Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  12/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We were checking on pricing from two different companies as to the cost of having hurricane curtains installed. We had only considered spending about $5,000 to $7,500 dollars. Sales person said these curtains qualified for the my safe florida home program and that they were an approved vendor with the state. He said we could get up to $10,000 re-imbursement for these curtains. We new we sere seniors and our income level was low enough that we should qualify. Based on that information we decided to spend the extra money and do an extra opening for protection. My safe florida declined any money to us stating that the inspection prior to install showed we already had metal bolt on shutters so we didn't qualify. The sales person knew we had metal bolt on shutters but did not tell us that would disqualify the state program. Manager said we should have done our own research and did nothing about it.

  

  Business response

  12/27/2024

  Mr. ****** was a My Safe Florida Home applicant. This is a program offered and managed by the state of Florida specifically for homeowners that DO NOT have hurricane protection on their homes. As a company, we inform all of our potential customers that the program exists, but it is up to the State of Florida to determine if they qualify. We cannot apply for the homeowner and cannot see their application results. The application is very specific as to who will qualify for the ***** and is stated very clearly before the homeowner is able to move to the application itself. By the rules of the application, had Mr. ****** qualified he would have received a ***** of $6,610.00. The ***** requires the homeowner to spend $5000.00 out of pocket and they receive the balance of the job from the *****. However, the state inspector found that they already had hurricane protection and they did not qualify for the program. When Mr. ****** contacted us to say he would not be receiving the ***** I immediately tried to help find out why. I requested that he send his documents from the program (which I have attached) and reviewed them. His inspection date was on Feb. ******* and his results clearly state that all openings except one door were already protected and did not qualify for the *****. Our salesman sent their quote on Feb. 22, 2023 which is 6 days after their inspection. At this point they had their results, which again, we cannot see before they signed their contract on Feb. 24, 2023. They still chose to go ahead with the sale anyway and now believe it is our fault that they did not receive the *****. I emailed (also attached) Mr. ****** with the documents and dates noted on July 30, 2024 and received no response or communication from him after that point until we received this complaint. Our responsibility as a company is to inform all potential customers about the program so they can find out if they qualify. It is not our responsibility to make sure they read the application or the results of the inspection correctly.

  Customer response

  01/01/2025

   
  Complaint: 22680014
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As I said in my first statement while they are not obligated to read inspection reports we had no Idea that because we had metal removable steel shutters it would disqualify us from the My Safe Florida home program.  Every home in my neighborhood has steel shutters.  I don't understand why Florida would not require companies that were "Approved" vendors to know that a home that already has metal shutters would not qualify for hurricane rated curtains or windows.  The salesperson and the estimator from **** knew we had steel shutters.  If they didn't know the rules for the program then they should not have been approved vendors for the My Safe Florida Home program.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

  

  Business response

  01/02/2025

  First and foremost, as you can see by the attachment, there are many factors that determine if a homeowner is eligible for the ****** None of which our salesman or company would know the answers to. That is why we tell them about the program, but cannot tell them if they qualify or not. It is ultimately up to the homeowner to read the information given to them from the State of *******. Mr. ****** received his inspection on Feb. 16, 2023 and was given the results shortly after. Those results clearly stated that he was not eligible for the ****** He chose to sign his contract with us anyway on Feb. 24, 2023. The job was not installed until June 14, 2023 and could have been cancelled as soon as they were informed that they didn't qualify. 

  As to the dollar amount that is being disputed, they are asking for the total cost of the job to be given back to them. It was stated in their first dispute that they had already planned to put the 2 large curtains on the home and added the smaller one because they MIGHT be eligible for reimbursement. My concerns on this are as follows: 1) they are asking for far more than they would have received if they had been eligible and 2) their home is now protected from a hurricane with a quality product that is designed for ease of deployment that they now feel they should get for free. All because they chose to NOT read the documents provided to them by the State of Florida.

       

   

  Customer response

  01/03/2025

   
  Complaint: 22680014
  
  I am rejecting this response because: We were told we could get up to $10,000 from My safe Florida Home and that is where we got that figure.  We applied for $10,000.  If it is only up to 50% of the total invoice we would accept that, but we haven't gotten anything.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On March 24th I signed a contract with Alufab to install ******* impact proof windows and 3 electric roll up shutters at my house. The shutters were installed in May and the windows were planned for Oct.The problem is that they are not installed yet and even worse Alufab doesn't give me a date when they will be installed. They claim that they can't reach ******* to get a date from them which is hard to believe.Early December they called claiming that the windows are on a truck to be delivered coming week but apparently that wasn't true either.I am calling to ******* at least once a week. She is very friendly on the phone and promises every time to check with ******* and call me back. But so far she never called back!I think that there is a problem between Alufab and ******* such that ******* doesn't deliver to Alufab any more?I want you to find out what's going on. I still would like to have the ******* windows installed by Alufab but that has to be latest by February 15th.

  

  Business response

  01/12/2023

  Good afternoon,

   

  I do sincerely apologize for the experience that **************** has endured with regard to the window order he placed with us. At the time of the original sale to ****************, *******'s delivery reputation was stellar and they had the best delivery times in the window industry. Within a couple of months things seemed to turn with that company's performance and we have suffered ever since. Sadly Mr. ******* late/delayed shipment from ******* was amongst 23 other undelivered orders we had placed with *******. I myself put forth every effort of communication to them with concern over this issue as well as several of my colleagues here at Alufab USA, via phone messages, emails and on one occasion, the owner ******************* and sales rep ************ booking tickets for flight on September 19th, to visit the ******* factory to inquire in person. All attempts gained us no useful information to be able to share with any of our customers waiting for the ******* products. my many conversations with **************** may have seemed to be unhelpful, however it was not because of lack of effort. I have attached a number of email correspondences showing the lack of return contact to us from *******, leaving us without any information to provide to clients. All that being stated I am happy to report that once I was given an actual date for delivery, I contacted **************** immediately and provided an install crew for his project the very next day. All products have been installed and today we had our required County inspections by the ******* ************************** and all went well. Fortunately, though they may have internal issues, the ******* product line is very well made and offers great protection.

   

  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

  Sincerely,

  ******************

  Alufab USA, Inc.

  Customer response

  01/13/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  Feel sorry for Alufab! Their installation team did a wonderful job. Installed 16 windows in two days without making any dirt in the house. 
  
  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. ↩