In mid-April I contacted Groves & Co., Inc. (window & glass company) about a window they installed 6 years ago in a condo I own in Port Townsend, WA. The seal had broken & I called to inquire about the warranty & how to proceed w / repairs. I spoke w / Suzette who told me this window had a 10-yr warranty & that it would be replaced. I explained the window had been paid for by the seller as part of a purchase & sale agreement when I bought the condo in & that I have been the only owner. Suzette assured me this was no problem & that the window would still be replaced. I thought it was a done deal. The work was completed & everything was fine, so I thought.
A week later I received a phone call from Groves & Co. From a woman (don't know her name but it wasn't Suzette) who asked me where they should send the bill. I asked "what bill?" She informed me there was a labor charge for $113.82. I responded I had no idea there would be a labor charge because Suzette had led me to believe the window was under warranty & would be replaced; she never mentioned any charge. The woman on the phone very rudely said "So what do you want? You want us to come take out the window now?" She angrily insisted I pay the bill because the work had been done.
I argued I shouldn't have to pay anything because I had not been informed beforehand there would be a charge. The woman then said that any warranty only applied to the original owner, to which I replied that I had explained to Suzette that while someone else had paid for the window, I was the only owner, & Suzette STILL said nothing about any labor charge. The woman was still rude & argumentative, & said the bill would be sent to me regardless.
When the bill for $113.82 arrived, I wrote a letter on 5/18 to the owner of Groves & Co (Jim Groves), explaining the above, & requested the charge be reversed. On 6/12 I received a letter from Mr. Groves stating that Suzette definitely remembered telling me about the warranty terms & labor charge (a complete lie), that I was the one who was confused, & that the invoice was still due.
He also said that under the warranty, a labor fee for repairs was due regardless of who the original owner was (information quite different from what the female employee on the phone said). I responded on 6/22 with another letter to Mr. Groves, & enclosed a check for half the invoice ($56.91), explaining my reasons: Since Suzette would undoubtedly continue to defend herself, in spite of the fact that she indeed never informed me beforehand about any labor charge, I would pay half the bill ($56.91), only because I know he would continue to believe his employee was right & I am the one who's wrong.
I told him I was retaining the other half because: 1) I know the truth about what really happened & don't appreciate being treated like a liar; 2) I was never informed beforehand there would be a labor charge, 3) his employee was rude to me on the telephone when I questioned the bill, & 4) Groves & Co. Should bear the cost of the mistake in communication & rude customer treatment, not me.
On 6/29, Mr. Groves left an extremely agitated & angry voice mail message on my cell phone stating that "the misunderstanding was as much your fault as it is ours", that he did not accept half payments, he was sending my check back to me, & that if I did not pay the bill in full by July 6, he would put a lien on my house.
As of July 4, I still have not received the check he promised to return. Second, I WILL NOT respond to threats, especially one to put a lien on my house for a paltry $56.91!
As anyone can imagine, this is not really about the warranty or money; it's about Groves & Co. Providing me misinformation and then trying to cover up the mistake, the incredibly petty, rude, nasty & uncooperative treatment I've received from this company's employees, including the owner, & the owner's complete unwillingness to accept responsibility for their mistake & rude behavior, or to meet me half-way.
Anyone needing windows or window replacements or repairs should consider doing business with another provider and NOT Groves & Co. If this is unavoidable, then make sure you have ALL the information about billing UP FRONT and IN WRITING before proceeding with any job with this company.
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