Complain about a product or service

Best Windows and Doors

El Cajon, CA

Marcel of Lemon Grove CA (5/5/04):
In August of 2003, my wife and I purchased over $11,000 of new windows. The sales person was professional and made promises that were simply not kept. We were told that there were no payments for a year, but as soon as our windows arrived we had a bill. We were told that a professional installation team would come and get the windows installed within 2 days. What actually came to our house was a just paroled person convicted of attempted murder and another bum who left cigarette butts all over and made large messes in the house. We asked him not to smoke around the open windows as the smoke blows right into the house but he did anyway.

The installation took over two weeks. In that time I had to go to Home Depot twice to buy supplies for them to do their job such as interior window trim etc� The two workers also had to borrow MY tools in order to do the installation. As to the quality of installation, we have several windows that do not open or close properly, are wobbly in the tracks, locks that fail to function properly, water seeps into the inside track of our patio door, and windows that are drafty. There are also screws that secure the windows in the frames that are sticking out over an inch or two, and inside molding that was just squared off instead of being cut into a corner like they should have been. The outside sheathing was also shoddily done and looks as if a two year old put it on with large gaps, hammer dents, and large amounts of caulking used to fill in the gaps.

We were also told that we would qualify for an energy rebate from SDG&E for all the windows that we purchased which was another reason that we went ahead and replaced the windows. Well, we did not qualify for that either because we live in Lemon Grove which is a part of San Diego County but not part of the city of San Diego which should have been known by the window people. We have attempted to get these problems corrected by Best Windows and Doors since September, when the installation was semi-completed. We have made call after call after call after call. We call at least twice a week and always get either no response, they are not familiar with our window installation and will look into it. We have also left 3 voice messages with the owner of the company, also with no response or the courtesy of a call back.

This has been going on since August and do not know where else to turn. We have probably called the company over a hundred times. Finally in February we filed a grievance with our finance company Capital One Cunsumer and they gave Best 90 days to solve the problems or they would pull funding. Well they hopped to it then but still did not make the deadline and Best's account was debited all of the moneys. They finally finished the job May 1st. We asked for compensation as well but they would only offer us $450.00.

The company responds:

As with any company there are problems that can and will occur, however Best Windows strives to handle any and all problems.

Installation started 9/9/03 and a Completion Certificate was signed by the customer 9/17/03. A Service Request was filled out 11/18/03 which we turned over to the window manufacturer to remake the necessary parts and do installation. On 2/13/04 the customer had requested they not arrive until after 2/25/04 which turned into a 4/3/04 install due customer unavailability.

On 2/16/04 we received a dispute on the job and we had until 3/18/04 to resolve any problems. This was the first record aside from the warranty claim mentioned above recorded by our service department. We tried to schedule an inspection, however due to customer unavailability (medical) we missed our first deadline and were given an extension for another 30 days. The second deadline was almost missed as the customer insisted we not show up until concrete (unrelated to us and determined to have no impact on service work) dried. The repair started 4/19/04 and a second satisfaction certificate was signed on 4/30/04.

The customer said she had lost 2 days so I offered them $450 ($100/day as well as $250 for troubles and the SDG&E rebate).

Best Windows hires based on skill and when hired the installer passed drug tests and presented himself well. Based on the installation quality at this home we felt it was best to terminate this crew. At no time did he cause problems or harm to this customer, Mrs. K even told us he was a very nice man.

I do feel that we did everything in our control to satisfy this customer. We have documents from the customer and GE Capital stating that this problem was resolved in Best Windows and Doors� favor.

Best Windows And Doors
Melissa Newman
Office Manager
Windows And Doors
1300 North Johnson Ave #100
El Cajon, Ca 92020

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