Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/29/2024

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  On July 17th 2024 we had a consultation with Thomas Fencing to install a vinyl fence for a portion of our yard. During consult we were informed that they would have utilities marked out by the utility company and asked if we had sprinklers to which we said no. They did ask us if we were on a well for our water however did not state that damage to the well was something they were not responsible for, nor alert us that if anything happened to the well that they would not cover damages to that. On July 26th their company came to do our fence install. There is a visible well cap near the fence line however their crew did not mention to us or ask about a well. They hit the power cable for our well pump during installation which cut water to our home.We were then left to find an emergency plumber who found the issue with the line they hit. Between the plumber visit costs, temporary fix costs and permanent fix costs we will end up paying nearly $1600. Today Monday July 29th we reached out to Thomas fence about the damage caused and to explain what was going on. Only then were we told that they dont cover damage for ***** and that they are treated the same as a sprinkler system. This is the first time we were told this. If we had been informed we would have discussed the well with them and found a way to protect our well system. Instead we were without water for nearly 24hours and now left with a large expense due to their negligence.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/11/2024

  On July 17, *********************************************************************************** the bottom right corner, there is a line that states: J Thomas Fence LLC is not responsible for any damage to sprinkler lines, well lines, etc or for the location of property lines.  Beside this is a line where we ask the customer to initial because we want them aware that miss utility is only going to mark lines that are considered public lines.  On the back of the contract, under "extras" , this is further explained and expanded and again we ask them to initial so they are aware before we start the process.

  We installed the fence on 7/26/24 after miss utility was called out and marked all of the public lines. The ticket number for that is 24493767.  We sent an email to the customer on 7/19/24 stating the following, once again, explaining we have no way of knowing where private lines are, such as septic and sprinklers unless the customer marks those lines for us.
  
  Hey ********,
  Great news your materials are ready, Is everything ready for us to install?
  If yes
  1. Are the flags still there marking the location of the fence?
  2. Do you need to make any last minute changes, Gates, location etc.?
  3. Do you have any private utilities? Miss utility will cover public utilities up to the meter, these include things such as ***************** your local power or public water provider, etc. They do not include sprinklers, well lines, private electric lines going to sheds or pools etc. If you have any private utilities, they will not be covered by miss utility, Please mark them if you know where they are, There is no way for us to know the locations. 
  
  If you're not ready and waiting for a survey, pool, closing on a new home etc, has that been complete?. If not we will keep you in this stage until this is complete. If you are ready great please respond and let us know so we can move you to the installation phase! Please know depending how many orders arrive or are ready at the same time it may take a few days for us to respond with your projected install date. 
  
  
  To which his response states:
  7/19/2024 12:29 PM
  Email
  Re: Thomas Fence - order ready!- Please read
  Hi ****,
  All is ready for the fence installation at your earliest convenience.
  
  We do everything we can to ensure that the customer has every opportunity to tell us that there are lines, to mark those lines and to avoid them.  While we are sympathetic to his dilemma, we are not responsible for them. He is stating that "had he known", he would not have had the fence installed.  I am proving that he not only was told, he signed and initialed, not once but twice where we specifically state that we are not responsible for septic lines. In addition, he responded to an email with no mention whatsoever of any lines.

  Thank you

  *****************************
  Finance Manager
  J Thomas Fence
  ************

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/11/2024

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. 
  
  Regards,
  
  Taliesin Sharp