We purchased a garage door from Dodds last August (downpayment) and had the door installed the other week when the house was ready in terms of renovations. When setting up the install appointment, we were advised to have 10 feet inside the garage cleared for the workers. We had our contractor go by the house and clear the necessary space inside the garage. (We do not live in the house - we are 80 kms from it.) On the day of install, we were contacted by Dodds advising they couldn't complete the job because a car was in the driveway 'blocking access to the garage' (even though the photos they sent clearly show the new panels inside the garage with at least 6 feet of access to the garage on either side of the car).
Important to note – my issue is not with their inability to install a garage door with a car there (even though every garage door install video on YT shows all the work being done inside the garage). My issue is with their lack of communication. Had we been told we need to clear both interior AND exterior, we would have had the car moved as well. We were told only about the interior, hence why we only arranged for that. It’s safe to assume that had we known, we would have made sure there was whatever space they required outside the garage as well.
In addition, we were not told there would be an additional charge of $270 for this. So, when the total amount charged to my credit card ended up being $1066.72 downpayment when it should have been $795.52, I was a bit taken back.
So buyer beware. The door itself is fine – but their lack of communication just cost me $270+.
Related: The owner has indicated in a different forum that the contract details this information about the requirements for install and the price. But I have never received nor signed a contract. I have an email from the salesperson from 2015 advising of the install price and a receipt that was left in the garage after the install. Multiple emails and voice calls to the company to get this contract have resulted in nothing.
And since the owner is insisting on the photos of the car's location to the garage and the space, it's attached.
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UPDATE: Based on the response from the business - I'll address all of their statements.
1. The photo posted was provided to me by Dodds, and is the one photo (of only two provided by them) that shows not only the proximity of the car to the entrance, but also the spacing on either side. This is why I posted it. Anyone with a set of eyes can see the distance of the car to the garage, and as previously indicated, my dispute is not with the car's location, nor their inability to install garage door panels due to it's location. The other photo shows the new garage panels INSIDE the garage, which disputes their original claim that they could not access the garage to get the panels in.
2. Dodd's proposal exactly states "Garage must be clear a minimum of ten feet back from the opening. Non compliance will result in a dead call charge.". Again, I'm not disputing what the proposal states, though I would definitely re-word it as it's far too subjective. To state "ten feet BACK from the opening" implies inside the door. BACK = inside. But again, as previously indicated, my issue isn't with what their proposal states.
3. I did not "choose to transact by email". I placed the quote request over the phone. When I was called back by Dodds with the quote, I agreed to the price of $704 + tax and asked how to proceed with the order. The salesman took my credit card over the phone for a $200 deposit and i asked for confirmation of price. He emailed it to me. That was a decision the salesman made, which I was perfectly fine with. The email was exactly that - an email confirming the garage door panels and price, which Dodds also has in their possession.
4. We do not live in the house. This is correct. We do have a redirect on all mail to the house to come to ours. We are also there almost every weekend managing the renovation and, like any homeowner, we have keys to it's mailbox. Since I am the executor of the estate, to which this house belongs to, everything is managed under me. I can 100% prove that no contract or mail from Dodds was sent to the house or redirected to mine due to the nature of this estate and the CP redirect.
5. I received a copy of the proposal on April 18, 2016 via email from Dodds upon my request. This was the first time I had ever seen it or even knew of it's existence. My signature is not on it. And there is no record of it being emailed to me prior to April 18, 2016 (even after I 'chose to transact via email').
6. A company should never 'assume' that a customer has entered into a contract with them without any signature or acknowledgement from the customer of said contract. This is just bad business practice and would never hold up in a court of law. I've attached a photo of the lower portion of the proposal for reference.
7. Yes. There was a phone call placed to my daughter - not the 'apparent' owner of the house - but the actual owner of the house (inherited - the house belonged to her recently deceased father). In that call, she was advised that Dodds could not complete the install because of the cars location. She was not advised of any charge for a reschedule. And even if she had been, this comes after the fact. We were told to ensure the interior of the garage was cleared 10 feet back from the opening so the workers can install the panels. As previously mentioned, we engaged our contractor to clear the necessary space. Had we been advised to clear the driveway, we would have arranged that as well.
8. This is not about risking a car due to it's location or parking or anything silly like that. Statements like this only prove that the company is making attempts to gaslight the customer.
This is not about the car, nor it's proximity to the garage, nor whether Dodds had the space to install, nor any of that. No one is disputing any of this.
This is about:
- A contract that was never signed, therefore not agreed to nor accepted by the customer. (see photo)
- A contract that does not show the fee associated with a "dead call charge". The Consumer Protection Act clearly states that all fees must be presented up front in a contract. The omission of this charge indicates that there is no set fee, which is giving the company carpe diem to charge whatever they want.
- Incorrect information regarding installer needs.
- No communication around additional costs to reschedule
This is about a business owning up to their mistakes in communication and process, and not holding the customer liable for these shortcomings.
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APRIL 21, 2016: I see the company has changed their response. Typical when they realize all the statements in their previous responses were outright untruths. When a company finds it necessary to state in their proposal that you can't post a negative comment about them on social media if they are late delivering your garage door, you know there's an issue. When a company doesn't guarantee their products to meet local municipal or provincial ordinances, laws and regulations - you should wonder why. I can go on and on and on, but I'll let you and your better judgement (not the new account, single post reviews on here) make the call.
