Small Claims Complaint against Contractor across state lines SC/NC
consumer protection attorney Indiana Aug 24, 2026
Location: South Carolina We reside in SC and hired a fencing contractor in NC to install a fence at our home. The company we hired is registered in NC and SC as well as other states due to being franchised. I am almost certain that the owners of the company we used in NC are the same as the company registered in SC. The owners are listed by name as well as an attorney as the registered agent on the Secretary of State in NC. However, on the Secretary of State in SC the registered agent is listed as Northwest Registered Agent LLC. I looked up Northwest Registered Agent LLC and it appears to just be a company that forwards mail/documents and uses their name/address to protect the privacy of business owners. We did meet with the sales representative at our home twice prior to signing the contract. The contract was signed in April at our home and forwarded electronically to the contractor in NC. In June the fence install took place at our home in SC. Should a complaint be filed in the SC county that we reside, signed the contract and work took place or should the complaint be filed in the NC county in which the business office is located? I am fine if I have to pay the Sheriff in NC to service papers to the office of the fencing contractor. We will be asking the court to issue a complete refund and rescind the contract in place with this company. We began having issues when the fence was only 6 days old and reached out immediately. We have exhausted all efforts that we know to try to resolve the issues with this contractor. They did some repair work but that has failed as well. Approximately three weeks ago the Chief Operations Manager was to come to our home and he never called nor showed up. We did reach out to the owner and were informed the following day by a Project Manager that the owner "is well aware of the situation but would not be returning our call because he is too busy for this". Since then, they have refused our calls, failed to return calls, texts and emails. Twice, we were able to get in contact with the same Project Manager which he told us both times he would follow up with us within 24 hours and did not follow through. We have discovered throughout this process this company has been dishonest and misleading several times throughout this debacle. A warranty was also included with this contract that apparently they aren't going to honor if they refuse to communicate and complete repairs. We do have photos, emails, texts, contracts, receipts, videos, etc.. that show their inconsistencies, dishonesty and admission of fault regarding the fence. Any advice on how to move forward and which location the complaint should be filed is appreciated.
