The Fence from Hell

We moved into our new home July 27th. The next day, we had a fence company come out to give us an estimate for the front of our yard. In all, we need 125' of fence to complete the one already on the property. This adds up to about 12-14 holes being dug, posts cemented in, chain link being run across, and a gate installed. It's a small job, so we were expecting an low estimate. NOT. It was over $3000! Can you say holy crap?

So the next week, we invited another fence company to come out and give us an estimate, one that was still a little higher than we expected, but way lower than the first. We checked out their credentials, checked on the BBB (of which they're actually a member), etc. Everything looked good. The one thing we asked before signing the offer was if they used materials from Home Depot or Lowes because we had already checked those out and we weren't impressed. They assured us that they only purchased materials from a vendor that supplied industrial quality fence and that you actually needed a contracting license in order to buy. Basically, the fence we would be getting is exactly like the one already on the property. That's what we wanted to hear, so we signed. We were told it was a 4 week wait, but most likely, our job would get done earlier because it was so small. This was on August 10th.

Fast forward 4 weeks. No calls. No workers. No fence. We started calling, leaving messages, etc. We finally got in touch with the owner who assured us that work would begin the next week. He said he had been in the hospital the previous week, and since he does all the purchasing and scheduling, nothing had been done that week.

So the next week comes around, we call a few times more, and finally, the owner tells us work will begin Thurdsay, Sept. 11th. At 4pm Sept 11th, I get a call from the owner telling me they didn't make it out to our house after all, but they'd be there first thing the next morning. The job would be completed by that afternoon.

At 4pm on Friday, the 12th, Harry comes home to find 2 guys JUST starting to dig holes (by hand no less) in our front yard. When I got home at 5:15pm, there were no guys there, and about 6 holes on one side of the yard with some posts sticking out of them. Ends up they didn't have the cement with them, so they had left to go get it. Then it had started raining, and they never came back. They also left all their tools there in our yard.

The next morning, Saturday, Harry went outside to pull all the posts out of the holes because he was afraid someone might walk by and accidently get hit by one. As he pulled them out, he noticed a bar code on each. BIG RED FLAG. His gut told him something was wrong here. So he took a trip to our local Home Depot, and, you guessed it, the damn posts they were about to install were from HD.

We left messages everywhere for the owner. Both of us were livid. The guy finally called us back late that afternoon. When Harry said there were barcodes on the posts, the owner says, "That's not right. There shouldn't be any. Let me call Eli (the other owner) to see what's going on." He calls us back a few minutes later to tell us that our posts got mixed up with another job (a job supposedly from Home Depot; he claims his company is one of HD's installers). He assured us that they'd switch the posts and resume work on Monday.

Harry get's home from work on Monday, and guess what? No one has been to our house. He calls and leaves another message. Tuesday morning, the owner gets back to him while he's at work. Now they tell us that our fence was accidentally ordered in black, and they're having an entire new order delivered from NJ. Hmmmm.

Eli shows up Tuesday night to fill in all the holes they dug (per Harry's request because we were afraid someone might accidentally fall into one and break a leg) and tells us a different story. He claims another customer asked the company to install the cheapest chain link they could find, so they went and bought supplies from Home Depot for it, and they got mixed up. Hmmmm again. He said our materials would be in by Thursday, the 18th, and our fence would be completed by that evening.

So Harry gets home from work yesterday, and guess what? No fence. No one was even at our house. Harry calls and leaves a message again (seems these guys are NEVER in the office). No one returns the call. This morning, I leave a message, and it's Eli that calls (I guess the other owner is done talking with us). He tells me our material is on its way to a job site in Trumbull, and a crew will be picking it up around 11am or so, so they should be arriving at our house to do the job at 12pm (which is right about now). He assured me that when I come home this evening, there will be a fully functioning fence and gate in my yard. I certainly hope so.

If it's not there, we're backing out. It's been 6 weeks since we signed the offer and put down the deposit, and we have nothing right now. It's been hell trying to track down these people, and I haven't appreciated their dishonesty. Harry and I both knew what happened the minute Harry saw those sku numbers. When we first called them at the 4 week mark, they realized they had forgotten to order our fencing material. Instead of telling us the truth, they ran to Home Depot and tried to install a low quality fence, hoping we wouldn't notice. When we did, they made up a story about materials getting switched. When they couldn't get new material quickly enough, they said the incorrect material was ordered. If they had been honest from the getgo, I wouldn't be so irate over the whole situation.

Here's hoping I have a fence tonight. I really don't want to have to go to battle with these people over my deposit. At least I did one thing right and put the deposit on a credit card. My CC company is good at getting these disputes taken care of if needs be. Ugh.