BBB issues warning about local fencing business

The Better Business Bureau is urging area residents to use caution when doing business with a local fencing company.

Missouri Fence Company-Springfield LLC, owned by Justin Schmidt, has allegedly failed to start projects, issue refunds and provide adequate customer service, according to a BBB news release.

“Abandoning your customers is no way to do business,” said Stephanie Garland, BBB Springfield regional director, in the release. “This business needs to make things right with its customers by doing the work or returning their money.”

BBB officials were unable to contact Schmidt for the report. The release indicates the business had been located in Springfield but has since moved to Schmidt's residence in Republic. Phone numbers listed online for the business are not functioning, and the company's website now redirects to that of a company in Canada. The LLC was registered with the Missouri secretary of state’s office in early 2018.

The BBB spoke to one customer from Clever, who said she made a $4,800 down payment in March for a fence at her residence, after her neighbor hired Missouri Fence with no issues. The customer said Schmidt agreed to a refund after no work was done on the project, but she said a refund was not issued and he later ceased communication.

Separately, a Springfield customer said she paid Schmidt $4,257 in June as a down payment for a privacy fence. The woman said she was never given a start date for the project and that Schmidt has been difficult to reach to find answers, according to the release.

“We feel like we’ve been scammed,” she said, according to the BBB.