Complaint Review: Home Performance Alliance

A sales rep for Home Performance Alliance/Randall Mullins Construction did an in-home demonstration of replacement home windows on the evening of Aug. 14. We were provided with a brochure of Home Performance Alliances window brands, which lists the Doers Sashlite and Doers Dominator EXT brands. He showed us a sample of the actual window we would be purchasing. We were impressed with the windows, but did not wish to pay the $27,000 that was quoted. After he called his boss, Mr. Gary Delia, they told us the good news that they would sell us the windows that were demo'd for $16,500 as long

as we didn't tell anyone what kind of price discount we received. We gave the sales rep a $500 cash deposit for 23 windows and made arrangements to sign a contract the next day since he didn't have a formal contract form in his possession. We also requested a truth-in-lending since the windows were to be financed. We authorized them to use our personal information solely to qualify us for their 1.5% in-house financing. I counted the cash deposit to confirm it was $500, and then the sales rep counted the cash in front of us when he took the deposit, and confirmed that we gave him $500. The contract shows we paid $500. (If you want to know the EXACT sales pitch we received, check out this

review of Mr. Delias former company, Duramade I wish we had seen this first!

http://www.ripoffreport.com/builders-contractors/duramade-windows-and/duramade-windows-and-doors-don-d6264.htm)

Prior to meeting me for the contract signing, the sales rep left a phone message that they needed to change the architectural design of the windows because they couldn't honor the price with the six-pane frame. I told him if that was the case, I didn't want to do the deal, at which point he said that he could do the original deal. When he arrived with the contract, he had scratched out "Sashlite" and wrote in "Duragaurd" (sic).  I asked him if this was the same window that was demo'd and he assured me several times that it was.  My wife then called him later that afternoon and asked him to confirm that the windows we agreed to contractually were the same windows that were demo'd. He told her several times that it was. In a subsequent call, my wife asked him what window he demo'd and he told her that the window that was demo'd was the Sashlite window. She then advised him that her Internet research showed that Sashlite and Duragard were two different windows made by Doers. He did admit then that they were actually different windows. The  Doers Duragard window was not featured anywhere in the literature that was provided to us and was not discussed during our demonstration. The Sashlite windows are LoE3 366 windows; the Duragard window is a LoE window. An Internet search for the Dominator EXT impact window shows that it is a separate product altogether.

Given this discrepancy, and our belief that we did not enter into a contract for the same exact windows we believed we were purchasing, we were not comfortable with proceeding with this purchase.  On Aug. 16, the day after the contract was signed, we sent a fax to the number on the contract as well as a certified letter requesting that they cancel the contract effective immediately. As per our buyers right to cancel, stated clearly in the contract, they were required to refund the $500.00 cash down payment we gave as consideration to the sales rep.

Mr. Delia began calling us repeatedly, acknowledging that he received our request for cancellation, and wanted to talk about why we wanted to cancel. He said he wanted to assure us that we were getting the windows we were promised, then later insisted that we knew all along that we were not getting the windows that were demod. We advised him that we did not wish to do business with him, and per our cancellation notice, which he had acknowledged receiving within the required time frame, we wanted our $500 cash deposit back. When I asked about when I might receive my deposit, Mr. Delia hung up on me.  In a follow-up phone conversation with him, Mr. Delia told me that he was not going to refund my cash deposit, called me a lowlife, told me he made more money in one day than I did in an entire year, and then insisted that our deposit was $40 short, and said he was going to sue me for breach of contract. However, I then called the sales rep, who told us that he had turned over the full amount ($500) to Mr. Delia and denied that the amount was short. My wife also called the sales rep, who told her  that he had been fired, but that Mr. Delia offered to give him his job back if he could close us by offering an additional $2,000 discount. She advised him that she could not do business with this company.

After Mr. Delia told us he would not refund our deposit, we contacted the Better Business Bureau. The day we filed our complaint with the BBB, and 3 days after we cancelled our contract, we received credit cards in the mail with an open line of credit with GE Capital for the sum of $16,000 dollars for the purchase of said windows at a rate of 26.99%.  At no time did we receive the required truth-in-lending documentation to make the loan process complete.  Mr. Delia used our personal identification number to apply for a credit vehicle that we did not approve.  We have already sent a certified letter to GE Capital advising them that this account was opened fraudulently and have had fraud alerts put on our credit reports.

Upon receiving the complaint from the BBB, Mr. Delia responded to the BBB that he would return the $500 via check. We subsequently received a check for $460, NOT $500. The sales rep confirmed with us on the phone several times after we cancelled the contract that he had turned in our full $500 deposit to Mr. Delia.  I do not know if Mr. Delia is lying about the missing $40 or if his sales rep is lying about the missing $40. His sales rep has a criminal history in Pinellas County for multiple counts of retail theft and possession of controlled substances. However, the contract states that we provided a $500 deposit.

If you check the BBB records, you will find that Mr. Gary Delia was the president of Duramade Windows and Doors, which has a BBB "F" rating due to 41 complaints, of which 17 received no response. Also, the contract was written under the company name of Randall Mullins Construction, "a subsidiary of Home Performance Alliance" (according to the contract). One of the selling points the sales rep used was the "A" rating they have. Randall Mullins has an "A" rating with BBB. I think that this is deceptive since this is essentially a rebirth of Mr. Delia's old company Duramade. Randall Mullins Construction is included in this complaint since the contract was written under their license (#CBC1252808).