ComplaintsforKofron Builders Inc

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hired company to replace wooden windows. Estimate done on wooden window, and we ended replacing with vinyl. Company overcharged price of windows and charged for more windows than we have and of style. Refused to give itemized list after several requests even prior to beginning. JMR Insurance Investigators and Adjusters contacted us about our Homeowners Claim. After their investigation founded that we were gouged in prices, overcharged and recommended to start here to have them make it right before hiring a lawyer. With all documentation, emails and recorded conversations that both parties agreed on recorded being. There is enough evidence to take to court but rather try to settle outside court first. Lawyer recommended this way first to keep costs down for both parties. We are uploading JMR Insurance Investigators letters. We hope to settle this peacefully. We no longer want them on our property after the emails we got and how the female's behavior, threating words to **** while working hours. We put stop payment on checks written as requested to do so by our Insurance Agent.

  Business response

  04/25/2022

  Re: Complaint #********

  We will respond to specific complaints:

  1) Customer said they hired company to replace wooden windows and they felt the windows they were getting would be wooden and vinyl windows were installed.     Response:  KBI was asked to inspect the windows after the Durecho.  ***** went over, inspected the windows and found no wind related damage to the window, in his opinion, and all damage that he saw was related to  old windows and excessive interior humidity.  He told the customer on that date of his findings which was February 11, 2021 and that if the adjuster still  wanted an estimate from him to call me back.  The customer called back about an hour later saying that the adjuster did want an estimate to replace the windows.  I went back the same morning and went through and measured all the windows up for size, shape and style.  The husband told us that he specifically wanted vinyl window replacements and he did not want wood windows put back in.  The estimate that was given was for vinyl windows.  Our replacement windows are vinyl and I relayed that information to the customer along with a brochure that I showed them what the style would be and how they would operate. 

  2)  Company overcharged in their pricing and charged for more windows than they received.  Response:  We replaced every window in the home that was requested to be replaced and this was documented in the estimate.  We replaced all  11 window openings which consisted of 4 twin units and 7 single units and 1 patio door.   We were one of two bids received on this project and we were lower by several thousand dollars than the other estimate.

  3) Refused to give itemized list after several requests even prior to beginning. Response:  She requested an itemized price per window approximately on September 13, 2021.  I have an email dated Septembe13, 2021  in my possession that documents my response to them with specific figures for material, labor, equipment and misc cost for disposal, etc.  Keep in mind the original invoice was sent to them on August 22, 2021 and she did not contact us until September 13, 2021 for this information.  She again then contacted us wanting an individual cost broken down for each window.  I replied that it would only be a guess at this time because we did not track job cost per each individual window unit and have never in 40 plus years been asked to provide that level of detail.

  4)J&M Investigators.  Response:  I have called an Insurance Adjuster  in ********* **** area  and I have completed a ****** search and I cannot find any information that this business exists.  They have no return address , phone number or email address on their letter head or business envelopes.  It was interesting to note that for a business based out of ********* **** or ***** ** that our envelope came postmarked from ************, the same city in which the complainant works.   In our opinion that letter containing their "findings" is fraudulent.

  We will respond now with further facts about the job.

  Final estimate was presented to them on April 4, 2021.  The estimate was for $25,970.00.  It was reviewed with them and they signed on 4/21/2021.  ********************* approved the estimate and a joint check was issued to the customer along with our company for the full amount of the estimate.  ********************* told the customer that since there was a mortgage on the house they would have to turn the check over to the mortgage company to hold until the project was completed or they could simply sign the entire check over to the customer and contractor.  Being  local and reputable we do not charge a customer in full until the job is complete.  We wrote a check back to the customer on April 16, 2021 for $10,000.00 to hold until the job was completed and they received the final ****.  The job was completed per the contract and to their complete satisfaction and an invoice  for $9,800.00, which included a $200 rebate due to reusing some of their old trim,  was issued August 22, 2021.    We did not hear back from them after contacts with them concerning their past due invoice.  Then it came to our attention from the Insurance Adjuster that he had received a request from the customers for an additional $9,800.  He called our office questioning  why there were additional charges on this project and the customer was saying we had billed them for cost over runs.    We advised the Adjuster that there were no cost over runs and our final billing amount  was $200 less than the check they had received from insurance.  Please see attached letter from the Insurance Adjuster.    That's when we knew we had a problem and the customer most likely had spent the $10,000 that was written to them to hold until final invoicing.  Further contact with the customer only produced comments that they were having issues with bank transferring money into the right account.  On November 30, 2021 with no payment yet I hand delivered a statement to the wife that the account was now way over due and that we would add $441 in service charges  if not paid in full.  She wrote us two checks that were less than $5000 total and wrote in the memo line "in good faith".   Because we knew there were "money issues" with the customer we decided to hand deliver the checks  to the bank and ask the bank if there were funds available in the account to cash.  We did not want to cash them and then find out we had two bad checks and compound the issues with additional bank charges for both the customer and our company.    The bank teller told us that there were no funds available to cash the checks.  On December 10, 2021 we were contacted by the husband that he wanted to meet us at the bank with a cashier's check in the full amount.  When we arrived at the bank he presented us a check for $10,000.00.  We said that was $200 more than the invoice and he said to keep the $200 for the time and problems we had in collecting the money.  We have not heard from them since that day until we received the letter from BBB. 

   

  ***** Kofron

  Kofron Builders Inc

  317 ********.

  ****** **  52772

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

*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. ↩