ComplaintsforThe Gutter Professionals

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Oct 13, 2022, I got an estimate from The Gutters Professionals to clean and to reseal two miner areas on gutters. I also asked for a second estimate to replace all the gutters and downspouts, which I decided to replace it all.The next day, Oct 14, The Gutter Professionals removed the old gutters and installed the new gutters. The estimate called for seamless gutters which they did not use. They finished the installation on Monday 17 Oct. On Oct 18th I contacted The Gutter Professionals *********** Manager, *******************************) pointing out that the gutters were too short in four places and did not have end caps installed like the old gutters had installed which leave room for water to possibly penetrate the house. ******************************* said that I must sign a new contract and pay them another $350, before they repair the gutters, I did not agree. On Oct 25th during our first rain after the replacement gutters were installed,we had severe leaks in several places. I let them know about the leaks, and they came to do some work on the gutters on Oct 28. After that it rained several times and snowed, the gutters are still leaking. I have contacted ****************** several times and she refuses to do any work unless we pay $350 and sign a contract, I also asked ****************** if I could speak with the owner,and she said that he is out of town. On Nov 7th the owner of The Gutter Professionals *********************** called. I asked him to come and look at the short and leaking gutters. He said that he doesnt need to see the leak because he knows the issue already. He said I need to pay another $350 before they do any work.Will the BBB help me resolve this without having to pay The Gutter Professionals extra?

  Business response

  12/22/2022

  This complaint is erroneous and the customer has failed to pay their invoice. We have exhausted all efforts to assist this customer over many weeks, trips to her home, and considerable unpaid efforts by our team. We did, in fact, install seamless gutters by bringing our aluminum coil and gutter machine on-site to her home and installing the appropriate size and length gutters as we quoted (and even sketched in our written quote) and which she signed in agreement of the installation method, layout, and pricing. To be more specific to her complaint, we install gutters that are on a dog-house or ***** roof that terminate into an asphalt shingled roof as an open ended miter that is elevated to drain away from the mitered end and pickup the roofline's drainage ( as we explained to ****************** this is the appropriate method for reducing overflow and actually terminates the gutter the closest possible to the asphalt shingle roof without causing damage to the roofing). Once these gutters were installed, she voiced that she wanted them "corrected" as they were installed by the previous gutter company's gutters that we replaced. Our installing crew and estimator both visited the home to help ****************** understand that the gutters would then be shorter than appropriate, may cause damage to her roof, and would likely not function correctly during heavy rain events. She persisted that she required the change order against our advisement, so we insisted on an additional agreement for an additional charge to make her desired amendments. She consented to the change order and additional charge and we made the amendments against our advisement. The $350 charge that she mentions in her complaint is in fact to undo the adjustment that she was adamant for us to complete. As explained to her, the $350 will ************ the cost of the materials required as we will have to ************ new coil stock and hardware to form the new runs of gutter that return these to the original length that we installed on our first day at her site. This was us meeting her well beyond halfway. This was during her speaking very harshly to all of our staff and claiming that she was not going to pay us a dime. 

  To address the leaks that she mentions, these are actually on corrugated ABS pipe that she had on-site and installed without The Gutter Professionals. We simply agreed to make the connections from the downspouts that we installed to the pipes that she had laying are her home. As we explained to ******************, the intended use of those materials is to be placed subsoil and bedded in a porous material like sand or gravel to allow the water to ***** into the ground slowly. ****************** has simply laid these pipes on top of the ground and placed sand at the sides of the corrugated pipe, not fully covering them. 

  Regarding the conversation that ****************** had with me, ***********************, on November 7th - I did not tell her she had to pay the $350 before we would work on her home. I told her that she had to pay her entire tab for the work already completed and that we would only charge her an additional $350 for the materials it would require to put the gutters back the way that we originally installed them. Further, I alerted ****************** that I would be filing a lien on her home if we were not paid in the next two weeks. Right at the two week ***** her insurance agent called me. We spoke at some length about the situation as it is and how we can remedy the scenario for both ****************** and The Gutter Professionals. The insurance agent agreed with me that ****************** should pay her invoice and pay us for the materials to repair the issue from change order that ****************** demanded. ****************** then came by our office and told ****** (our office manager) that she would send over the cashiers check; she also texted me pictures of a cashiers check for the invoiced amount. However, when we received the cashiers check it as for a different and lesser amount. Had ****************** paid her invoice in full we would have had her sign the new change order and come back to her home to repair the gutters from the first, errant change order that she issued. Unfortunately, ****************** has continued to refuse payment in full therefore we cannot accept additional work from ******************. In the event that ****************** has a warranty issue as related to product or installation we will quickly and gladly make warranty repair at no cost to ******************* 

  To be honest, I am entirely unfamiliar with the BBB complaint management system as this is the first complaint that we have ever received since 2018 when we began our home service business. If there is something more that I should reply to, reply with, etc. please advise me. We are happy to go above and beyond for our customers with ALMOST no exception.   

   

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