Craig A.

On 5/17/21 I requested a quote for a steel garage from Viking Steel Structures. On 5/27/21 they sent another email stating that the price of the building was going up 30% on 6/1/21 so I needed to place a deposit to lock in my quoted price. They assigned the contract to TOL Buildings Inc. I went to TOL's website and their website showed that they were BBB Accredited A+ Rated, so I made the deposit the next day. The contract states that "delivery is 1-4 weeks in most areas" and is clearly stamped "SAMPLE NOT FINAL". AFTER the contract was signed, I was told by Mr. Aguilar at Viking to allow 4-6 weeks for delivery once I provide proof that the foundation was in. After obtaining the permit and working with a concrete contractor, I sent Mr. Aguilar a picture of the foundation on 8/5/2021 which he in turn sent to Ms. Gonzalez-Leon of TOL. On 9/8/2021, I called to get an update and was told that it is a 6–8-week lead time for delivery by someone from TOL (did not get his name). I called again after 8 weeks and the manager of Viking stated that they were going to have a meeting with TOL on Thursday to go over the scheduling of building deliver as they had approx. 50 buildings that they were needing confirmation on and mine was one of them. I called the following Friday and was told that TOL needed another week to provide a response. I also called the phone number given to me for the scheduler at TOL (*******910) however the voice mailbox is full and was wasn't able to leave a message. I emailed on 10/11/21 and was told that Viking is still trying to get an update. I emailed again on 10/19/21 and still no update. At this time, I still do not have a confirmation.
When I requested refund from the manager at Viking, Tania Romero, I was told that "per the contract you signed the deposit is non-refundable". The contract also states that delivery is usually 1-4 weeks but she ignores that part. It seems like "Haha, we have your money and there is nothing you can do about it".
They use covid as an excuse although covid has been going on long before I placed my deposit. If covid has had such an impact on the steel industry, why keep taking deposits for buildings you know you wont be able to deliver in the time frame YOU told the customer?

UPDATE>>>> I finally gave up on ever getting my building and cancelled the order. Per VSS own website: "we have devised a simple refunds policy where the amount debited is returned to you if you cancel the order" AND "Moreover, we never want it to happen and try our best that you don't cancel the order, but if you still want to cancel the order, you'll get a 100% refund. However, some states do not apply if the order is placed after Sept 1,2020. ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, WV, OH, MI, WI, MN, MT, WA, ID, WY, NE, UT, NV, AND CO." I live in NC so I am good to go. I emailed their manager Tania Romero and requested a refund based on their POLICY and she still refused stating that "you signed a contract stating that the deposit is non-refundable." and "we are updating our website". What they are doing is adding the non-refundable clause in the contract to circumvent their own refund policy. I'm not an attorney however from what I have researched, posting your own 100% refund policy on your website and not honoring it is fradulent.