Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/11/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Horrible experience with the owner, *****. The product is not as promised. She claims that you can drive over her product with a truck and put a ladder on it. It got dents from our installers knees and fingers pressing it into place. She claimed that our *** *** White latex paint (one of the most well known cyc wall paints made specifically for cyc walls) denatured her product and caused it to be easily damageable. Mind you, latex is an approved paint on one of her documents she sent us, while oil based is approved on another, so she has inconsistent instructions. We put the paint on after installing the walls, so that does not explain all of the finger print dents or knew imprints you will see in photos. We called *** *** to confirm and they actually laughed at her claim.
  
  All of this could have been resolved, but after more than a year of back and forth, she refuses to take any responsibility for her product failing to uphold her claims. We never asked for a refund in all of this. However, I believe it is well deserved at this point. We asked for her to cover a 4 inch piece of cyc wall since we removed a wall recently leaving a gap on the end. I have never seen someone defend their product and blame the customer, even when it clearly failed. We gave her the benefit of the doubt that maybe something happened on the manufacturing of our wall that is different from her other products. Regardless, our wall is not what ***** claims on her site.
  
  I have included photos that I sent her for you to see just how easily the Affordable Cyc Wall product dents and breaks.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/07/2025

  I am not at my business computer where I have files and photos to refute what is being said right now. Thirty minutes is not even enough time because I am at least 50 minutes away from my office. 

  I sent the client DETEAILED directions on how to repair the dents he put in his product. I have talked at length to ***** ***** **** *** *** about this. 

  The client has sent photos of his product with holes that do not have the same color as my mesh. He previously stated he purchased an "Inferior system" (his words) and it "fell apart". We do not use the same color mesh under the coating. We do not use the same coating. They copied my design. How do we know the photos he is sending are not from the other company's product? 

  I have a video that the client sent me when he and his brother were purposefully pushing holes in their cyc wall that they "bought from me". They had me live on a facetime video chat LATE on a Friday night in late June or early July. The client said that I "sent him pictures of my crew putting the same type of ladder on a cyc wall I installed and they had the ladder feet on the curve of the wall, so they wanted to TEST IT OUT TO SEE HOW DURABLE IT IS". They purposefully put holes in their product, then blamed me. 

  I offered ***** ***** to come to the BBB and bring pieces of my cyc walls and let her stomp on them, pound them with her fist or gouge them with scissors. I am willing to do that. I can even bring you a piece of a fountain that has been OUTSIDE at my home in the elements made the same way. It has been outside in ****** **** for 10 years and before that, it was in a restaurant for 5 years. It holds up. I have client statements where my product has stood up in a fire, a flood and an earthquake. I have had other clients accidentally poke holes in my product and I sent them directions (the same directions I sent this client) and they fixed the holes and had no other issues. The most recent is an advertising company had a light fall down on the cyc wall and scrape the coating off. I had another client photographing a baseball team and one of the pitchers threw a baseball into it very hard and made a dent. The client was very happy with his repair. 

  Imaging walking in snow with snowshoes. You do not sink in the snow with snowshoes. But if I were to walk in snow in regular shoes I would sink. It is also like a woman walking in the grass in spike heels - those heels will go into the grass because of Physics. Their ladder does not have wide feet. My Amish craftsmen that I work with have professional ladders that distribute the weight better. I do have photos of my guys on the ladder on the cyc walls and you can blow up the picture and see they are not gouging the cyc wall. I have pictures of my fat body walking and laying on the cyc wall. I used to stand on a cyc wall every day in our office to reach the thermostat to turn on the heat or the air conditioning. I did not dent it. I did not gouge it. I also have a full 8' long cyc wall in my storage room at my office in ****** **** that I can invite you to walk on yourself if you want to make an appointment. 

  Affordable Cyc Wall Systems is DURABLE NOT INDESTRUCTABLE. You can break anything if you try. Please let me send pictures to you later in the day. 

  ****** ***** ****** ********** *** ****** **** * *********************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/08/2025

  I am rejecting this response because: We have proof of purchase from ******. The claim that we have used a different product is simply not true. We have the exact measurements of the wall which match the order from her. Does this need to be sent as proof?. I do not understand why she has not stood behind her product. If this mesh system is different from her standard product then that could very well be the reason why we have had the issues we have. When asked what color the product is, I simply looked at her website to state it is grey given her photos. I genuinely do not recall the product color and have not seen it since we painted it days after it arrived. We followed all of her instructions to a T that she sent. Including using a mesh drywall tape for the seams, which could also be the mesh she now claims is not her product. That was a super thin We are very thorough people as she should see from all of our responses. We genuinely just want the product we paid for and not what we have received. 
  
  The statement accusing us of attempting to break her product is inaccurate. She told us that it supports men on it who perform installs. I tried to use the wall as the support for installing blinds. I had concerns as you can imagine after we put dents in it so easily, but I did want to make sure that it was durable after installation rather than waiting for 6 months to find something like that out. I figured If there was a failure in the product that she would warranty it when it had just arrived a week later. As you can see from the photos I am drilling into a brick wall and installing brackets for blinds we now have installed. Since the install of the cyc wall we have had to perform various installations such as the backdrop bracket seen in the photo attached along with the blinds I just mentioned. This was a dangerous process due to not being able to use the cyc wall as support like we had hoped. I ended up having to mount the wall brackets using an extension ladder supported against the wall at a steep angle. Additionally, the ladder she claims is not professional is a commercial grade ladder with rounded plastic edges
  
  Do we just continue to go back and forth in this process, or is there a way that I can prove this is her product and this go against her as a business? All she has done is fight with us and told us to fix her product and repair it ourselves. We purchased a brand new product from her that was not as promised. It seems pretty simple to me. 
   
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 04/14/2025

  
  *****,
  
  I will make a full response in the 10 day time limit. Right now I am sending you photos that support my position. 
  
  Image 0825 was taken in June during my installation in Cleveland. You can see the light blue mesh wrap around. That mesh is on ever cyc wall made at **** ************* ****** ** *** ******* **. The have been my only manufacturer since December 2021. There is no reason for them to change the mesh for one order. ****** ******* cyc wall was made from the same batch as mine in the picture. 
  
  This photograph shows a man about the same size of ****** *****. You can see how large the bottom feet are on the ladder compared to ******'s. You can also see how this professional dry wall installer straddles the ladder to distribute his weight evenly. 
  
  Image 0828 was taken during the same job on the same day as image 0825. This photo shows the drywall installer putting his weight on the long end of the ladder. He is not putting all of his weight on the ladder and did not puncture the cyc wall pieces. 
  
  The third picture is of me installing a cyc wall. I am standing on the curve of the cyc wall. I weigh 163lbs. I weigh more than ******.  The fourth picture is of me laying on the cyc wall to sand it. I am 4'11" tall and weigh 163 lbs. 
  
  This is my late husband's video showing him driving a truck on the cyc wall pieces. He does say, "It will cause minor indentations".  Those indentations are easily fixed with dry wall mud. I told ***** ***** repeatedly that he could fix his problems with dry wall mud. 
  
  ***** *** ***** * ***** ** * *** **** * *******
  
  ***** *** ***** * ***** ** * *** **** * *******
  ***** **** *** ******* *** ********** *** **** ************** **** **** *** **** *********** ********** ***************** *************************
  ***************
  
  Again,  I didn't cause ******'s issues. He did. I gave him a remedy for fixing the problems he caused. He kept asking me to send him more cyc wall pieces and I would not. There is no need. I have been taking advantage of before by people who claimed their whole cyc wall was damaged in shipping. I have had the shipping company pay for new pieces only to discover the client built a second cyc wall for the price of one. 
  
  ****** measured his cyc wall wrong. If you look at the email history I sent you before, you can see where he tells me there was a mistake and his cyc wall was not long enough. The factory has a laser measurement system. I have NEVER had a complaint before that cyc wall pieces were not long enough.  Then, he calls me and tells me his cyc wall is damaged and he wants new pieces.  He told me if I would not give him new pieces, I can "enjoy my bad review". 
  
  This what I have right now. I can send more. I need to figure out how to send you a phone video of ******'s brother damaging the cyc wall. This week I have to finish my taxes and renew my trademark. I singlehandedly run my company. I wear many hats. 
  
  My offer to bring in cyc wall sections still stands. You can abuse them for yourself to see how they hold up. 
  
  ***** *********
  Affordable Cyc Wall Systems
  Affordable Cyc Walls, Ltd.
  ###-###-####
  *************************
  A Woman Owned Small Business

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/23/2025

  I am rejecting this response because: Pushing on the cyc wall to show you how easy it is to dent is not intentionally trying to break it. It is illustrating to you that the cyc wall I received is not as you said it would be. You just claimed we can take a hammer to it, so why are you concerned about me breaking it with me pressing on it with my thumbs? For further, undeniable proof that THIS IS YOUR PRODUCT I have included the following:
  
  1) Proof of order stating 14'5" cyc wall (173")
  2) Photo of the cyc wall in question at 173" with measuring tape
  3) A photo of the only other studio in our space which is vastly different from what I purchased from you. We built it with our GC before we ever moved into the space, they did a bad job and it is not a true zero transition wall which is why we contracted you for this one in hopes of a better experience. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  ****** *****