Jan
King George,#2Author of original report
Thu, December 07, 2006
Finally I do believe that we have if not a happy ending to our nightmare, at least a satisfied one. During the month of October of this year, 2006, Clayton Homes, specifically Mr. Lucas, sent out two private contractors, and Mr. Redmond, and Claytons Trim Crew. Every problem that we had was addressed. Our roof that had not even been caulked after the travel plastics came off and did leak, was not only checked out but every single shingle that even looked like it had a nail hole in it was replaced, not caulked, but replaced. Our front door that would never shut right was finally repaired the correct way and is now fine. The third room ceiling that was so damaged in the wreck has now been completely redone by a private contractor who does nothing but finish ceilings. It really is remarkable how close this man got the third room ceiling to the rest of the house. Our carpet that was already coming up between the kitchen and dinning room has been redone with a silver carpet strip that should have been done in the first place at the factory, common sense would tell you that. All in all 15 to 20 different things were addressed and completed to our satisfaction. We still had to fork out 150.00 for a vapor barrier and 120.00 to convert my stove. No one has ever offered to cover those expenses that we should not have had to deal with in the first place. Considering what Clayton Homes Ashland has done to my family you would think that is the least they could do. Just a few side notes here before I end my updates on this nightmare. We have never in all this time, even after talking to the so called Home Office, received a phone call or any communication whatsoever from them. You would think after what my family had suffered that they would have been the first on the phone with the offer of putting us up while a new home was built. Any reputable company would have done so. Any reputable dealership would have done so. We had already been homeless for weeks by then with a disabled son and two birds. The lack of response and compassion from Clayton Homes and their dealership goes to show you what kind of company they really are. My husband spoke to Mr.Lucas at first, he apparently, and I have no knowledge of what was said except what my husband told me, said that the reason he had that letter from his lawyer sent to me was he objected to his name being used in this report. Mr. Lucas is the manager of the dealership in Ashland Virginia. I have always been under the impression that a manager was and is responsible for the people under him and who do work for him and his dealership. One of the meanings of the word manager is, to manage, so if he is not responsible for his dealership, who is? If he is not responsible for the misinformation and shoddy work that the people under him give out and do then I guess he shouldn't be a manager. In any case harassing and terrorizing a family whose home your dealership has wrecked, whom your dealership has lied to repeatedly and put at risk a disabled family member by those lies is not only unethical but immoral. Also the best advice I can give anyone who is even thinking about purchasing a home from Clayton, where ever you live, is to not even walk on the lot or say a word to anyone without your video camera up and running and your lawyer right there with you. Also if you have any other way at all do not finance through Clayton. Get your own private financing. You will be happier in the long run. (( link removed by ROR)) I'm sure once my site gets seen I'll be harassed and threatened into taking it down but I won't go down without a fight. I have every right in the world to tell the story of what has happened to my family as Clayton has to say that they are just the most honest and reputable manufactured home builder, which I consider false advertising, so buyer beware. A lot of the ripoff reports I've seen here are ranting and raving and most don't make much sense, not to say they aren't valid, and I've been guilty of that myself, but if you really sit back and word your ripoff report with some sense you may get more of a positive response and mobile home owners may not get such a poor reputation. We need to help each other in this.
No
KNOXVILLE,#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, October 25, 2006
CLAYTON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SET UP! IT IS IN THIER OWN MANUEL THAT A VAPOR BARRIER IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YET THEY VERY SELDOM PUT ONE DOWN, THIS CAUSES MOISTURE PROBLEMS WHICH CAN LEAD TO MOLD PROBLEMS! YOU SHOULD OF RECEIVED A SET UP MANUEL, IF YOU DIDN'T GO GET YOURS FROM THE DEALER! make sure all the footers are up to code. find out what your local frost line is and make sure all the footers are below that otherwise you will have problems of the home becoming un level..... http://www.manufacturedhomebuyers.com/clayton%20ordeal.htm http://www.srmi.biz/Tips.Moisture___Pollution.Crawl_space_moisture.htm#CHDFCBAJ http://www.hud.gov/complaints/manhousing.cfm
Louise
Ashland,#4Consumer Comment
Fri, October 06, 2006
I am sorry to read all you went through to enjoy your new home. I too have a Manufactured Home in Ashland but not from Clayton or Oakwood. It is so sad that some people know nothing about customer service and yet work with the public. I pray you will soon be settled and will enjoy your home as much as I enjoy mine.
Jan
King George,#5Author of original report
Thu, October 05, 2006
After filing a complaint with the Dept.of housing and community development on Sept. 25th 2006 an update is necessary to my report. Our complaint was acted upon very quickly and a contractor was at our home,we believe sent by Clayton Ashland, on October 2nd to find out what exactly remained to be done. My husband then received a call from Mr. Lucas on October 4th saying that he would like to have people out at our home on October 6th. This is acceptable and we are hoping that this will be the last of the repairs that are necessary to bring our home back into county and state codes and factory specs. Now, whether the contractor will be doing the work or Mr. Lucas again sends his trim crew remains to be seen. The contractor is preferable as a Trim Crew can only do so much and we are talking walls here and floors that need to be repaired. I will update again after we see what happens. If you need to contact someone with a complaint in Virginia the place to start is here. http://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/BCAR/Manufactured%20Housing.htm I had detailed notes from which to write down everything that had been damaged as well as putting together a DVD of film clips so that the damage to the home could be seen and not just described.
Jan
King George,#6Author of original report
Mon, July 24, 2006
UPDATE* Our home has now failed it's final inspection due to Clayton Homes Ashland Virginia NOT putting a vapor barrier under our home when it was set up. We have just been told that is a requirement. Why is it that Clayton Homes who is in the business of selling and setting up manufactured homes does not know this? Why? Our contract states the setup of the home, with the requirements of our county, would not a vapor barrier be part of a setup if it is a requirement? We were contacted on April 11th of this year by Clayton Homes Home office. I told them just about exactly what I've written here and the young man didn't seem to give a darn but did tell me that someone would be back with us within 72 hours. That was in April, it's now July. Long 72 hours huh? Obviously the Home Office doesn't care about their customers either. As for the front windows they have been fixed now and work properly. I still am not happy with the carpet, and now I have nails coming up through the floor. You can even feel flooring joints that are out of place when you walk on the no-grade carpet as well as being stuck in the foot by brads or nails. The carpet is coming loose from the strip that separates the dining room from the kitchen and if you don't watch where you walk you'll get stabbed in the foot. Our front door on the half of the house that was wrecked it still not setting right, you can see daylight all around it when it's closed. The storm door doesn't close or catch either. The latch on the back storm door is so bad you can hardly get it open. These are all things that have been reported to Clayton before, except the nails and the floor joints,carpet separating from strip, those have just shown up and will be reported. Further updates as they happen.
Jan
King George,#7Author of original report
Mon, May 08, 2006
http://www.hadd.com/ Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings. It has a place to make a report, Government listings on who to file complaints with in your state and a place to file your story on their website too. Loads of information.
Jan
King George,#8Author of original report
Sat, May 06, 2006
First of all I'm sorry that I popped off at you Michael, you are in the same boat we are. But you really should use your own post and not other peoples for your complaint. Now on to more pressing business. I received a letter from a law firm on May 5th 2006 telling me to retract my personal opinions and statements about Clayton Homes Ashland Virginia. This type of terrorist tactic is why Clayton Homes has gotten away with ripping off countless families, the 40 odd reports on this site are just the tip of the iceberg. Everything I say in my original report is true. I can backup just about all of it with my original notes, witnesses( the district Manager Mr. Holmes being one) and pictures and video tape of actual events as they occurred. As well as several meetings that took place in the home itself with Mr. Lucas, Sean Redmond, and Joy Ramos who I have been informed no longer works for Clayton Homes in Ashland Virginia. Since I am being told to retract my statements, fine, I retract every nice thing I have said about Mr. Lucas. Which as you can see in my original report he really did do quite a bit for us. I will not however retract the truth of what has happened to my family, or Mr. Lucas's previous behavior and you can threaten me till the cows come home. Being a born and bred, tax paying, voting American Citizen with the rights of free speech I will voice my personal opinions and stories anywhere and anytime I want to. If you have done nothing wrong then what is your problem? If you refute what I am saying you have the ability to rebut what I have said right here on this site so why do you resort to terrorist tactics in threatening myself and my family or do you just like to attack women? For the record it is not Ms. it is Mrs. and I would appreciate my correct title being used for any further threats. I have sent a scanned image of the letter to ripoffreports.com and I'm hoping they will be able to put it up here so everyone can see what exactly it says so I won't be accused of making more false statements. My home is nearly fixed now, lots of small and not so small things have been fixed. We are still not happy with the carpeting in the hall, it looks terrible and I was pretty much forced into saying it was ok by the service manager calling me and saying that the men who had been out to fix it couldn't get paid till I OKed the work so she was putting it on me that these men were not getting paid, so that's how that went and I guess we will have to live with it. The 4 front windows on the half of the house that was wrecked still need work but that is being addressed and they are supposed to be out on Monday May 8th 2006 to get that done, barring rain of course. After that I'm pretty sure things will be just about as they should be and should have been from the start. I'll update again when I have something to report. May 6th 2006
Jan
King George,#9Author of original report
Fri, May 05, 2006
This person, who I am going to sue had added somehow his comments to mine and I am now being terroized by Clayton Homes for his comments.
Michael
Warrensville,#10Consumer Comment
Sun, January 22, 2006
Like yourself, I was also ripped off by Clayton homes aka Oakwood Homes. I am however going to put up a huge website to ensure that my case is the exception and not the rule. I can assure you that it will scare plenty of potential customers away as I will show pictures. Before I purchased a home from Oakwood.com, I had heard stories but since I didn't see any sort of proof (even here on the internet) I didn't give it much thought. Then I purchased my home... And let me tell you! - It has been a hellish nightmare - One thing and lie after another. If any gov. agencies are out there or if any corporate attorney wants to file a class action lawsuit, this would be an idea company to fight. Oakwood lies, cheats and steals... Make no mistake, There is probably thousands of people who will certainly verify this. I am putting up a website, Oakwood homes suck dot com, and will hopefully make national attention when I drive from TN to the coast of NC putting up signs which state, "Oakwood Homes Suck" - Why would I do such a thing? - Because, Unlike others who got stuck into a home. I choose this home in good faith - thinking that the salesman was honest about the condition of the home. The home had 2" gaps in the walls. This is not just some cheap single wide but a 2 story modular. Making payments on the home isn't a problem, However, I am deeply disturbed by the fact that the payments which my wife and I agreed too are different then what we started getting billed for. Nevertheless, I have 3 different papers which state different payments. None of the papers reflects the payments which we are having to make. I spoke with David Booth directly regarding this and he refused to do anything about it. Before I end this post. I would like to tell you where I closed on my house... The salesman came to my work and had me sign the papers and then went to my wifes place of work and had her do the same. According to the law, We should have received a copy of the agreement that same day but didn't receive a copy for weeks!!!!!!!! - Just wait until the site goes up and the signs go up... I could care less what David Booth / Clayton homes thinks about what I am doing. If they think they can rip someone of for 25 years by paying for a house thats hardly suitable to live in and get away with it then they need to rethink their modus operandi. I am going to spend the next 25 years making dam* sure that everyone hears about this situation loud and clear.
Michael
Warrensville,#11Consumer Comment
Sun, January 22, 2006
Like yourself, I was also ripped off by Clayton homes aka Oakwood Homes. I am however going to put up a huge website to ensure that my case is the exception and not the rule. I can assure you that it will scare plenty of potential customers away as I will show pictures. Before I purchased a home from Oakwood.com, I had heard stories but since I didn't see any sort of proof (even here on the internet) I didn't give it much thought. Then I purchased my home... And let me tell you! - It has been a hellish nightmare - One thing and lie after another. If any gov. agencies are out there or if any corporate attorney wants to file a class action lawsuit, this would be an idea company to fight. Oakwood lies, cheats and steals... Make no mistake, There is probably thousands of people who will certainly verify this. I am putting up a website, Oakwood homes suck dot com, and will hopefully make national attention when I drive from TN to the coast of NC putting up signs which state, "Oakwood Homes Suck" - Why would I do such a thing? - Because, Unlike others who got stuck into a home. I choose this home in good faith - thinking that the salesman was honest about the condition of the home. The home had 2" gaps in the walls. This is not just some cheap single wide but a 2 story modular. Making payments on the home isn't a problem, However, I am deeply disturbed by the fact that the payments which my wife and I agreed too are different then what we started getting billed for. Nevertheless, I have 3 different papers which state different payments. None of the papers reflects the payments which we are having to make. I spoke with David Booth directly regarding this and he refused to do anything about it. Before I end this post. I would like to tell you where I closed on my house... The salesman came to my work and had me sign the papers and then went to my wifes place of work and had her do the same. According to the law, We should have received a copy of the agreement that same day but didn't receive a copy for weeks!!!!!!!! - Just wait until the site goes up and the signs go up... I could care less what David Booth / Clayton homes thinks about what I am doing. If they think they can rip someone of for 25 years by paying for a house thats hardly suitable to live in and get away with it then they need to rethink their modus operandi. I am going to spend the next 25 years making dam* sure that everyone hears about this situation loud and clear.
Michael
Warrensville,#12Consumer Comment
Sun, January 22, 2006
Like yourself, I was also ripped off by Clayton homes aka Oakwood Homes. I am however going to put up a huge website to ensure that my case is the exception and not the rule. I can assure you that it will scare plenty of potential customers away as I will show pictures. Before I purchased a home from Oakwood.com, I had heard stories but since I didn't see any sort of proof (even here on the internet) I didn't give it much thought. Then I purchased my home... And let me tell you! - It has been a hellish nightmare - One thing and lie after another. If any gov. agencies are out there or if any corporate attorney wants to file a class action lawsuit, this would be an idea company to fight. Oakwood lies, cheats and steals... Make no mistake, There is probably thousands of people who will certainly verify this. I am putting up a website, Oakwood homes suck dot com, and will hopefully make national attention when I drive from TN to the coast of NC putting up signs which state, "Oakwood Homes Suck" - Why would I do such a thing? - Because, Unlike others who got stuck into a home. I choose this home in good faith - thinking that the salesman was honest about the condition of the home. The home had 2" gaps in the walls. This is not just some cheap single wide but a 2 story modular. Making payments on the home isn't a problem, However, I am deeply disturbed by the fact that the payments which my wife and I agreed too are different then what we started getting billed for. Nevertheless, I have 3 different papers which state different payments. None of the papers reflects the payments which we are having to make. I spoke with David Booth directly regarding this and he refused to do anything about it. Before I end this post. I would like to tell you where I closed on my house... The salesman came to my work and had me sign the papers and then went to my wifes place of work and had her do the same. According to the law, We should have received a copy of the agreement that same day but didn't receive a copy for weeks!!!!!!!! - Just wait until the site goes up and the signs go up... I could care less what David Booth / Clayton homes thinks about what I am doing. If they think they can rip someone of for 25 years by paying for a house thats hardly suitable to live in and get away with it then they need to rethink their modus operandi. I am going to spend the next 25 years making dam* sure that everyone hears about this situation loud and clear.