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Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning

Discussion in 'General Chat Forum' started by quailpond06, Jul 9, 2008.

  1. quailpond06

    quailpond06 New Member

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    Last fall we called Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning to have our gutters cleaned. The company arrived, cleaned our gutters, and we were satisfied.

    Several weeks ago at 6:30 in the morning, our doorbell rang and outside stood two strangers with a ladder who then proceeded to head to the side of our house. My husband met them and inquired what they were doing. They responded "We have an order to clean your gutters". My husband told them there wasn't an order and asked them to leave. They ignored him and proceeded to climb up onto our roof and begin cleaning our gutters. They made a tremendous amount of noise and woke up our entire household.

    I quickly called Ned Stevens to find out why in the world they were here and voice my displeasure of the 6:30am wake up call. The CSR conveniently had a "recording" of our "agreement" and e-mailed it to us rather quickly. The recording is of their follow up call in the fall asking how I liked the service and then if I was interested in their annual maintenance plan. My response was "I don't see us needing our gutters cleaned more than twice a year", which they quickly took to mean that we committed to a twice yearly cleaning. We also believe the recording was incomplete because we never agree to service without inquiring what the price would be. We never received this "agreement" in writing, nor were we notified in advance of their arrival.

    Needless to say, we are contesting this "service" but Ned Stevens has been nothing but defensive. We will be filing a complaint with the BBB, but I also wanted to share this "experience" with anyone who may not be aware that they are signing up for gutter cleaning when responding to a service feedback call. Regardless of the disagreement if we ordered the service, the 6:30am arrival was completely unprofessional and rude to us and our neighbors.
     
  2. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    I have been very displeased w/ Ned Stevens overall. We used them 12/06 to clean the gutters and were pleased. I had a $5 off coupon and remember the service being very affordable.

    Fast forward to 12/07. I contacted them to clean the gutters again. I was quoted a price of $105. I could not remember at the time what I had paid in 12/06, but knew that it was not that much. I balked and told them I may call them back but wanted to check around to some other places. The woman asked me what my reservations were about setting up an appointment and I told her that I thought that it was too high and wanted to shop around. She agreed to lower the price to $90, which I agreed to. They showed up, spent 10-15 minutes cleaning my gutters and left.

    I eventually found my receipt from 12/06. I paid $70...
     
  3. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Did they inform you at the very beginning of the initial service call inform you that the conversation was being recorded? If not, then not only is there no agreement, but I believe you can press charges back on them, especially if they are using that recording to intimidate you into paying for services you never requested.
     
  4. GeauxTigers

    GeauxTigers Member

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    I had my gutters cleaned and then some trim repair a few weeks ago and used Gutterman for both jobs after hearing recommendations on the forums. I was pleased with the results of both and in each case the quote matched the final bill. Obviously this doesn't help the current situation you are in with Ned Stevens, but for the future I'd certainly recommend Gutterman.

    http://www.guttermanservices.com/
     
  5. quailpond06

    quailpond06 New Member

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    There is nothing on the recording informing me that the conversation was being recorded, and since I don't even really recall the conversation entirely, I can't say that they told me before they started recording it. Anyways, that's an excellant point-thanks!
     
  6. quailpond06

    quailpond06 New Member

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    Thanks! I will definitely look them up next time!
     
  7. Pa2Va

    Pa2Va New Member

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  8. Dan

    Dan New Member

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    Was the $90 quote for a single family home or a townhouse? I just receive a quote from Gutterman for $225.
     
  9. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    If someone gets on my roof after I tell them to leave, the next call would be to the Sheriff's office.
    Contract or not, they have NO RIGHT to stay once you've asked them to leave.
     
  10. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Yep, and just to be safe, I would remove the ladder while they're up there! :pofl:
     
  11. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    $90 was for a SFH, about 2000 square feet. That was to clean the gutters, which they did in about 10-15 minutes. Although it would have taken me a lot longer than that if I tried to do it myself. I think I was peeved b/c:

    -it only took them 10-15 minutes
    -I knew at the time it was more than I had paid 1 year before and, after I had found my receipt, realized that it was $20 more, after they had initially tried to charge me $35 more.

    I don't know any other alternatives besides Ned Stevens and Gutterman. Maybe I'll get one of those roomba gutter cleaning thingies:

    http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354
     
  12. GeauxTigers

    GeauxTigers Member

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    That does seem very cheap. I believe Gutterman's lowest fee is $125 for a TH and it goes up from there. However given my experience and what I am reading on these forums, I'd call Gutterman again when needed without thinking twice.
     
  13. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    remember.. 15mins after they got there. its probably still a 45min job for them to get there, etc.

    These days.. it seems like less then $50/hr for services just doesn't happen anymore :(
     
  14. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    You are absolutely right about that. These days I weigh my own handy-woman skills vs. paying out the nose for various things. For the $90 I paid Ned Stevens last year, I could have bought a sufficient ladder from Home Depot and done the job myself. That may be what it comes to next year.

    These days it's all about saving the green stuff...
     
  15. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Extension Ladders cost 150-350 for a 24+ foot ladder! They are actually big bucks.
     
  16. GeauxTigers

    GeauxTigers Member

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    I've learned from experience that the do-it-yourself approach for gutters is not always as easy as it seems, at least for a TH. While I do think over time I've saved the $200 that I spent on my 28' ladder, I still need a service once a year. If you've been on the roof of the typical TH here, you know they are STEEP, way steeper than the traditional SF house. While I am fine on the roof in general, I am not so comfortable crouching over the edge to clean a gutter while looking down 30' at concrete. I'd rather pay the $125. I'd need at least a 36' ladder to get the front without getting on the roof (by moving the ladder over every few feet) which however won't easily store in my garage. The 28' barely fits along the side wall. The rear gutters are a bit easier as I have the deck under the full width so it's only a 20' height. I find the rear gutters need cleaning twice a year but the front only once so it works out well. I pay the $125 once a year for both and then clean the rear myself once a year. In two years the ladder is paid for. Of course in a SF house with less steep roofs or even a TH that's partially under grade (all three stories of mine are above grade) may be a different and easier issue to tackle.
     
  17. Mack

    Mack New Member

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    Admin Note: This post was created by a user associated with the Ned Stevens company. So obviously this post's content is of suspect and biased
     
  18. RHaag

    RHaag New Member

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    I found your post very helpful and interesting since I am in the same situation. I was really hoping to know what the outcome was. Last year (11-08) I called to make a single gutter cleaning appointment with Ned Stevens. First, the CSR asked me if I wanted to have the suggested repairs done this year. I asked for an estimate and she said $450. I said I would be in contact with my builder to discuss any necessary repairs on my relatively new house. Then, she kept trying to sign me up for a 4 times a year service plan, for which I said I would discuss with my husband and was not interested at this time. Then she went off on a script about how I did not clean my gutters enough and that it would cause damage. I said I would call to arrange cleaning in the future. She then said they would be out in a week and I was about to hang up saying OK great when apparently she added in that they would be out again the following year. Fast forward to this year. I got a second opinion on my gutters from a very honest handyman who said I only needed them sealed and did not require any replacement as had been recommended. He did a great job with painting repairs of my house and I then called him this Fall for gutter cleaning. His service came out on Friday and I was here while they did the cleaning. Then, Saturday morning around 10:30 AM I see a bill on my front door and I am shocked to see that it was from NED STEVENS who had supposedly just cleaned my gutters and left a $199 bill. I was in shock! I called them up to ask why they had cleaned my gutters and that I had never called to arrange and they said they had a recording of me agreeing to yearly cleaning! They quickly emailed me the voice recording with the conversation I mentioned above. At the time of the conversation, I did not even hear her add in that they would be out again next year. She never said " you are agreeing to a yearly service plan whereby we will come out automatically once a year". They never sent confirmation of this supposed agreement and never contacted me before coming out and cleaning the gutters which had just been cleaned the day before!!!!! I asked why they would do something completely unnecessary and they basically said that they do not question what the customer wants they just do what was asked. The customer service representative said his father in law for example washes his clean car. I do not see the relevance there since a car wash is not $199 and who cleans their gutters two days in a row!!!! I also asked why they no longer recommended the $450 repair they previously had found and he said that they inspect the gutters but that the experience level of their people was different and that he would not say that there are no necessary repairs at this time! Then he went off on a script
    "At Ned Stevens, we have been happily servicing customers for over 43 years, and we would never perform a service that was not requested by our customer. Although we recommend service dates to customers, the final say for all service always belongs to the customer.
    To protect you and guarantee accuracy, we record all sales conducted by phone. I have attached to this e-mail the recording of your phone call with our office which took place on 11/13/2008 at 12:30 PM in which the service was authorized.
    Although you may have forgotten that the service was scheduled, it is our job to deliver the service we guaranteed we would provide."

    Never in the recorded conversation is there a mention that the phone call would be recorded. I can not believe their dishonest sales tactics. I was simply calling to arrange one cleaning and was not prepared to be on the defensive! He put all the blame on me that "I had forgotten" about the alleged agreement. He said they never let their customers know before they are coming. Apparently this is a sales tactic they use often. I am extremely angry that they deceived me. Can you believe they then had the nerve to send me an email "Thank you for choosing Ned Stevens" and enrolling me for their routine emails! Are they completely nuts! They probably still have me down for their yearly service plan too! I will let you know the outcome of this!
     
  19. LvBlands3

    LvBlands3 New Member

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    Gutter cleaning is something that I will not do myself - the TH's are too high. I have had Ned Stevens coming out once a year for several years and have not had any problems with them. I think they are one of the cheapest around (~$90ish for a TH). They must schedule neighborhoods and/or streets all on the same day. When they come, they are usually visiting several houses at a time.

    Too bad that you are having trouble with them - they should have enough business around here so that they don't have to use questionable tactics. Who knows these days.
     
  20. RHaag

    RHaag New Member

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    This is specifically a response to the post by QuailPond06
     

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