LeafFilter Gutter Protection

I did some brief research and was interested in their product my my detached garage, as my home already had existing gutter protection from the previous owner that was working well. I submitted an inquiry and received a call promptly, and got an appointment with a very friendly estimator that same evening at my convenience. He looked at my gutters, showed me the product, and explained in detail what they would do. He had me so convinced of the product that I opted to have them install their product on my house as well. The cost was relatively high, but certain key points convinced me to do it anyways: 1) I was sold on “peace of mind”. I might be paying more, but the product is top notch and the professionals who install it at the very best. He convinced me that the premium I was paying was because I would be dealing with professionals who do top notch work. Fair enough. 2) The gutters would be maintenance free for life. “Not even dust or pollen will enter your gutters for life.” All openings outside of the mesh were to be sealed with silicon preventing anything other than water from ever entering my gutters again. 3) They were to adjust and secure the existing gutters and I even pointed out specific spots where this would be beneficial. Excellent. Done deal. He asked when I wanted it done, and I said as soon as possible, so he scheduled an appointment the very next morning, starting that I would be charged after installation was completed. So far so good. Everything after this point was a disaster.

The next morning, the installer showed up and began working. I might as well share every detail that bothered me, so here we go. Firstly, I was kind of surprised that it was only one guy. Secondly, he parked in front of a fire hydrant so I asked him to park on my driveway instead which he never did. I am working from home so I went inside and came back out at lunch to take a look. I was immediately concerned. Per of the scope (not cheap) was to install some downspouts from our dormers that connect the the gutter below. It was visibly very wrong, both functionally and aesthetically. I pointed it out to the installer and literally pointed to the house across the street for reference what it was supposed to look like. He said he would fix it and I went back inside. I was very concerned at this point so I went upstairs to see if I could see any of the work that was already completed and my concern only got worse. Instead of adjusting the gutters as discussed, he simply lifted up the shingles and forced the gutter guards under them such that they are mostly covered and now exposing my roof under the shingles. I went back out and mentioned it to him. His response was along the lines of “the shingles can be trimmed” which is not only incorrect (the gutters should have been adjusted/lowered which was in scope) but also implied that someone could do it, not necessarily him (although I’m actually glad he didn’t try and cause further damage). The next time I came out on the afternoon, he was gone. He had adjusted one of the downspouts which was an improvement but all of them were (and are still) functionally and aesthetically incorrect. The extra corrections that were made resulted in extra holes being cut and patched in my gutters which to be honest looks horrid (and leaks as I found out today when it rained). The existing gutters now need to be replaced. My other immediate observation was the mess left behind. I had to pick up parts from all over my front lawn (parts of my previous gutter protection system) and as many screws as I could find, which were at least a dozen. Our driveway was left covered in gutter junk from what was cleared out from the garage gutters, which did not have prior gutter protectors installed. Next I went back upstairs to see what I could see from my windows and of course the installation was still incorrect. The ends were NOT sealed at all. Not only could pollen or dust get in… far larger objects could easily get in. The shingles were still bent upwards, prying away from the roof and covering most of the gutters. I IMMEDIATELY called the sales rep who was very understanding but said that I needed to call Customer Service. I immediately called them and told them that the installation was NOT complete and was told that they would arrange to have someone come by to address my concerns. I didn’t hear back so I called again the next day. Explained all over again. I was told someone would call me back by 4pm the next day. Well, it’s 7pm. No call so I called yet again and this time just couldn’t get through so I left a voicemail. No call back yet. Amazing how prompt they were at the sales stage but now that my credit card has been charged I cannot get a hold of anyone. Oh, and it rained today. Got some videos of the product causing more damage than good. Honestly I’m worried about rain damage to my home with the compromised shingles and downspouts overshooting my gutters directly where water is not supposed to drip. None of the gutters or downspouts that were to be adjusted or secured we’re done. This by the way in only what can see. I of course have concerns with the gutters that I can’t see based on what I can see. The estimator was able to use a long “selfie stick” and take BEFORE pictures. I definitely need AFTER pictures once all of the corrections are made. If I can’t get them to come back promptly, I will have to call another company to fix this as I’m concerned about water damage in the mean time. I will then have to file a dispute with Visa (which thankfully I used) to be reimbursed. What. A. Headache. So much for peace of mind. Not the high end service I was sold. The videos I took while it was raining is the most damning, but some pictures will have to do.

TLDR: ONGOING DISASTER

Update: We continued calling customer service just about daily who would simply tell us that “someone from the Canadian office will have to call us back”, which just never happened. I continued calling, texting, emailing, and leaving voicemails with the sales rep who at some point just ghosted me (stopped picking up his phone, and never replied to me again). I predictably got fed up and on my final call to customer service, I told them that my very next call was to Visa to file a dispute if I didn’t have a date and time for the work to be completed before I hang up because the work was still incomplete and my gutters were malfunctioning badly and I could not get a hold of anyone to arrange for service and there was no plan to complete the work whatsoever. And I wasn’t kidding. They were not able to schedule anything for me and my very next call was to Visa to file the dispute. They told me that someone will definitely reach out to me once the dispute was filed and they were right. A couple of days later I got calls from 2 different service managers on the same day! The first of which was very understanding and apologetic but I advised him that it was too late and I already engaged with another company to fix everything. He was determined for an opportunity but I stood my ground because I had already paid a deposit and told him that I had no other option but to engage with another company because I was enduring water damage every time it rained and I couldn’t previously get in touch with anyone at leaf filter who was willing to help. The next sales manager who called started off understanding and apologetic too… but started saying the I “contractually have to give them an opportunity to fix the damage and complete the installation”. I guess he forgot that I was calling every day for weeks lol. Anyways, another company was hired and they were upfront at the estimate stage that they weren’t willing to try to repair my gutters in the state that they were left in, so I ended up having to replace all of my gutters which was way more work than I was planning to do in the first place. They ended up doing a fantastic job however. During the installation, I saw something that would have infuriated me previously. As they removed the leaf filter gutter protectors to collect the product for my return, I saw the inside of my gutters and they were filthy. I don’t think that they were cleaned at all. The local service manager came to pick up the removed leaf filter product the next day without issue. I supposed that warrants one star lol, although that’s seriously generous. To be fair, he was newly hired and was probably exactly what this company needed (just a few weeks sooner).