ComplaintsforFrench Brothers Homes

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Paid $500 deposit for house with French Bothers on August 13th, 2023. Requested funds to be returned on August 18th. Received the ‘Buyers Request to Terminate’ document on September 1st, 2023. Was assured that deposit was going to be returned. Messaged sales rep on October 13th 2023 to get an ETA on funds. No response. French Brothers has sold **** ******* home to other buys and still hasn’t returned funds after assuring me that they would be returned.

  Business response

  12/22/2023

  This is an oversight on our part. We appreciate the buyer bringing the oversight to our attention so that we can resolve the matter as well as improve our processes and procedures. 

  We will process the refund today which does generally take 7-10 business days to fully process into the customers account.
  

  Customer response

  12/22/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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.
  
  Regards,
  ********* *******

• Initial Complaint

  11/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have yet to receive a legitimate reason as to why my home is the only home in my neighborhood that does NOT have blown-in insulation. I have received excuses such as my floor plans doesn’t”, “it wasn’t an option at the time” to “it wasn’t on your invoice”. I have been asking about this since first seeing the batt insulation installed. Fact is, the two houses next to me, that were built immediately before mine have blown-in insulation. The two houses across the street, that were built after mine have blown-in insulation. The same floor plan down the street, that I watched being built, has blown-in insulation. The same floor plan near the golf course has blown-in insulation. I shouldn’t have to mention that the “Verano” flyer I received before selecting my floorplan, specifically states blown-in insulation is used, the homeowner’s guide as well. The closest I can figure is that since my house construction spent several months held in limbo for some reason (three months with nothing but framing), someone decided, “oh well, let’s just throw inadequate insulation in to get it moving again. Screw the buyer and screw the French Brother’s promise of a quality home.” As a holder of a master’s degree in business, and a Doctorate in Organizational Management I will tell you that this is clearly unethical business practice. My Master Bathroom, which sits inside the eastern wall, is consistently 10-15 degrees colder than the rest of the house in winter (the sun rarely hits my eastern wall). In fact, I must set a space heater in my bathroom overnight and turn on a separate heater in the morning just to take a shower. I have to set my home's heater to 75 degrees in the morning; still, the temperature of the bathroom only reaches 68 degrees. During the summer, my air conditioning costs are over $300 dollars per month, even with the thermostat set to 78 degrees. French Brothers obviously does not live up to its own standards

  Business response

  11/28/2022

  We are sorry to hear that your experience hasn’t been what you expected. We did make a shift to batt insulation on some of our plans during the time your home was built, and are sorry that the included features sheet you received was outdated. Your home was constructed during the pandemic and we did experience many delays during that time in both availability of material and trades, however, we would never substitute a subpar product to make up lost time. The R insulation value difference of the batt insulation we use vs. blown in is minimal, and as such, we have scheduled an appointment with our HVAC trade to see if there is an underlying issue with your HVAC system, as that is the more likely cause of your heat concerns. Our Customer Care team is here to help, and will be able to assist you both with the issues of your home’s heating and cooling, as well as the procedure for putting any future warranty claims into the system. We care about your experience and hope that your time with our Customer Care team will help to turn your experience around.

  Customer response

  11/29/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The HVAC guys report no issues with the system. Of course, I had the registers already adjusted for optimum use (a monkey could). It takes several minutes for warm air to reach the bathroom.  Where the kitchen registers were reaching over 100 degrees while the heater was on, it took several minutes for the bathroom ducts to even reach 85. Anybody who took a basic science course in elementary school knows that warm air resists moving downward; those of us with advanced degrees know that hot air resists being pushed.  The bathroom duct would carry hot air much more efficiently if the roof space (24” of dead space between roof and ceiling) wasn’t full of extremely cold air. A 24 inch space should have 18 inches of insulation. Perhaps you should consult a construction engineer. My Doctorate of Organizational Management did not include physics or thermodynamics. Any insulation installer would tell you that if using batt insulation, you must insulate under the roof AND over the ceiling. As it is, the ductwork travels through a very cold space, thus decreasing efficiency and the movement of heated air.

  
  As a resolution, I am willing, at my expense, to install an attic access panel in my utility room, if you would just have someone spray some insulation into the dead space between my HVAC and over the master bathroom to cover the ductwork so that warm air has a chance to reach the bathroom.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ******** 

   

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

  Business response

  12/16/2022

  We were able to inspect this home and determined that the HVAC system is working correctly. The HVAC duct work is insulated, as our all of our ceilings. During the time that we were using batt insulation, the R-Value of our ceiling and roof insulation did not change, so there should be no difference in insulating power between the insulation that is in the ceiling and what this homeowner would have gotten if we were doing blown in insulation at that time. The way this home is situated, it does not receive a lot of sunlight on the side of the home where the primary suite is located, and as such, that side of the home will naturally be cooler. At this time we are unable to offer any additional insulation, although we will continue working with this customer and providing customer care for the lifetime of his warranty.

  Customer response

  12/21/2022

  Complaint: ********
  
  I never said the HVAC system wasn’t working. The R-value on the ceiling has nothing to do with the issue; it’s science.
  As a college professor, I just happen to have access to people who dedicate their careers to energy efficiency (Department/College of Science at three universities in this region that I am affiliated with) and who know how air works. Had you insulated the roof (separate from the ceiling), then yes, your batt insulation on the ceiling would work. However, you chose to forgo the upper layer of insulation under the roof (the radiant barrier on the roof decking only stops infra-red light/heat but has no affect on actual ambient temperatures). Therefore, because the space between the roof and the ceiling is NOT insulated from the outside, the insulation on the ceiling would do no more than keep heat from escaping the house and would not stop cool air from saturating the batt insulation, thus making it ineffective. In contrast, blown-in insulation would fill the empty space between the ceiling and roof,  It would be equivalent to throwing a blanket over the top of the house, and nothing more.
  

  I would welcome direct conversation with the French Brothers Vice President or higher on this matter, as I am sure the person relaying these BBB messages is not an expert. This should probably be done before I put together my curriculum for my Business Ethics courses that I provide for three universities.

  
  "Profit is accepted and understood, but it cannot be accepted through the means of deceptive business practices, including cutting corners for expedience or cost cutting, without passing the ROI onto the customer."
  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ********* *****

   

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

  Business response

  02/02/2023

  We were able to meet on site with this customer to investigate and address his concerns, and are happy to report that all issues have been resolved. We will continue to work with him for the lifetime of his warranty, will be there as needed to provide any additional info or support going forward, and are glad he is enjoying his French Brothers Home.

  Customer response

  02/02/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  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. Thank you very much for your attention
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  05/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My husband and I are Active Duty Military and purchased this home in January 2022. We moved to the area in February 2022. Our project manager was replaced in the middle of our build without us knowing. Due to being living across the country we were unable to do the initial walk through with the house. We were never provided any of the home warranty paperwork or anything until after we moved into the house. After walking around the house there were many cosmetic issues with the house. We met with the builder and was told to put everything in the portal. The warranty team came out and started completing items. Tape was removed without corrections, they didn't cover our furniture, paint was dropped on our appliances and in the grout. We took multiple days off work and were told the items would be completed by April 16th. The team never finished anything and has stopped contacting us. My husband noticed all of our items were deleted from the portal without being completed. I received a call from Kayla asking how things were going. I told her everything that was going on. She said she was going to have Bryan, the new president for the area call me. I waited three weeks with no call. I had to call Kayla multiple times. On the last call on Friday, 6 May she told me she cant make him call me, all she can do is relay the message. I asked for someone above Bryan. At that time I was told that I could not contact Kevin, he would have to contact me but I could "write a letter"

  Business response

  06/09/2022

  We have reached out to this customer and have been in constant communication over the last few weeks. We are working towards resolving their warranty requests, and our Division President, Brian, has a direct line of communication with the homeowners – they have been encouraged to call him directly when needs arise. There was some miscommunication in the beginning, but we are happy that we’ve been able to provide the service our customers expect going forward. We care about each one of our customers and we stand behind our work, and we hope our continued relationship with this homeowner shows that.

• Initial Complaint

  10/15/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  New home build closed in Oct 2020 with final warranty period ending Oct 2021. Repeatedly we have raised issues with the home and submitted warranty claims - all which should have been resolved by French Brothers before we closed on the house. They refuse to honor their warranty and build standards. I want my house to be repaired.

  Business response

  10/29/2021

  We have met with the homeowner on this home and are continuing to complete their warranty claims. We recognize that some items were missed initially on this home and are doing everything we can to make things right. Although this homeowner’s warranty period will end this month, we will complete any outstanding warranty items that have been raised and marked for correction, even if those repairs extend into the future. We stand behind our work, and if something in a home does not meet French Brothers standards, we will make it right. Currently, the Area Construction Manager and Lead Builder for Artesia are both tracking this home to make sure all outstanding warranty repairs are made in a timely manner. Our customers are our number one priority, and we hope that we have shown that by admitting our mistakes and making things right on this home.

*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. ↩