Pella

We ordered replacement windows from Pella, Jacksonville, Florida back in September 2018. Our project manager was Shana Vixama. They installed the replacement windows on December 10, 2018 incorrectly, there was missing hardware and it was not installed as per the job order. We paid extra to have the replacement windows installed with nail fins with stucco repair. They had to remove the installed window and reinstall it on January 2019 together with the missing hardware. After that, I got a call from Shana to settle the remaining balance. A few minutes later she calls me to say she charged the wrong amount. I was then sent an invoice for $3912.00 as the final balance. I settled this balance on 01/28/2019. Fast forward 6months later, she calls saying we have an outstanding balance of $941 that needs to be paid immediately. She explained that this was due to a billing error made by the finance department. I understand I should have checked my contract before paying the bill to double check everything was correct but made the mistake that your employees would do so. We've already sold our house and have suffered loses during the sale. We are essentially being asked to make a payment for something we don't own anymore. We asked if they could help us with this in some way because we have not planned for this expense. We were then contacted by your company's collections coordinator Malanie LaDuke and she suggested we just charged this to our credit card which will give us 30 days. We proceeded to explain to her our financial situation and the fact that we could've planned for this during the sale of our house if they contacted us a lot sooner or did not make a series of billing mistakes. She proceeded to say it's none of her business and that mistakes like this do happen on their end and that other customers just pay the bill on similar situations. We feel that Pella and their employees should have some sense of business accountability and not hold their customers accountable for every mistake that they made. We understand that you're a big business and we're just the little guys who need your service but would appreciate if we are treated with some respect as consumers.

Following are the events and my experience with Pella Windows and my recommendation is don't purchase Pella because their designs and durability are substandard.

• My home was completed in September of 2003 with Pella Windows installed. The warranty period started in December 2002.
• In the 2004/2005 time period we had to have almost 30 windows replaced due to a manufacturing defect that caused the windows to leak. When I first contacted Pella they were not willing to replace the windows, but because I had a video of the windows leaking they changed their mind when I sent them the video. I always order the windows painted and Pella always complied with the request. I was not charged labor or an extra charge for painting. During that time period we had several other windows replaced due to a seal leaking.
• In 2008 we had more windows replaced and each time they were painted and installed with no charge.
• In 2010 we had several other windows replaced and each time they were painted and installed with no charge
• In February 2012, I had a technician (John) inspect and identify 4 windows that needed replacement. We talked about painting and I said that they are always painted and I didn't want to deviate from past practices. John said there would be a charge for the install, but did not mention a charge for painting. I told John I had never been charged for the install labor.
• I was contacted in late April for installation. The young lady I spoke with said there would be an install charge and I repeated that I had not been charged before but she insisted and I said fine. How much would it be? She said $150 an hour. I told her to go ahead and schedule it and she said she would call me back with the details.
• I was contacted and told that 2 technicians would arrive on the agreed to date. I told her if I was being charged $150 an hour that I didn’t think two technicians were needed since Jim has been here several times and never needed assistance. The young lady put me on hold and checked with Jim who said he could do it by himself.
• On May 15th, I arrived at the house and both Jim and John were there. I inspected the windows and saw that they weren’t painted and spoke with Jim about it. He then called the Service manager and they were on the phone for around 20 minutes trying to resolve it. After Jim’s discussion with the Service Manager he told me that to have the windows painted that it would be $269 a window for a total of almost $1200. This was the first time, a painting charge had ever been mentioned.
• I called the Service Manager and spoke to him about the issue for around 15 minutes. During this time I was told that the previous owner was no longer there and that this was a corporate owned business and that the service that I had in every previous experience was not going to be honored. It turns out based on what I was told is that the documentation for the order listed that the windows needed to be painted Pella White and the Service Manager did not note that when he ordered the windows.
• I then spoke with the Service Manger’s boss, Mr. Rob Sydnes.
• We spoke and in my opinion did not come to a satisfactory resolution. He stated he would waive the labor charge of $600 and I would be responsible for having the windows painted. At this point, I needed to get to another appointment and I told him I would follow up the next day.
• At this point, the technicians finished the install, but there was an hour of lag time in there trying to resolve the issue that the windows had not been ordered correctly.
• If the windows had been ordered correctly, Jim could have finished the install in probably an hour. I’m not sure why John was there since we had agreed that only one technician was required.

In the past, Pella has taken ownership for the defective product and stood behind it. The replacement windows have been painted and installed without any charge, but in the 10th year of the warranty after over 60+ windows have been replaced, they want to change the precedent that has been in place for 9+ years.