Tim Strunk - Bulldog Fence Mass Fence Also ripped off by Tim Strunk Internet

I hired Mass Fence/Tim Strunk to install a Vinyl Privacy Fence in our back yard. He required a significant deposit and promised that the
work would be within the week. He did not show up by the date promised. I called about that and he indicated that the fence would be
installed the following Monday. Again he did not show up. Each time he claimed that the problem was that "his distributor" was closed and thus that he couldn't get the fence. He finally showed up later that next week. Although we didn't realize at the time and as a result, we paid him for what we thought was a completed job, he had not installed the caps on the fence posts, leaving them both looking unattractive and open to the rain. I made numerous calls to him over the next 5 weeks. Most of the time he didn't answer but when he did he would promise that he would finish the job "tomorrow" or within a few days, but he never showed up. When I last talked to him (I managed to get him to answer his phone by calling late in the evening) and pointed out that we'd paid him for a completed job and the job was not complete, he was quite belligerent and replied that the job "was completed" and it was just missing a few "f****g" caps. That unpleasant conversation made it clear that he had no intention of showing up to finish the job. I finally had to find a fence company with a sales office, buy the parts myself and install them myself. I asked the people at that company (which actually has a show room and sales people, etc. as opposed to a web site and a phone number) if they knew of Mass Fence or of Tim Strunk. They hadn't heard of Mass Fence but most definitely had heard of Tim Strunk and were not surprised by the problems I ran into. I actually went to a second such fence company in the area and asked the same question and again was told that they most definitely know of Tim Strunk and that they were also aware of many dissatisfied customers. Now that I have had such problems with Tim Strunk, I tried to learn more about him and Mass Fence. In looking back on the estimate he gave me, I see that it is on a generic form in which he wrote the name "Mass Fence" making me suspicious that the claim on the Mass Fence web site that which says "Welcome to Mass Fence, Family Trade for over 40 years" is either false or intentionally misleading. Certainly a company that has been in business for 40 years would have a formal letter head on their business forms. A Google search on the web for "Tim Strunk" returns an item "Ripoff Report, Tim Strunk, Bulldog Fence, Londonderry, New Hampshire. Furthermore, a Google search using his phone number (781-548-1508) and name associated with companies such as New England Builders, 11 Coach Rd. Billerica, MA MyGooglelocal.com, 52 Vernon St., Wakefield, MA Net Expansion.com as well as many tens of listings on Craigslist and other sites, typically "to handle some leads we don't time to chase" ... a few examples Roofing business in Vermont Carpet cleaning in New Hampshire Fencing in Albany, NY Pool installers, in Southern, MA Flooring installation, Worcester, MA Vinyl Siding, Buffalo, NY Fencing, Northern, NJ In spite of all this, when you call that number, if Tim doesn't answer (typically the case) all you get is a voice message from Tim saying that he is busy and that if you leave a voice message he'll call you back (again, not very likely based upon my experience). The fact that he doesn't stock fence parts along with the easily verifiable information I found on the internet and my personal experience has led me to the conclusion that: - Tim Strunk is the sole employee of Mass Fence (if there is someone else, I haven't een able to contact them) and that he apparently hires workers on a job-to-job basis when he lands a fencing customer - Mass Fence does not have an office, a showroom or stock fencing parts. - Tim Strunk is highly likely not show up on the date he promises - Tim Strunk is likely not to complete your job - Tim Strunk is highly unlikely to answer your phone call, especially if you call about problems once you have paid him in full. Note that I think he has caller ID since one day when I couldn't get him after repeated attempts I called using a different phone and he answered immediately. Since I can't find any information about the history of Mass Fence and since at least two well established fence companies had never heard of it (but had definitely heard of Tim Strunk) and since there is a reference to Tim Strunk and another fence company (BullDog Fence), I wonder if the reference to a 40-year family trade is and indication that Mass Fence is simply one of a series of fence companies? Certainly that would be a way to eliminate the negative impact of bad publicity; when you get enough complaints, simply start a new company. I definitely would not engage Mass Fence (or any of the other companies, fencing or otherwise, with which Tim Strunk is associated) again and strongly recommend that others not do so. This has taught me that Web searches, and web sites can be quite misleading. I highly recommend that if you need fencing work done that you engage a reputable company ... one with a showroom where you can actually look at samples of the fences they install, with sales personnel you can meet with in person and
with a professional installation crew.