Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We contracted with Craig ********,cob Craig Contracting who installed a fence(for our neighbour and us) and a fence gate for us which cost 1,000 (total for us 6682.82 ). Installation Aug 15,2022. Warranty one year. One gate repair was done Fall 2022 (replace split wood) after long delay. In winter the gate would not close/latch,so i e mailed Craig Jan 23,2023 with pictures--he did not reply. In April 2023 i reached him. He agreed to attend on Thurs April 20 at 0900. He failed to attend. No prior notice. I thereafter repeatedly called him ,left messages,no response. I specified i had to be here and asked that a time be set. On April 28 ,2 workers attended without notice-- i was not here. Gate was re-hung(hinge moved). ****/worker said they could not work on latch without prior Craig's authorisation. Soon after,it became evident that gate was not fixed--the latch does not engage and gate does not close securely,it can be opened without using latch from rear yard and driveway sides---it is now again braced with boards. A big pain to get into and out of backyard through gate which needs repair obviously. Since soon after April 28 i have tried numerous times to reach Craig. No response. On May 11 i voice mailed,texted and e mailed that i would contact *** to ask for help if he failed to call me by noon today May 12. He has not replied or called. I am seeking assistance to get Craig to call me,set a time to meet here with me, to have him actually attend such an agreed upon date/time,and get the gate fixed ,with a functioning latch,and to have a repair that permanently solves the problem. The warranty should be extended to take into account Craigs failure to fix the problem from at the latest my notification to him on Jan 23,2023. Please contact me with information as to what will now be done by the *** to achieve a solution to the problem(s).

  

  Business Response

  Date: 23/05/2023

  We are not able to work on gates in January. After being made aware of the issue. I sent two of our guys to fix the issue. The gate worked properly. The latch had settled over the winter. That definitely occurs with cedar. If the gate is not working again. We can send men over to fix it. It’s strange that it worked last season. Then again this spring after the guys gave it a small adjustment. As per not getting back to ****, my apologies. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 24/05/2023

  
  Complaint: 20051592
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I acknowledge Craigs willingness to fix the gate but what further is needed is Craig Contracting's agreement as follows: 

  1 To actually agree on between us & set the date and time for Craig himself to reattend ,with the understanding that I must be present to discuss with Craig the problem,and have the gate fixed.

  2 Craig should agree to come himself--on April 28 his worker(s) told my wife that Craig's prior authorisation was needed to change or work on the latch itself. He must be present so that no issues of what is able to be done are raised.

  3 The attendance & repair must actually take place--Craig agreed to attend on Thursday April 20  at 0900 but did not attend. 

  4 Craig Contracting should agree to extend the warranty to January 31,2024 --I notified Craig on Jan 25,2023 ,but the gate remains not fixed 5 months later,and should be extended 5 months from the date of installation (end of August 2022),presuming it is fixed within the next week.

  5 I propose that I telephone Craig to set the date/time and that he agree to answer my call or if unavailable,to call me back within 24 hours to agree on a date/time. I have left innumerable voice mails,and sent e mails and texts, all without any response whatsoever.

  6 I have set out why i am unable to simply accept or reject the response--and look forward to Craigs early agreement on the above points.

  7 I stress that all we want is a gate that functions well in the long term,through all seasons, into the future.

  I look forward to hearing from you.

  
  
  Sincerely,

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 27/06/2023

  We have tried to come up with a compromise with our client. We finished his project last year. The issue he had at a later date was with the gate closing. We sent a carpenter by. He adjusted the gate. It worked properly. Then we received another call about the same gate. This is very unusual considering it had been addressed. We sent a carpenter by again. The gate was in perfect condition. We received calls asking for us to come back a third time. At this point the client contacted ***. We reached out to them thru the *** stating we could return for a third time. They rejected the offer. Since the installation of the clients fence we have completed over 80 gate installations without issue. We’d like to have this resolved.

  Regards 

  Craig 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 17/07/2023

  It is important for the record to note  the misstatements made by Mr ******** in his June 27,2023 response—

   

  1 The Fall 2022 repair was to replace a split piece of wood,and had nothing to do with the gate opening.

   

  2 The one time Mr ******** sent someone for the functioning of the  gate prior to my contacting the *** was on April 28,2023—I was not here but noticed within days that the gate did not close/latch properly,at which time I notified Mr ******** ---my calls were not returned,nor were my e mails and texts. (There was no follow up attendance after April 28 such as he says.)  Eventually I contacted the ***. Had the gate been functioning,I would not have had to do so.

   

  3 The gate was not ‘in perfect condition’ after the failed April 28 repair---the man he sent on April 28 told my wife that he could not address the evident latch unworthiness without Craig’s prior authorisation ,and it was not closing properly when I checked it within days of April 28. The gate could be pushed open from the driveway side. The latch would not engage and the gate would not close. Further on July 5  when a different carpenter finally attended and repaired the gate,he acknowledged to me that there were deficiencies in the gate’s functioning--- (the latch was too small,the gate would not close properly and could be pushed open from the driveway side, and the gate was unbalanced requiring additional lumber to be added to it which he did)--and apologised for all the headaches this experience has caused me.

   

  Following Mr ********’ response of June 27,I contacted him asking if he seriously wanted a resolution. He  texted me on June 28 and we agreed a carpenter would attend July 5.

   

  The carpenter ,on July 5, as stated above agreed there were deficiencies---this is the same gate that Mr ******** in his June 27 response stated was ‘in perfect condition’. The carpenter added lumber to the gate to,as I understand it, balance it, and installed a larger latch ,and re-hung the gate. He assured me the gate would now function properly.  

   

  Mr ******** then agreed in a text  to extend the warranty as I had asked originally, without any response from him on that issue.

   

  I would not have had to seek the assistance of the *** had Mr ******** simply called me back between January 2023 when I first e mailed him of the gate failure  and arranged in the spring to actually repair the gate including changing the latch, and had he simply called me back and arranged for an actual repair of the gate when I notified him repeatedly  many ,many times without any call back after April 28 that the gate was not functioning properly,including that it would not close,and before I contacted the ***.

   

  The gate appears to function properly at this time.

   

  Thank you and the *** for your assistance in achieving the repair of our gate.

   

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