LeafFilter Problems

Summary

On 18 April 2010, LeafFilter installed gutter covers on my home. Within one month, the new gutter covers clogged and water overflowed onto the foundation of my home and on the surrounding deck. Numerous calls to LeafFilter have resulted in me being assured that my product is under warrantry and that the problem will be resolved. Unfortunately, it took approximately three months of calling, Emails and letters of complaint for anyone from LeafFilter to even attempt to repair the problem. On 12 August, after a letter of complaint to the Better Business Bureau and the posting of this web site, LeafFilter agreed to remove their product, return my previous gutter screens and refund my money. (See details below.)


Clogged gutter cover after 13 May rain, less than one month after installation.	Material on top of gutter cover was easily removed by wiping it with my hand.	Clogged gutter cover after rain on 31 May.

Details and Dates

29 March	Jim, an estimator from LeafFilter, viewed my roof and gave me an estimate for the project. The estimate included a "MONEY BACK, NO CLOG GUARANTEE".
18 April	Leaf Filter of Romeoville charged me $559.00 dollars to install "no-clog" covers on the gutters of my home.
13 May	The new gutter covers clogged during a rain storm, overflowing on to my foundation of my home. I called Leaf Filter (800-290-6106) and spoke with Scott, the installation supervisor. He admitted he wasn't sure that the product would work on the flat roof of my home. This was a surprise to me because Scott was actually present at the installation of the covers and never mentioned this concern then. He promised to research the problem and get back to me shortly.
19 May	As I had not heard from Scott, I sent an Email to Tim, the Regional Manager for Leaf Filter that included photographs of the clogged gutters and asked for his help in resolving the problem.
31 May	I sent a follow up letter to Tim with hard copies of the photographs. (See photos above)
11 June	I called Leaf Filter and spoke with Sara. Sara assured me this would be taken care of because I was clearly under warranty. She said she would have Scott called me back immediately.
16 June	I called Leaf Filter and spoke with Sara again. I reminded her that she promised to have Scott call me back and that he had not. She expressed surprise and again promised to have Scott call me back "right away".
17 June	I called Leaf Filter again and asked that Tim call me back. He returned my call around 6:30pm. He confirmed he had received my letter and photographs but was surprised that Scott had not called me back. He again assured me that there was no problem. He said he would get with Scott and they would call me back to resolve the issue.
8 July	I called Leaf Filter around 10am and spoke with Barb. I said if I did not have an appointment to resolve my problem by close-of-business on that date, I would write the Better Business Bureau. At 10:55, their installation manager, Scott, called to say he would be out at 4pm that afternoon. At 3:55pm, Scott called to say he had call problems and wouldn't be able to make it out until the following Monday, the 12th.
12 July	Scott called to say he still had car problems but would be out Tuesday, the 13th.
13 July	Scott arrived without any tools or ladder. He borrowed my ladder to look at the gutter cover and take pictures. He left without making any repairs, but said he would get back to me.
14 July	Scott arrived again and initially said he thought the problem was that my downspout was clogged. I put a water hose down the spout and showed him that if drained freely. He agreed that a clogged drain was not the problem. He then said he thought we needed to raise the gutter level. He left, promising he would call me back by close-of-business to schedule a time for a crew to come out. He never called.
27 July	As I had not heard from Scott, I contacted the Better Business Bureau.
30 July	Sent an Email to the manufacturer of the LeafFilter material, requesting assistance in resolving my problem.
2 August	Got a call from Scott, asking if he could schedule a crew to raise the gutter on Wednesday, the 4th at 8am. I said yes.
4 August	At 9:55am, Scott called to say he couldn't make it out in the morning due to weather. He asked if he could reschedule for that afternoon and I agreed. At 3:40 he called to say he wasn't going to be able to make it out at all and we agreed to reschedule for Friday the 6th.
6 August	Two LeafFilter installer arrived in mid-afternoon. After examining the situation, they decided they disagreed with Scott's thought that the solution was to raise the gutter. They decided instead to install "high flow" screens on the gutters instead. They commented that they "always had problems with flat roofs". After the repair, Scott arrived to inspect the gutter and I signed a form acknowledging the work.
11 August	At around 3pm, I recieved a call from Joe, the vice president of LeafFilter in charge of installation. He said he had heard about this website and was concerned. He said he was under the impression that crews had been out to my home four different times to repair the problem. He said that there would always be rain water coming over the edge of my gutters during a storm and that there was nothing his product or any other product could do about that. He said he was present at the installation of my gutter covers and that he remembered telling me that at the time. I said I didn't remember him or that particular comment. He said there had been only one previous unresolved complaint to the Better Business Bureau and that this complaint had been unfounded. He proposed that if I agreed to quote a written statement from him on this website, he would remove the LeafFilter product, reinstall my old gutter covers and refund my money. I agreed. He said he would send me the statement to post, along with a formal release form to me to sign. Once I had posted the statement and returned the release, he would schedule the removal crew. At 7:15pm, I recieved a second phone call from Joe who said he still had not seen this webpage, but had been told the I had posted his full name. (I had.) He said posting someone's full name on the web without their permission was illegal and asked me to remove his last name. I said I felt that since he had called me and had done so as part of a business issue, his name was now part of the public record. But I also said I was not looking for an argument, and so agreed to remove his last name along with the last name of all other LeafFilter employees.
12 August	At around 8:10am, Joe called. He asked if I could be available at my home today. He would send Scott and a new manager by to remove the LeafFilter covers this afternoon and return my original covers after I had signed a release statement. He said they would cut a refund check immediately and that I would have it by Monday at the latest. I said I would be home. At approximately 1:55pm, Scott arrived, removed the LeafFilter covers and reinstalled my previous simplier gutter screens. I signed a release form. Later that afternoon, I recieved a call from Joe, who said he was overnighting my check to me.
16 August	Received refund check from LeafFilter.
17 August	Recieved Email from Joe asking that I remove the link to the copy release form from the web site. I did.