Complaint Review: Cavalier Buildings - Virginia Beach Virginia

On February 11, 2012 we met with a Cavalier Buildings salesman Scott Butterfield to get information regarding their buildings. We had seen an ad in our local paper advertising a Blow-Out! Lowest Prices Around! LOW Monthly Payments.etc. We called the number listed and spoke with Tara who said they were looking for buyers who would be willing to allow them to show the building and would offer additional savings if we agreed.  We explained we did not live on the land we were looking at placing the building so we would need at least 10minutes notice. Tara set up the appointment for that Saturday 10:30 and said the sales person was 2 hours away and would call us just before arriving.

We met with Mr. Butterfield who explained the buildings unique design and higher quality construction. We explained to him we were not interested in buying today and just needed to gather information about types of buildings and pricing. Mr. Butterfield made a call to Mr. Hobbs, the owner of Cavalier Buildings, praising our land and the great location to show off their buildings so they could increase sales. Additionally, they would pay us $100.00 for each showing and $250.00 for each sale from a showing or referral. 

Mr. Hobbs said we were in luck as there were several buildings they had just picked up from Whiteman AFB which were being returned and headed for auction. If we would agree to purchase one of them we would save an additional 15%.  We wanted a 30x40 building but what they had was a 30x36x14. Mr. Hobbs said he would bring the building back to the factory and add the extra 4ft at no charge.  We explained again we were not going to be purchasing a building today but would think about it and let them know. We had planned to build an apartment on one end and needed to price stem walls to allow for a second floor. Mr. Butterfield called Mr. Hobbs and reported this. Mr. Hobbs said he would add an extra 2ft in height to the building for no additional cost.  Mr. Hobbs stated this this was a $17,000.00 value for $10,954.00.

We asked about financing and did not want to agree to a sale without preapproval. We were told they could not do this because it was a Saturday and no one was in the office. Mr. Hobbs and Mr. Butterfield repeatedly stated financing would not be a problem as they have 3 banks they use, with 9.9% financing the payments would be under $200.00. We were assured they if there were any issue with financing they would finance in house.  We were told the price was only good for that day. We asked Mr. Butterfield to meet us in 2 hours at a local diner and we would let him know at that time what our decision was. Mr. Butterfield called Mr. Hobbs and told him this. It appeared Mr. Hobbs was pressuring Mr. Butterfield to not allow this. Mr. Butterfield stated he had an appointment at another location at 2pm so he wanted to follow us to the diner now to do the paper work if needed.

Against our better judgment we agreed thinking it would give us time to talk it through.  After several more assurances about financing, we agreed. They needed a 25% deposit of $2,988.00. We were told we would get a call about financing the first part of the week.  We would receive the blue prints as soon as the building was modified.  Later that night we started doing research on Cavalier Buildings and all we could find was a Better Business rating of A-.  However, there were several reports of US Buildings having a class action lawsuit for selling buildings that didnt exist and other unethical business practices. The complaints also told of buyers being told about great deals on buildings going to auction. We were concerned.

On Monday we called to stop the transaction. We called our bank to stop the payment but were told we could not do this as we used our debit card and would have to wait until it cleared to try to get it reversed. We spoke with Tara who assured us they were an honest company and we would have no problems with them. She assured us they had good report with 3 banks and would have no problems.  

After several weeks of not getting anything in the mail for financing I called and spoke with Tara again. She apologized and said she would send out the forms. When we received the forms they were standard forms for Visa.  The agreement was for 28.9% financing.  I called back and was told not to worry it was just standard form and my financing would be 9.9%.  I asked again about the banks they work with because this was a VISA application and she said they just use it for their records.  She said that any amount over the purchase amount would be at 28.9% so they recommend customers cut up the card when they get it.

That same week I got a call from Greg who wanted to sell me skylights and arch connectors that connect the building to the slab. He said they were offering a rebate. I took the information and told him I would let him know. It was interesting that on the day of the original sale we asked about the price of these items and they could not give us a price. And stated we did not need arch connectors as we could use L brackets from Lowes or Home Depot.

The next week I got a call from Mr. Hobbs who wanted to upgrade the building to 22gauge. Mr. Hobbs explained to me that the top of the building would be flimsy due to the width and he would do this at no additional cost if I bought the arch connectors. I asked Mr. Hobbs how he could change the gauge of the steel building that was made previously and was heading to action 2 months ago. He said he was the owner and was willing to take a financial hit to make sure we had a quality building. I also told him I have been very displeased with the company so far.  I told him I had not heard about financing yet and would not make any decisions until then.  Mr. Hobbs then said So as soon as your financing is back I can order this for you. I said no. I would not be making any more decisions.  Needless to say I am very alarmed about the owners report that I have been sold a flimsy building and can only avoid this by purchasing more building supplies.

On the same day I received a call from Teresa who stated they had sent the wrong application and would be sending another one for me to fill out and mail back. I refilled out the application, which looked exactly like the original one, and called the next day to tell Teresa I had mailed it. Two weeks later, April 2, I called because I had not heard and Teresa said she was going to send the application through that day.  Later that day they called to say my financing did not go through and suggested I get a co-signer or get a smaller building.

We have made repeated attempts to have our money returned due to the various lies and what we believe are unethical business practices. We have found 9 other buyers with the same story. Additionally it appears Mr. Hobbs and Cavalier Buildings are associated with US Buildings which have a class action lawsuit against them in Florida and Texas for the same unethical business practices down to the going to auction" sales pitch.

And to top all of this off, CAVALIER BUILDINGS DID NOT EVER RUN MY CREDIT!!  On April 7, I ran credit reports from 3 services and there were no inquiries at all from Visa or any other credit agency this year! 

We believe Cavalier Buildings scam is to try to get you to buy as much additional building supplies as possible and when this doesnt work they say your financing is denied and they keep the 25% down payment. We do not want to do buisness with this company and want our deposit of $2.988.00 returned.