ComplaintsforPioneer Gutters

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company damaged my roof while installing leaf solution, and installed the wrong product on my house 4x's. I want them to reimburse me for the damages they caused to my home which I in turn had to get a roofing company to repair.

  

  Business response

  04/24/2022

  The customer called us on October 29th, 2021 and we went out to quote him on November 12th and provided an estimate for gutters & gutter covers, a small section of drip edge & fascia wrap. The customer accepted the quote a few days later, but needed us to wait to do the work until he had other work completed on his home.
  
  Our crew went out to do the work on February 22, 2022. They worked until they ran out of daylight, at which point they pulled out flashlights to work until they got to a good stopping point. When we let the customer know that they didnt finish and would have to come back another day, he wanted to know how much we were going to discount him for it, saying it was due to our s**** up. Nothing was screwed up; they simply ran out of daylight and were unable to finish the install in the dark. We went back out two days later to finish the work.
  
  We install several different types of gutter screens that are made by the same manufacturer. The only discerning difference on the box they come in is a 2 inch sticker, which can easily be misread. Due to a mix up of the boxes in the warehouse, the crew installed the wrong gutter screens. This happened twice, which we owned up to as being our mistake. Like many small businesses, we are in the process of training new people, and mistakes can happen. After each visit, the customer got on a ladder and visually inspected the gutters and covers. He notified us about the mistake and even provided photos. We acknowledged that the wrong covers were installed and rescheduled within days for the crew to come back out to install the correct screens. Each time we came out, he repeatedly asked for a discount.
  
  When all work was completed, the customer visually inspected all of the work from a ladder, and after being satisfied, he spoke with the Owner of Pioneer on the phone and verbally approved us to charge the balance to his account on file, but not before asking for a discount, again. We did everything we were contracted to do and the customer received everything that he was paying, so we felt there was no need for a discount. It had already cost us more money because we had to go back out several times due to the accidental mix-up of the screens and working until dark. He was happy enough with the work we did that he even asked our lead installer to do additional work for him and his neighbor. Our lead installer told the customer that it wasnt a problem, but for the customer to call ******************* office to do the quote for any additional work. The customer never went through proper channels by calling the office for additional work.
  
   Although we had to go back out there several times to make it right, we did so without argument and within a timely fashion during a holiday week (from start to finish within 5 business days). The customer was never required to be on site,so he was never inconvenienced in any manner. When we refused to provide a discount, he said he was going to provide bad reviews about us all over the internet.
  
  A little over three weeks later, after numerous major tornadic thunderstorms had occurred, we receive a text message with photos from the customer, after business hours,saying that our crew caused a problem with his shingles. The photos he sent us showed a 3 inch tear in only one shingle with a nail underneath it. The next day, he sent both a text message and an email saying that he had already contacted his roofing company and that they told him it would be $225 to replace one shingle even though they had just installed his new roof a few months prior. That they were coming out the next morning and the customer wanted to know how he should go about getting reimbursed for this.
  
  On the day he provided the photos in the email, we showed the photos to our lead installer, who also does roofing, along with roof installers from three other roofing companies, to get their professional opinions since we were not allowed to inspect the issue in person. They all said that it looked like a mechanical roofing issue, not caused by the installation of gutters or gutter covers. We wanted to get professional opinions from others because we were not allowed by the customer to do an onsite physical inspection. Later that same day, we responded to the customer and let him know that when the crews install the gutter covers, they do not use any tools other than their bare hands and a drill, so there is no way they ripped the shingle and pulled a nail up with their bare hands. It is physically impossible. While looking at the photos provided, we could not tell 100% due to the angle of the photos, but the nail looked like a framing nail, not a roofing nail, which did not belong in that location at all. The starter course has nails installed underneath but the nails are not installed that low on the actual shingle during a proper roof installation. The nail should have been installed at the top end of the shingle underneath the overlapping shingle where it would be hidden. We informed the customer after looking at the photos and consulting with other professional roofers, that the installation did not look like a proper install and that he needed to have a discussion with his roofer about it. We also let him know that it could have been storm related and he might want to file a claim with his insurance. We let him know what his rights were as per the contract that he signed with us: that he had to notify us in writing within ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************* the work performed. Pioneers sole obligation is to repair or correct any such deficiencies at its own expense. The failure of the customer to permit us to make the necessary correction or repairs, or if he contracts with any outside parties to repair damage allegedly caused by us without prior approval from us,fully releases us from any and all liability in relation to the work and renders any warranties, whether actual or implied, null and void. Under no circumstances would Pioneer be responsible or liable for any indirect or consequential damages, and the customer waived any claims for such damages.This was way past 72 hours from work completion that he was claiming we damaged his roof. We told him that we did not believe, from the photos provided, that we caused the damage. We also let him know that since he was not allowing us to come out to inspect the damage and possibly rectify the situation (if it was caused by us), and that he already had the roofer coming out the next morning,that he was waiving his rights and, therefore, we were not reimbursing him for anything.
  
  Employees are human and things can happen. As a reputable small business that has been around for over 30 years, if our crews cause damage, upon inspection, we will either repair it or contract with someone else and pay them for something to be repaired. It is part of doing business. The customer did a visual inspection from a ladder every single time after work was completed and he took photos. If this nail was sticking up it would have been very noticeable at the time we completed the work. He then waited over three weeks after all work was complete and after numerous major wind / tornadic storms to claim we damaged his roof. After reviewing the photos and consulting with several roofing professionals, this was not an emergency situation where the customer would get water into their home if something wasnt done immediately; therefore, the customer could have waited a few days and allowed us the opportunity to inspect his roof without having his roofer drop everything to rush over there to replace one shingle with a 3 inch tear. Instead, he had his roofer out there in less than 36 hours after his initial text to us regarding the situation. We were never offered the chance to inspect the damage except from poor photos to determine what the course of action, if any, needed to be done; nor were we offered the opportunity to rectify the situation other than to reimburse the customer for something that we believed we didnt do. By not allowing us to inspect the damage and getting his roofer out there immediately to fix it, the customer waived his claim and released us from any liability.
  
  I have attached a customer-provided photo that was taken and sent to us on the same day that we completed all work, clearly showing that he got on a ladder to do a visual inspection of the work performed.

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