Complaint Review: Fleetwood Enterprises Inc./Palmetto Mobile Homes

This is the beginning of an account of me and my wife's excellent adventure in buying a Fleetwood Manufactured Home. It all started when we decided to get married and buy our own place. We went through about 150 homes until we found the one we both liked. A Fleetwood (Please don't laugh at us.) Well, to make a long story short it was delivered and setup. We closed June, 2002. On August 8, 2002 I sent to Fleetwood via their Web Site the following message:





My wife and I purchased a new mobile home from a dealer in Walterboro, SC in June, 2002.

We were told by the dealer to wait thirty (30) days and make a list of any problems and then they would be taken care of. We submitted a long list to them on July 12. On July 16 Fleetwood contacted me. A lady named Lisa called me and went over the list that was apparently sent to Fleetwood by the dealer. She stated that a Fleetwood representative would be in contact with me within two weeks. To this date I have not been contacted.

There are serious problems that need to be addressed immediately such as none of the electrical sockets work in either of the bathrooms. The outdoor sockets do not work. The outdoor sockets and the GFCI socket in the kitchen blow the fuse constantly. The burners on the stove do not work - they heat up and never cut off. The floors sound as if they are getting ready to fall through to the ground. There are numerous objects between the carpet and the floor that we keep stepping on. None of the deadbolt locks on the doors will lock properly because the house has never been leveled correctly. There is a crack in the master bath shower that prevents the use of it, and, in effect, we have a one-bathroom home. Cabinets are coming off the walls. Ceiling rafters are protruding through the dining room ceiling. As you can see the list goes on and on and on....

We chose Fleetwood because we thought that we would be getting a quality built home with quality customer service.

Not once have we been contacted by the dealer, by Fleetwood, or anyone since the closing other than to drop off the list of defects and the subsequent call from Lisa @ 866-231-9586 ext 3023 to go over the initial list of defects.

I have an appointment with a certified/licensed home inspector. I need to know if there are any safety hazards due to the electrical sockets not working and the circuits blowing all the time - not to mention the stove only having two burners that will work and the others that overheat. I believe this to be a serious safety concern due to the fact that it involves the electrical system of the home and should receive immediate attention.

I will give Fleetwood sufficient time to address these problems/defects but will have no choice other than to seek qualified/licensed contractors to correct any defects as soon as possible.

I feel that I have given Fleetwood and the dealer ample time (from July 16 to August 8 nearing four weeks) to at least begin correcting the defects in this home.


UPDATE: There still has been no service done on my home except for when I contact the SC Manufactured Housing Board. Numerous defects were found by the State Inspector.
Only the initial electrical problems and the hole in the shower have been repaired. The house still leaks, still have door problems, floor problems, and now bowed walls. Water pipes are now rattling. After numerous attempts to have Fleetwood return my calls I decided to hire my own contractor. I was told by the dealer that "They have done all they could ~ called Fleetwood etc etc," That I needed to do what I had to do." I was told by "Fleetwood's Eastern Region Call Center" that for any work I had done to get before and after pictures.
For anyone interested in buying a Fleetwood manufactured home I can only say DON'T.
The service from the dealer and Fleetwood has been atrocious and the quality of the work done on my home during the manufacturing of it and afterwards has been disgusting.
Visit www.myfleetwoodhomesucks.com or www.fleetwoodhorrorstories.com

Thank you

Bert
Cottageville, South Carolina
U.S.A.