ComplaintsforCook Portable Warehouses

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid my shed And have made early payment to pay off however there still attempting to collect money

  

  Business response

  12/01/2023

  Customer entered into a lease-to-own contract.  Customer has been in the possession of the building for seven months.  The dollar amount of the payments fails to even meet the cash price plus tax.  Customer still has a balance due.

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I have paid off my contract I have not been told that I will get hit with a penalty for paying off early however I am being penalized for pain too early the full amount therefore they are wanting me to pay an additional $832 for the contract of 72 months
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

  

  Business response

  12/04/2023

  Customer agrees that they entered into a 72-month lease and has provided a copy of the lease.  While in the course of the lease, there is are rental fees associated with the account.  The total cost of the building is $3,379.00.   The total amount received from the customer is only $3,200 including the security deposit.  Customer is now in the 8th month of the lease and is responsible for the rental fee associated with the lease every month prior to paying in full.  The total cost of the building and rental fees amounts to $3,837.88.  By deducting the $200 deposit, customer is still responsible for $637.88.  The account will continue to accrue rental fees until the account is paid-in-full.

  Customer response

  12/07/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The fact that I posted payment all in a short period of time again I am getting pentalized because I paid it 
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

  

  Business response

  01/24/2024

  The position of Cook Portable Warehouses hasn't changed.  Customer has not be the option-to-purchase as outlined in the signed lease.  

• Initial Complaint

  06/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted the business, 11/18/2020, asking them to contact me due to our bankruptcy being discharged. Got a contact back from Gary with cooks, made a payment arrangement and paid till the following year, life happened and i couldn't make the payments any more, I had absolutely no contact from the company for almost a solid year, get a phone call 3 days ago from them, even though not hearing from them for almost a year saying pay 3,000 dollars, the guy here to pick up the shed was just as confused because he said himself the paperwork was all jacked up. I talked with I think Gary on the phone. Not the most pleasant guy demanding something of the sum of 3500 bucks. I don't understand is why the company waits almost a year after no payment to repossess the shed? No contact from them what so ever besides a few phone calls for almost a year! I was happy to make an payment at the time and work something out. What it seems like to me is someone screwed the paperwork up at some point, forgot about the account now trying to save there own can.

  

  Business response

  07/21/2023

  Per our internal conversations with the RTO department, this customers bankruptcy was not discharged.  It was dismissed by the trustee due to failure of the customer to pay the trustee.  Due to the bankruptcy stay prior to that we were not allowed to speak to the customer.  That is why no contact was made with the customer prior to that.
  
  We had not received a payment from the customer since 8/23/22.  The customer was past due $2144.05 as the customer was 16 months past his maturity date.  Once we verified that the customer never refiled bankruptcy we began calling and emailing and texting Mr. ********* on 6/13/23, which was 10 days prior to the scheduled Repo event.  During that time fleet was notified that they could schedule a driver as the bankruptcy attorney authorized us to be able to pickup our building due to the bankruptcy dismissal.
  
  During the Repo event on 6/23/23 the driver had Mr. ********* on the phone with the legal account manager and the department supervisor.  They went over the entire account history and status with the customer.  The drivers paperwork did not reflect the true past due because of the bankruptcy flag. When we were on the phone with the customer while the driver was there it was explained to the customer in detail.
  
  Mr. ********* was not satisfied with the solution being presented to him and that the Rent To Own contract was required to be paid in full to keep the building.  The payoff was $3376.64.  The customer was given the opportunity to pay or the building needed picked up.  Mr. ********* refused to pay so the driver was instructed to pickup the building per our agreement. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  we have given cook Portable warehouse $300 deposit for a shed to be made and delivered on 6-1-2023 they call me to say that they cannot deliver the shed. do to personal employee problems. Then I was told that they would get back to me in about a week or so, I had everything set for the shed. i told them OKAY I had a problem with getting permit, on the same day after they have call me about the shed can't be delivered, I got a call that the permit was a go, and a few days later I decided to cancel the shed, and ask to have my refund sent back to me, and I was told that would not be a problem by the sale person and office lady, then I got a call from a sale person saying that it would not be refunded,

  

  Business response

  07/11/2023

  Customer ordered a custom building.  The order form states “Cook Portable Warehouses has the right to retain the security deposit on buildings with option in the case of a cancellation after construction begins or delivery has been attempted”.  The building is non-standard Utility with an extra door and two octagon windows. 

   

  (We will have to discount the building the options in order to resell, and the options are greater than the deposit.)

   

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  During COVID pandemic conditions still continued to charge outstanding late fees even though I paid my payments even though they were a couple of days late. I paid every month but because of everything being shut down I was unable to pay in time some months and they charged me over and over and over late fees , then sent someone to pick up my building and charged me a pick up fee on top of ALL the other fees they charged me…. And I have asked over and over and over again for my payoff and no one will give it to me.

  

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  The customer entered into a rent to own agreement that requires payments to be made on the due date of the last day of every month.  Customer is given a courtesy grace period of 5 days to help them avoid late fees.  The customer paid outside this grace period on many occasions so not only was the payments not being made by the required due date they were not even being paid by the courtesy grace period.  This customer then never attempted to pay any of the late fees when they became due and this caused her account to be past due. We attempted to resolve this delinquency on multiple occasions.  We constantly tried to reach customer with letters, phone calls, texts and emails with little to no response from the customer.

  Then the customer completely skipped payments on several occasions in mid 2021.  This is why a driver was sent for repossession.  During the repossession event the customer paid current and we rebated half of the driver service fee that is explained in the lease to help them.  For customer service we also waived 3 late fees to help the customer.  Then the customer got behind again by skipping multiple payments in a row at the end of 2021 and another driver event occurred.  Again they got current and we rebated half the 2nd driver fee.  Then the customer skipped several payments again the next 2 months at the beginning of 2022 though to August 2022 and was past due again causing a third driver event.  She got current and received a 3rd rebate of half the driver fee. 

  We provided the customer another online payment link and behooved her to pay online and make sure it was paid on its due date and she has been paying as agreed since October 25th, 2022 and is presently current.  Since the customer has been paying online since December 30th, 2022 we have had no contact with the customer.  If customer was requesting payoff she was not calling or emailing us as we would have responded.  We emailed the payoff calculation to her today 3/21/23.  The customer's pay history and payoff calculation are attached for supporting documentation. 

  Thank you very much.

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  reached out to company several times reguarding my reamining balance left on a shed from cooks portable sheds i got a balance over a year ago and the amount was like $1600 so i know that ive paid it off but im still making payments dont want to over pay i believe company is not reachable and returning my call on purpose and need help

  

  Business response

  02/28/2023

  Cook Portable Warehouses has no recent record of customer trying to make contact.  The last contact on record was from February 2022.  All the customer has to do is email ********************* and their matter will be addressed promptly.

  Customer response

  03/08/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ****

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Around late December 2022 I made a deposit for a $13,000 portable barn. The delivery date was promised for 2/9/23 and then cancelled on late 2/7/23. I need a new delivery date and have yet to receive one.

  

  Business response

  02/08/2023

  Customer ordered a building December 30th, 2022 with an approximate delivery time of 8-10 weeks with the building constructed.  Customer was contacted approximately February 1st to inform them delivery was scheduled Thursday, February 9th.  On Tuesday, February 7th the driver scheduled to deliver buildings in that area called in with complaints of flu-like symptoms and would be out of work for a few days. All customers scheduled with the driver were contacted informing their deliveries would have to be rescheduled due to lack of immediate manpower in their area.  By doing so, customers that may have taken a vacation day from work could report if they wanted to.  According to the dispatcher, customer expected immediate resolution of a new delivery date.  Since no delivery schedules can be finalized until the last half of the week, a satisfactory answer could not be given to the customer until the dispatcher learned more when the delivery driver would be back in their area.  Prior to receipt of this complaint, the dispatcher had already placed the customer a priority re-schedule and confirmed with the customer a delivery date of February 16th.

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Entered into a lease in March 2022 for a 10 X 12 Shed. Put a $250 deposit for Pickup Charge should the Leasee decide to return shed. Lease calls for a portion of the Lease Fee to go towards purchase price should the Leasee chose to purchase shed at a later date. That fee amounts to about 5% over a two-year period. I decided to exercise the purchase option at the end of October and after receiving the payoff amount, sent in payment but took at least two weeks to acknowledge receipt. I expected to receive the Payoff Documents and a return of the $250 fee as stated in contract. After a number of emails, was told documents would be mailed 12/10/2022. However, not until I made a phone call on 1/02/2023 was I able to get an email acknowledging the shed was paid in full, however, when I followed up with an inquiry about my deposit, I have not heard back from these people, nor have I received the documents that were supposed to have been mailed. Frustrating isn't the right word! My resolution is to have COOK Portable Warehouse deliver my deposit and paid in full documents without having to seek legal assistance.

  

  Business response

  01/17/2023

  Thank you for the feedback.  Cook Portable Warehouses sincerely apologizes for the delay.  There was a recent changeover in our Accounts Payable system that created a large backlog of checks that wasn't immediately made aware to the management team. 

  According to the customer's account, the check to have the account paid-in-full was received November 10th, 2022.  A paid-in-full letter and refund were to be generated approximately December 10th, 2022.  Per the notes, an extra paid-in-full letter was emailed on 1/3/23.  At this time, management was still unaware that a batch of checks had never been sent to be printed and mailed.  On 1/12/2023, another paid-in-full letter was generated to be mailed to the customer.  Also on that day, the customer was advised through the dealer of the delay and that the refund check was mailed on 1/10/2023.  

  Cook Portable Warehouses is sorry for the delay in the customer's refund, but is ********** will arrive in the customer's mailbox any day if not already.
  

  Customer response

  01/19/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  02/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Sent final payment through bank bill pay on Dec 16 2021. After a month called Cook to see why hadn't cleared. Called bank placed stop payment on Jan 16, 2022. On Jan 18 called Cook and paid over the phone $504 for remaining balance minus security deposit of $150. On Jan 18 bill pay check also cleared for $767.39 that was sent in Dec. Called Cook on Jan 19 requesting refund for overpayment. They states payment would be mailed but have not heard anything from Cook in email or phone response.

  

  Business response

  02/21/2022

  The customer had a payoff check that they sent via the mail.  There was a mail issue that delayed their payoff check from arriving.  The check eventually arrived and was posted to the account but, the customer informed us that they placed a stop payment on that check and wanted to do an electronic check to payoff their account.  We processed the electronic check in the amount of $504.83 and were to apply their $300 deposit for the payoff as the customer instructed.  

  However, it appears that the stop payment did not occur and the check we received also processed through the customers bank.  We were merely waiting for that check to come back as a stop payment.  If it had there would have been no refund and the account would have been paid off.  But, since it did clear and did not come back, apparently the stop payment was not placed so the account was over paid.  Now that 30 days have passed we are confident the stop payment check did not get stopped and has processed.  It also appears that way with the customers attachments to this complaint. 

  We have contacted the customer and told them we were merely waiting 30 days so we could be sure that the check was not coming back stop pay before we issued the refund.  Customer understood.  Customer has been notified that  there will be a refund issued to the customer for the amount of the over payment and will it be mailed out this week. 

  Thank you.
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was supposed to have a 10x 24 shed delivered to my house on Monday December 6, 2021. Before the shed was to be delivered I was advised to move any potential obstacles out of the way. So I cut down part of my tree, moved a car out of the way and also removed 4 panels of my fencing to make enough room for the shed. The driver came and proceeded to put the shed in the backyard, during this process he became belligerent and started cursing saying he can’t deliver the shed. Mind you the shed was halfway in the backyard when he became irate. He and my fiancé got into words because of the drivers unprofessional behavior and then the driver said he’s no longer delivering the shed and he’s taking it back. My fiancé said that that is unacceptable. And more words was said and my fiancé put his truck at the end of the driveway until we could get a hold of a supervisor to help with the problem of the driver. The supervisor was highly uneffective and of no help. The driver proceeded to take the shed out of the backyard and put it on the truck. The supervisor ******* ***** **** **** ***** ************** called back and said that they could have someone else deliver the shed. At that point I told I no longer want the shed because of the way I was treated and I want my deposit back. He laughed at me and said that I will not be getting my deposit back. So not only was I treated rudely by cook sheds delivery person, I have no shed and cook sheds stole my deposit money.

  

  Business response

  01/07/2022

  Customer placed an order for a to-be-built building.  It was built for the customer on 11/23/21 and was scheduled for delivery on 12/6/21. During delivery to the customer, another customer (*******) who has a building at the same location wanted to have his building moved without going through the proper channels. The driver advised customer to “call ****” several times, but customer insisted on it being on the “down low”.
  
  After the interaction, and as a result of tight and awkward fit around a large tree, the driver stopped the mule on approach to rear of property to inspect ingress for clearances. The driver walked around and looked at the building, looking at the eave of the home, tree, all the while talking to himself about successfully installing unit and not doing any damages.
  
  ******* became hostile and started behaving aggressively towards the driver.  
  At that point, the driver had heard enough abuse from the man that he stopped what he was doing.  He got in the truck and called his Division Manager. It was discussed thoroughly and decided that we didn’t need to continue to battle not only the tighter than needed spot to get the shed in, but also the man calling the driver all sorts of foul names, etc. The driver was told to load the building back up.  As he started to, the man took his truck and parked it in front of the shed and blocked him from getting it and leaving. The verbal abuse continued, and at the point the police were contacted. ******* ****** ******* ******** * ***********) After police arrived, the guy left, the equipment was retrieved, and the building taken back to lot. The delivery was incomplete and the deposit was retained due to the attempted delivery and failure to do so. 
  
  Complainant called in later to the Office Manager requesting a refund. She was told she needed to talk to ******* about not getting her refund.  She wanted to know who ******* was.  Complainant was asked if they were really claiming that they didn’t know who ******* was. Again, she asked “who is *******?”  It was explained that there is another building on the property.  She said this is her building and nobody else’s and she needs a refund. 
  
  The Office Manager explained that **** had attempted to deliver, and couldn’t because of the tight fit.  She interrupted saying there was already a building on the property that is BIGGER than hers and we delivered it so why could this driver not deliver her 12x20.  (At this point, Office Manager didn’t have every fine detail of the attempted delivery situation. It is now known that although there is another building on the property, a tree had grown making the fit more difficult.) Customer was reminded of the incident with *******, and that it was due to him and more so the circumstances surrounding the delivery as why **** couldn’t deliver, and there would be no refund.  On several different occasions she asked who ******* was.
  
  Finally, she was asked “okay, where were you when we attempted to deliver the building?”  She said she knows what happened because she has the police report.  Customer was asked, “so you’ve been lying the whole time about knowing who ******* is?”  She mumbled something about her money and hung up.
  
  Bottom line is that **** Portable Warehouses built a 12x20 building for the complainant and attempted to deliver it in good faith.  The customer did not create enough clearance for proper installation of the building.  This was compounded by the interaction with the customer’s fiancé.  Customer was aware of what happened and who ******* was, but was dishonest when calling for a refund.   **** Portable Warehouses will not be issuing the $150 refund due to costs incurred.

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello: my complaint is BC I rented to own a garage unit by a Dealer in Ocala. I made the down payment of $500.- in May’21. The gate unit was “ready” in August. I told them if they come in Sept’21. They did it. When I saw the garage unit was only 2/4 inches above the ground, by the dealer place. When I received was 10 inches above the ground. I asked them if they brought a ramp to complete the garage unit, they said “ No, we don’t provide ramp”. Excuse me? It’s a garage unit: I assumed that goes underground or come with ramp. I didn’t ask that BC need to come with ramp. Ok. I accepted to make a ramp. The front plate with wood broke in some parts. The inside floor stains in some parts, like not brand New. The dealer manager was nice in the beginning & after he answered me so no properly. Plus I must paid for return it, for move it, for, blah blah blah. Repair team came to fix, but nothing was fix. I called repair customer service: I explained all the situation: ******* told me that they will come again to fix everything soon in October’21. They set to come December 3rd. I’m tired that this began so bad. I will return the garage unit 12x24 feet. I will return it. The contract said that if I returned will be a charge of $340.- ( like a fee) all this time I couldn’t use the garage unit like a garage. It’s mir worth it & about all happened to pay nothing more. Plus if I can have my down payment back, I will appreciate bc never was like Liza, the seller, told me. I have proof of all: pictures, emails, contract, promises, etc etc

  

  Business response

  12/06/2021

  Cook Portable Warehouses delivered the building the customer chose.  When the building arrived, the ground was a bit out of level and the driver had to add a couple 2x4s to one side of the building.  This caused the building to be slightly higher on one side than the one the customer saw on the lot.  Cook Portable Warehouses doesn't supply ramps due to the varying degrees of slopes customers may have in their yard.  Neither are portable buildings to be placed in the ground, nor is there a way to do so.  Neither of these options were requested by or promised to the customer.  

  Customer had complaints about a cracked front rim joist that was cosmetic in nature.  Once customer would have placed a ramp, the crack would not have been visible.  Cook Portable Warehouses agreed to address this concern.  Customer complained of a dirty floor/stains.  This was a result of water having seeped into the building from the garage door at one point while sitting on the sales lot waiting for delivery.  Neither were hindering of the use of the building. 

  A repairman was dispatched on October 6, inspected the building for defects, but none were found.  There was no leak in the roof.  He painted the stress crack.  As a courtesy to the customer, we moved the building in the yard for free which is normally a $200 service fee.  

  Two days later, customer requests pickup "Customer transferred regarding pick up of unit stating that it does not meet her needs. I asked questions and tried to get to the root of the matter, which is... 
  The building once delivered, sits on the ground and has an 8 in elevation to the top of the floor. This creates a lip that prevents her from pulling her car into the building. 
  She mentioned that she thinks the building is great and perfect for her needs with the exception that there is no ramp that came with it and she will have to hire someone to build a ramp for her. Then she elaborated that she cannot use the building until that is done and that it would create a cost that would cause her to be delinquent. I asked her .... “What if I can get the boss to agree to push the first monthly payment due date back to November 30, to help create the opportunity for her to keep the building and make the intended on time monthly payments and open up a hole in the budget for her to hire a ramp builder.” She said that would be great and would be agreeable with that solution because it solves the problem that she is having."  As another courtesy, Cook Portable Warehouses delayed the first payment by 30 days.

  Customer contacts Cook Portable Warehouses a few days later on 10/13/21 still upset that Cook didn't tell her the building didn't come with a ramp and laid the responsibility on Cook to make the building "ground level". Customer still unhappy with the stain on the floor and the cracked rim joist.  Cook management discussed the situation further and, against our better judgement, accepted for the customer to dig a hole to place the building in so that she could make better use of her purchase although there would be a minimal $100 fee in order to come back out. Customer decided to stay with her ramp idea.  On October 25th, Cook agreed to return to do a more extensive repair to the rim joist and completely replace a piece of stained flooring even though it was to be used as a garage to park a vehicle.  

  As of November 15th, customer was still emailing to inquire as to the status of her repair.  Unfortunately, due to staffing shortage and COVID issues, Cook was unable to arrive to complete further work as timely as we would have liked. On November 30th, customer decided to return the unit for the main reason because she had lost her job and couldn't continue with the purchase.  Secondly was due to not having the building finished yet.

  With all of the above information, Cook Portable Warehouses believes we went above and beyond trying to satisfy the customer when ultimately the loss of income caused them to return the unit and request a refund of their money.

  Customer response

  12/10/2021

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  First of all the person who wrote the explanation didn’t say the truth about that the garage unit was used. If you see the pictures I never used it because is 10 inches high! 
  it’s impossible to jump to the garage unit without a ramp.

  When I made the down payment of $500.- in Ocala dealer of Cook Portables Warehouses **** showed me the garage unit & for an hour I spoke with her about to put my suv inside. She never told mw that the vagare unit don’t come with ramp. 
  Plus, from the beginning, the floor was stained. Don’t continue laying because I have the proof from September 20th. 
  about the front plate: it’s all cracked from the beginning. 
  So: I want the down payment refund plus save the $340.- that suppose to pay if the unit it’s return it. 
  it’s not a trust company because they lied en this response.

  Only ******, *********, **** & the receptionist treated me like a customer with my complaints. 
  the pictures don’t lie. Period. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *******

  

  Business response

  12/13/2021

  Cook Portable Warehouses feels we have gone above and beyond to address customer's complaints with the building in question.  We would have rather fixed the building to the customer's satisfaction rather than picking the building up.  We understand that although the customer may not have "used" the building, the company has incurred costs greater than the amount paid by the customer to deliver the building, provide a free service, and return to pick it up.  

  Customer was never shown a ramp, nor was one ever offered.  The area where the customer wanted the building delivered was not flat, and the burden is on the customer to build a custom ramp suitable for the building.

  Cook Portable Warehouses was actually scheduled to come out a second time to repair the building to the customer's satisfaction on December 3rd, but customer requested pickup on November 30th.  Repairs that were to be completed were to address all of the customer's complaints, but customer explained there was a loss of income that required her to have Cook just pick up the building instead. 

  Customer email states: 

  Hello again 
  I spoke 15’ ago with XXXXXXX.
  

  (Personal contact info redacted)

  Please: when you communicate with me about to pick it up, use only the info above
  Thank you & apologies to return it for lack of job.
  

  We are truly sorry the customer had to have the building picked up.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩