The Shutter Factory, The Shutter & Blinds Factory, Win Decor Inc., DBA The Shutter Factory, 21st Cen
The Shutter & Blinds Factory, Win Decor Inc., DBA The Shutter Factory ripoff, misleading statements, shoddy qualtiy, abused & mistreated ripoff waste of time

First - let me state that I did finally receive my shutters and they have been installed. There are factory defects that I won't even call the company about... There is a small installation matter still requiring completion, but that is not related to the Shutter Factory. I am writing this report because I do not feel that they deliver what they promise (in spite of the contract that David Blachely refers to) and I want to prevent others from going through the same experience that I had. This company needs to be shut down. And Blachley should be stopped from opening under different business names.

Unfortunately the agencies that should be there to protect consumers are either too under staffed or too under funded to get involved and creeps like Blachely continue to thrive off of unsuspecting consumers.

I ordered and paid for 1/3 of the "cost" of my shutters on November 24. The contract stated that the "approximate estimated delivery time" was 6-8 weeks. I was informed that a re-measure would be done sometime within 4-6 weeks and the completion time would be approximately 2 weeks after. After waiting for over two months for the re-measure, I contacted the company and was told that work was slow in my area (Huntington Beach) and they we waiting for other jobs in the area to open up before someone would be scheduled. Not wanting to be difficult, I waited another week and called to complain. On January 14, Marquise came and remeasured and yes, the cost did go up by several hundred dollars. However, part of the increase was due to the fact that I changed the moldings that goes around the shutters. Marquise was extremely apologetic and even called the "Production Manager" to inquire about different hinges as she was not pleased with the quality of the paint on the ones that I had wanted. After spending several hours measuring and instilling confidence in her ability to get the order processed properly and in a timely manner, I wrote another check (against my better judgment) for the second 1/3. She left and I heard nothing from the company for several weeks, in spite of her promise that my order would be moved up to the top of the production list, because it had been so long since I had paid for the first 1/3.

When I finally called and actually got hold of a person, I was told by someone named Sylvia in "customer service" that Marquise had "lied to me" and that "I had no reason to expect my order to be moved up in priority as I was not their only customer!" I flipped out and immediately demanded to speak to someone in management, but never got anywhere in spite of repeated attempts to speak to a manager.

Finally, I received a post card postmarked February 20 that my order was ready. Being suspicious, I demanded an inspection before paying the final 1/3 and any delivery charges. When I went to the factory, I was shown shutters that had been constructed completely contrary to the order that I had placed. At which point I demanded a complete refund. I was sent to the business office, and Julie Moss, 'sales manager' tried to talk me out of wanting my money back, telling me that they could have new shutters (to my specifications) built by the end of the week. I declined her offer and insisted that I wanted my money back. At which point, a man who refused to identify himself by name, entered the room and told me that he was the "Production Manager" and that he didn't have to give me my money back. He told me that he didn't have to give me anything for 30 days. I informed him that I was way past trusting anyone or anything that they said, and he told me too bad, the "I had saved thousands of dollars using them and that I could either take the shutters that they had (incorrectly) produced, or wait until they could fix them, but he was not going to refund my money." I replied that I failed to see that I had saved anything so far, as I had given them thousands of dollars, only to be treated poorly, lied to, and now they wanted me to accept shutters that weren't what I had ordered. And, I had gone with the company only because they offer the 'True View' shutters. The cost was about the same as other shutter companies after you add the installation and delivery charges. Other companies don't charge extra for that. He then turned his back on me and walked out of the office. I sat there for a few minutes trying to gather myself and heard someone address him as 'David'. He then returned to the office, still refusing to give me his name, with Julie Moss, the 'sales manager' and tried to tell me that he wanted me to take the incorrect shutters out of concern that what I had ordered (True View) was substandard quality and tended to break.By the way, to this day they still advertise 'True View'. After the fact, I found out that I had been dealing with David Blachely. I left the office and returned later with my husband. After dealing with Ms. Moss, it became apparent that unless we wanted to loose the money that we had paid to that point, we had no choice but to agree to give them time to remake the shutters and pay the final 1/3 upon inspection. They rebuilt the shutters, taking a few days longer than they had 'promised' and then refused to release them to me unless I paid them with cash or a cashiers check. I provided the latter, and they delivered the shutters about a week later. The shutters were installed the beginning of March.

During the installation process, the installer, a licensed finish carpenter not affiliated with The Shutter Factory, had to go back to the factory several times to get pieces that were not included in the delivery, or pieces that were not built properly. The job should have taken two men 1-1 1/2 days. But it ended up taking them three full days because they had to keep going back to the factory. The installer was frustrated with The Shutter Factory, and I held my breath that the job would be finished and they wouldn't just walk off. The installer had other experiences with people who had ordered shutters from The Shutter Factory and had lots tales about unsatisfied 'The Shutter Factory' customers. Many of them worse than mine!

Before deciding to use them, I did what I thought was due diligence. I got estimates from other shutter companies - most of which were comparable after you factor in the installation and delivery. I checked the 'Better Business Bureau' reports and found nothing before I placed my order. A recheck after I started having problems showed a report on 21st Century Shutters also DBA Diamond Coast Technology & Milling listing the principal contact as David Blachley dated 1/25/02 with Bureau ID: 13142474. Apparently, I got lucky finding that one, because I could not find it after that first attempt. Fortunately, I printed the report the first time that I found it. We toured their 'state of the art' factory.

My written complaints to the FTC, and phone calls to local law enforcement and the District Attorney's office went unanswered. I
sent a written complaint to the BBB of the Southland, but received a response that they could not take my complaint because it was not within their area of jurisdiction.

As 'The Shutter Factory' does 'not' install, they are not required to have a Contractors License. After the fact, I found out that most reputable shutter companies do have contractors licenses as they install their product. A check of the Contractors Licensing Board will yield a caution that you should never give a deposit of 10% or $1000.00, which ever is less.

Any reputable company should not require deposits in the amounts of which The Shutter Factory requires. And most of them will take credit cards. The Shutter Factory does not. Credit cards afford consumers an additional measure of protection because they can dispute charges made for goods / services that are substandard/not received. I'm sure if you ask David Blachley, he will say that they don't take credit cards purely to keep expense down, but I suspect that they do not want consumers to be able to dispute charges for poor quality or failure to deliver the product as promised.

Joan
Huntington Beach, California

Company: The Shutter Factory, The Shutter & Blinds Factory, Win Decor Inc., DBA The Shutter Factory, 21st Cen
Country: USA
State: California
City: Orange
Address: 1967 N. Glassell
Phone: 8009091329

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