Michael P.
Lesson Learned
I paid Renewal by Anderson in full for 6 windows, and every one of them was an ordeal to complete. Working with RBA was nothing short of traumatizing. To start with, I had one of their awning windows installed. During that process, the caulk that was laid was uneven, did not provide a complete seal, and smears of it were left on the glass. I pointed this out, they fixed it that day. Because the window looked and functioned like it did in ads, and they were so diligent to fix the problems, I hired them to do 5 more windows. That's where everything went horribly wrong... It took Renewal by Anderson six months to finish installing those 5 windows. I lost count of the number of times they visited during that time, but here are some of the problems that occurred: - Every window was initially installed without cleaning the window frames. This meant that dirt, wood debris, etc. was trapped under their caulk and paint, in many cases breaking the seal. - This time RBA explained that they would have to come back another day to fix it. That took a month to schedule, and when they returned RBA did an even worse job. - It took RBA another month to schedule a third install attempt. This time they got it close to a finished state, meaning I accepted a great number of imperfections that I felt I could fix myself. - RBA installed a sheet of metal over a wooden board and painted over it, causing the board underneath to mold due to trapped moisture. This is what RBA installed when I asked them to replace a rotten board with 'the same material as the windows.' - RBA ordered the wrong colored parts, that alone delayed the project an entire month, because they needed to reorder the parts I requested. - RBA gouged one of the windows with a hammer during the initial install. I pointed that out when it happened, and many more times after, and to this day they still have not repaired it. - Every window has 1/32" gaps around the grilles. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it's enough space for plenty of light to pass through. RBA has refused to fix this, claiming that they allow a 1/16" gap in their grilles. RBA has refused to produce any documentation that states that. - Multiple representatives who specifically told me they were assigned to deal with these issues vanished from the project without explanation. Every attempt I made to ask for clarity about this was ignored. I was only passed on to another representative who then passed me on to another representative. - A representative I specifically asked not to work with again, because they minimized and mocked the issues I brought up, was reassigned to the project. I was told I needed to work with this person to progress the project. - This person did not resolve any of the outstanding problems in this project. Instead, they ignored most of my questions, repeatedly misspelled my name, and curiously, also misspelled the name of the company he worked for. - When I asked RBA to produce evidence that my requests for service had ever been reaching the appropriate parties, so that I could at least rule that out as a problem, they refused to do so. - Towards the end of this process I hired a lawyer to formally request Renewal by Andersen conduct all communications through them. I was completely exhausted at this point and hoped that having an intermediary would help the situation. RBA refused to respond to them. - In spite of the request to use an intermediary, RBA has continued to conduct sales calls to probe my interest in buying more of their products. In these calls I explain how bad my experience was, the rep tells me they will investigate this and call back, but none of them have. I just get more calls from completely new people. I think the windows themselves are a good product. They do function like they should, they just don't look like the ads because of all the damage RBA caused during the many attempts at install. There are other companies in my area that offer similar products, so I can not fathom why RBA has chosen to represent themselves this way. I can and will take my business elsewhere. After years of negotiation, the maximum Renewal Anderson has offered me in way of an apology is 10% of my money back, but in order to get that they want me to sign a NDA. I believe it is in my best interest to not sign, and instead report on my experience as one of their valued customers.