Business ProfileforFence All

We would like to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against Fence-All, 3160 Hawthorne Road, Ottawa, Ontario 613-736-1122 our contacts were Customer Experience Manager ****** and Senior Sales Rep **** ***.

We purchased a 36’ pressure treated wood fence at a cost of $4690.00 from Fence-All in August of 2022 – it was installed on April 25, 2023.  It was a beautiful fence – the boards were flush to one another, you could not see through the fence, it was tall and created the privacy we needed please see Picture ONE.

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

After only two weeks on May 12, 2023, we noticed the boards were separating from one another, cupping, and warping.  ***** *** ***** ******** ***** ** *** *** ***** *** *** *** *** ********** *** ******** ******** ***** ** *** *** ****  
 
 
May 12, 2023 We emailed Fence-All’s Customer Experience Manager, ******** *** ***** ********, expressed our disappointment and asked to be contacted after the weekend in the hopes of getting some help.

May 15, 2023 we received a response from Fence-All – several links for us to view, along with the explanation of the drying process and how this happens over time.  As there is no warranty the only thing that Fence-All can do to stop any further deterioration would be to install a mid-rail. 

On Mon, 15 May 2023 at 09:55, ****** Fence All <*******************> wrote:

The only thing that could help your fence is if we were to add what's called a "mid rail" to your fence.  A mid-rail is not automatically included in your style of fence (the forest hill model), since if a customer has a swimming pool a mid rail violates the fencing Bylaw for pool safety.  However, if you don't have a swimming pool, we could add this to your fence.  It adds more of a structure to the fence and helps keep the boards in place longer.  From what I see on your diagram, you don't have a pool.Fence-All’s solution is to charge us $180.00 to install a mid-rail, they will waive the travel fee and labour fee and fix the fence as best they can.  

Until this email we had never heard of a mid-rail, and this is where the problem begins, we were never told about a mid-rail and the role a mid-rail plays in keeping a fence such as this tight and straight.

May 15, 2023, our response to this email was simple –we had contacted Fence-All because:

•We had dealt with Fence-All in 1985 at which time we had a pressure treated wood fence installed in our yard and thirty years later the fence aged beautifully, a few knots were missing here and there, but it stood straight, it never occurred to us pressure treated wood could deteriorate in weeks.
•We thought they were a reputable company.
•We needed advice – we wanted a fence that was as tall as allowed, a fence you could not see through and to keep costs as low as possible.

August 27, 2022 Fence-All’s Senior Sales Rep recommends.

To have 36’ of 7’high, pressure treated wood fencing supplied and installed, in the Forest Hill model, you are looking at a cost of $4692 + HST.

Here is a link to the Forest Hill wood fence;
*********************************************

When this link is opened you see five pictures of the Forest Hill Model – We looked no further – we were happy with this.   Not one of these pictures has a mid-rail, but the fences are perfect.

It was only after the Fence-All email of May 15th 2023 referencing a mid-rail did we go back to this link to see how we could have missed seeing anything about a mid-rail.

We did not miss anything the pictures simply do not show a mid rail, but if you look further down the page, you see a section called WOOD FENCE UPGRADES.

We did not look at the Wood Fence Upgrades on August 27, 2022 because it implied UPGRADES - meaning something over and above what is needed – the salesperson should have brought the mid-rail to our attention – they would know it’s benefits.

Customers are not experts, nor should they be, Fence-All Sales Rep are the experts and customers look to them to provide the information needed to make a sound decision.

It is for this reason we rejected Fence-All’s offer from the May 17th, 2023 email.

On Wed, 17 May 2023 at 14:34, ****** Fence All <*******************> wrote:
Your fence is 36' in total, and adding a mid-rail is $5 per foot.  The total would be $180. 
Typically we also typically charge travel and "minimum labour" charges to this, since you're in Fitzroy Harbour which is over an hour from our shop, but I can waive these fees because of how abnormal this situation is.

May 20, 2023 today we noticed the first post has a crack in it about ½ inch wide and the board beside this post is cracked and has separated.
Picture taken May 22, 2023
 

In our email of May 25, 2023, we refused the May 17th 2023 offer and made it clear what we feel would be the responsible offer. 

We cannot accept this offer –if we had received the proper advice, we would have agreed to have the mid-rail installed on April 25, 2023 at the extra cost and the fence would not be in its present state.
We feel the responsible solution would be, at no cost to us, for Fence-All, to replace the warped, cracked boards, tighten up the fence and install the mid-rail to restore the fence to what it would look like had the mid-rail been installed in the first place.

May 25, 2023 Fence-All’s Customer Experience Manager response to our request was as follows:

On Thu, 25 May 2023 at 14:30, ****** Fence All <*******************> wrote:

I will have ****, your sales rep, get in touch with you to discuss this further.   **** was there during the sales process, so he is who you should be speaking with. 

We asked the Customer Experience Manager to ask the sales rep to communicate with us in via email.

May 26, 2023 The Senior Sales Rep response to this request is as follows:
Please feel free to call me tomorrow at your confidence. I will only be available till noon. If not, please let me know when a good time to call you is? 

Completely ignored our request to communicate in writing..

May 26, 2023 our email reiterating our request to communicate in writing.

As explained yesterday we prefer to continue communication with Fence-All through email.
We hope you have reviewed all previous emails, at this point we are only looking for a solution.

May 29, 2023 Senior Sales Rep’s email telling us it is inconvenient for him to communicate in writing.

Unfortunately I am on the road all day and only get a chance to check emails once per day. If you want to get this issue resolved, it would really be best to talk to me.

May 30, 2023 After receiving the responses we have we realize this company is not willing to do anything for us – not sure if this is now standard business practice but it is shameful to think a company can charge almost $5,000.00 for a product that lasts only two weeks.

We have taken matters into our own hands – we purchased the wood necessary and some major hardware and installed mid-rails, the fence was deteriorating before our eyes and as Fence-All would not step up we felt we had to do something to prevent further damage.

Perhaps Fence-All does not value $4,690.00 but this amount of money should buy a fence that lasts longer than two weeks and it would have lasted longer than two weeks if we were advised to have the mid-rail installed, it is that simple.

We still maintain the only solution that would correct this situation is to do as we requested in our email of May 25, 2023.

We feel the responsible solution would be, at no cost to us, for Fence-All, to replace the warped, cracked boards, tighten up the fence and install the mid-rail to restore the fence to what it would look like had the mid-rail been installed in the first place.


Yours truly,


***** G***