Lindal Cedar Homes inept dealers, hidden costs, deceptive business practices *UPDATE ..no show in court *EDitor's Comment

Regarding the relationship between Marilyn Dereggi (T/A Dereggi Custom Homes) and Dereggi Construction Co LLC.

During the period of our relationship with Marilyn Dereggi & Dereggi Custom Homes it is on record through the Maryland Court System that Marilyn Dereggi was a ?Partner? with Dereggi Construction Co.. It should be clearly stated that Christine Dereggi was at our home with Marilyn Dereggi November 2000, for the first site visit where Marilyn Dereggi boldly and proudly stated that ?We? take care of everything for you? regarding our desire for a Lindal addition and Marilyn Dereggi asked Christine ?Do WE have any crews that do cedar shake roofs??.

Regarding the recent postings by Dereggi Construction LLC on several websites;
?DeReggi Construction Company, LLC has been successfully owned and operated solely by John DeReggi for more than 15 years. DeReggi Construction Company, LLC successful reputation should not be confused with this unfortunate transaction with Lindal Cedar Homes or its resellers.?

If you feel your reputation has been tarnished by this unfortunate transaction I suggest you bring the matter up with Marilyn Dereggi of Legacy Homes International and Robert W. Lindal of Lindal Cedar Homes of Seattle Washington! You may have been an unwilling party to interstate fraud between Dereggi Custom Homes of Boyds Maryland and Lindal Cedar Homes in Seattle Washington.

Deposit money sent directly to Lindal under a Lindal plan and materials contract, was spent on undocumented, NON Lindal services in Maryland by Marilyn Dereggi as clearly indicated by Lindal Cedar Homes and Marilyn Dereggi. Our total design fees under the Lindal Contract were $854.00 yet $10,000 disappeared in a kickback scheme between Lindal in Seattle and Dereggi Custom Homes of Boyds Maryland.

Ask Sir Walter about that little scam while you're at it! http://www.lindal.com/homes/asksirwalter/

The details of the connection between Dereggi Custom Homes and Dereggi Construction are shown below. The information shown here is public information and may be viewed at the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Website: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquirySearch.jis

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Court System: Circuit Court for Montgomery County - Civil System
Case Number: 217679V Sub Type: CONTRACT
Date Filed: 01/10/2001
Case Status: CLOSED

Defendant Information
(Each Alias, Address, and Attorney for the Defendant is displayed)
Name: DEREGGI, MARILYN BOYD
Address: 15445 BARNESVILLE ROAD
BOYDS MD 20841
Defendant Aliases
Name: DEREGGI CUSTOM HOMES,

Name: DEREGGI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Address: C/O MARILYN BOYD DEREGGI, PARTNER
15445 BARNESVILLE ROAD
BOYDS MD 20841

Issues Information
Issue: BREACH OF AGREEMENT

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Court System: Circuit Court for Montgomery County - Civil System
Case Number: 183435V Sub Type: CONTRACT
Date Filed: 02/27/1998
Case Status: CLOSED

Plaintiff Information
(Each Alias, Address, and Attorney for the Plaintiff is displayed)
Name: DEREGGI, MARILYN BOYD
Address: 15445 BARNESVILLE ROAD
BOYDS MD 20841
Plaintiff Aliases
Name: DEREGGI CUSTOM HOMES,

Name: DEREGGI CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Address: C/O MARILYN BOYD DEREGGI, PARTNER
15445 BARNESVILLE ROAD
BOYDS MD 20841

The contractor I originally worked for in Raleigh, NC - Brian Hippman of Quality Interiors - was one of Lindal's bad dealers. In spite of my efforts to provide steady sales, he declared bankruptcy in 2001 in order to escape criminal prosecution for the disappearance of customer funds. I bet when he fled back up North NJ or MD, that he has found a new way to scam people.

He fleeced me, our subs, suppliers, customers and other creditors out of over $250,000. While helping the court trustee audit his books, I discovered that he had spent thousands on personal items, including a down payment on a new townhome. Some customers did not receive the sunrooms they purchased ( and eventually paid twice ) and others were left with partially-finished projects and demolished yards. There were volumes of innocent creditors and their families devastated by this one, out-of-control dealer. For months he robbed Peter to pay Paul and eventually the whole house of cards collapsed.

I can only wonder, how many more nightmares like this are out there?

When I saw the Internet complaints against Lindal I gave great weight to the customers' stories because no one would choose to initiate costly legal action without good cause. I know because I've been there, Got The T-Shirt!

The Sunroom division is unlike the Cedar Homes group in that it's rarely necessary to get the factory involved in the design phase, and there are no big fees at risk if problems arise between the dealer and customer. The managment at Lindal Sunrooms did not steal the customer's money directly, but recruited, endorsed and abetted the dealer who did.

During the highly stressful 2 years that we pursued the dealer in court and with the State Contractor's Board, Lindal hid comfortably under a rock and let me take the heat for the sins of the contractor.

Or, "Sorry, Charlie, We're Just a Supplier."Now, just think about that. I had no formal relationship with Lindal, but I was swept up in the ensuing chaos. Since my signature was on the contracts as the dealer's agent, I felt personally responsible for the trauma that ensued - unlike Lindal - because I vouched for him. And believe me, handling a large group of customers who lost their money was no picnic. You can add me to the long list of Lindal victims who suffered serious health repercussions from the stress created by their financial misdeeds.

At that time I was instructed not to fault Lindal because they insisted that they were "just a supplier" and weren't responsible for the dealer's behavior! And I fell for it. How many out there have heard this before?

When things went bad the Lindal production manager (who later resigned) told me that the dealer had displayed serious financial problems from the very first order! The manager claimed that he had frequently asked that the dealership be cancelled but Lindal refused because our sales were too high and they didn't want to lose orders!

The General Sales Manager, Mike Probach, later told me that he had personally approved this dealer's application, even though the young man (25 years old) already had an established history of marginal credit.

So, let's get this straight. They recruit people with bad credit to handle huge deposits, then continue to supply orders in spite of demonstrated financial problems, then plead ignorance when the dealer runs off with the customer's money. No matter what Lindal gets their cut and ships only when the bill is paid. What a scheme!

If this dealer had been rightfully stopped when the manager noticed the problem, a major financial catastrophe would have been averted for a large group of trusting people. But who says Lindal cares about the rest of us?

To make matters worse, Lindal refused to remove the dealer's name from the corporate website - long after it was obvious he could not meet his obligations - because, I was told, they were afraid they might lost a lead! The dealer's name was deleted only when a customer phoned Seattle and threatened to expose Lindal and the dealer on a local Raleigh TV station. Exposure works.

According to the Maryland State Department of Assesments & Taxation, Legacy Homes International of Boyds Md. has had its authority to transact business in the State forfeitted since 2003. The authority to transact business by Lindal Cedar Homes has been revoked since 1995!

You can check their status (or other businesses)from the State website: http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/ucc-charter/CharterSearch_f.asp

Since Legacy is listed as a "Blue Ribbon Dealer" on Lindal's website with top sales awards since 2002 you would wonder why they (Lindal / Legacy) prefer (or need) to continue to do business this very unprofessional manner?

Legacy is listed as, "A constant, reliable resource for Maryland" on Lindal's website. One would hardly think of any business as "Reliable" when all parties concerned are NOT supposed to be doing business here! Would this be a concerted effort by both Lindal and Legacy to mislead Maryland customers for profit?

I wonder how a business pays it's fair share of taxes to the State when the State considers the business entity ended, Hmmm?????????

When you read this from the BBB website regarding Legacy, "This means it (Legacy) supports the Bureau's services to the public and meets our membership standards." you begin to wonder just how low the membership standards are at the BBB?

Before you even think about buying a Lindal home you might want to "Ask Sir Walter" http://www.lindal.com/homes/asksirwalter/

"So, what's the shady deal in Maryland there Walt?"

I thought about Lindall Housing and investigated. I would probably be working with the same dealer as the person from Gladstone, but this has made me serious consider the ramifications, in light of other recent Consumer experiences.

After a two year legal battle with Dereggi Custom Homes/Legacy Homes International in Boyds Maryland we were finally able to back the dealer into a corner. With most appeals exausted and threats by the dealers attorney ignored, Lindal caved in and returned our funds to prevent their "Blue Ribbon" dealer from potentially receiving a judgement for unfair and deceptive business practices on public record.

The laws in Maryland prevented me from collecting attorneys fees as damages so I hold the Lindal corporation directly responsible for my additional loss as they worked very closely with Dereggi to stall, delay, corrupt, and impede any effort to recover or account for my missing funds. The Lindal Corporation also lied about design fees and provided support and protection for Dereggi throughout this whole process including a settlement to keep her out of court. At NO time during the two year "slugfest" did anyone from Lindal attempt a fair and timely resolution to this dispute. In fact Lindal did their best to ensure we suffered the highest financial damage as a result of their dealers misleading and deceptive behavior. Dereggi refused to honor the Lindal contract to mediate or arbitrate which resulted in a year long court battle in Frederick Maryland.

By posting on this site and others I was able to track down other customers victimized by Lindal and work together to collect our misappropriated funds. Lindal forwarded excerpts from my posts to Dereggi that resulted in nasty and threatening letters from her attorney. So Lindal does pay attention to what goes on here! A main concern from Robert W. Lindal in returning my funds was Lindal wanted me to stop posting. Bad for business I guess!

In working closely with other Lindal customers to recover our funds we did see the Lindal difference! We noticed Lindal will ship defective materials and fight like heck to avoid honoring their "best in the industry" warranty. We noticed that Lindal often delivers useless plans and expects the customer to pay for corrections (unbeatable design resources). We noticed Lindal would mislead the customer regarding design fees. We noticed that Lindal was rarely able to account for customer funds. We noticed Lindal would threaten legal action if the customer didn't accept a small refund in exchange for their silence. We noticed in all cases the dealer's inability or unwillingness to correct any problems. (With you every step of the way the saying goes). We noticed that Lindal "tag teams" with the dealer to badger and strong-arm the customer into submission. We noticed that Lindal and the dealer hide behind arbitration and uses it as a weapon against the customer.

As a very unhappy Lindal customer I can only advise potential customers to stay away! I see a new post on this site and know what the customer is in for! It seems to me if the quality and service is gone from your business, the only way to make a profit is to mislead, deceive, badger, threaten and strong-arm your customers. Why the Lindal family feels it needs to discredit and lower itself in this manner is beyond me?

Thanks Ed for allowing me to post on your site, I feel this was vary instrumental in helping all of us recover our money. If Charles or anyone else would like some assistance in dealing with Lindal they can contact me at my e-mail address fraudbusters@hotmail.com. Please put Lindal in the subject line.

Best regards

ED Magedson,



Thank you for nailing Jeffrey Caden's lame rebuttal. Our experience with Lindal was very much like this customer's.



Our dream to finally build our own home was dashed by the tactics of Lindal and their clueless local Dealer. Lindal was TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE as the nightmare unfolded. They are still hanging onto our $30,000 deposit after more than two years.



Their Dealer did NOT provide the highly touted guidance and support which would have made our project a success. They've pulled stakes and disappeared. Ours is a long, sad story, the short version of which is now posted on your site too, report #35069.



Thank you for giving consumers a place to warn other potential customers (a function the BBB does NOT provide, as we found the hard way)

I am very interested to follow this report as I am a recent torture victim of Lindal customer service. (I feel like I just got out of the ICU.)



I do not understand how or why Carol Lane's response and Jeff Caden's became lumped together with the same timestamp. How could Jeff have read and responded if both came in at the same moment.



Can someone clarify this so I can follow?

Mr Caden,

I find it odd that you chose to address this issue here rather than with me directly. These allegations are true and I have the paperwork to prove it. So does my attorney and the State of Maryland. I am also working with others that have similar problems with Lindal and will continue to do so. Anyone interested in finding more can just search for "Lindal Complaints" on the net and find some more unhappy customers. Now to your rebuttal Mr Caden. I have attempted to address this complaint with Lindal. Joe Nordwick: regional sales, Marilyn Dereggi: local dealer, Gene Harfst: sales as well as, and Customer service and MR. Caden himself through E-mail, where you assured me my complaint would be looked into and I never heard anything back from anyone. My attorney informed Lindal of our intention to file suit in Maryland and if Lindal was a party to the agreement. LINDAL opted out. Thats why Lindal was a no show. Lindal and their officers as well as their independant dealer have made every effort to thwart, impede, disrupt, subvert and convolute every attempt at a resolution of this problem. I however, have followed every legal path towards an honorable resolution and that included attempts at mediation, arbitration and district court. Your dealer and her attorney avoided that like the plague. Now I'm no longer bound by the useless arbitration agreement. You and Lindal have not heard the end of this. For the record: Lindal has made NO effort to honorably resolve or discuss this dispute either with me directly or through my attorney(s). I have NO written communication from Lindal regarding their position on this case for over a year. Lindal and their dealer have confiscated my deposit on materials and lied about design fees. The interest is adding up and the damages are growing and I will NOT go away. Anyone interested in copies of my complaint and growing pile of correspondance or court papers may contact me through this site. Yes Mr. Caden, lets see you address this complaint quickly and fairly. It has been over a year now. I saw what Lindal did to Robin. My wife and I are most certainly glad we never made it that far. With the kindest of regards, Lindal customer #38147.

Jeffrey Caden,



It's unfortunate you haven't made any attempt to address this victimized customer of yours problems. Unfortunate experience, well, let's see you do something about it. You're saying, you made every effort to resolve problems quickly and fairly whenever they may arise. Well, that's obviously a load a crap! Let's see some action here for these unfortunate customers who are obviously a victim of Lindal Cedar Homes and definitely ripped off.



Jeffrey Caden, I can assure you, this Rip-off Report is going linger on the Internet forever. Don't you think your better off satisfying your customer so they come back and UPDATE their Rip-off Report?



ED Magedson

EDitor@ripoffreport.com

To Whom it May Concern:



My husband and I were seriously considering building a Lindal home as our next home. Then I came across this page on the internet. Since there is no rebuttal shown, I assume the allegations are accurate. Sorry, you just lost a customer.



Sincerely,

Carol Lane

Eugene, Oregon



Dear Ms. Lane:

The allegations are not true and we have been trying to decide what is the best way to respond to such unfounded criticism through the internet. We have tried to resolve the problems with this particular customer however the customer has been unwilling to communicate with us. To my knowledge, we have been a no-show in court but we were not in this particular case.



Undoubtedly, this customer had an unpleasant experience, but I can assure you that Lindal Cedar Homes and our dealers make every effort to resolve problems quickly and fairly whenever they may arise. Good luck in your search for a partner in building your dream home.



Sincerely,



Jeffrey Caden

VP Marketing

Lindal Cedar Homes

To Whom it May Concern:



My husband and I were seriously considering building a Lindal home as our next home. Then I came across this page on the internet. Since there is no rebuttal shown, I assume the allegations are accurate. Sorry, you just lost a customer.



Sincerely,

Carol Lane

Eugene, Oregon



Dear Ms. Lane:

The allegations are not true and we have been trying to decide what is the best way to respond to such unfounded criticism through the internet. We have tried to resolve the problems with this particular customer however the customer has been unwilling to communicate with us. To my knowledge, we have been a no-show in court but we were not in this particular case.



Undoubtedly, this customer had an unpleasant experience, but I can assure you that Lindal Cedar Homes and our dealers make every effort to resolve problems quickly and fairly whenever they may arise. Good luck in your search for a partner in building your dream home.



Sincerely,



Jeffrey Caden

VP Marketing

Lindal Cedar Homes

To Whom it May Concern:



My husband and I were seriously considering building a Lindal home as our next home. Then I came across this page on the internet. Since there is no rebuttal shown, I assume the allegations are accurate. Sorry, you just lost a customer.



Sincerely,

Carol Lane

Eugene, Oregon



Dear Ms. Lane:

The allegations are not true and we have been trying to decide what is the best way to respond to such unfounded criticism through the internet. We have tried to resolve the problems with this particular customer however the customer has been unwilling to communicate with us. To my knowledge, we have been a no-show in court but we were not in this particular case.



Undoubtedly, this customer had an unpleasant experience, but I can assure you that Lindal Cedar Homes and our dealers make every effort to resolve problems quickly and fairly whenever they may arise. Good luck in your search for a partner in building your dream home.



Sincerely,



Jeffrey Caden

VP Marketing

Lindal Cedar Homes

To Whom it May Concern:



My husband and I were seriously considering building a Lindal home as our next home. Then I came across this page on the internet. Since there is no rebuttal shown, I assume the allegations are accurate. Sorry, you just lost a customer.



Sincerely,

Carol Lane

Eugene, Oregon



Dear Ms. Lane:

The allegations are not true and we have been trying to decide what is the best way to respond to such unfounded criticism through the internet. We have tried to resolve the problems with this particular customer however the customer has been unwilling to communicate with us. To my knowledge, we have been a no-show in court but we were not in this particular case.



Undoubtedly, this customer had an unpleasant experience, but I can assure you that Lindal Cedar Homes and our dealers make every effort to resolve problems quickly and fairly whenever they may arise. Good luck in your search for a partner in building your dream home.



Sincerely,



Jeffrey Caden

VP Marketing

Lindal Cedar Homes

This link on collecting a judgment might be of interest to you, though I'm assuming since you hired an attorney they person already know this:



http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/

objectID/2789B50E-F69C-49C3-A572B6FE0F269BF2



Still, it's good to check out. We have found that a person can't really rely on an attorney to know or do all that they should. People still have to do a lot themselves. If this attorney is in the construction/real estate industry's pocket, they will not have a home owner's interests in mind. Your statement about buying an attorney along with a house is right though, for most builders not just this one. The contracts are one-sided and you rarely have any alternative option. In some states membership in a home builders association is mandatory, and if the builder is a member they must have an arbitration clause. (Arbitration with the builder's choice of arbitrator that is.) Buyers are getting less and less CHOICE and the building industry is becoming more and more of a monopoly.

Our dealer was able to dodge mediation and arbitration with the use of her attorney. We were able to bypass the mandatory arbitration requirement in the contract due to our dealers track record of delays and dodges and get her into court.



A last minute effort by the dealers attorney to derail that didn't work. Well, she didn't show up in court either and NOW she loses by default and has little room left to argue.



After talking to other customers about their Lindal experience one thing is certain. You WILL need an attorney to correct ANYTHING from design errors to defective materials, leaky windows, warranty issues or poor dealer performance.



Since the dealers are often unlicensed contractors and "Amway Fodder" you are guaranteed to have problems with them. Lindal doesn't care, they get their money anyway!



The perk in Lindals website about their unparalelled service driven dealer network is meant to lure you into believing that Lindal and the dealer are part of the same package. You'll soon find out that Lindal will point fingers at the dealer and the dealer will point fingers at Lindal at the first sign of ANY problem and your cash will be gone! Want a Lindal home? Buy an attorney first!