Mills Fence Company

First of all let me say that the fence was finally installed to our satisfation. But we did encounter some MAJOR problems: 1. Mills sent a convicted felon out on probation to perform the work! The individual had previous convictions for burglary, heroin possession, theft by deception, and theft by unlawful taking among numerous other offenses. He had been released on parole in June and was preforming the work on our property in September. We called Mills to give them an opportunity to respond and we were told 'We don't do background checks." (Hint to Mills: YOU MAY WANT TO START DOING BACKGROUND CHECKS). 2. When the crew arrived they said "We didn't know we had to removed the old fence". So a 1 to 2 day job became a 5 day job. 3. We had constant delays during construction due to missing, faulty and unavailable equipment. I am rating the overall service as an 'F" because of the parolee used for construction. The individual was in our residence several times over a period of days and, as a result, we feel the security of our home has been severely jeopardized by Mills failure to perform adequate background checks.

It was a disaster!! They gave an inaccurate bid to begin with. They installed the fence opening out instead of in as the instructions dictated and as I expected. They said it couldn't be done because of the level of my drive, yet the company that finally came out to correct their inferior work (when it completely broke down) fixed it the way it was supposed to have been installed and made it work properly. Mills Fence contracted their work out to a small business company of two unprofessional looking young men who installed it and left it inoperable stating that I had to get in touch with the company. In doing so Mills Fence said I had to get my own electrician to get the gate to operate yet I was never told that in the original bid . The other bids that I got included that cost which made their bid higher. I went with the middle bid which was Mills Fence. I checked the BBB and they had it rated A+. Mills fence went ahead a got their electrician to install the gate operating system that was a part of the bid but he installed it right where the subcontracted company installed it. They did not make any adjustments to make it right and only insisted that they couldn't make it rotate inward because of the level of my drive. Had it have been installed higher off the ground, as I later learned, it could have been done. All over the next few months there were numerous problems with the gate operating and they had to come out to my house to fix it. The only thing they would do was to fix a loose screw. They never really fixed it . I told them I was going to get a second opinion and I did. EADES Fence found numerous problems and I tried to let Mills fence know this but they refused to answer my calls. I finally had to get another company to fix their work! This was the worse experiences that I have ever had in my life!! When I checked the internet there were a lot of comments that sounded just like mine! I would not recommend this company to anyone. I had to pay an additional $1500 to have another company fix their work . They were paid $14,500 this inferior work and bad experience. What they did to me was criminal and they appear to be getting away with it because no one really follows thru to hold them accountable. I am currently in discussions with the Attorney Generals Office and they seem to not be able to hold them accountable as well. I am waiting to here from them as they keep passing me on to other departments. In summary I say BEWARE OF MILLS FENCE!! do was tighten a screw. They never really fixed it and finally it broke down and didn't work at all. I told them I was getting a second opinion and I did. Numerous problems were found but they refused to fix it and stopped returning my calls.

The estimator came out promptly and wrote the estimate after first contact with the company. The installation took a little longer then we expected but the final result looks nice.

They did a good job and worked with me to meet my needs. At first, they did not select materials that were to my liking, but eventually we found something just right.

Although Mills was the lowest of four bids we received on the project (and, to be honest, the only one that fell within our budget) the sales representative I spoke with was so lacking detailed or knowledgeable information compared with the other quotes I received, that it would make me nervous to go with them. The sales rep who came out was nice enough (punctual, professional), but seemed sort of uninterested in making the sale or getting our business. He didn't have reassuring answers for my questions, and given the company's lackluster track record on this site, I don't really feel comfortable giving them the job. Unfortunately, this is one project we'll be holding off for a while longer.

I called Mills Fence to reinstall a chain link fence which fell when a retaining wall collasped. I got a proposal and asked to be called when they installed the fence (this is rental property). I got a call at 8am to say they were done. A few days later I looked at it to see they left a 3 foot gap between an existing post and a new post. There is a 12 ft drop from the fence to the concrete below! I called to speak to someone about this and was told someone would call back. Nothing. I called again. Nothing. I sent an email saying I wouldn't pay till someone spoke to me. A few days later it was fixed but again no one called me. The gap is closed but the fence is not level and does not look very professional. I finally got a call from Mills Fence. Not to ask me if the work was satisfactory but to pay my bill. When I mentioned the lack of quality of the work I was just told to pay my bill. Shoddy work and VERY POOR customer service!

I contacted them For an estimate. Sales person was just ok. Not very engaging. After a few phone calls I got the ball rolling and ended up happy with their work. They do not not extend themselves to make the customer feeling important. More about the sales not customer service. Installers were professional. Pricing was great. Happy with end results.

They didn't return my calls. The subcontractors came out with the wrong amount of fence and they were missing a gate.

Sales/price estimator was professional and outstanding. He came out twice to make sure the measurements were correct. The price was approximately $1000-$2000 less than competitors. The installer was professional, taking time to answer my questions. He worked diligently until the job was completed. The installer had years of experience under his belt. A visit to the showroom proved helpful, and we were treated with courtesy, and all of our questions were answered.

gate system, gate must be removed and reinstalled to repair core problem of out of level post. He proposed to remove he gate from post, dig up and pull post and discard. Existing post cannot be reused due to mounting depth changes and original drilled hinge locations, also existing post is not thick enough to support the gates weight and bolted brackets ...etc" to the estimate of $1, 563.00 worth of corrective work. I called the owner Ken to tell him that I had obtained another professional opinion and that he should come out with a levelor to check the problem. A week went by and I never heard from him. Finally I called Mike A, the supervisor, to let him know the same thing and he never returned my call. At this point I am feeling abused and discriminated against. I am a single African American female homeowner (widowed), senior citizen. A lot of disrespect is going on here. They would not have talked to my husband with his 6'6' 300 lb. frame. I know that he is turning over in his grave for how his wife and family have been treated by Mills Fence! I feel as victimized as I did when I was assaulted. I don't understand this!! I contacted the Better Business Bureau and sent them a 5 page letter, pictures and estimates to register my complaint. I sent the same documents to the Ohio Attorney Generals office, a copy to Ken Mills the owner of Mills Fence and the Mayor of Cincinnati. I requested that mills fence pay the cost for Eades fence to take corrective action that they(Mills Fence) were not willing to or did not know how to correct. The story is not over. I will update you as soon as I know anything more. Finally, a fine had to be paid when it was determine that there was not a permit to even do the job. This was another misstep on the part of the estimator Kyle who told me that I needed to get a variance but failed to tell me that I needed the permit. I could have done this at the same time. This has been a disaster of an experience from beginning till now and he end is not here! I am a nurse educator and work intermittently for the United Stated Government at the VA hospital when needed. I have a master's degree in my craft. I am a Christian and grew up a Girl Scout. Excellence is my motto. I expect it from myself and from others. This company was paid approximately $15,000.00 to do a job. In my opinion it was far from excellent!. I sincerely hope that this review helps others. I have been reading similar reviews about Mills fence and wish that I had seen them before they were selected to do the job.

Very easy to work with. Salesman came out for the estimate, emailed the estimate to me within 48 hours and fence installed within two weeks from approved estimate. Everything completed as quoted and well within expected time.

The day of the appointment the crew called at time they were due and said they would be about an hour late. They arrived about an hour later, about 10:30 am. I showed the foreman of the 2 man crew the job site and where the fence line should be and where to install the 2 gates. He then set his partner to work digging holes for posts while he left to go get their breakfast. The man he left behind could not speak English so we could not communicate very well. Sure enough, on the first hole he hit the main line of my irrigation system and broke it. He was freaking out but I shut off the water supply to stop the gusher and told him not to worry about it. I'm not sure he understood me, but he continued about his work. The contract clearly states that the fence company is not responsible for underground irrigation that is not marked. I knew that was my problem not theirs. The head man returned, they stop and ate their breakfast, and they continued with the job. After all was well under way, I left the house for awhile to run an errand as my wife was home if they needed anything. I wasn't gone long when my wife called me. The crew was putting up the fence on one side of the yard where there was to be a gate. They told my wife that due to the severe slope of the yard at the spot where the gate would go, either the gate post and the adjoining post of the next fence section would have to be different heights or we would have a big gap under the gate and the next section of fence. This space under the fence between the bottom of the fence and the ground was so big that our mini dachshund could walk right under the fence. However, faced with two bad choices we told them to go ahead leave the gap but make the top of the fence level. It would have looked terrible otherwise. So we signed off on this choice but were not happy about either option. It seems to us that either the salesman who quoted the job or the crew should have alerted us prior to digging the post holes that this was not a good spot for a gate, due to the slope of the ground. We could have then chosen a better place for the gate at the back of the yard. After all they are supposed to be the fence experts. This was done on a Friday. After getting the fence up the crew said they would return on Monday to hang the gates, as the posts needed to setup first before they could hang the gates. They returned on Monday as promised and installed the gates. The fence is bronze color. We picked bronze because our next door neighbor already had a bronze fence that ours butts up to. However, Mills used black hardware, hinges and latches, on the gates. When we complained to Mills that the we were unhappy that the hardware did not match the color of the fence, their reply was "nobody has ever complained about that before". Mills was unwilling to do anything to correct this. They said the fence manufacturer, Ultra Fence, that they represent only makes hardware in black. They showed no interest in trying to satisfy us. We were really disappointed in their attitude. That is the main reason for our sub par ratings and why we would not use them again. We obtained 3 quotes for the aluminum fence. Mills was the lowest bidder. They were 33% lower than the highest quote and 17% lower than the middle quote. I was a little concerned about the difference, but two of my neighbors had used Mills for aluminum fence installation and both recommended them. Also, the two other bidders wanted 50% of the money up front, while Mills did not want any money until the job was completed. I thought this showed they were confident of their trade. So we decided to use them. The fence is of good quality and was well installed with the noted exceptions. I would say if you want a black aluminum fence on flat ground, then Mills will do a good job at a reasonable price. However, if you need a different color other than black, then be prepared to have hardware that will not match your fence. I guess there is always a reason a company is the lowest bidder. One other thing. The quote from Mills included two ball caps for the posts next to the front gate. The crew did have these when they installed the gates. They explained that they would have to order them and would come back later and install them. So they did not seek payment at that time. I did receive an invoice in the mail a few days later. I then called the salesman and reminded him we still needed the ball caps and that I would pay the invoice in full once we received them. Two email reminders and a phone call later we finally got the ball caps installed on June 9. So from April 27 to June 9 to get it all complete. Six weeks.

Did not go well at all. Mills may have a long history of being in business with a certain high level of expertise and experience. However, the person who came out to measure and the subcontractors that Mills sent to us were clueless. I had my doubts when the extremely loud heavy duty truck with trailer came rumbling up to the curb arriving quite a bit tardy. It only went down hill from there. The drawing that the workers had on the morning of the first day showed the fence being installed through a bush on one side of the house and through our air conditioner on the other side. Hello, we're not going to rip out and move our air conditioner and we're not too thrilled about destroying the bush. The job was delayed further after this problem was discussed and when they had to call the office to get approval for the changes, the extra needed material and to make arrangements for it to be delivered. Afterwards, I went back in the house with my fingers crossed hoping all else would go well. It was not to be so. After about an hour and a half, I went out to check on their progress, only to discover they were no where to be found. Another hour or so passed when suddenly, the neighborhood peace was shattered and their return was harkened by the headache producing noise from engine and exhaust. Work continued at a slow pace even though there were 3 present (sometimes 4). By the time dinner rolled around, only about half the fence was completed. I do have to say they all were nice to speak to, did not display profanity or outbursts of anger. Since I've been a bit long winded already and to spare you from an exhaustive account of the rest of the drama, here is a list of issues: -vertical posts installed too low causing bottom rail to be only a few inches from ground -posts installed unevenly causing a rollercoaster up and down look to posts and rails (I adjusted rails, too late for posts) -vertical posts installed in dry concrete (even after voicing my concerns) causing not all to set properly -horizontal rails installed randomly (instead of flat side facing in) resulting in no flat surface to mount metal mesh backing -sloppy, unsecure attachment of metal mesh backing (I went back and fixed it) -rocks, grass, dirt, mud clods from post hole digging and metal mesh trimmings left all over our yard and neighbor's yard -they hacked through bush on one side (without asking) -I had to remove bush on other side (extra charge if they did), good thing I had time to do so that morning -they used our electric and stuffed our big garbage cans, no big deal, however it's just common courtesy for them to ask first -their tools kept breaking down, I let them borrow mine just to keep the job moving -both gates/latches were hung backwards with wrong bolts (I had to add one they forgot) causing extra holes and wood splitting -gravel and cement dust left in street, gray stains are still there -they left their trailer in the street and material in the yard, surprisingly, they didn't ask first -a one or two day job took a week, even with 4 guys working at one time and caused a delay in getting our 1st puppy I have to hand it to Mills, the office staff was nice to talk to, their price quote beat the others, their sales rep gladly came out to discuss the issues (although after most things could not be fixed without ripping it out and starting from over) and they did not charge us for the extra material (not that I would have). If you use Mills, I suggest that you make sure they send a seasoned person to measure and correctly make a drawing and a well experienced crew to to the work.

They do exactly what they say they will and do it on time.

Mills did an excellent job. One of the gates didn't turn out as we had hoped, so the company returned to make adjustments without question.

It went well and I am happy with it. We have a wet yard and we talk to a couple of different fencing companies and couple of them suggested we use gravel as the silt for the post and not concrete. Mills also does concrete but they were willing to do what we wanted. They were willing to work with us. I like them and they do a good job. We have a wooded lot and they were able to do what needed to be done since we had a lot of roots and stuff. I would say I am happy with them. The price is comparable to all the others we called. In terms of responsiveness, they came out and got it done when they said they would do. I would use them again in the future.

Mills was great. From the initial contact via their website, to working with Kyle on the estimate, to the installers - everything went great. After submitting a request for a quote, I was called back promptly. Kyle set up a time to come out and measure the yard. He was prompt and polite. He did the measurements and got back to us with the quote with one business day. The quote was quite reasonable compared to the competitors. There was a small misunderstanding about the back fence, Kyle thought it belonged to me and should be removed - but it was really my neighbor's. Glad we got that worked out prior to the installers coming out. Also, Kyle quoted me two gates (one on each side of the house) but the installers laughed at that because there was no way they could put a gate on the sloped side of the house. After accepting the quote, a team was out within a few days. The three man team was polite and punctual. After looking at the back section of the yard, where there isn't much grass, the lead installer looked at me and asked "Does this rock go all through the yard?" Poor guys - because, yes, it did. The installers weren't able to finish the fence in one day because digging the post holes took too long (all those rocks). But they stayed late to make sure that all the posts were set and that the concrete was applied. They came back the next day even though there was snow on the ground. They did a great job. The gate they could install was a little high off the ground for my liking, but they had to work with what was there - not their fault my property slopes. I would use them again.

The people arrived on the first date and partially installed some of the fence enough to enclose the area for our dogs, but had lots of work left to do - which they acknowledged - left chunks of dirt and mud inside the area so our dogs got especiallty muddy for a while ( we had put down gravel, etc to keep the dirt out side.). They said they would return a couple days - but did not, and without calling or notifying us. Then the experience became a lot worse - a lot worst than we have experienced from any service provider in a very long long time. The installation people did not ever return onn the original day they said they would - and they had to return many days - we are almost 4 weeks later and it is still not complete (each time someone was waiting all day for them-except the last time when someone waited half a day and gave up). Each time we made several calls to mills fence and then we would we finally recieve a call a day later that that the installers would be out the "next day", which I doi not think ever happened, they came when they want sometimes would call mostly would not. This has gone on repeatedly even though we always personally contacted the installers, the salesman and the front office. Also some of the work they had actually done was suspect and after each time we made the installers aware of it so it could be fixed - at one point the installer just kept repeating to me on the phone "nope, nope, nope" disagreeing that one of the pole holding one of the gates was not installed vertically - which was easy to see - even after they first put it in with nothing attached, and also easily verified with a level. This eventually left the gate to have a gap on one side so large the our little dogs could get out, into the larger back yard (which thankfully was fenced). The next day received a one line generic bill from them in the mail stating $3790 ($390 more than the last agreed upon price)!!! I called the salesman (again) and explained the work was not complete and the price was wrong, and he said he would send me a detailed invoice so I could understand and we could discuss. Now we are 4 weeks out and the individuals did not come on the day they were supposed to and again did not call to say they would't make it (no surprise there anymore), and instead - after pressed - said they would come Friday but would call first so my wife would know (and I would take off work to meet them). They came Friday - but without calling first to arranage a time with my wife - so she she never heard they were coming for sure, and left the house at 11:30am to take care of other business, and it was just it was another no-show - no-call. The installers must have showed up sometime after she left, and installed the remaining fence without leaving a note, and still the gate was not fixed that went into the back yard. On top of that, the one they came to fix that faced the front had the orginal issue fixed, but then they messed the adjustment up and created a new, bigger issue, in that it had a gap one one side that it should not have had (just a bad adjustment - pathetic really), and one our small dogs had easily gone through it and was wandering around free - we found her close to the road, and had no idea how long she had been out. I am now so upset with this group that I have decided I will fix all of it myself. My wife still wants them to complete some of the work that they could more easily do than I, but I told her if she has them out - to watch them all the time. Do not Use this new Mills fence team - unless you have lots of time and patience. In our experienc ethey were generally friendly when spoken to face to face on on the pohone (when we could get in touch with someone) but they did not perfom, did not communicate , and overbilled without following up. I would not recommend them.

I would not give them an excellent. They were pricey and pushy. The did a good job on the fence, it is more than adequate. I would give them B across the board. I would still use them again.

care of that without any charge. It has been fine ever since.

They were good. I would use them in the future.

They repaired my chain-link fence. They did a very good job. I would use them again in the future and recommend them to anyone.

They did very well. The person that came out to give the estimate was very nice. He discussed the different types of fence that I could use and he also discussed the gates, which would be better for the look for the house. The people that actually put the fence in did it clean and efficiently. They didn't leave any garbage lying around. I did have a problem with the gates.

Everything was great! The two gentlement were hard workers and arrived when they said they would and completed the job in a timely manner. They were also very professional. Mills worked with us on financing and were the lowest bid we received. The fence ended up being a few more linear feet than we originally thought, due to various obstructions, but we were always consulted on placement before they changed anything. Also, one of the gates had to be specially made for us because it was located on a slope (where we wanted it) and they did not charge us extra. All in all, a great experience! Would highly recommend!

While they did a great job selling, they did not follow up to my calls to have a gate adjusted or the dirt around the posts leveled..