Nash County man at odds with builder over crooked fence

Mark Wiggins blames the installation. Seegars Fence Co. of Rocky Mount blames Wiggins.

At first, from a distance, the fence looked great, Wiggins said. It wasn't until a couple of months later, he said, that he got a closer look and noticed problems.

"We have an up-and-down effect on the top of the fence," Wiggins said, "and we have an in-and-out sector."

He paid almost $3,000 for the fence. He said it was supposed to be 6 feet tall, but at 5 feet 9 inches, he's taller than the fence.

Seegars installed it last June. Wiggins said he looked at it only from a distance because he had grass growing 2 feet high around it.

Two months later, he killed off the grass and noticed the irregularities.

"If I had never treated the grass to get rid of it, I probably never would have noticed it," Wiggins said.

He said he called Seegars to take a look.

Vice President Roy Garner told 5 on Your Side that Wiggins' time frame is off, that he didn't notify them about the issues until September – after Hurricane Irene hit.

Garner said it wasn't until December, after his company caught up on storm-related repairs, that he was able to assess Wiggins' fence.

Garner insisted that the height issues are hurricane- and water-related, saying Wiggins' property has a problem with storm water runoff.

The bottom line from Seegars Fence is that installation is not to blame.

As for the weave of the fence, there are two sides to that story.

Garner said Wiggins was told from the beginning that old tree stumps in the ground would have an impact on the fence's alignment and that Wiggins agreed to it.

Wiggins said that conversation never happened

"This is his mess, not mine," Wiggins said. "There's nothing that I did. I didn't install the posts. I didn't install the fence. He installed it. I think he or his workers should be liable for it."

Seegars offered Mark a discounted repair price of $125.

Wiggins said he doesn't think he should have to pay a penny more.

Seegars didn't document the stump issue on the order form, so it's not noted anywhere that the fence would be crooked.

The are a couple of things consumers and business owners can learn from this. If you have work done at your home, fully inspect it right away and address any concerns immediately. Businesses should respond in a timely manner before a problem gets worse. And both sides should document everything.