Summary:
- Did not honor warranty - insisted on payment for repair
- After endless emails and calls to organize the repair, they did not show up on scheduled repair day
- Showed up on second scheduled day without the necessary ladder
- After second failed scheduled repair, I emailed complaining. Royal Crown responded by saying they simply weren't going to do the repair anymore and ceased responding.
- I complained to the Better Business Bureau, they never even replied to them
Details:
Royal Crown installed the soffit and fascia on our house only a few months before we purchased it. Within the first year, we had aluminum siding fall off twice - first, on the north side, second, on the south side. The first incident occurred immediately after purchase, so the previous owners fixed it. The second incident occurred about a year after the purchase, so we had to handle it.
I contacted Royal Crown with some urgency because a large piece of siding was hanging from the roof 20+ feet up (see photo) - this was clearly a risk to both people and property. They were unmoved by this and it took multiple calls and emails to get a response (it seems many others in this comments section have objected to how slowly they respond when warranties are being called on!).
After much discussion, I was told that this would not be fixed under the warranty because it had been windy recently and wind isn't covered. First, I never told them which day this happened, so how would they know whether it coincides with a windy day? Second, my house was the only one on the block that had fascia fall off. When it was ultimately fixed by another company, that company told me the screws used to attach it were too small and if they didn't replace them with larger ones, it would happen again.... Windy indeed. After many calls and emails (almost entirely by me, very few returned), they agreed to a reduced price of about $200 to do the repair, acting like they were doing me a favour. I had no choice, so I accepted.
We scheduled a repair, I took the morning off work, and no one shows... After waiting a couple hours, I call and they say the repair was cancelled for bad weather - no call, nothing.
We reschedule for two days later. Another morning off work. This time they do show up, but don't have a long enough ladder because the repair team wasn't told it was an unusually high roof. This is surprising because 1) they did the install of the siding in the first place, 2) I sent many pictures of the issue and 3) when they were telling me what a favour they were doing me by charging only $200, they mentioned that it would cost me $1,000 anywhere else because of how high the roof was. But repair guys apologize and say they'll be back the next day...
So now, it has taken a month of unreturned emails and phone calls to 1) not have the warranty honoured and 2) have two mornings off work wasted. So I send a strongly worded but unoffensive email to the company, expressing my displeasure.
They respond to say that, all of a sudden, we have no rights under the warranty, that they "tried to accommodate us", but after seeing the issue, they aren't able to do the repair! I call and the receptionist won't transfer me to anyone else. I email and no one responds. Ever.
Read other reviews - this is how this company acts when dealing with warranties. Customer beware.
So, I end up having to pay someone else $900 to do the repair (which clearly could be done) and, as I mentioned, they have to change all the screws to prevent the siding from falling off again. So they did a bad job on the initial install and then didn't honour the warranty! Otherwise, they're great!
I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but they just simply never responded. https://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/fence-contractors/royal-crown-aluminum-in-concord-on-1310728
Take your business somewhere it is appreciated.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $0.00