Complaint Review: Melrose Forge - Malden Massachusetts

I am an established general contractor in the Greater Boston area for the past 20yrs.  I have worked with hundreds if not a thousand contractors over the years.   Wayne is one of the most honorable and professional people I have ever worked with.  I would recommend Melrose Forge to anyone.  The claims detailed against Melrose are clearly false and slander.   Look at all the reviews speaking for Wayane and his great work.   I just completed a project in Faneuil Hall with Wayne and it was a very enjoyable experience.   

I have found over the years that 90% of the time the client has unrealistic expectations and does not fully understand the scope of work and who is responsible for what.   At the end when its time to pay, they play games and try to find some imperfection to save themselves money.   We need a TV show called "to catch a client" and not "to catch a contractor.   Its the contractors that are getting taken advantage of by clients.   I wish I could go into their places of business and decide after i have used or taken their product that I dont want to pay for it. 

Contractors beware, have a good contract agreement, get 1/3 up front at a minimum and bill agressively.   If they miss a payment pull off the job immediately and file a lien (DO NOT WAIT OR SETTLE FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR).   Clients typically wait until last payment to play games so I suggest billing aggressively so there's not much left at the end.  Also they need the CofO to occupy the space make CofO contigent on final payment.  GOOD LUCK

I just contacted Melrose Forge with regard to some custom work I wanted done in brass. I spoke to the owner, Wayne, directly. It was my first call at 2:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and he picked up the phone immmediately. He was very professional and pleasant - talkative, but in an informative and casual way (not at all intimidating, not condescending - just very matter of fact).

I had noticed a photo on his website that showed a brass railing atop iron pilasters. He was very clear that he did not do brass work, but used a different individual who had his own company for that part of the job. He told me the name of the other company, gave me the phone number, and the other owner's name.

If he were dishonest, he could easily have claimed the work as his own, had the other guy do it, and have a pass through price for himself. He did not do that. In fact, his words were precisely, "I don't need to make money on you for this project, just call the company directly".

I believe this man to be honest from this interaction alone. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy! I would ignore the one out of character complaint and listen to the other people who have given him good references. I would do business with this man in the future.

  I have known Wayne Graham and done business with him and Melrose Forge for over 6 years now I have known him to be nothing but professional courteous and does work of high quality craftsmanship over the years he has met deadlines with no problems his prices are extremely competitive I have never met a more honest and forthright individual in the construction industry I've been in this business for over 36 years Wayne Graham and Melrose Forge is a company that I have done business with and will continue to do business with as long as I am alive anyone who differs from this opinion or rights a derogatory statements about Wayne or Melrose Forge should be prosecuted for slander and at the very least is an outright liar

I am a consumer in the middle of a project with Melrose Forge, and I have found nothing whatsoever in the actions of owner Wayne Graham, his demeanor, approach to his work, or professionalism that would lend credence to the amazing complaint on this site. To me, it is a shame that someone (for whatever reason) can so easily shape the opinions of others through a high-profile report that appears largely bogus. I expect this project with Melrose Forge will be wrapped up within one week; if you are in the Boston/North Shore/Merrimack Valley region and are looking for examples of custom wrought-iron railing work, including custom paint, feel free to get in touch with me and view the results of the project at my home (it is fairly small). I will provide a completely unbiased view of the work done by Wayne Graham and Melrose Forge, as a homeowner who takes pride in "doing his homework", choosing the right contractors, and having things done correctly the first time.

I read these allegations about Melrose Forge and find all of them disturbing and lies.I have known Wayne for about 10yrs.And have referred many customers of my own to him.I operate a welding company also, based out of Stoneham right next door to Melrose.Adams Welding/Bill Adams.I have worked beside wayne and find his quality of work nothing but top notch.I honestly don,t think there is a better railing guy in the buisness and i have been operating since 1995. The photo is attached if anyone has doubts that i own a welding co also. Bill Adams

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I have used the services of Melrose Forge for over 30 years. From metal railing work to small structural steel projects. The owner is very talented and detailed in this line of work. I have been to his shop and seen him perform work in the feild. He is nothing close to what is descibed in this report.
As a person he is a wonderful family man. I see him at restaurants sometimes when my wife and I go out together. He always has his wife and kids at his side. I was at a party that he was attending, he had 1 beer, wished us all a good night and went home to his family.
Over the years I have recommend his services to many friends and acquaintances, which I would gladly provide a list.
To sum this up I believe this entire report is a hoax. Whoever wrote this complaint should be made to produce evidence that they even had business relations with Melrose Forge.

Not only does this report contain numerous falsehoods tantamount to slander, it has been posted since 11-5-2004! Wayne Graham has lost and continues to lose untold amounts of business from people reading these lies. It is the first thing that pops up about Melrose Forge in a Google search.. Many potential customers refer to Google for reference and other info about companies before doing business with them. What a shame! TAKE DOWN THIS POST! For 41/2 years he has been wronged without even knowing about it! I've known Wayne now for about 4 years and am proud to call him my friend and collegue. I have found him to be a fair and honest man in both personal and business matters. He's a church-going guy and a great father and husband. He doesn't drink or smoke......hell, he doesn,t even swear! He has an affable professional manner and is always available to lend a hand or give professional advice when needed. I own a local sign company and have had Wayne work on a number of projects with me concerning concept, design, fabrication and installation. His products, and work ethics have ALWAYS been top-notch. His prices have ALWAYS been, if not competitive, then BELOW market price! I have , since knowing Wayne, admired him and I see no truth in that report from "Michael of Burlington". Michael---Shame on you!

Just a letter to let my customers know that the report on MELROSE FORGE is false in every regard. Whoever posted this report is disgruntled for some reason and has written what amounts to lies, slander, and character assassination. The allegations are false, completely against all my personal and work ethics. There are so many that I think a fair minded person would see that everything but the kitchen sink has been thrown. Melrose Forge has never been brought to court in it's 35 years of existence. Even the issue of a price doubling makes no sense as a person could either say " No, no price will be doubled" or just say there will be no job. Note: Because I am just starting to learn computers and have never even thought to browse Melrose Forge, I did not expect to find anything there, much less anything derogatory or slanderous. Apparently this report has been up for ~4 years and it seeks to negatively impact my business and livelihood. I ask by the grace of God that this report be taken down. Please feel free to contact Wayne at Melrose Forge Inc. 781-665-1970.

I am a mechanical engineer and I've known Wayne for more than 15 years on a semi-professional basis; lately involving the development of an automatic iron railing welding machine that my company originally designed and partially built for him. He has visited my facility more than few dozen times within the last year while his machine was here and the majority of such visits were at or near the end of the day. One of my company partners is female and she has encountered Wayne casually on many occasions herself. She has also seen this report and we agreed that we would TESTIFY to the following facts: * Neither of us have ever smelled marijuana on him. * I have never smelled marijuana in or near his truck, (she has never been near his truck). * Neither of us have ever smelled alcohol on his breath. * Neither of us have ever witnessed any indication of alcohol impairment in his speech or behavior. * Neither of us have ever been touched by him or felt intimidated by him. * She has never seen him wink at her, (nor has he ever mentioned anything about her to me in her absence). * I do NOT know him to have any overt interest in sports at all because, with exception to a few major events like the Patriots losing the Super Bowl last year, he has NEVER brought up sports as a topic in casual conversation. The casual conversations I have had with him are almost always about technology, politics or world current events almost never sports. * Neither of us recall ever hearing his truck radio, (let alone playing loudly). Of what I know about Wayne's workmanship, (I have been to his shop a few times), I do not believe that he would clandestinely substitute tubing for solid stock. I doubt it because solid steel is easier to weld and less expensive per pound and doubt it because I have seen several jigs and fixtures in his shop that are used for fabricating with solid stock. But my greatest doubt it because I simply do not think that Wayne would do something like that. Only on one or two occasions have I ever noticed railings in his truck that were fabricated from tubing and such were of stainless steel tubing destined for institutional use, (hospital or government building, etc.) It is my opinion that the aim of this so called report' has nothing to do with any job that Wayne may have done, (perhaps there was no job at all), and everything to do with someone having a personal vendetta against him. Several years ago, Wayne brought to my attention and sought my opinion concerning an issue' he was encountering with another person and, importantly, that person was not one of Wayne's customers. I will not divulge who that person was or what the issue was but I will state here that it was an issue contentious enough for me to believe that the kind of person who would initiate such an issue with Wayne, (and who, to my understanding, subsequently failed to get the ridiculous compensation they were wrongly seeking in way of a remedy), would be of the same deficient character to make fallacious statements about Wayne on a message board if afforded the opportunity to do so anonymously. I do not know if this report is related at all to that issue but it did cross my mind as one possibility. I am stating the truth and have no reason to write anonymously. As expressed by Brian of Lynn, (above), I too know Wayne Graham to be an honest gentleman. Wayne is the complete opposite of the person portrayed in this report'. It is my firm opinion that the only real intent of this report' was unmerited vengeful character assassination and that it should be deleted for that reason. My name is Michael Mitchell of R. D. Dane Corp. Everett, MA and my phone number is 617-387-6701 should you wish to confirm the above, (if I am not in, please leave a message). If you want to consider Wayne for a custom iron railing I have no doubt that he will gladly provide you with names and phone numbers of satisfied customers who can be contacted directly.

I will have you know. The owner of Melrose Forge is one of the most honest men I know. My Father a gentleman, one of the last on planet earth Other than Wayne the owner of Melrose forge. Who ever wrote this about Melrose Forge is little man. Very little. I barely have time to write this. The man who has time to bash fellow men by lying and slandering will get what he deserves. GOD will do his best. Heven knows an honest man does not have time to find an evel man.

I will have you know. The owner of Melrose Forge is one of the most honest men I know. My Father a gentleman, one of the last on planet earth Other than Wayne the owner of Melrose forge. Who ever wrote this about Melrose Forge is little man. Very little. I barely have time to write this. The man who has time to bash fellow men by lying and slandering will get what he deserves. GOD will do his best. Heven knows an honest man does not have time to find an evel man.

I will have you know. The owner of Melrose Forge is one of the most honest men I know. My Father a gentleman, one of the last on planet earth Other than Wayne the owner of Melrose forge. Who ever wrote this about Melrose Forge is little man. Very little. I barely have time to write this. The man who has time to bash fellow men by lying and slandering will get what he deserves. GOD will do his best. Heven knows an honest man does not have time to find an evel man.

Michael, First of all you should have seen the warning signs from this guy. Contracting is serious business that involves the people performing work on the largest investment you ever made. Anyone showing up drunk or touching your wife should have been looked at real hard. Then the changing numbers game -not acceptable. However after the shoddy work was done you say that Mr. Graham's attorney threatened you with a Mechanics Lein. Was this a laywer or a bar-room buddy playing games? I am not an attorney, but I am an electrical contractor from Malden, and I have used the legal system against non-paying customers(usualy general contractors) many times, including the Mechanics Lein. Most legal action is from the General Contractor not paying the bills but, unfortunatley for the home owner, the lein is recorded on the worksite property anyway. To record a lein in Massachusetts there MUST be a written contract. In your case since Mr. Graham was hired directly by you and was not a sub-contractor this contract MUST have a date of completion (a sub-contractor does not). Then the contractor MUST record a Notice of Contract at the appropiate Registry of Deeds prior to the completion date. If there is a payment dispute AFTER COMPLETION the contractor must then record a Claim of Lein at the appropiate Registry of Deeds within 30 days of the date of completion. Then within 60 days of this claim an lawsuit MUST be filed in the appropriate court to PERFECT the LEIN. It is a complicated process with many statutory deadline, and al of these filings and recordings cost money ($75.00 for each in Middlesex Co) in additin for the fee paid to the title researcher ($50-$100).Everything of course must be notarized. Mr. Graham's attorney is either a moron, or has no experience in contract/construction law, or was one of his pot smoking laborers impersonating a lawyer. I have heard many times in this business- "If they don't pay just slap a lein on them". Fortunatly for the consumer, it is not that easy, and with good cause. It is a hard and expensive thing to do, which means that only the contractors who really get burned can use this legal action. You may still have resources to recover some of your money, hopefully you took pictures, but remember in this business time is of the essence. Call a lawyer today.