Contact 6 investigates Alside siding company

A simple home improvement project becomes a 14-month mess. But that's when Karen Koller reached out to Contact 6 for help.

Back in July 2010, Koller noticed the siding on the west side of her home was falling apart after just 10 years. She thought it would be a simple fix, as the warranty was still intact, so she called Alside, the company that made the shingles, and has an "A-plus" rating with the Better Business Bureau. In October, customer service representatives told Koller to get an estimate, and she did, and then waited until spring to call in her estimate, and the company told Koller on two different occasions that they had not received the estimate. That's when FOX6's Contact 6 stepped in.

"We had them call again, and re-submit the estimate. A week or two later I called Alside to see if they had gotten it and they claimed not to have.  So then the local contractor called again and asked them to stand by the FAX machine as they submitted the claim!" Koller said.

As it turns out, the third time was not the charm, because after receiving the estimate, Alside said they wouldn't approve it. Koller asked to speak with a manager, and ended up making over 42 calls to the company, and during one of those calls, she found out the company still hadn't even ordered the materials for the repairs. That's when she sent an email to Contact 6.

Contact 6 sent a letter to Alside, and two days later, Koller received a call from the company's district manager. Managers and supervisors apologized to Koller, and assured her the work would be done, and it was.

"From first contact from you guys, to completion, was six weeks - what we couldn't do in 14 months," Koller said.

Contact 6 was told someone from Alside would be in touch with them, but FOX6 never received a phone call from the company.]