talking with the business, I have reached out and explained that their on-site technician said he would be back to fix the last pieces of the project and thats why I said the job was close to done. I cant give any better proof of the job not currently being done than the fact that theres still an unpainted **** on my wall due to their accidental mess up - not because I asked for the switch to be moved but because there is a stud where they tried to put the switch, the shades dont work properly, the shades arent level and they dont function properly, they never set up the application and yet they still claim because I said the job was completed it was - but its not and I was clear with their team that it wasnt (and continue to be clear that there are still ongoing problems). 
  
  -To summarize, 1)  Regardless of an email, they have about ten other emails from me saying the job isnt done and I communicated that with their technician. 2) *********** claims I am a difficult person to work with but forgets that even if they claim the job was done 2 months ago, that means that they are claiming the job took 16mo to complete because of my issues and not theirs. I urge you to get records from them asking how many times they were on-site at my home while I had to be here  for them to be doing installs, fixing issues, replacing faulty parts, storing their equipment at my home for weeks at a time, etc and see if Im being difficult or if it is reasonable for someone to be upset when put into this situation. 3) *********** sold me a product that ended up not being the product they installed (they sent a showroom salesperson instead of a field salesperson so they sold me the wrong product). *********** sold me removable battery operated shades and installed non-removable battery operated shades. *********** then sold me two shades that had disposable batteries that only they could replace and offered me free replacements as long as I live here which was a non-starter because a) thats not what I ordered and b) because that is something I would need to disclose to a future buyer and they would have to pay for replacements. 4) the company continues to say I have been unresponsive but I never once received a call or text about anything. The only reason I knew they emailed me was because they charged me for (rounding) $12k, refunded the $12k and then charged me $10k which is something I noticed immediately all without authorization. I regularly asked them to call or text me as my preferred way of communicating and I have messages going back to mid 2022 asking for calls and texts vs emails. 5) I want this project completed more than anyone . The amount of stress and time given to this company is awful and I really ask that you just make them finish the project. Like I said, this project is not done and was never completed so the fact they are trying to paint me as a tough person to work with is hurtful and I feel attacked. I have records to share and communications to share but I was limited in what I can share in this file. I will share every email and every communication I have. The owner told me halfway through the project that this was a very poor reflection of his company and that he would personally take over managing the project. A few months later he turned over the project  to his son who then proceeded to miss meetings and blow me off completely. The son is who is saying Im difficult to work with but has been a nightmare to work with on my end (missed meetings, missed deadlines, non-responsive via email etc. - I have all of this to share).
  
  Im emotionally and physically drained from my experience and have offered many times to figure out a path to finishing this and now we are here. Instead of finishing the job they charged me for what they thought was right and tried to move on that way. 
  As Ive said to them, Im more than happy to talk to anyone about this so please call me or email me using the provided email to discuss. Im doing everything I can to finish this project but unfortunately for me, I have to live with their poor work every day and they dont. Clearly I should have  hired someone else for the job.others in my building has similar work done in a matter of weeks with other providers.
  
  work to be still completed (as of 3/1/24):
  -paint wall where hole was cut
  -program shades to app 
  -replace broken plastic pieces
  -make shades level so they dont sit on the window and are all uniform
  -fix shades so they dont jog when going up and down (only a handful of shades do this and the team said its not standard)
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  Business response

  03/01/2024

  I am just going to point out our original response to this thread that showed proof of completion and the fact that he did not respond to our attempts to close this out, not to mention did not attempt to reach is to report any issues he now claims are there. If you paid to have something custom installed wouldn't you try and find out when we were returning if nothing worked? Not one call or email after his completion email. 

  Last I would be happy to share any emails since starting this complaint and the reviews he has posted where he claimed things like a hole in the wall (photo in last response to show that was not true) and the inconsistencies in the claims.  

  All of his claims note were before the completion e-mail. Bottom line he is trying to not pay for the work that was completed. 

   

   

  Customer response

  03/01/2024

   
  Complaint: 21366753
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

   

  I never said that nothing worked - thats an clear exaggeration. The job is close to done but not done and Ive listed the reasons why.
  

  
  If the company really thought the job was done 3 months ago, why did they wait 3 months to charge my credit card? 

  
  Getting these problems fixed has never been a priority for them as you can see by the timeline. I was waiting for a phone call as I have said many times before. Ive texted with the owner ***** and spoken on the phone with most of their technicians, *** (owners son), ***** (scheduling) and *** (showroom salesperson that was sent to work with me).

  
  I dont understand why *** says he couldnt find a painter to work for me. I have never worked with any painters - thats something that he clearly just made up. Similarly, *** said I asked them to move the wall switch but thats just not true. The team cut a hole where theres a stud or some obstruction and recut the hole 4 inches to the right. And left the hole unpainted for 14 months and its still unpainted. 

  ***,

  Ive been waiting for your call to schedule a time to come back. You said you would schedule a time to come back and get everything fixed and Ive been waiting.  You have so far failed to do so and *** shared why. Ive given you ample time and have been reasonable but the job still isnt done. You have admitted yourself that the job isnt done just by not fixing the wall. Please come fix the wall and the rest of the listed issues. 
  

   

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩