Hickory Fence & Deck

On May 9, 2020 I did a walk-through with Mr. Jereme Cole, owner of Hickory Fence and Deck, out of Chesapeake, VA. I had several fencing companies provide me with estimates, and had heard good things about all of them. I completed my research and due diligence, and on May 26th, 2020 I made the decision to select Hickory Fence and Deck, as they provided the lowest estimate. On May 27th, 2020 Mr. Cole informed me that he would be able to start my job in three weeks, as he had another job in my area at that time, and it would take that long to get the materials. I reached out to him numerous times via text and phone to set a date and time to get together for him to get exact measurements, and for me to provide him with a down payment. Waiting days before I would receive responses and excuses from him, we finally got together at my home, he got exact measurements for where I wanted the fence, and I provided him with a $4,250 (half of the total bill) down payment on June 25th, 2020…almost a month after he had told me he “would be able to do my install in three weeks.” At this time, he informed me that it would take about three weeks to get my materials in, but he would keep in touch with me, to let me know when the materials were shipped, and to give me a date when they would be able to start. On June 14th, 2020, almost three weeks since I provided him with the down payment, I texted Mr. Cole to ask if there was any word as to when my materials would arrive, and when I could expect installation. Mr. Cole responded to me, stating that he had just called them (Elite Fence Products, Inc.), and that Elite Fence Products was going to provide him with a “hard date for arrival”, and that the start date would be July 27th, 2020. On July 21st, 2020 Mr. Cole texted me that the materials were scheduled to ship on Friday, July 24th, 2020. On Friday, July 31st, 2020 Mr. Cole notified me that they would be delivering the materials to my home on Wednesday, August 5th, 2020, and they would start the installation on Thursday, August 6th, 2020. On August 6th, 2020 I got home from work to find that Mr. Cole had sent out the utility companies, to place flags where gas, electrical, and phone lines were located. Mr. Cole texted me to inform me that he was backed up due to weather, and wasn’t sure if he would be able to start this week…I informed him that I would be out of town the 13th through the 18th, and requested that he do the installation after my return…he asked if they could bring the materials over, and place them in my driveway, to which I agreed, and he then said that he would begin on August 19th, 2020. I returned home on August 18th, 2020 and reached out to Mr. Cole, to ask if we were still on for the following day to begin my installation, and he said he “started a job yesterday, and has about a day and a half left, but would be able to start Thursday, August 20th, 2020, and be finished on Friday, August 21st, 2020.” They showed up late on August 20th, 2020 so I didn’t get to speak to Mr. Cole in the morning, and when I returned home from work, I found that about half of the work had been completed. During the day on Friday, August 21st, 2020, I texted Mr. Cole to ask how everything was going, and he informed me that he had “an emergency fix” that they had to do, but would be at my house to finish, and would probably still be working when I got home. I got home to find nobody working, and no further work had been completed at all. I texted Mr. Cole, and asked what was going on, and he said “that lady ran me ragged, and we just finished. We’ll be out to finish your job, first thing in the morning.” Nothing August 22nd or 23rd, and on Monday, August 24th, 2020 I received a text from Mr. Cole while I was at work, stating “We ran into a slight problem. They (Elite Fence Products, Inc.) sent us 4 extra end posts that were supposed to be line posts. I’ve called them and they are going to overnight them for tomorrow. They probably won’t be here til the afternoon, I’ll let you know as soon as they come in.” The posts came in the following afternoon, and on Wednesday afternoon, August 26th, 2020 I received a text from Mr. Cole while I was at work, stating “you are all finished.” Upon getting home, and doing a walk-around, the fence looked good, but I noted that several fence post caps were missing. I also noticed that there were large clumps of dirt/grass (from digging the post holes) left all the way around the fence line (for ME to clean up?!). I reached out to Mr. Cole to inform him that there were a couple areas that needed to be straightened out, and that I was missing four (4) fence post caps. I also informed him that I wasn’t happy about all of the dirt/grass clods left around the fence, and the pile of refuse still in my driveway. He responded telling me he “has the caps in the van, and will come out tomorrow to put them on.” On August 27th, 2020 I get a text from Mr. Cole asking when I’ll be home from work, so he can just make one trip to pick up the trash, bring the caps, and collect the balance. Mr. Cole showed up after I had gotten home from work, with a heavy odor of alcoholic beverages on his breath, and was obviously impaired. We walked the fence line, and he straightened a couple areas that concerned me, and proceeded to play a little game of “Three Card Monte” with missing fence post caps. I didn’t catch on until after he left, as he removed caps from some of my fence posts, and placed them on the posts that I showed him were missing them. After he picked up the trash in the driveway, I paid him in full, and he left. I then walked around the fence line again, and noticed there were now OTHER fence posts missing their caps. I texted Mr. Cole immediately to point this out, and he responded with “I’ll slap that on. Sorry man.” On Saturday, August 29th, 2020 I texted Mr. Cole asking when I could expect the missing caps to be installed, the lifetime warranty paperwork for my fence, and a receipt for payment in full. I received a response from him on September 1st, 2020 saying he just got back in town, and his phone wasn’t working, and that he would get the warranty paperwork and receipt to me, and that he had to order the fence caps…really??? Beginning Friday, September 11th, 2020, I had still not heard from Mr. Cole, so I again requested the caps, warranty, and paid in full receipt. More than a dozen texts and phone calls, with either “I’ll get that to you”, or no answer/response at all, and it is now Wednesday, February 24th, 2021. This is more than six months since they worked on my installation, and as far as I’m concerned, they have never finished the job. I have also reached out to Elite Fence Products, Inc. to inform them of this situation, and to see if they might be kind enough to send me some fence caps. I will also be going to Home Depot or Lowes to get fence post caps for the white vinyl fencing that Hickory Fence and Deck installed around my AC unit, and neglected to place caps on.