Seattle washington
Seattle,#2Author of original report
Mon, May 17, 2010
We are still trying to recover our deposit from Lindal Cedar Homes. The contract that we signed was with Seattle Cedar Homes. Their website showed them as an Independent Dealer of Lindal Cedar Homes. We filed a complaint to the State of Washington Dept. of Revenue and the Employment Security Dept.when we couldn't find a business license listed under the name of Seattle Cedar Homes, nor a "doing business as" license under Lindal Cedar Homes. It seems that Seattle Cedar Homes had no business license and didn't until about 9 months ago.
Further investigation by Employment Security found that they in fact are NOT an Independent Dealer; they ARE Lindal Cedar Homes. They have since corrected one part of their website to show that they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Lindal Cedar Homes but right on the same line it still shows that they are Independent Distributors of Lindal Cedar Homes....in my opinion, it's still very deceiving. Why would a company not be upfront and straight forward with a customer. As a consumer we have a right to know WHO we have signed a contract with and WHO we are doing business with..
An officer of Lindal Cedar Homes is willing to talk to us but will not do so with our attorney present. Again, we have to ask, why? Had they been willing to work with us 18 months ago by answering our questions instead of trying to get more money out of us, we probably wouldn't be here today still trying to recover our deposit.
Based on the number of complaints that I've seen here and on other websites, there is a common theme. If you don't have it in writing, you're on the hook once they get your deposit. Build it or walk away from your money no matter what the issue is. First, get EVERYTHING in writing including any prices per square ft. that they throw out to you even if it's just a range of prices. Make certain that you know exactly what is and isn't included in the price that they quote you (in writing). Second, don't sign any contract that has an Arbitration clause in it without consulting an attorney. It will make it easier for you in the future should something go horribly wrong as it did with us and many others before us.
I will post further updates if and when we make progress.
Edwin
Frederick,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, March 07, 2009
You may not know it but we all celebrated Sir Walter Lindal's 85th birthday recently. Well Happy Birthday Sir Walter and as a nice gift for you we have the misappropriated deposit on Steve and Mariam's failed project. Your bands of gypsy thieves are at it again and in your own back yard of Seattle too! Your Seattle Cedar Home reps have a history of failed businesses ensuring Lindal continues to receive the tarnish most of your competitors seem to be free of! It appears that this nice couple fell victim to some of the typical Lindal Cedar scams. All one has to do is search the Net to find the history of Lindal's unbeatable design resources and unparalleled service and then there's your warranty that really isn't! The plans that seem to be useless, materials that are substandard, windows that leak, beams that separate, dealers that disappear, dealers that lie about their credentials, dealers that lie about the services they'll provide, deposits on materials that are really for bogus services rendered. The fraudulent price sheets to lure the customer into signing only to find out that shortly thereafter, the price is now 10X the higher. The large portion of your profits that come from abandoned projects similar to the one where your sons in Seattle conspired with Prescott Designer Homes in Arizona to bully the customer into paying for your unbeatable incompetence and ineptitude. You remember Charlie don't you? His agreement will not keep him quiet in court you know That shut up clause doesn't work there! Lets ASK SIR WALTER this question! On your website http://lindal.com/homes/experience/service.cfm You claim Lindal Dealers WILL: -Determine the home building costs associated with your chosen home design and the costs of any additional personalization that you choose. Yet in your crummy ol contract you actually have the nerve to state in Paragraph 18 that: Client acknowledges that the Dealer and Lindal will have incurred substantial costs all of which are difficult to calculate and estimate." So what's that all about Sir Walter..? We thought you knew what you were doing and here you state your boys can't estimate or calculate right there in your very own contract? Phew.. I'll bet Mariam and Steve are real glad that they ended it when they did! We're keeping a close eye on this one Sir Walter So I hope you have enjoyed your birthday while you reminisce about the countless families your corrupt business has plunged into financial doom. I'm sorry I missed this celebration. I'll try to bring all those ripped off customers to your next one and we'll celebrate like good ol friends! You should send Steve and Mariam a thank you note for their generous loss. Or maybe you should consider returning it so the world can see you're not the curmudgeon your modern American business ethics show you to be! Another EX Lindal Customer!