- Report: #1067027
Complaint Review: Architectural Foam and Stone - Largo Florida
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Architectural Foam and Stone
8998 130th Ave North Largo, 33773 Florida, USA
Phone:
727.524.1700
Web:
http://foamandstone.com/
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Architectural Foam and Stone Chris DiGiulioArchitectural Foam & Stone Design Manufacturing Signs Faded after 1 year, Company won't honor warranty, Poor Quality Products, Deceptive Sales Largo Florida
Purchased a commercial monument sign from this company 7 years ago and product was good, still holding up well. So, I bought one additional monument sign and two large, commercial exterior wall-mounted signs a year ago. Within less than one year, all three signs faded, particularly the gold lettering on all of them.
When I contacted company owner Chris DiGiulio about this in February 2013 and explained the problems, he first stated that I bought the signs from his business partner who no longer is with the company. I responded that Chris was still the owner then and now, and I felt that he was responsible for warrantying the signs.
Mr. DiGiulio then explained that he had used a less expensive, latex, non-automotive grade paint for the signs because "you wanted a lower price" and the "competitor bidding provided a lower price". I responded that I did get bids on the sign, but at no point was I told that Architectural Foam and Stone had reduced the quality level to give me a lower price. They never provided a choice -- get a sign that lasts for this price, or get one that fades after a year for this price.
Since these are all commercial signs, I expected ones that would last, but they did not. The letters on all of them were specified to be bright gold lettering on a dark background. When the signs arrived new, they looked okay. Within 6 months of being outside (they are outside signs), all the letters faded to a dull, non-descript orange brown color.
I asked Mr. DiGiulio to warranty the defective signs and at least re-paint the letters in the gold automotive grade paint that is used for most commercial signs of this type. He told me to take the signs down and bring them to his shop and he would look at them. I explained that since one sign is 40 feet long and 3 feet high, another 20' x 2', and the third concreted in as a standalone monument sign that it would be impossible for me to remove and transport them.
I then asked Mr. DiGiulio to visit our location to see the signs and warranty them. After much discussion, he said he would do that, but he needed 3 weeks to complete some work first. After 4 weeks (then March 2013), I contacted him, and he said he would come by the week following. He never did, and I kept calling him over a period of another 6 weeks until he finally visited the site in April. Mr. DiGiulio agreed that the letters had faded pre-maturely and said he would have someone come out and re-paint the letters in the next week. Nobody came out to paint the letters, so I called again and again over a period of 6 more weeks. At one point, Mr. DiGiulio said someone came out to paint, but it started raining and he had to leave. I keep calling every week through June, and still nobody came out despite Mr. DiGiulio's assistant telling me on two occasions that they were subcontracting the work out and it would be done.
I've made at least 20 calls and sent many emails to Mr. DiGiulio since February, and it is now July 15 without any of our signs being fixed. I really prefer to have handled this with this company. We spent thousands of dollars on these signs and probably would have bought more if Architectural Foam and Stone would stand behind their work. But, I finally realized that Mr. DiGiulio has no intention of doing what he says and is playing a game trying to make me go away.
