ComplaintsforShepherd Enterprises

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Paid them to do a job in 2019. They didn't pull permits as required. They did the job wrong and local inspector required an engineering drawing and said they should have pulled a permit for the work. Contractor sent me an engineer I can use to satisfy my curiosity...they didn't believe the building inspector came by at all. After several emails in April 2020 they said they would hire the engineer. Engineer comes out and sure enough he says they did it wrong. They agree to fix it by February of 2021. February rolls around and nothing is done. Then in March they say it will cost a little under 8K to fix it correctly. After much debate we decided to pay them and let them fix their screw up. They ask for half down and we give them the funds in April 2021. I had to check in every 3-4 weeks to get status updates and they kept saying the steel company couldn't get them the beams. We use a fabricating shop to do some work at our facility for us and he says he can get the beams, no problem. Fast forward to November 2021 they come to us saying they do not have the time or manpower to do the job. The say they will give us a refund of our deposit so we can hire another contractor to fix their work. At this point we just want it done so we tell them to send us our deposit back, which was a little under $4K. They send us a check for just over $1700. When I ask when we will see the rest of our deposit they tell us they payed out what was owed after expenses. They say since they had to pay for an engineering drawing and permit so they kept over $2100. They did the job wrong in the first place, blew us off for over a year and then said they didn't want to do the job and agreed to refund our deposit. They never said a word about keeping a majority of our deposit. I have close to a hundred emails to back up everything I have said. Too many to attach to the supporting documents but will forward them to anyone who needs them if necessary.

  

  Business response

  12/16/2021

  In regard to this project, it was done the first time in the manner we thought was correct. We were unaware of any permit needed, do to it being an existing opening. Anything that is existing usually does not require a permit unless we are totally tearing it down and replacing it, but this was not the case. We take complete responsibility of our actions and did apologize to this customer when we were unable to perform the work needed. In the 100 plus email that was mentioned one of them did ask if they can get the beam for us with no response. So, I am unsure of as to why they would not get the beam so we could install it. We continued to try and get the correct size beam to be cut to size with no success. With COVID 19 we lost employee's and did not have the resources to complete the job safely as I stated to them. We did pull a permit and paid for it and did have engineering drawings done and paid for it. We also gave these documents to the customer to have for another company that had the resources to do the job. We only charged them for the permit and engineering drawings that they ask for. This customer threatened us and said they would ruin our reputation by posting to every social media site out there. This customer is a mean, and disgruntled ex- business owner and does not like to see other small companies he did business with succeed. 

  Customer response

  01/03/2022

  I had taken some time off for the Holidays and was not able to get back to you in the time frame you required.  Below is my reply.
  
   
  
  The issue is this company put us off for over a year and a half and made no attempts to complete the work.  When THEY requested for us to let them out of the contract THEY said they would refund the deposit we gave them.  They did not say anything about deducting any “expenses” when they said they would give us our deposit back.  In their last response they basically admit they didn’t know they needed a permit from the beginning, which any good contractor should know.  They did ask us if we wanted to supply the beams and we told them no, we would prefer they provide the beams.  I can supply the email stating this if you would like to see it.  They say they gave us the document for the permits and the engineering drawings but we did not hire them to provide those documents.  We hired them to widen two openings and to do it correctly.  If they would have pulled the correct permits as required by the city they would have known they were doing the job incorrectly the first time around. The second time around, if they pulled the permits a year and a half ago, the permits would be expired and unusable by now anyway.  We have asked them for the bill from the engineering company to verify they were charged over $2000 for the drawing but they refused to provide the document.  I can show you an email where they told us their engineer could do the drawing for $150, but they did say that engineer was too busy to do the drawing.  Regardless, we did not hire them to provide a drawing, we hired them to do the actual work and they chose not to do the work after a year and a half. 
  
   
  
  I have no idea how me closing a business voluntarily over 12 years ago has anything to do with this issue.  These are the type of senseless insults they have bee trying to throw my way since I fired them from another project at my residence before this one began.  I believe you even instruct us not to put anything personal into the complaints and to stick to the facts.  My business was Turning Point Home Improvements if you would like to look up my status when I was still in business. I closed it in good standing with everyone and did so after my little brother passed away.  Again, this has absolutely no relevance on the project we are speaking about. 
  
   
  
  They said we did want them to succeed but we gave them over a year and a half to complete the job correctly and it was them who wanted out of the project. I don’t understand how they can accuse us of wanting them to fail.  I never said I was going to ruin their reputation by posting to every social media sit out there.  I did say I would be posting my experience with their company to social media sites and to the BBB so people know what type of company they were.  Anything that happens to their reputation due to the way they conduct business is on them.  They even replied back to me and CC’d their attorney and threatened to sue me for posting to sites like the BBB. 
  
   
  
  Let me know if you would like any other information from me on this matter. 
  
   
  
  *******   ******* *******  

  

  Business response

  02/09/2022

  We have responded to Mr. ******** complaint already but once again as he does, he continues to argue about the same complaint. We acknowledge the fact that we were unable to do his project safely due to staff shortages. That was not good enough for him. We agreed to let them out of the contract without a cancellation fee and only charged them for the drawing (which they do have) and the permit (they also have access to). Those items where not part of the first time we done the project. Mr. ******* requested them and agreed to pay for them so we pulled the permit and had the drawings done. We have apologized for any inconvenience this had caused. ******

  Customer response

  02/10/2022

  *** ****** ** ** ******** **** ****** ** * ****** *** **** **** ** * ****** *** *** *** ********* *** ********* ** ** ****** ** ******** **** ********* **** ** ****** ** ******* ********** ********** ********
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Below is the communication from Shepherd Enterprises on asking us to let them out of the contract to do our project.  You can see there is nothing about keeping any part of our deposit for any reason. They asked us to let them out of the contract and once we did they chose to withhold the entire payment.  Start at the bottom and read up for the correct timeline of the emails.  If they had told us they were going to keep a majority of our down payment we would not have agreed to let them out of the contract.  In fact, since they did not complete their end of returning the deposit, as they said the would, we feel they are still responsible for completing the project.  Though, we do not want them to do the work because of their lying and their lack of ability to know the right way to do the work the first time.  

   

  EXTERNAL
  ********
  I sent what was owed. You have to pay for the drawings & permits. Any expense that was incurred and Amerhart received service for are chargeable. Take those expenses out of the deposit and that left what was paid out.
  
  ***** **** ****** ******** ******************** ******** *********** ** *** *** ** **** ** ************* ** ***** ************ ****** *******************
  
  We appreciate all your patience & understandings as we have gone through a few adjustments within our company. We have hit a few growing pains that resulted in communication and efficiency not being up to our standards. We have been working with fewer resources then normal in our organization and that has also caused a few bumps. If you call for a certain person and they are not available, we encourage you to also send them an email. That person will get back to you as quickly as possible. If you are unable to get a response from the person you are trying to reach, please reach out to me directly or copy me on the next email to them and I will ensure you get an answer. My direct email is ********************. If you have a personal cell phone number of one of our staff members, please be respectful of working hours, weekends, and holidays. If you need to get a hold of someone through their personal cell phone, we would appreciate all calls and texts stay between 8-5 Monday -Friday. We appreciate your understanding. 
  
  **** ** ** ******** **********************
  
  We also ask that you give us a review on one of many site we offer.
  ******* ********* ***** **************** **** ******** ***, to name a few.
  
  ***** ******* ******* ****************************** ***** ******* ******** *** **** **** ** *** ****** ******** *********************** ******* ********* ********************** *** **** ******* **************************** ***** **** ************************* ******** **** ******* ****** *******
  We received a check from you today in the amount of $1,745.23.  The amount we gave you for the down payment was $3,881.68 paid 4-6-21 on our check number 321811.  You still owe us $2,136.45.  Attached is the unsigned contract with the down payment amount. See the communication between us below from April when we sent the down payment.  Please send us the remaining down payment as soon as possible. 
  
  See below on the down payment communication:
  
  
  
  ******* ******* ****** ******* *  ******** ****************************
  
  
  

  ***** ****** ******** ********************** ***** ********** ******* *** **** ***** ** *** ******* ******* ******************************* ******************* *** ***************************** ******* ********* ********************** ******** *** **** ******** ******** * **** ***** *** ****** ******* *** *** **** **** ** **** ** ********* * ** ********** **** ************** ***** **** ****** ******** ******************** ******** *********** ** *** *** ** **** ** ************* ** ***** ************ ****** *******************
  
  We appreciate all your patience & understandings as we have gone through a few adjustments within our company. We have hit a few growing pains that resulted in communication and efficiency not being up to our standards. We have been working with fewer resources then normal in our organization and that has also caused a few bumps. If you call for a certain person and they are not available, we encourage you to also send them an email. That person will get back to you as quickly as possible. If you are unable to get a response from the person you are trying to reach, please reach out to me directly or copy me on the next email to them and I will ensure you get an answer. My direct email is ********************. If you have a personal cell phone number of one of our staff members, please be respectful of working hours, weekends, and holidays. If you need to get a hold of someone through their personal cell phone, we would appreciate all calls and texts stay between 8-5 Monday -Friday. We appreciate your understanding. 
  
  
  **** ** ** ******** ********************** ** **** *** **** *** **** ** * ****** ** *** ** **** **** ** ****** ******* ********* ***** **************** **** ******** **** ** **** * **** ***** ******* ******* ****************************** ***** ********** ******* *** **** ***** ** *** ****** ******** *********************** ******************* *** ***************************** ******* ********* ********************** ******** *** **** ******** ****** *** ******** ******* ******* ****** ******* **************************** ******** ***** ******** ***** ********
  
  
  Together, we will inspire our communities to build their version of the American Dream.
  ***** ****** ******** ********************** ***** ******** ******* *** **** **** ** *** ******* ******* ******************************* ******************* *** ***************************** ******* ********* ********************** ******** *** **** ********
  
  ******** ********
  Randy is no longer doing business on behalf of Shepherd Enterprises. He has semi-retired and is not in town ¾ of the time. ****** and I are running the business now. Yes **** ***** is still our attorney. I want to start off by saying we have tried on several occasions to get the materials for this job without success. ****** has went out to verify them and they were wrong. Also at this time we do not have the man power to do the job. I know this is not something you want to hear nor do I want to deliver. I am trying to be very transparent with you right now and want you to understand we have tried our best to get this job completed. Without the proper resources or manpower we feel it will be a disadvantage to everyone to continue to try and do the project. We feel like it will be a huge liability to move forward with the project. We are willing to give you all a refund of your deposit so you can hire another company that would be properly equipped to do the job. We are not interested in proceeding with any attorneys and don’t feel it is necessary. We feel this can be agreed upon as adults and on a business level so you can move forward in getting your project done. Just FYI we have had to cancel a few other jobs for the same reason and refund them as well. I wanted you to know this so you know it is not just your job. With COVID we have had more problems getting materials and even in a timely manner to be able to do projects. We have also tried hiring more people without success. We feel it is in the best interested for both parties to agree to move on and have another company complete this for you.    
  
  ***** **** ****** ******** ******************** ******** *********** ** *** *** ** **** ** ************* ** ***** ************ ****** ******************* ******** ******* *******

• Initial Complaint

  07/27/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We hired this company for a remodel job. We were told it would take 6 weeks. We are in week 9 with a looming deadline for completion (which has been pushed back many times), and they are claiming they don’t know when they will finish.

  

  Business response

  07/27/2021

  This customer has a legitimate complaint however, they fail to realize we are not the only contractor out there having problems with timelines. We had problems getting materials and now we are working with a skeleton crew with no help in sight. She wants things done on her timeline with no error and we understand wanting it done and we are trying all we can do to complete this project but it is not fast enough for her. We do apologize for any and all inconveniences this is causing but it is out of our hands. We will make sure she has a quality job when finished.  

*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. ↩