ScreenHouses Unlimited (Arkew Holdings Ltd.) Sells do it yourself kits in
Complaint #1 Damaged Material
ScreenHouses Unlimited promises 100% Satisfaction and assures buyers: If you are missing or have received a broken piece, simply call our toll-free line and we will courier you the part in as timely a fashion as possible. In 2010, I paid over $4600 for a kit. I received damaged material. I notified them. I sent photos. I brought to their attention
Complaint #2 Inaccurate Assembly Instructions
ScreenHouses Unlimited advertises complete instructions come with the kits. Instead, I received 2 partial instructions dated 1997 / 2001. Their solution? Refer me to 4 more sets of instructions online dated 2004. My contractor has an engineering degree; yet the extra hours to make up for all the instructions errors and omissions added up to $150. Errors included: unfinished diagrams; different parts identified by one part number; different part numbers for one part; and entire pages about parts not in the kit. So, to build a safe unit, you must compare all the instruction sets and keep delaying work to call and clarify discrepancies.
My Conclusion:
Bad materials + Bad instructions + Bad customer service = Bad business. When I said I was dissatisfied with the instructions and damaged materials, they tried to re-define 100% Satisfaction as limited and didnt mean satisfaction that is determined by the customer. In my opinion, 100% doesnt mean a limited part of 100%. Still, I offered to accept a partial refund in lieu of reshipping and as compensation for my excess costs. They refused. I dont know if you would say ScreenHouses Unlimited is a fraud, scam, or rip-off, but I do know that Ill NEVER do business with them again!
DR0001
Ludowici,#2Author of original report
Wed, January 04, 2012
Screenhouses Unlimited is a distributor. The significance of this is that if you report problems to them, their reaction in the past has been to shift the blame to the manufacturer or the shipper...or possibly even the buyer. The bottom line is that THEY are exceptionally reluctant to accept responsibility for ANYTHING or take any action except referring a customer to others to solve problems like receipt of damaged materials. Their goal (apparently) is to be in a position of collecting the cash, but never being the ones who are held accountable when things go wrong. Their "satisfaction" guarantee works great unless you actually try to use it...then it crumbles like dust in the wind and all you get is an ear full of excuses why they can't be held responsible for mistakes made by manufacturers...or damage by shippers...or "buyers remorse." In short...no matter WHAT happens...whether the customer is satisfied or not...they ALWAYS have someone else to blame.
Personally, I'd say that doing business with them is a gamble....you might get lucky and things might work out fine...or it might not....but if there is a serious problem, don't hold your breath waiting for them to take responsibility for anything and make it right. Once they have the cash...you are pretty much on your own in my opinion.
KCW
forked river,#3General Comment
Tue, January 03, 2012
The BBB has an address of: 75 Paddy Dunn's Circle, Barrie, ON L4M 6M1
I am trying to find out if they manufacture or just a distributor??
DR0001
Ludowici,#4Author of original report
Thu, September 16, 2010
Based upon the fact that ScreenHouse Unlimited has continued to evade their advertised warranty for nearly 3 months, I decided to look up their business address on Google Maps. Their "business" address turns out to be a mailbox in a residential neighborhood. For any who would vike verification of this themselves, you can test this simply by inputting "52 Riverview Beach Rd, Pefferlaw, ONTARIO, CANADA" as a search query into Google Maps.
A supposedly 13 year old corporation run out of a mailbox? Doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it?
Additional updates will follow...