This company is shrewd and deceptive. Their contract is short and simple...at least that's what you think when you sign it.
They are NEVER at fault. They have built into YOUR Contract an Overages Fund...it amounts to approx.
10 % of your building. You PAID for that. When a Problem arises, 1st they twist it and blame you, and try to charge you again to fix it. If you refuse, they attempt to take it out of their salesman's commission. His commission comes in stages...the final huge commission is at completion. That is his incentive to make sure you don't fire their crooked butts. If the overages (your money) account is untouched, the salesman gets that too. They will deny this!
12 Things Morton Buildings Doesn't Want you to Know!
1.) The contract is set up for you to lose.
2.) The contract states that you will be responsible for ALL COURT COSTS and THEIR LEGAL TEAM.
3.) Your balance due will acquire interest.
In 1 year of minor legal battles with them on a $40, 000 balance because you got sick of them and hired a new contractor, your interest and legal fees will exceed $100, 000 !
4.) Remember, Morton has VERY DEEP POCKETS. They will hire the $400.00 per hour attorney. Can You?
5.) They will not give you a Materials List for YOUR Building. DEMAND ONE! IN WRITING! PUT IT ON THE CONTRACT! BEFORE YOU SIGN! Demand when that list is due! VERY IMPORTANT!
6.) BLUE PRINTS...DEMAND THEM. PUT IT IN WRITING! DEMAND WHEN IT IS TO BE IN YOUR POSSESSION!
7.) Make sure the Plans are to SCALE! Do not Trust them. DEMAND in WRITING that they are to scale and from an Architect from their company. Then take it to a REAL Architect. DEMAND to see them before money changes hands.
8.) Make sure you have a COMPLETION DATE on the Contract. Also a penalty of a certain amount of money for each day that it goes beyond the specified completion date. Make it high enough...in the hundreds. Trust me, if it ends up in court they have no problem spending $400.00 an hour for an attorney. They were supposed to be done with mine by July 1st. They didn't even start until end of Sept. DO NOT TRUST THEM! THEY LIE THROUGH THEIR TEETH!
9.) Their contract states that the payments are due by phases. Their various phases are very vague. You need to have IN WRITING what is to be completed in each phase. IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE...the contract states that the particular phase is done to your Liking and Satisfaction! Not theirs. They can have the building roughed in, have different color siding on it and patched together and say that that particular phase is done (but obviously not right) and demand the next hefty payment. They will promise you that certain "Missing" elements are coming and will be done later. 6 weeks later my building which is white had deep tan panels on it.
Do not make the mistake I did. They are Shrewd.
10.) TAKE PICTURES! EVERY DAY! Of each wall, of the supplies, etc. From the beginning to the end.
Make sure you get photos of the workers. Get their Full Names and titles right from the start. Do not wait. Find out about their experience before you hire them as a team.
11.) On your contract...have it state how many hours they plan to have the building take. They Know!
11.) KEEP TRACK OF THEIR HOURS that they work.
You will need it in court. This is very important.
12.) Remember, they will do anything to save their butts.
You need to do this also.
To Blue Marlin who posted> Obviously YOU'RE A MORTON EMPLOYEE
I agree with the former Morton employee. They are a big company that has deep pockets and they will have a detailed contract that protects themselves. Obviously you spent alot of time looking into the fine print. Im sure you were looking for a loophole that would allow you to attempt to sue them and it pissed you off when you found they had all their bases covered.
No! I didn't spend my time looking at the fine print! I should have had an attorney look at it, and also a REAL Architect. Had I done that I wouldn't have hired them. No Blue Marlin...I was looking for a reputable builder who would start & complete the project so that I could continue with my life & Business. I was looking for EXCELLENCE! And was willing to pay for it. What I got was an incomplete building, leaking roof, excuses, defective materials, poor workmanship, and a bunch of BS from a company who claims to be the Best. They put me out of business for a year. You think that honest, hard working people want to hire a contractor to have problems, stress and legal battles? Morton Buildings aren't cheap. Of course problems arise in all construction projects. But you talk it out and fix the problems. I am not unreasonable. I am forgiving, and have a "Move ahead attitude." Morton Buildings completely cut my building wrong. Their mistakes were overwhelming. Rather than fix the problems they were worried about their bottom line. They abandoned the project because their mistakes would have cost them too much. Instead they sued me to collect the final payment rather than doing the right thing was to simple make it right. They did about 1/4 of the building. I was foolish and this has been the biggest lesson of my life.
And I am not alone. This has happened to many, many innocent people who have trusted them. They hire web developers to force their complaints down the pike so they don't show up online. The complaints from 3 years ago have magically vanished. They are Big & they are Bad.
I highly suggest people who have had problems with them put it online to help people in the future to Protect themselves. Complaints Board & [redacted] will stay up close to the public online. If I prevent 1 person from having to go through this I will be happy. Buyer Beware! If you play with Mud you're gonna get dirty.
Blue Marlin...until you walk a mile in my shoes I suggest you shut up and sit down.
Repost so the mistakes do not show because I used the and symbol
To Blue Marlin who posted Obviously YOU ARE A MORTON EMPLOYEE!
I agree with the former Morton employee. They are a big company that has deep pockets and they will have a detailed contract that protects themselves. Obviously you spent alot of time looking into the fine print. Im sure you were looking for a loophole that would allow you to attempt to sue them and it pissed you off when you found they had all their bases covered.
No! I did NOT spend my time looking at the fine print! I should have had an attorney look at it, and also a REAL Architect. Had I done that I would Not have hired them. No Blue Marlin...I was looking for a reputable builder who would start and complete the project so that I could continue with my life and my Business. I was looking for EXCELLENCE! And was willing to pay for it. What I got was an incomplete building, leaking roof, excuses, defective materials, poor workmanship, and a bunch of BS from a company who claims to be the Best. They put me out of business for a year. You think that honest, hard working people want to hire a contractor to have problems, stress and legal battles? Morton Buildings are not cheap. Of course problems arise in all construction projects. But you talk it out and fix the problems. I am not unreasonable. I am forgiving, and have a Move ahead attitude. Morton Buildings completely cut my building wrong. Their mistakes were overwhelming. Rather than fix the problems they were worried about their bottom line. They abandoned the project because their mistakes would have cost them too much. Instead they sued me to collect the final payment rather than doing the right thing was to simple make it right. They did about 1/4 of the building. I was foolish and this has been the biggest lesson of my life.
And I am not alone. This has happened to many, many innocent people who have trusted them. They hire web developers to force their complaints down the pike so they do not show up online. The complaints from 3 years ago have magically vanished. They are Big and they are Bad.
I highly suggest people who have had problems with them put it online to help people in the future to Protect themselves. Complaints Board and [redacted] will stay up close to the public online. If I prevent 1 person from having to go through this I will be happy. Buyer Beware! If you play with Mud you are gonna get dirty.
Blue Marlin
Until for some odd feeling you go back to your building and discover your animal laying there in a Pool Of Blood and you then have to bandage that animal everyday for 8 weeks because it sliced it's foot open and almost died on their Patch Job of scrap materials Shut UP! Pictures enclosed
Until you find your animal dead because of poor workmanship and you have to have the animal cremators come pick up your beloved young champion animal who never made it to 1 year old Shut UP!
Until for the 70th time you have to explain why your building has a different color on it Shut Up! Picture enclosed
Until for the 100th time you have to hear comments from other builders about all the wrong things about your building Shut Up!
Until you pay over $80, 000 for materials and then have them steal them SHUT UP! Picture enclosed
Until you are completely OUT OF BUSINESS for 1 year because the Fantastic Morton Builders can't get their ### together...SHUT UP!
Blue Marlin ...until you walk a mile in my shoes or visit my ### Morton Building I suggest you shut up and sit down.
For all you folks who got taken by Morton Buildings...
Make a separate post on this board otherwise it only shows as one. Let's try and prevent this from happening to others.
You may be at their mercy but there are things you can do...
File a complaint with:
The Better Business Bureau
The States Attorney
The Federal Trade Commission
Tell your story on the various Complaint sites. Make yours a NEW Complaint. Don't just tack onto someone else's.
See Below for more..
In order to assist homeowners in guarding against fraudulent contractors and to educate homeowners on how to use the complaint process if they believe they are a victim of fraud, we offer the following informational links:
NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
A direct link to the NYS Attorney General's Office Web Site that provides a variety of information.
NEW YORK STATE CONSUMER PROTECTION BOARD
A direct link to the NYS Consumer Protection Board Web Site that is focused on what to do if you believe you have been a victim of fraud and also provides tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. There is also a toll free phone number, 1-800-NYS-1220, to contact the office with your questions.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
A direct link to The Federal Trade Commission Web Site that focuses on how The Federal Trade Commission enforces Federal antitrust and consumer protection laws.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION BUREAU OF CONSUMER PROTECTION COMPLAINT FORM
A direct link that allows you to file a complaint with The Federal Trade Commission over the Internet using a secured server.
FRAUD BUREAU
This site permits users to file complaints and search for prior complaints of online fraud and scams in respect of any person or company conducting online business.
HOME SWEET HOME IMPROVEMENT
A direct link to a Web Site produced by The Federal Trade Commission that outlines safeguards when undertaking home improvement projects.
"R U Real" is Mike Scoggin who was the salesperson & Construction Center Manager / Project Manager and he works out of the New Braunfels office. I know him well. He's the one that botched things up.
Actually, Mike Scoggin is NOT his REAL Name!
His real name is James M.M. Scoggin.
He also sometimes uses the handle Cockroach 88 (right on the money there)
Why does he go by a fictitious name?
He told me he doesn't want his personal life to be associated with his business life.
Where does he live?
Sometimes he says Alamo Heights, sometimes Seguin, sometimes Austin, sometimes San Antonio, sometimes New Braunfels.
Does he have only HIS best interests at heart?
You betcha!
Is he to be trusted?
NOPE!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
A few years ago, I worked for Morton for over five years as a Sales Consultant and Office Manager. I wanted to chime in on this complaint. I had some problems with corporate policy and with how they treated the sales force, and I had major issues with an Office Manager, which left a bad taste for him, and a little for the company. However, I now have no connection with the company, and have nothing to gain/lose. I will do my best to be fair and balanced in my comments here.
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This company is shrewd and deceptive. Their contract is short and simple...at least that's what you think when you sign it.
***
They are shrewd. Any company which stays in business for over 100 years is unquestionably shrewd. The contract is written to benefit them, no question. However, have you ever read all the fine print in your cell phone contract, cable/satellite provider/credit card statement? The contract language is almost always written to benefit the writer of the contract, unless they hired a stupid lawyer. ;)
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They are NEVER at fault. They have built into YOUR Contract an Overages Fund...it amounts to approx.
10 % of your building. You PAID for that. When a Problem arises, 1st they twist it and blame you, and try to charge you again to fix it. If you refuse, they attempt to take it out of their salesman's commission. His commission comes in stages...the final huge commission is at completion. That is his incentive to make sure you don't fire their crooked butts. If the overages (your money) account is untouched, the salesman gets that too. They will deny this!
***
They will deny this because this is not entirely accurate, unless the system has changed dramatically in the past five years or so.
Yes - There is an Overage/Contingency Fund. It amounts to whatever the salesperson can get, generally 5%, sometimes 0%, maybe 10% if you treated me like a jerk before we signed the contract (and therefore I was expecting more problems from you during the construction), or if there are lots of unknowns which could drastically affect the final price. You do pay for that, no question. When a problem arises. they do try to find a way to charge the customer. They are in business to make a profit, after all. However, that is not unique to Morton, or to business in general.
If you want to make a change later, there is a "Change Fee" (which the company gets, not the sales rep). Also not unique to Morton - this is a construction industry standard. Normally, once a construction contract is signed, with any company, if you want to change something, you will pay a change fee. In my case, and with many other Morton reps (and most other construction companies I know of), if you were a nice fellow to deal with, and had treated me like a decent human, I would pay for the fee from the Contingency, rather than tacking on the change fee to your final bill. For example, I had a guy decide at the last minute, just before starting construction, to add a small, basic window. I used the overage to pay for the window, the change fee (which the company gets), and the extra material and labor. Yes, he had "paid for it", via the contingency fee, but I used it to prevent him being "nickel-and-dimed".
The company used to be really hard on the sales force. We were a "necessary evil". We were treated as ###, tolerated by upper management because we brought the money in the door, resented by the "professionals" (architects, designers, etc) because they had the college degrees and technical expertise but we made the "big money", and disliked by the crew because the crew made the building a reality, by working hard in all kinds of weather, while us "sales weasels" had the "gravy job". Morton provided a company car, fuel/maintenance, a small salary (about $[protected]/month gross at the time, with a whopping $50/month bonus if you had a four year college degree... woo-hoo!), and commissions of about 3%, if I remember. The better your sales, the lower the commission percentage went... kind of a reverse incentive to work harder, eh? When we had regional meetings or training meetings, we generally were put in the cheapest hotel around, and got a little per diem, just enough to eat at the cheap places.
The home office tried to take everything out of the salesman's commission. The basic system was FINAL SALES PRICE minus FINAL COST OF JOB equals PROFIT/LOSS. If the job made a profit, you got paid commission on sales price. If the job made a loss, you got paid when your total profit/loss was in positive territory. If the job was short, for any reason, you didn't get paid until you showed a profit, so the Overage was "insurance" to help ensure your jobs were profitable. However, the salesman did NOT get the Overage as commission (except the 3% of the total sales price, which included the overage). Unless the company has DRASTICALLY changed how they treat the sales force, I doubt that has changed. All overage was pure profit to the company. In Morton's defense, when a job ran short, for whatever reason, they have to cough up the difference.
Look at it this way...
$100, 000 building including a 5% overage, finishes profitable = Salesman gets $3000 (this may take 3-12 months from first contact with customer)
$100, 000 building including a 5% overage, finishes even = Salesman gets $3000
$100, 000 building including a 0% overage, finishes even - Salesman gets $3000
$100, 000 building including a 5% overage, finishes short - Salesman gets $3000, whenever he reaches a net profit for the fiscal year
In short - Overage is not an incentive for the salesman, aside from being simply "insurance" that the job will not finish short (so that he gets paid), and is generally used to prevent customers getting "nickel-and-dimed" for every little change and fee along the way. Our commission came in stages because that was how most of our customers pay, to encourage the reps to get the job done and not leave partially finished projects all over the countryside, and to keep us from ignoring a difficult customer who simply didn't want to pay for his project. There are people who legitimately had a problem and wanted to hold the last payment (understandably so), but there are also those who just try to stiff everyone, because they are thieves and cheats. We didn't get paid until the company got paid and all the vendors/subcontractors were paid. That could be frustrating, but it is also fair.
At the time, laptops and cell phones were our responsibility, although they had finally begun providing an office computer, and were talking about providing a laptop for sales reps about the time I left the company (around 2005!). That was a joke. Morton would provide sales reps with AutoCAD Lite, but we had to provide the system to run it on, and the printer to print out the concept drawings. Most of us just went out and purchased our own laptop, and many of the office managers bought a computer for the office out of their own pocket, or brought in a computer from home for the secretary to use. The secretaries were paid minimum wage or little more, not allowed overtime, except in very rare cases, and had to do all typing on a typewriter. I remember taking a trip up to Morton for a meeting, and taking a photo of a McDonalds restaurant which had a banner proclaiming that their starting pay was higher than what the secretary in my office was paid, and she had been with us for several years at that point. sheesh!
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12 Things Morton Buildings Doesn't Want you to Know!
** Followed by my replies =)
1.) The contract is set up for you to lose.
**Again, this is normal for most every contract. The contract writer gets the better end of the deal. If you don't like that, hire your own lawyer to read the contract before you sign it. ;)
2.) The contract states that you will be responsible for ALL COURT COSTS and THEIR LEGAL TEAM.
**See reply #1, or your cell phone bill, or your credit card statement, or...
3.) Your balance due will acquire interest.
In 1 year of minor legal battles with them on a $40, 000 balance because you got sick of them and hired a new contractor, your interest and legal fees will exceed $100, 000 !
**I have no experience either way on this. I never had a customer go to court. (speaking from personal experience? ;P )
4.) Remember, Morton has VERY DEEP POCKETS. They will hire the $400.00 per hour attorney. Can You?
** I do believe this. They often talked about how good their lawyers were. Again, see reply #1.
5.) They will not give you a Materials List for YOUR Building. DEMAND ONE! IN WRITING! PUT IT ON THE CONTRACT! BEFORE YOU SIGN! Demand when that list is due! VERY IMPORTANT!
** This is because you did not buy a box of materials. You bought a "Finished Building". If they have extra material left over, they take it back to the warehouse, but if the have to buy more material, they don't change you (unless it was because YOU changed something. They know approximately how many board feet of lumber, sheets of steel, and how many pounds of nails/etc it SHOULD take, but some times things happen which require more materials (for example, your neighbor's bull gets loose, wanders through your building site on the way to your cows, stepping on the stack of steel sheeting en route - you don't want damaged steel on your new barn, your neighbor blames the bull's love-life on your "lousy-quality pasture fencing", and Morton didn't expect that to happen and has to order another 18-wheeler (and driver) to deliver more steel ... who pays for the added cost of the "Finished Building"? If you bought a materials list, you would.
6.) BLUE PRINTS...DEMAND THEM. PUT IT IN WRITING! DEMAND WHEN IT IS TO BE IN YOUR POSSESSION!
** If a customer asked for prints, when I worked there, you could get them... for an additional fee... just like if you had hired an architect or bought a "job set" of house plans from a magazine. When writing the contract, we had a form which had a simple graph on it, where we placed a basic outline, showing dimensions and locations of doors/windows, as well as overhangs/porches, and north arrow. This basic outline is all most customers wanted, but again, we had an entire office of architects and CAD drafters ... if you want to pay for their time. We generally had an extra set or two of construction prints for the crew, and if a customer asked for them at the end of the job, we would sometimes give them, since we were done with the job. We also kept a set in your file at the office, and the architect/designers kept a copy at the main office, or on the computer.
7.) Make sure the Plans are to SCALE! Do not Trust them. DEMAND in WRITING that they are to scale and from an Architect from their company. Then take it to a REAL Architect. DEMAND to see them before money changes hands.
** See reply #6. Realize if you order plans from the Morton architects, you will pay for the architects/designers to draw up the plans, and yes, Morton has REAL architects, with REAL licenses and they are registered to do business in your state, designing it to meet your local building codes. Realize if you take those plans to another REAL architect in your community, you will pay for your REAL architect to review the plans drawn by Morton's REAL architects and certify the plans from Morton's REAL architects are accurate. It's your dime... we didn't mind.
8.) Make sure you have a COMPLETION DATE on the Contract. Also a penalty of a certain amount of money for each day that it goes beyond the specified completion date. Make it high enough...in the hundreds. Trust me, if it ends up in court they have no problem spending $400.00 an hour for an attorney. They were supposed to be done with mine by July 1st. They didn't even start until end of Sept. DO NOT TRUST THEM! THEY LIE THROUGH THEIR TEETH!
** Completion dates are ok... there is only a small fee for that. =) Seriously... Putting a completion date is fine. They will charge you for it (though they might not specify it, but add it to the Overage/Contingency... because it is a "Contingency". Think of it as "insurance". They will simply move other customer jobs around as needed to make the date. Not every customer needs to be in the building by a specific time.
Realize that we were forecasting weeks and sometimes, months ahead when we THOUGHT we would be starting and finishing your building. However, sometimes permits take longer than expected, or weather delayed us, or crew shortages meant we had no one available, or another customer's problems put us behind getting to you. Again, the sooner we finished your building, the sooner we got paid, and the sooner the crew was available to build for the next person, so we could get paid for them too... We wanted you done ASAP!
9.) Their contract states that the payments are due by phases. Their various phases are very vague. You need to have IN WRITING what is to be completed in each phase. IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE...the contract states that the particular phase is done to your Liking and Satisfaction! Not theirs. They can have the building roughed in, have different color siding on it and patched together and say that that particular phase is done (but obviously not right) and demand the next hefty payment. They will promise you that certain "Missing" elements are coming and will be done later. 6 weeks later my building which is white had deep tan panels on it.
Do not make the mistake I did. They are Shrewd.
** Usually we did 10% down, 50% materials delivery, balance on completion. For six figure projects, maybe 10% down, 50% materials delivery, 30% shell complete, balance on completion. Your experience is extreme, unfortunately, but not the norm (at least not when I was there).
10.) TAKE PICTURES! EVERY DAY! Of each wall, of the supplies, etc. From the beginning to the end.
Make sure you get photos of the workers. Get their Full Names and titles right from the start. Do not wait. Find out about their experience before you hire them as a team.
** The crews were generally SUPERB! Morton had awesome construction crews and many of them were with Morton for 20+ years, which is unheard of in the construction field. I had my own local crews, as well as out of state crews for some of my larger jobs. There were a few boneheads, but that is in any group of people, and they usually get run off or quit pretty quickly.
11.) On your contract...have it state how many hours they plan to have the building take. They Know!
11.) KEEP TRACK OF THEIR HOURS that they work.
You will need it in court. This is very important.
** They do know how many hours it SHOULD take. The crews got paid by the hour, but they also got bonuses on effeciency. However, they also were graded on quality. If they were super fast, but at the expense of quality, and having to go back and fix stuff they screwed up, they lost money. Therefore, it was in their best interest to do the work right the first time.
12.) Remember, they will do anything to save their butts.
You need to do this also.
** It appears you had a REALLY bad experience with your team, and that is unfortunate. Morton has been in business for over 100 years now, so obviously they are doing things right, and taking care of customers. I'm sorry your experience was so different.
As I say, I used to work for Morton for over five years. I had some with the company policies, and a bad experience with an Office Manager, which left me with a bad taste for him personally, and a little bit a for the company. However, with that said, if I had the money and some property, I would buy a Morton as a house - incredibly energy efficient, top notch quality, superb crews, fantastic warranty, and they look really nice.
We had problems with Morton Buildings "fudging" on the contract, too!
I would not recommend this company to anyone. We wound up paying extra to finish what they would not.
We started our project on Dec.10, 2010 with an estimated finish date of feb 15 2011, as of today June 1 2011 the job has not been finished, where as some problems were because of permitting, which the builder was not aware he was responsible for, the main problem is the contractor(Shannon Roberts, that works for Morton builders.He hired subcontractors, who hired subcontractors, who hired subcontractors who did work that would not pass inspection.We had to have the electrical redone 3 times before it would pass inspection and after each inspection there would be weeks that we would see no one.If you decide to hire this company it will be a long journey through hell that you could of never imagined.And the corporate lacks the authority to really help.They just give you lip service and nothing is done to get the issues solved.
I agree with the former Morton employee. They are a big company that has deep pockets and they will have a detailed contract that protects themselves. Obviously you spent alot of time looking into the fine print. Im sure you were looking for a loophole that would allow you to attempt to sue them and it pissed you off when you found they had all their bases covered.
I have to say the expereince can be very bad if the customer is a Morton novice and the salesperson is either inexpereinced or apathetic. We sat down with the Morton sales person over their laptop in Oct 2010 and designed the Shed in AUtoCad lite, including colors. The printout looked very nice. Then 2 weeks later we signed the contract, salesperson said the colors on the contract were what was on the computer prinout (Nov. 2010). Steel and wood was delivred on June 8, 2011 and stayed covered until July 10, 2011 when the crew showed up. Steel was unrapped - and not what we thought we were getting.
Crew said, "Well this is right according to contract - your picture is wrong." New steel would be a change order, material costs to us would double and construction would be delayed anotehr 4-6 months.
Get steel color samples before you sign anything.
I ordered my building the last week of may 2011. the building arrived on june 15 and as of this date (july 24) the lumber is still sitting on the ground. If i would have known how long it was going to sit on the ground, i would have refused delivery, and went with another company! Any one that doe's any buisness with morton building make sure that you get a start date and a completion date, with big penalties if they fail meet the start date and the finish date.
My job was to be completed in 2 months from start to finish. In 9 months they were only 1/3 done. Well actually, 2 sides of the building were patched together with scraps, so not even 1/3 done. They actually showed up a total of 16 days in 9 months and that includes the day they dropped the materials which was 6 months into the job. I did have a Completion date, which didn't mean anything. Shoddy workmanship, moldy wood, mismatched panels, excuses to boot. They cut the building wrong, and never replaced anything. The interior stainless steel panels were left to bake in the sun. They have a protective plastic coating which baked on and can not be removed. $42, 00.00 is what it would cost to replace the stainless steel. They always turn things around on you! This has been the BIGGEST NIGHTMARE OF MY LIFE! Years later I am still in a lawsuit fight with them. I cannot replace the sides because no one has the same pattern of siding as Morton. I have had animals injured & a few that have died. They could care less. Stay away from them. They pulled the same stuff as far as their cad drawings. Later they said... "Well that's not to scale." Every change order is used by them as an excuse to be used later for the reasons they delayed. They have their scam down pat. Ask them no questions & they'll tell you no lies! RUN, don't walk from ### Buildings, Inc.
To anyone who would like to check the credibility of "Unsatisfied Morton Buildings Client" her real name is CINDY HIEMENZ. Her kennel name was Von Fenwald Kennels, it looks like she has now changed it for some unknown reason(wink, wink) to Elite German Shepherds. GOOGLE IT and decide for yourself.
Check out (cindyhiemenz.com) If you do, you will be SHOCKED!
Have built a machine shed, add on to home and 6400 sq ft office building with Morton. Have had different issues as with any contractor but can say they have bee resolved eventually. This was either through persistence with the local office or through Morton Ill office. Good thing is Morton will likely be around where some of the others doing the same thing may not be here for warranty work in 20-30 yrs. Currently have paint peeling on roof which is under 20 yr warrranty on Kynar paint. They are in process of looking at samples and pics. Roof is 14yrs old. Alot of contractors would no even be around now to follow up on warranty. Will let you know what they do but I expect replacement of metal roof which is what they have done on similar roofs I know of. Just some thoughts. I have been involved continuously in these projects and not paid until work was being done. You can put them off a long time if all work is not finished. Let them pursue legal all they want but they would just as soon finish the work and get their money.
Hello Cindy. I see you are still doing well. I just wanted to correct the record. I am not "R U Real". I am Mike Scoggin, and I have no need to post anything under a false name that is business related. Oh, I forgot, that is not my real name. The name on my birth cert. is James Michael Merritt Scoggin. Mike is just short for Michael. Thank you for pointing out that this is a deceptive practice, it will NEVER happen again, or at the very least for another two or three hours. As for the "handle" Cockroach88, that is a user name on a sports blog that has meaning within the blog. By the way, I did not realize you are an a Texags.com fan.
As for the rest of your comments, I see your memory is still very "cloudy". I am in sales and management, so I do not have I do no have separate work and personal lives. I live in Seguin. I grew up, for the most part, in San Antonio. The Morton Buildings office is in New Braunfels, although it is sometimes referred to as the San Antonio office by corporate and myself. My phone number is [protected] for anyone that would like to discuss this project or any other future or past projects.
And last but not least, I want to thank you Cindy for the illuminating picture of my belly. It has finally convinced me to start exercising and go on a diet.
I can't even get a return call from The Local Morton office here in McKinney Texas. The sales rep and apparently also the office manager is named Chris. After week and several calls to that office trying to get a response, I sent an e-mail to Morton corporate which was answered by someone in the 'consumer complaint' (or something similar) dept. asking for all of the info that I already gave them in the initial query. I did that and now another day has passed and no call. At this point I think that I will never get a response form Morton. I suppose they are busy enough without my building. I have $30, 000 to spend and I have yet to speak to a sales rep at Morton.
If it is this difficult to get their attention when I want to buy a building, I figure it will be equally or even more difficult if there are problems in the process. I'll pass. on Morton.
My experience with Morton has been less than positive. Do a search on the web and you will find a lot of other people with the same issues. I have been trying to get warranty work done for over a year now. Kurt Johnson and Anthony Mannino have been zero help. Jeff Neihouser CEO is impossible to get to talk to. This is a company that will not be around much longer if they do not correct the complete lack of customer care.
We wanted a Morton home...now we don't! Thanks to all for the heads up! Anyone work with the office out of Murfreesboro, TN?
Morton is a horrible company, period. They screw the "little guy" for bigger projects and that is how they stay in business. The people you work with are salesmen and they will tell you what you want to hear, do NOT believe a word they say. I would never, never, never use them again.
Wow have to go over this much better as I was looking into spending 500k to 800k with this company ! Thanks for your time ;)
Morton's was recently convicted of Negligent Misrepresentation. The court ordered them to pay over $100k in damages. They appealed twice and now Morton's has to pay the other side's attorneys fees!
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ks-supreme-court/1640221.html
Morton closed the office that sold me a building. Their salesman was a slick talker and assured me that this company was so much better than the competition. Now they're gone and the repairs that I need will cost several times more than what their competitor will charge. Their steel pattern is different than what I have found on any other building, so I can not match hail damaged panels with a locally sourced product. Stay away from this company and make sure that the materials that you use can be purchased locally at a later date.
makes me glad i dident take a job with this company. I dont think im to worried anymore .
For the record...I LOVE MY MORTON BUILDING! It is everything I wanted. Never 1 problem. I plan to get more. I also live in a town with a plant and office so, I know several people who work there. The secretary for one makes great money and loves her job. She has also been on many trips. I also know many crew and plant workers who like it as well. (Winfield ks BTW)
Its too bad you had such problems..I cant imagine. As for the former employee...I dont believe most of what he says...especially the laptop and phone situation. Again...I know many employees including salesmen. Hopefully you are happy at your new job.
Allman project in Parkersburg, WV.
Hired Morton for a horse barn, 6 stall, shower, indoor arena, and tack and view room.
We have had more issues than I can list here but I can highlight.
1. Heating is oversized, only using 1 of 2 units during the coldest winter in 20 years in my area.
2. No room for hot water tank so it is in the HAYLOFT!
3. The 10 foot tack rack for the view room did not fit and had to be down sized to 6 foot - Morton's was going to saw it in half before I declared absolutely not, then they ordered the smaller size. I'm sure I paid for both.
4. Indoor waterers had to be moved twice - 1st was plumbed allowing for a standard instead of stall wall. They built a box behind the waterer (thinking I wouldn't notice?). The second install, the insulation was omitted (again thinking I wouldn't notice?). Third time installation seems to be correct.
5. The outdoor waterer was a 30 gallon without a plumbed drain for my small acre pasture and few horses. Caused an enormous mud hole and was always dirty. I made them exchange it for the Nelson outdoor to match my Nelson indoor units - but not without a fight.
6. A front footer failed a few months after we moved in the facility. They blamed the site prep which is why this is in the contract - SUBCONTRACT NOTHING YOURSELF. The fingers will be pointed when something is wrong.
7. Exhaust fan and lighting in my bathroom was not wired, ceiling had to be removed.
I agree that they are very well legally protected and you are going to lose if you battle in court with this company. I had to move into a remodeled new construction, covered with dust. Now I know the ventilation was omitted and I have to install fans. They are raping me on this 'add on' that should never have been a construction option.
If you go with a Morton Building, learn from me and hire yourself an architect and/or contractor to oversee the job.
Addendum: For anyone looking for business with Morton you should know that I was just notified by our salesman that Morton is not going to help me resolve the issues with my building. He specifically said "due to my comments on the internet" - see above. He was obviously reading me an 'attorney prepared' statement. My story was posted to help others avoid the mistakes we encountered with our build.
Here it is December 2014, I have a pile of wood and steel on the ground, issues galore, so far they turned it around on us salesman is double talking and asking us to just spend more money for a project that is doomed for disaster. I will start a new thread and post the story as it evolves and comes to a climax good or bad. I am the real deal, and already a Morton Building troubled customer with unresolved complaints.
I received a large post card in the mail a few days ago from Morton Buildings, advertising their very nice looking products. I would like to have a building built in my back yard to store my 5th wheel camper and some other things in. I can't thank you folks enough that have been willing to speak out about the pain and hardships you've endured TRYING to do business with a company that brags about their 100 years in business and has a REAL LACK of customer service. As nice as their buildings look on their website and the post card I received, I WILL NOT purchase a Morton Building. I truly feel sorry for your experiences, but am extremely thankful for your truthfulness!
WOW I'm Floored, well i'll move on to plan B and put Morton on the fire, i had a planned to sit down with a salesman but if I'm spending 2 Million dollars or so, i'd rather deal with a local building .
To those saying that you had "x" amount of money to spend on a Morton but now you changed your mind due to a couple of internet comments: I would really love to see you find a company that has no complaints. Morton Buildings has been in business for over 100 years and has an A+ ranking with the BBB. They would not be in business that long if something was wrong. To the original poster though - now if it were me looking to spend money that woman is who I would not trust. She changed her business name AFTER several of her customers complained of illness and genetic disorders from the many dogs she bred (and continues to breed) Her own page she goes on to brag about things she has done such as saving a dog during rush hour traffic. That should just be a genuine human and hopefully anyone would do that and not feel the need to brag about it or brag about how much money you were supposedly offered for your dog. To all others users, read a little about the many complaints against her and then draw a conclusion. It's pretty easy to see that this woman is just a bitter person. This is just one of several pages complaining about her.
/link removed/
Unfortunately, the link was removed.
I am not sure why the kink wont attactch. Do a simple google search. Type Von Fenwald Kennals scam report or Elite German Shepherds scam reports.
I think Morton's team in Holton, Ks is a joke, they took over 6 months to get started on our garage. They only think about money, and screw you over when ever they can. In my city, you cannot have a metal building so we had to go with another product, they charged me over $12, 500 for the new material and supposedly a credit for $2, 000 for the metal. What a crock. It has been 2 weeks since they finished the building, the concrete came 2 days ago and still not finished. I would not recommend them to anyone.
I've been working at the Morton HQ for the last couple years. I am not familiar with the sales in general other than we have roughly 100 sales offices in most states between the Rockies and the East coast and about 1000 employees.
In the last couple years the CEO has changed twice, hopefully for the better. I've read several comments on here and my guess is a lot of the issues are due to inconsistencies from sales office to sales office. The company hasn't done a very good job until now trying to reign in the offices so the experience is consistent across them all. It all comes down to communication.
As for the old sales guy who thinks the engineers and people at HQ make "the big bucks" you're absolutely crazy. The compensation in the company as a whole isn't very good to be honest. Especially when you consider Caterpillar, the Peoria hospitals, State Farm, CEFCU, and many othersi down the road pay 1.5x - 2x for the same positions. The company hasn't seen any raises as a whole in over 5 years and the senior managers are pushing everyone harder than ever. I've already started looking elsewhere, which is how I find the complaint board.
Ultimately I think if the company would get out of the stone ages from an employee work life balance and compensation standpoint. Maybe the better employees would have a greater incentive to stick around and fix these complaints on this board.
Morton is the worst they lie and blame you for everything at least that's what my salesman did from pa. Nothing was on schedule 3 months behind if I could of done this whole thing over I would of gone with a cheater pole barn company. You think you are getting the limousine and your not it's the junkyard for business. Liars all the way around.
I am very sorry that all these people had such horrible experiences with Morton. However I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for posting these warnings to others! I will DEFINITELY be staying FAR away from these guys! And to think, I was going to go the Spring location in a couple of weeks! Thank you to all who posted their honest experiences. I pray your future outcomes will be better! Thank you again!
Hello, my wife and I live in DeLand, FL. In Feb 2018, we contracted with Morton for a 30’ x 40’ RV Garage with a porch. After the county approved the permit, Morton delivered the materials when they said they would, their crew arrived on time and ready to work, and the Morton crew are working here now in a monsoonal rain -we are impressed. So far everything they’ve done has been professional. Their work has been exceptional, their work ethic unquestionably exceptionally good, and their attitudes superb! Our consultant, Shawn, has been excellent as well. He worked with us to identify our requirements and desires consistent with our budget. He has explained what will happen, when it will happen, and how it will happen. When there have been any questions, his answers are honest and factually spot on. When Morton had a problem getting the windows we wanted on time, they gave us a bunch of options including a discount on different yet higher quality windows. In my life experience (I’m 56), I’ve never had such a positive and professional building experience. I highly recommend Morton Buildings! If you have questions, I can be reached at bobhoelscher@yahoo.com
I am the third owner of a Morton 10 stall barn in North Georgia. The half story was finished off by the original owner. After about two years, had few issues with hardware on the stall doors. A man from the Alparetta? office came up and helped make replacements that my horse could not open. I have been very happy with the barn after being here12 years in a now 18 yo? building. Only issue is the stall door green paint faded terribly, but the wall green paint did not fade, making the stall doors look all the worse. It needs to be repainted, but I do not anticipate an issue, even believing they will tell me what the paint color is, who makes it, etc. The stalls are fine, wash rack, tack room feed room and a foyer leading to the upstairs are all good. Part of the barn was converted into a 1BR with a small bump out and car port and I am very happy with. Foundation, wood covered with steel all good. Very distressed to read the awful stories. I really have no serious issues with the barn build.
I have read all of these with great interest, however, I wish that the body of your complaint would include the office that you had all your issues with. Just because the Texas branch are shysters doesn't necessarily mean they all are and you also have to understand that some of the issue might be more with their contractors than Morton but I do agree that Morton needs to be watching their subcontractors since they are the ones that will catch the negative feedback. I am looking to build a steel house, lots of kits out there but finding a contractor to put it together for you is proving to be the issue I'm running into in SE North Carolina. Like somebody already said a big company doesn't survive long if ALL of their work is shoddy and after 30 years in the legal system I learned a long time ago that there is always three sides to the story.
Lots of people are arses that are constantly looking for a way to screw everyone. It's always good practice to have a real estate attorney review any contract you sign ahead of time. Don't ever think that contracts aren't written to the benefit of the person presenting it that's why you have a lawyer look at it to point out issues and preserve your rights. I plan to buy a lot and live in a trailer until the house is complete enough to move in, this should hopefully help keep people honest. When someone is watched they behave at least when they can be seen, I think steak and shake had the motto in sight it must be right, lol. I also plan to bring my own inspectors in periodically to checkup on everyone. You do have rights but you have to know them or you'll get walked on that's true with anything. Generally once you reveal that you aren't the typical idiot that doesn't know their head from their hind end the whole attitude changes, especially if you can start spouting the legalese..it scares them, lol. I haven't decided on anyone yet but since there seems to be such a small number of contractors in SE NC that might be able to handle what I want they're currently on the list. Thanks for all these comments it will make me look closer but I'm struck by how old most of these are, it's 2019 many of these are dated 2016 and earlier.
As far as what's up with regional offices, I was directed to the ScottsBluff NE office after my inquiry over the web and getting the brochure in the mail. I assumed that since I was in the system, and had all my contact info they would reach out to me. Not. Waited a week.
Called the office direct in Scottsbluff, talked to the administrative assistant, she confirmed they had my info. She implied a salesman/rep would call me. Not. Been 3 weeks.
$200, 000 budget for this project, not enough to generate any interest?
I have worked at Morton Buildings for 15 years, 9 as a crew foreman and the last 5 as a sales consultant. Let me say we are not perfect but I believe we are the lowest risk company to do business with.
Morton provides me with a phone, laptop, car, and support. As a crew foreman I was well paid and so was my crew, every customer in 10 years (9 as a foreman) was very satisfied. Yes there were issues. Yes there were complaints. Yes there was some poor workmanship but it was always taken care of. We are not robots.
Most of the claims made may or may not be true (certainly not the company I know them as) but is definitely not the norm. Most of our business is from recommendations from previous customers.
I have recommended my family to do business with morton( not in my area. I wasn’t the salesman so I didn’t profit) they built 4 Morton buildings so far and are very happy with the results.
I’m sorry for any bad experiences any of you have had and wish I could make it right, all we can do is keep improving everyday. I love the company I work for and am proud to be a part of it.
I heard lots of praise for Morton before I decided to go with them (that was in 2017). Wish I had seen this website first. Should have know when the salesman was to get the contract to me in December 2018, but didn't show up with it until February 2019. Promise (multiple) was to have the building done by mid-April. They didn't even get the concrete pad until June 2019. Told them repeatedly that it had to be complete by mid-September since I was hosting an event then. Well - there was some exterior metal on by then. Weeks would go by with nothing done. Lots of blame on the rain, but not a legitimate excuse most of the time. The building is connecting with an existing building - they tore off the eave of the existing building early in the spring and it's been raining into my existing building since then, creating lots of mold inside. I've been told they will create a plan for remediation once they get the roof and walls finished. I'm trying to find out who is in charge of the company - can't find anything. Have called Morton headquarters and get the run-around. If anyone knows of a name of someone responsible in the company, please post.
My experience with the Scottsbluff, NE office is the same as the comment from 2019 above. We initially contacted Morton and received the initial brochure information in the mail. We even received an email from the salesperson who said he would call - he never did. We responded with emails to Scottsbluff and the main "info" email, even left a phone message with the Scottsbluff office and nothing. Needless to say, if they can't even reach back out to engage us on an initial sales call, then I have no faith in their ability to be there during the build or warranty. My neighbors have Morton buildings but what I have heard is that the Scottsbluff, NE office had a retirement of one of their long time salespeople and based on my personal experience, I can't trust Morton to be there so I am going with another company that actually might want my business.
Ever since building was installed. This particular door has been very firm and tight to open and close. Now you can’t ever do both. Like it’s bolted shut tight. So you can’t even use this forest currently anymore.