ComplaintsforShelton's Outback Fence

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This happened on 9/7&9/8. I contacted Outback Fence 9/5/2023 & talked with *********************** about constructing a yard to keep my dogs in & lifestock ***************** out. I asked for ranch fence, sturdy fencing for livestock. ******* said he could install 20' hog panels with t-posts & said it'd do the job. He has extensive web pages highlighting his great expertise & 24 years of fence building. He claims he can build anything to fit customers' needs. He recommended a price $3800 & said he had crews who could start right away. I agreed, thinking he'd install proper posts and gates & fencing for the job. He sent two men, a ********* younger son to install this fence. They spent 9 hours, including materials pick up & put up a very rickety, uneven, wobbly fence using inadequate materials and misusing the materials from how they're intended to be installed by the manufacturer. They bought an additional panel, also & charged me for it & left it lying on the ground. ****************** NEVER visited the site. After day one, I texted ******* & told him it wasn't going well. The worker said he'd try to pound the posts deeper. ******* said "Sounds good." It didn't work. When it was done, it was very flimsy, installed using the wrong wire & posts & insufficiently supported. When ****************** texted me to ask what I thought, I said we had a ************ wasn't at all sufficent to do the job. He then told me it was what I had asked for. He was rude & unhelpful. I was upset by his behavior, the very poor ************* design. I told him I was going to only pay for the materials & the time spent by his laborers. I paid $1035 for the materials & $1000 for two men and 9 hours labor. I have to have it REINSTALLED PROPERLY since it is already falling down. It's very clear in photos that it's no good. I paid what I paid at all because I didn't trust ******* after his behavior and worried what he'd do to me if he got no money. But it's not worth what I paid because it has to be reinstalled.

  

  Business response

  01/10/2024

  We are sorry that you are unhappy with the fence we provided. We provided a fence to you in the price range that was reasonable for your budget. You did indeed say that you wanted hog panels and T posts.  Once our crew came out and installed the fence you ended up not liking it and in return you refused to pay in full after we did all the work for you. We even offered to come and remove the fence since you didn't like it and your response was "no". You also did not pay for all of our labor. If you look at our past reviews we are a reputable company and our customers enjoy working with us. We also read your past reviews of other businesses and noticed that only one was to your satisfaction. 

  Customer response

  01/10/2024

  Complaint: 20721902
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I paid for labor and materials, even extra materials I didn't need. ****************** didn't bother measuring and told me I'd just be stuck with the extra expense because... well, that's just how he rolls. The fence is literally falling apart. I've even had to wire the panels together so it doesn't fall down. I shouldn't have to pay for a fence that's improperly installed and literally falling down, and then pay again to have someone come and repair it so it's an actual fence. ****************** has yet to see the fence. Didn't bother visiting the property before or after it was put there. The wire used to hold the panels together is also already rusting because it's not fencing wire. The panels are literally falling off the t posts. The fence is just five months old. ****************** claims he'll come and take back the fence, but he hasn't said he'd fully refund my money. And, AGAIN, I didn't ask for hog panels, ****************** suggested them, claiming they'd do the job to keep out livestcok and keep in dogs. ****************** recommended the tposts to hold up the hog panels, which is an improper and weak construction and ****************** should know that since he claims to be a fence builder. ****************** is beng dishonest about this and he knows it. It's an improper construction, misusing the materials and not using proper posts and securing them properly with actual fencing wire. It's falling down, flimsy, dangerous and a reputable fence builder would admit his workers did an awful job and ********************** design flat doesn't work. ******************, if he were reputable, would have taken care of this issue.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

  

  Business response

  01/18/2024

  We are also willing to remove the fence we installed and return the money she put down. 

  Customer response

  01/19/2024

  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, with the following requirements. I want a check mailed to me for the total amount I paid of $2035.00. Once that check HAS CLEARED, I will let the business know so they can come retrieve the fence. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I want our yard left as it was before they came and put up the attempt at a fence. I don't want holes, ruts, piles of rock, broken concrete or any debris or trash left on our property and I don't want them driving all over our property. The removal of the materials, debris and reclamation of the yard back to normal must be done all at once. I want to waste as little of our time overseeing strangers on our property as is possible. We do have jobs and I've spent a lot of time already on something that should have been handled properly by ****************** in the first place. The business employees must be polite and if they behave in an improper or aggressive manner, we will call the police. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

  

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  We are willing to remove the fence we installed and haul off the material and fill in the holes from the posts we removed.

  We will give her a cashiers check for the exact amount she paid.

  We are asking that all reviews or complaints she posted with any source including the BBB, ******* Yelp etc. be permanently removed the same day we complete the removal and pay the reimbursement.

  We are requesting that upon completing this transaction she will not post any negative reviews detrimental to our business or anyone associated with our company related to this incident. We are requesting she sign a document provided by us that states by cashing the check she agrees to these terms.

  Customer response

  01/25/2024

  Complaint: 20721902
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  *********** didn't completely address the following which I required in accepting their proffered solution: "MOST IMPORTANTLY, I want our yard left as it was before they came and put up the attempt at a fence. I don't want holes, ruts, piles of rock, broken concrete or any debris or trash left on our property and I don't want them driving all over our property. The removal of the materials, debris and reclamation of the yard back to normal must be done all at once."

  They also want me to sign a statement about any comments regarding them or their associates in the future and I am unwilling to sign any statements.  I have a right to free speech and as long as I am relaying the truth of any incident, no one has the write to compel my silence.  

  Additionally, what I paid was not a down payment as ****************** has claimed. I told him the day it was completed that it was grossly subpar, flimsy, built counter to manufacturer's suggested standards and requirements for stability and safety and that it wouldn't last or hold up to livestock and/or dogs. I told him what I'd pay given what they'd built and he agreed to the amount I sent to him. I complained to the BBB because he never visited the property, did not seek to remedy the shortcomings or do repairs to properly install the fence. Instead he blamed me and said he'd remove it.  I have spent  a lot of time, effort and money for a fence that ultimately was inadequately designed and installed and improperly used materiails counter to their intended purpose. I am now being asked to let them remove it and to do so I must sign statements and they'll give back my money.  I acted in good faith from the very beginning and was treated poorly by ****************** when the end product was very inadequate and I had the temerity to state that fact. If ****************** ONCE came to inspect the fence and had the decency to apologise for what was installed and to ask if I'd let him fix it and have it properly installed, then we'd have a resolution. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

  

  Business response

  02/26/2024

  This fence is exactly what she asked for. I offered her several other fence options and she responded that she did not have the money for these type fences. She mentioned the fence that we installed to save money. She told me she was ok with this type of fence because they pulled ****** out of the ground to move her mobile home in. I informed her I was going on vacation and could not get to her fence for several weeks. I had a crew that I would send for her to use if it would help her, but I would not be there to supervise or show them what or where to put the fence. She responded that she would be glad to show them. I usually ask for 50% to cover cost but she wasnt comfortable with that plan. I responded that I am taking all the risk, but I would trust her to handle her project and make full payment when the job was completed. She watched them install the entire fence, saw the material delivered and saw it being installed and never made a comment until it was completed and time to pay up. She called me while I was on vacation screaming that it was not what she wanted. I informed her I would not be able to do anything until I got back and told her we would remove the entire fence and start over if necessary. She is the one that insisted on paying my crew for their labor and paying for the material used. She said thats all she would pay. I gave her the price the crew normally gets, and she said she would pay them much less. I let her know she could do whatever she wanted but that I would be available in a week to remove the fence or install a fence she would agree to and that she didnt have to pay for anything.  I have now offered her the same deal and she is rejecting it.  We just want her to get what she wants and to part ways with us without bashing our business for what we believe is unfair justifications on her part. Our intentions were always just to help her. We provide her options on the type of fence, we offered her adjustments on the fence she requested, and we offered her all her money back for the fence. We will make it right on our end, but we are asking that she respect us and our business.

  Customer response

  03/05/2024

  Complaint: 20721902
  

  I am rejecting this response because:  ****************** has moved into the realm of the fantastic. If we're to believe him, I was going to lead his crew and manage the fence installation myself.  I am not the owner of the fence company. I am not the fence designer or builder, nor do I oversee fence installation crews. ****************** sent HIS crew, as he called them, to build a ranch fence which he said would contain my large dogs and keep out livestock including cattle and horses.  A crew whom he said knew how to install a fence and he said he used regularly. He designed the fence, gave the instructions for the fence construction and the list of materials to use to build the fence to HIS crew. He gave them my address and coordinated with them, via phone, during the construction of the fence. They are HIS crew from HIS company, Outback Fence. He didn't give me a referral for laborers, he contracted with me to build a fence for an intended purpose. 

   The fence was not designed well and was very poorly installed.  In addition to all the problems I listed in my previous correspondence with the BBB regarding its poor construction, my gate is now sagging so much, it drags the ground when I open it. NOTHING I said or did affects that outcome, or the poor construction quality and misuse of materials. I am the customer. Period.

  What I did say and do differs greatly from what ****************** claims. I DID contact him before it was completed, voicing my concerns about its flimsiness. He claims I did not do so. I also did not yell at ******************. But, I also didn't let him intimidate me when he became angry with me when I told him that we had a problem. ****************** blamed me because the fence was poorly designed and constructed. Literally. ****************** blamed me and claimed "It's what I wanted!" It's not what anyone would want or pay to have built in their yard. And yet, ****************** has NEVER offered to look at the fence, NEVER offered any fixes except that he'd remove it.  His only solution, offered, in a fit of pique, has been to remove it.  A normal response from a reputable company would be to have the owner come himself or send a supervisor to visually inspect the fence, and fix it so that it is properly installed and performs the intended task. 

  If BBB suggested mediation of some sort, then the only way I'd have agreed to anything is that any parties involved in addressing a solution, VISIT MY PROPERTY AND WITNESS THE FENCE AND ITS POOR CONSTRUCTION, PERSONALLY. That includes ****************** who has, so far, gone to great extremes to disavow the reality of the very poor design and construction of a fence he claimed he knew how to design and build but which he has NEVER SEEN.  It is NOT what I asked for and my BUDGET wasn't an issue in its construction, as he claims. I asked for ranch fence and he gave me a poorly designed and constructed result for which he makes excuses and for which he BLAMES me instead of LOOKING at the fence and admitting it wasn't designed or constructed to perform as I requested when I called HIS FENCE BUILDING business and asked for a product he advertised as being his field of expertise.  It is not a fence in anybody's definition of a fence installed by a reputable fence-building company. It is built outside the manufacturer's recommended use of the fencing materials and not designed using standard fence-building practices intended for the materials or intent of the fence. Nor is it withstanding the elements of nature. It is falling down because of its own weight and lack of proper support or installation. 

  As for removing the fence, such as it is, I have animals. I need a fence and have reinforced the fence, to keep it from falling apart. For now. ********************** "fix" to remove it entirely, places a great burden on me and risks the loss of my animals while I have no fence. And risks livestock damaging my house when the cattle or horses are brought here again. As I asked from the very beginning, when I contacted the BBB and the remedy which ****************** should have suggested, as a owner of a "fence-building company," would have been to COME AND SEE THE FENCE AND THEN PROPERLY INSTALL AND REPAIR IT. 

  However, I want nothing further to do with this back and forth using the BBB, it's stressful and ****************** is only doubling down on making false claims about me and our interactions. I reserve the right to tell the truth about the situation, Period. I have the photos to prove my claims, they don't lie. Anyone who actually sees the fence in person fully understands who's telling the truth here, as has been the case with those people who have been to my house and seen it. 

  Unless further interaction between the BBB, ****************** and myself includes them coming to my property and seeing the fence for themselves, I am done here. Thank you.

  Regards,

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

  
  

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