ComplaintsforForever Redwood

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We ordered a white-washed standard redwood large oval picnic table in spring 2023 for about $3500. Within a few weeks of being here, it started leeching oil all over the table surfaces and onto my patio tiles. I contacted FR about it and they said it might not have been sealed properly and they would send a kit for me to sand it, reseal it, and paint it myself. After not getting the kit for a few weeks I followed up and started asking about the warrantee. FR said they forgot to send the kit and are sending it now. They also said that if I wasnt happy with my own repairs they would send a crew out to repair when in the area. I believe factually they are coming from ******.I tried to power wash the stains out of my patio tiles, but it didnt work. The patio is about 1 year old and the table was supposed to be the centerpiece of the beautiful patio, instead the table ruined it. I cant get anyone from customer service to respond to my concerns.

  

  Business response

  07/23/2023

  Dear BBB,

  We will contact ************** and replace the table at no cost. Our warranty covers any issues like this. I do apologize for the slow roll but we'll get this handled shortly.

• Initial Complaint

  02/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered a porch cover on 15 Jul 22 for ~$11,600 with $750 expedited shipping to have it delivered by the end of Sept so my husband could install it before deploying. They charged 2 payments without notice before my product was even manufactured. I emailed asking where it was and got a response on 22 Sept that it was delayed until the end of Oct. I requested to cancel at that point to which they responded they would keep the deposit and offered to upgrade the wood plus posts, refund the shipping fee, and install it for compensation. At the end of Oct we got a call from the freight company they use that we would need 5 strong people available on demand for a 5 hr window delivery to offload the porch with only one business day notice. They scheduled the installation for Nov 16 but we didnt receive all the pieces for the porch until Nov 22 after making repeated attempts to contact the freight company for delivery. They scheduled installation for Dec 16 then moved it to Dec 20.The installation team worked 1 and 1/2 a day leaving the roof unfinished in the middle of winter in ******* after the porch had already been buried in four feet of snow since early Dec. I was told they would reschedule in jan/Feb but they never returned my call. They also damaged roof materials we purchased separately for the it and didnt use the extra protective layers of wood we purchased for the roof. I was only refunded $350 of the $750 and told that I was charged for it being delivered in 12 weeks when the free delivery was 15 weeks but they didnt deliver all pieces until 14 weeks after the approved designs. (22 Jul) I voiced my complaints all along this timeline and was not offered any further resolution or compensation. Now, a month later the porch is falling apart. Therea rot on the roof that was exposed to the elements, footings and beams are separating. They have been unprofessional and delivered a faulty product leaving safety issues upon completion of their installation.

  

  Business response

  02/02/2023

  Dear BBB,

   

  My ***** is getting bad advice from a local contractor. Her structure has a couple of minor aesthetic issues that need to be addressed. Our crew is in her town after flying up to do the work and she is denying them access. Her job is a custom job and we can't offer her a refund on it after it has been designed, built and assembled. We can fix it but now we have wasted a lot of money flying our team to her homestate and she is not allowing us to do the minor work that remains. If she files a chargeback we will of course document her refusal to let us finish the work and refute the silly self serving comments of her local contractor that doesn't know what he is talking about.

   

  At this point today, after speaking with ************** repeatedly, we have to send our crew out of state to their next job and are still willing at a later date to come out to finish the work that remains at great cost to us. If any part of her structure is unsafe at any point over the 10 year life of her warranty, we will replace it of course per her warranty but we can't respond to unfounded claims by her contractor that is interested in earning the business instead.

   

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

  Customer response

  02/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 18966521
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  If you are unwilling to refund the poor craftsmanship and installation of your product, I will consider allowing your team to come out to repair the cosmetic AND structural issues of the roof. I do expect the damaged wood to be replaced though since there is no way to repair swollen and fractured roof pieces. I will only consider this option as acceptable IF, you coordinate to schedule with me in advance that I may be present and address all the issues that I will have a second opinion of a different contractors assessment of the damages. I would also like to note that I expect this product to hold up to the standard and quality promised by Forever redwood  by their 10 year warranty, especially noting the snow load and weather I previously addressed with the engineer prior to approval. If there are following damages throughout the next 10 years the expectation is that each of?them will be addressed and repaired by forever redwood. 
  I would also like to address and draw attention to the rude, condescending and unprofessional response from the *** as a reflection of my experience with this company. *** wanted to cancel my order PRIOR to it being manufactured due to the significant delay after paying expedited shipping which I was never fully refunded. I gave this company NUMEROUS attempts to reconcile all of my concerns since Sept 22, each one disappointing further from failure for the company to do as promised. With deep regret I have given your company the benefit of the doubt and the only attempted resolution came only after I filed the BBB complaint with only a few hours notice of attempting to repair which I declined because of my work schedule. Its unreasonable to think I will be available at a monomers notice during normal business hours. I had also been waiting for over a month and a half for someone from this company to call with a second installation date to finish since they left the project unfinished in December due to weather. Also, the contractor that noted the damages was merely expressing concern for the quality and safety of the porch as he was on my property for a completely ape rate project. So he already had my business and would be unable to benefit from repairing or replacing my porch because he is booked out for an entire year. I plan to hire a second, different contractor, at my own expense, to ***** the damages to ensure that the forever redwood team properly addresses ALL the issues.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  05/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The transaction: Aug 2021, the product was a 5-piece Redwood patio table and benches. The price was approximately $3,500. The order number is Order #******. It was delivered in Nov 2021 and required assembly. What went wrong: I attempted to assemble on April 1st - 2nd, 2022 anticipating the warmer weather. 5 pieces: oval table, 2 large benches, 2 small benches Large benches: The holes for the bolts to go though were not aligned on one side of the bench. If you connect the bench to the stand on one side, the bolts wouldn't line up on the other side. Thus, it was impossible to secure the bench to the bench stand w/o drilling additional holes. This was true of BOTH large benches. Table top The hole for the bolt to go through was too large and the bolt rotated freely when I tried to tighten the nut - not secure as intended. Small benches The diagonal support had wood s**** starter holes drilled on one side but lacked at least one wood s**** starter hold on the bottom of the bench. Thus, I had to exert a lot of extra pressure in drive in the wood screws. I am older than one should be to be engaged in a lot of exertion. This was true of BOTH small benches. The set as a whole Two pieces where not labeled with their corresponding number parts. Thus, before I could assemble the set, I had to lay out every part and match up all of them to see which two were unmatched. Aggravation! customer service experience: I spoke with *** on May 5, 2022. He said that in the time since delivery the wood had settled. He claimed products pre-assembled and fine. I questioned this since wood holes were not pre-drilled, so any attempt to assemble it would leave evidence of the holes being made. But my primary complaint was no assurance of making it right. He requested pictures. I provided pictures of the problems with parts yet to be assembled. Six business days transpired w/o hearing back. So, I decided to escalate with BBB looking a resolution.

  

  Business response

  05/16/2022

  Dear BBB,

   

  Our customer service department has been in contact with ******************. We have offered to fix the minor issues with a site visit, but he is refusing to allow us to visit. He is demanding that a new set be made. This is unnecessary since the issues can be completely taken care of with a 2 hour site visit and we will also assemble the set for him after fixing the issue as a courtesy. The issue remains open and we will schedule the visit anytime he allows us to do so but we will not be wasting a bunch of gorgeous wood to build a new set unnecessarily.  

  Customer response

  05/18/2022

   
  Complaint: 17205507
  
  We are close to a resolution. On the evening of 5/16 FR submitted a formal response to my complaint though BBB.  They stepped up and offered to send a technician to my house for repair, touch up, assembly.  I sincerely appreciate this offer and we are in the process of scheduling a time for the technician to come.  One more thing is needed to close the complaint. The original response was written in an adversarial tone and contains inaccuracies and these inaccuracies mischaracterize the events. I want the following inaccuracies corrected:
  
  "Our customer service department has been in contact with ******************. We have offered to fix the minor issues with a site visit, but he is refusing to allow us to visit."
  
  It is true that customer service was in contact with me.  I received an email on the morning of 5/16. (see attached) There is no mention of a site visit. The first mention of a site visit was in the formal response itself cited above. 
  
  "He is demanding that a new set be made"
  In fact, my complaint lists three resolutions I would accept: replacement, refund, repair. 
  
  
  A suggestion would be simply to say, We at FR stand by our products.  As a result of ********************* complaint, we offered to_______.  Just say what you offered to do to fix it. Once the inaccuracies are corrected, I will accept the response and BBB will close the complaint. I reserve the right to reopen it pending the outcome of the site visit.   
  
  Sincerely,

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

*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. ↩