Chesley Fence / Fence Installation and Warranty

Chesley Fence / Fence Installation and Warranty

April 27, 2007 - Business Reply - From: Email User

Reply to complaint about Chesley Fence Dated May 10, 2005

April 25, 2007

In re: complaints.com/directory/2005/may/10/19.htm

Chesley Fence Co

To Whom it May Concern:

Having recently been informed of the above referenced complaint about Chesley Fence Co, and having read the comments that were attributed to a "representative from the fence manufacturer" I felt this response was necessary.

I remember the phone calls from this consumer very well because in 15 years of dealing with Chesley Fence, it's the only negative call I have ever received about them. And, since many of the comments attributed to me were out of context and misrepresentations, I would counter this blast with our experiences with Chesley Fence.

Not only has Tom Chesley been one of Jerith's best customers in terms of volume, he continually is awarded Jerith's Outstanding Dealer Award given only to those dealers who have exhibited the finest qualities of good business management. Chesly has installed over 1300 fences during this time and continually receives accolades about his work.

When registering their warranties, most consumers say very little other than to express satisfaction with out product. His is one of the few companies that homeowners mention by name with many comments about how happy they were, not only with the Jerith Fence they received, but the high quality level of installation and service given to them by Chesley.

While the tone of the complaint seems to infer personal rancor and I can't address it's outcome, I certainly hope that hearing "the other side" about Chesley Fence will permit any potential customers to entertain quotes for fencing with a positive attitude, because that's all I've ever seen from Tom.

Sincerely,

Frank L Klemencic, CFP

VP, Sales

Jerith Mfg Co, Inc

May 10, 2005 - Consumer Message:

Chesley Fence in Swansea, ILMy experience with Chesley FenceTo whom it may concern. I wanted to take the time to write this complaint to keep someone from blindly following in the same steps that I have. I am a former customer of Chesley Fence in Swansea, IL.We purchased and had a fence installed by Chesley Fence. The biggest reason we chose them was their claim of such a great product that had a lifetime guarantee. Tom Chesley told both my wife and me during his sales call that Chesley Fence were able to give the lifetime warranty on their aluminum fences because it was such a great product, and the only things that they had had to come out and fix in the past were minimal problems such as latches and screws. He told us that if we ever had a problem that all we had to do is call his office, and they would send someone out to

fix it.The fence was installed in the early Spring. We were very happy with the installers. They were hard workers and did a very good job of keeping the jobsite clean. Because of our satifaction, we paid upon completion of the job.A couple weeks later, however, we noticed that one of the screws that holds one of the gates up was sheared off. We called and talked to Patty Chesley, and she said that it would not be a problem; she would send someone out to take care of it.A month went by with no one coming to fix it, so we called again. Patty made the same promise. After

waiting another month, we had noticed another screw on the fence was sheared off like the first one. We called back again, with more unfulfilled promises. A few more calls throughout the Summer did not get any results either. They were always either too busy or understaffed.In October, I called again, and didn't even get a call back, so I waited a week, and called again, adding

that there were now up to 4 sheared screws, and one looked like it would shear very soon. Patty returned the call that day, and said that she would talk to Tom to see when they would be able to send someone out to take care of it.I called back in December because once again no one had been out to fix the problem. I left on my message a request to talk to Tom since Patty always seemed to just push off the excuse that she needed to check with him anyway, and if there was not a resolution soon, that I would have to take other measures. I did not get a response at all from that call. I called a week later with the ultimatum that if I did not hear from Tom that day that I would have no choice but involve the Better Business Bureau. I did not get a response.The next day, I made my "First" claim against Chesley Fence. Chesley's response to the BBB was

"Unfortunately my aluminum repairman has been out (two surgeries) for the past few months. I thought the customer was taken care of, obviously not. He will be taken care of today."(There is no way they could have thought I was taken care of with all the calls I had been making for 9

MONTHS.)Amazingly, however, they did send someone right out, and he fixed the broken screws and inspected the rest of the fence to see if there were any other problems.My wife asked him what we should do if any other screws broke, and he told her that all we would have

to do is call the office, and he (or someone else) would come out to fix it.In March, just over a year after the initial installation, the weather from Winter warmed up, so I

checked to see if any more screws had broken over the previous couple months. I found three more broken screws. I immediately called Chesley Fence, and the receptionist said to mark the broken screws with yarn, and someone would be out to fix them.A month later, I called again because no one had been out to fix the broken screws. No one returned my call. I continued to call every week requesting a call from Tom Chesley to discuss the issue.In May, I received a letter from Patty Chesley with twelve screws saying that they were sending the

screws, so I could fix my fence even though "this is not under warranty" I immediately called Chesley

Fence, to find out why they felt this was not covered by their lifetime warranty. The receptionist would not forward me on to anyone, and only told me that I should call a representative from the fence

manufacturer.I called a number she gave me, and the representitive said that there had been a bad batch of screws that went out, and it sounded like my fence was put up with some of them, and that all the screws should be replaced. He said that under the product warranty, he could send me a box of replacement screws, but he could not force Chesley Fence to do the repair. He said that I was lucky to get them out to do the first repairs. He said that many of the fence companies are so busy with new installations that they don't have time to deal with repairs, and since there is such a demand for new fences, that they can neglect previous customers without feeling it in the pocket book. He did, however, tell me that he would call Tom Chesley, and see what he could do about the situation.I waited almost two weeks without hearing back from anyone, so I started calling Chesley Fence again,

trying to get Tom Chesley to discuss the situation, and why Chesley thought the faulty product they sold was not covered by their lifetime guarantee. All I got from the receptionist was promises that she would pass on my messages.I finally gave up, and in June made a "Second" claim with the Better Business Bureau.Chesley's response this time was much worse than after the first claim. They stated that the lifetime

warranty was only for the finish on the fence, and that "Our company warranty, stated clearly on our

contract, states a 1 year warranty on labor and materials, not lifetime as the customer states. After

1 year, we supply any materials that are defective, but not our labor. The customer has been told

repeatedly by our office that the sheared screws were defective from the factory and do indeed need to be replaced, but not by our company as a warranty issue. Again, our company warranty is 1 year on labor and materials, not lifetime."This was the very first that I had heard of a 1 year warranty on labor, and there was nothing at all on my

contract stating anything about a 1 year warranty on labor. They could not have repeatedly told me about one either because they would never return my calls.We feel that Tom Chesley misrepresented the product and its warranty. We chose their company to install our fence because of this warranty, even though it cost more than having a similar product installed by one of their competitors. We would have never done so if we had known they were not going to stand behind it.As Spring is approaching, I'm sure many will be researching fence companies to build their fences, and

I couldn't have had a healthy conscience if I had not put my story out here to warn others of my experience with Chesley Fence.

chesley Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User

Comment On This

Mr. Klemencic was indeed the "representative from the fence manufacturer" which I spoke to, and I am disappointed that he would say my quotes from him were taken out of context. I'm sure he has to protect himself since Chesley Fence is his "best customer in terms of volume", but he said what I said he said.

Other than this disappointment, Mr. Klemencic was very pleasant to deal with, and was the only one that helped me in the situation at all. Tom Chesley never even bothered to talk to me as stated in my complaint.

As a result, I would recommend Jerith fence products (because of Mr. Kemencic), but I could never in good conscience recommend Chesley Fence.