What to do..... metal shop not delivered. (1 Viewer)

[kblomquist]

I ordered a metal shop from these folks Coast To Coast Carports - Best Styles Of Metal Buildings & Steel Garage Kits - https://www.coast-to-coastcarports.com. Ordered it last week in April 2021. I was told it would be delivered and built w/i 17 weeks. We are now at 34 weeks and I can't get any response from them. Dirt work is done and pad is poured. I am not sure what my next step should be. I was able to talk to someone two weeks and she stated that company was still selling buildings, but there is a lack of material as well as employees. She said she put me on high priority but who knows. I did put 10% down at time of contract. I am just reaching out to see if anyone has any suggestions. -thanks

 

[e9999]

Is there a written contract? If so, what does it say about delivery time and delays? If not, is there some language about that on the web site or company literature?

The lack of communication seems like a bad sign to me, sorry. You could try again and be firm about getting a delivery time estimate in writing. But if there is a chance the company is in trouble, I would not wait too long and I'd move quickly to try to get my money back before it's too late.

Good luck!

 

[BILT4ME]

I ordered a metal shop from these folks Coast To Coast Carports - Best Styles Of Metal Buildings & Steel Garage Kits - https://www.coast-to-coastcarports.com. Ordered it last week in April 2021. I was told it would be delivered and built w/i 17 weeks. We are now at 34 weeks and I can't get any response from them. Dirt work is done and pad is poured. I am not sure what my next step should be. I was able to talk to someone two weeks and she stated that company was still selling buildings, but there is a lack of material as well as employees. She said she put me on high priority but who knows. I did put 10% down at time of contract. I am just reaching out to see if anyone has any suggestions. -thanks

Depending on where they get their materials (China?) their materials are likely WAAAAAY behind schedule.

I deal with metal fabrication and there is, indeed, a serious material shortage on various materials.

The other big problem is that costs of materials have more than doubled in the last 12 months.

We have in our contracts about material escalation and adding that to the order at the time of shipment.

If they are a small company, they may not be ale to absorb the increase in costs (some of it poor planning) and they will not ship anything until material costs come down. That's not gonna happen for a couple years.

I would attempt to get back your 10% unless you want to try to ride it out. If they go out of business, then you won't get any of it back.

You will need to send them a certified letter in reference to this and maybe even have it sent on an attorney letterhead.

Otherwise, get your money back, lick your wounds, and find another company that can provide what you need. You will DEFINITELY pay more than you did then.

 

[e9999]

^ interesting to see an insider perspective. I was thinking they were stalling because of reduced availability of material and labor, and/or poor planning and poor communication, but if it's intentional because they are waiting for lower prices, that seems even worse to me; and again suggests that the company may be in trouble. I'd not want to go ahead with them any more unless they really step up, given how they handled this so far, and I would definitely try to get my money back before they go for bankruptcy if that is even a remote possibility. Not worth the risk waiting. As it is, it seems like it may be a long shot to get the $$ back anyway, but it won't hurt to be early on the list of creditors, I would think.

 

[PIP]

Last year hot rolled steel hovered around 45 cents a pound for us. Now it's around $1/lb and I have paid as high as $1.40/lb. Tubing is more and some alloys have gone insane. I priced out some stressproof for a custom tool a couple months ago and the price was absurd. I was able to buy a used tool off ebay for less than just a 3' bar of material was going to cost me to make my own.

Aluminum is high, but it hasn't doubled. The biggest change is I have to spend $5000+ orders to get decent pricing. Previously I could order $1000 or so and get good pricing. That makes it tough when you just need one small piece for a quick turnaround job. I know I paid $4.80 a lb for 6061 for one small job a few months back.

IMO, those fabricated steel buildings are made with the minimum amount of material possible. If steel prices double it's like a few hundred bucks of added expense on a small building. If an outfit with multiple employees can't absorb that cost or communicate well enough with their customers to smooth over a small price increase then something is very very wrong.

My BIL recently had a similar style 20x30 building erected on a slab. His was very basic with lots of corners cut. Rain comes through the roof and under the walls. The man door is only 6' tall (he's 6'5" so this is pretty funny). The roll up door is one of those flimsy storage unit doors.

Building anything is never easy. I'm a habitual do it myselfer so I get to learn many things the hard way. Paying a low bidder contractor almost never ends well. Paying a high end contractor costs a lot of money.

 

[J Mack]

Ordered it last week in April 2021.

I would start the refund process and try to get some of your money back.

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[jivewalker]

How did you make down payment, credit card or check? If CC, I might not worry to much. A lot of times the CC company will go after them if needed. If paid by check, request refund if you don't want to wait. Cancel contract for breach if they missed a set delivery. Send everything certified. If it turns into a POS, the state attorney general may be able to help, start there.

I ordered furniture once, payed half down by check. Was not delivered on time but they kept saying to just wait. Long story short, they filed bankruptcy, I filed a lien, etc. Never got any money back.

 

[e9999]

Any satisfactory resolution?

 

[Hugh Heifer]

Any satisfactory resolution?