- Report: #1165893
Complaint Review: Elephant Structures - Nationwide
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Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Elephant Structures
Nationwide, USA
Phone:
1-855-227-7678
Web:
http://www.elephantstructures.com/
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Elephant Structures, Heather Greene Not providing notice of installation fees until after accepting deposit Call Center u
This was my first purchase of a carport.
On or about June 16th, 2014; I called and placed an order with Elephant Structures for the procurement and installation of a 20'x46' carport with the expressed purpose of using it over a fifth wheel camper on location. I spoke with a gentleman by the name of Jamie, who went through the varous upselling techniques to add additional features and upgrades to my camper, but never mentioned that there was an extra charge to install a carport over an existing structure, only that the installation price was included in my charge. I paid a deposit of roughly 15% of the total cost of the structure + "free installation."
On or about July 1st, I called back to see if my carport was ready to be installed and was told that while they did have the parts and materials, they were not ready to install, and would not be working the week of July 4th. They specified I would be receiving a call at some point in the future to schedule the installation. I was again not appraised of the fact that I would be charged for an installation fee in addition to the fees I had already agreed to pay.
On July 29th, I received a call from Carolina Carports, apparently the installers for Elephant Structures in my area, arranging for a delivery date and time about a week and a half from the date of the call(August 8th) to affect delivery and installation. I agreed to the date and time, and the last thing the lady said to me before ending the call was to ask if they would be installing over anything on the location. I specified that my camper would be there. At that point, I was appraised it was an additional $200 to affect the installation.
I called back to Carolina Carports to confirm that this was a normal practice and to speak with someone about this additional fee, that I had not been made aware of. I was told there was no one to really speak to, as they were the installers, and it was common for them to charge this additional fee, and that I should have been made aware of it by Elephant Structures. I again informed them that I wasn't, but it was taken as if it did not matter; the instructions stood to contact Elephant Structures.
I called Elephant Structures and spoke with a newer Customer Service person, who told me that it was only his second day on the job, but after looking up my information and seeing who my sales person was, by the name of Jamie, he had a hard time believing that Jamie (who he apparently knew [and was said to be "a**inine{sic}"]) did not tell me about the additional $200 fee to install over something. I was then transfered to a woman by the name of Heather Greene (the spelling I was given), who specified that I had been sent an email stating that there was an additional charge (I was not, and I stated as such), and that she would not waive the fee, and that she had canceled my order, but while she would be providing me a refund, it would not be in the full amount of my deposit. She would not specify what amount was going to be refunded, and when I asked to speak with her supervisor, insisted that she was the highest ranked individual in the company Elephant Structures, and that she was the owner. She also specified that she had recordings of this call, and all of my other calls to the organization to prove I had been notified of this additional charge.
(Again, I never was notified, I was never sent an email, and now I'm not being given the option of a full refund after the terms and amounts were changed for the purchase and installationof the product)
1 Updates & Rebuttals
P D
Alabama,Further contact
#2Author of original report
Wed, July 30, 2014
As of the morning of 7/30/2014, I again attempted contact with Elephant Structures, wherein I spoke with an individual by the name of Noha Habib.
On my first contact, I asked whether or not I had canceled my order. I specified that from discourse with Heather Greene on the evening prior, she had made it clear to me that she had thought it "best at this point" to simply cancel my order; and that she would be giving me some of my deposit back, but not all, would not specify the amount and would not specify the time. I had told her at that point it that that was unacceptable to me. Noha said that she would speak with management/Heather Greene and attempt to rectify the situation to my satisfaction. Noha specified that emails had been sent to my email address, and that she could provide when that had ocurred, specifying my order. She asked me to check my email to see if I could see the email she had just sent. I diligently checked my inbox, including spam folders, and did not see said email. I informed her of this fact, and she specified that she would switch to a different email account (nhabib@carport.com) and again attempt to send the email, which she acted like it was important that I received.
This is the contents of that email, with "$$" used to hide my information.
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Date Ordered: 2014-06-13 09:10:13 |
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Zip Code: $$$$$$
Delivery: Installer Delivery
Lead Time: 3-6 weeks
Roof Style: A Frame Vertical
Gauge: 12 Gauge
Sheeting Gauge: 29 Gauge
Certified: No
Width: 20
Length: 46 (Frame 1 foot shorter than roof length)
Height: 12 (Leg height)
Left Wall (sides): None
Right Wall (sides): None
Panel Orientation (Sides): Horizontal Orientation
End Wall Front: No Wall
End Wall Back: No Wall
Panel Orientation (Ends): Horizontal Orientation
Roof Color: Blue
Roof Trim Color: Clay
Building Trim Color: Clay
Bracing 4': 1000.00 (Included in price)
Insulation: None
Additional Anchors: 6
Installation Surface - Your site must be level and ready
Ground Foundation: Level Site
Installation Type: Installed
Extra Panels: 21' Long - Blue - 2, 26' Long - Blue – 2
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Payments |
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Amount Paid: $699.75 |
The important part is the URL at the bottom
After this email was sent, I received another call from Noha, who first asked whether I had read the email, and then specified that hse had talked to the installers and management and that the two of them were going to waive the $200 installation fee for installing over a structure if I agreed to modify this report to say that the situation had been amicably resolved. I said that if they performed the installation as I had agreed to, for a charge of approximately $4900 those terms were agreeable and I would report as such. I asked to have this agreement detailed in an email to my person, and that once I received the email, I would adjust my statement on ripoffreport.com.
Before receiving the call from Noha, I had read the actual terms and responded with an email of my own, however. I had let Noha know that I had done so and the content of that email, which is as follows:
This email, I did receive.
I do see the link to the terms section listed on carport.com/terms/, I do not agree to them. I did not place my order through your website, I placed it through a call in using a number I received via http://www.elephantstructures.com/; which is not covered under your terms and conditions. Your terms and conditions were not presented to me, nor were they given to me, or made available to me through email.Therefore, I cannot be bound by your claims against my deposit amount, and I do still wish to receive my deposit in full.In fact, I find this action (ensuring I receive this particular email) itself to be predatory, in an attempt to get me to agree to be bound by these contracts without knowing as such.At this point, I fear retaliation from your company, and other predatory tactics to either deny me the carport in question while retaining money from my deposit made in good faith; or other such things.V/r
Instead of receiving the email I was expecting, one that detailed the installation fee being waived, I received the following email:
Good Afternoon Mr. $$$$$,
We had initially sent you a copy of your contract including the company’s terms and conditions to your email ($$$$$@gmail.com) on 06/13/14 and a second copy on 07/29/14 and a third copy per your request today 07/30/14.
In reference to your email below stating that you do not agree to the company’s terms and conditions, we will be unable to proceed with your order.
And therefore we will cancel the order and refund you your deposit. Please note that there’s a processing/restocking fee of $100.00 that is deducted from the refund.
Please allow 5-7 business days for the refund of $599.75 to show back on your account.
May you have a great day Sir and best regards.
At this time, my calls back to the business have not been returned.
Essentially what appears to have happened is that an olive branch was extended to get me to read an email and respond, in a way to bind me into some semblance of a contract to allow them to withhold some of my deposit. The terms specifically outlined in the link provided specify that if one does not request a refund within 3 business days from the date they ordered, they can at best only expect a pro-rated refund amount against their deposit, if their deposit isn't wholly forfeited, and they reserve the right to cancel your order at any point, for any reason, and attempt to get you to forfeit your right to take them to court. They may or may not send you an email making you aware of these terms, but wait until it is outside of the three days after your ordering and placing a deposit, but prior to 120 days to let you know of additional fees for installation. When you attempt to get your money back to avoid robbery or being charged for misrepresented goods/services, they refund a partial amount of your deposit.
