Beyond The Backyard is not honoring our contract and is engaging in deceptive business practices. Beyond The Backyard claimed a "7-day deposit refund" policy, which is not on our contract, nor on their website. They claimed this in an effort to justify keeping $1,318.64 (50%) of our money despite not doing any work, nor performing any services. Again, we must emphasize, Beyond The Backyard performed no work, nor performed any services during this entire process other than sending us a contract and taking our deposit. American Steel worked with us while we attempted to work with the county to comply with local code regulations. Unfortunately, our permit was not able to be approved due to the county's foundation requirements that would have more than doubled the cost of the structure. These foundation requirements were well beyond what American Steel deemed necessary to build the structure. Beyond The Backyard admitted, twice on a recorded phone conversation, that we cannot buy directly from American Steel (ASC), yet BTB says that buying directly from ASC is the only way to have our deposit refunded if there is a permit issue. Buying directly from ASC is precisely what we thought we were doing when we were redirected to BTB to complete the transaction. The contract we signed states clearly that ASC will refund our money if there is a permitting issue, directly after the line item that says deposits are not refundable. The contract is worded in a manner that leads the customer to believe that deposits are not refundable unless there is a permitting issue. When ASC's engineering department determined that the project could not move forward, ASC said they would refund our deposit; but that they could not perform the refund because BTB was the party who took our deposit. They then directed us to BTB and told us that they should refund our deposit because this was due to a permitting issue. Beyond The Backyard refused to refund our deposit and said the contract stated there are "no refunds". We pointed out the very next line that says that ASC will refund our deposit in the event of a permitting issue that is out of ASC's or the customer's control. They told us this was only when buying directly from ASC. We told them that we contacted ASC and were redirected to BTB to complete the transaction. Jason at BTB told us that "yes" "this is what they are supposed to do" because BTB services our area. I pointed out that this means we are not able to buy directly from ASC then if that is how "buying direct" is defined. At this point Jason from BTB said he would give us 50% of our deposit back. We explained that we are in the middle of trying to build a house for our family. We pleaded with him to do right by us since BTB performed no work and because ASC said they would refund our money; and ASC told us to call BTB to get this refunded. ASC worked with us for nearly 2 weeks while we tried to work with the county to get a permit. Yet, they were still willing to refund our deposit when a permit was not possible to get. BTB did not do any work and was not involved in these efforts at all. Yet, they are refusing to give us our money back. When I explained our predicament, Jason from BTB rudely snapped back with "if you want me to I can go back to our policy" as a threat to not give us any of our money back. At this point we relented and asked him to give us 50% of our deposit back. American Steel has been wonderful to work with. If you are able to buy directly through American Steel, I recommend you do so. Do not, under any circumstances, give your deposit to any dealer; especially Beyond The Backyard. They provide no service and no benefit to the customer. Beyond The Backyard has inserted themselves as an unnecessary and unreliable middle man into this process. They add the risk of you losing your deposit if there is a permitting issue. If you give your deposit directly to American Steel, you will be protected if the worst should happen. Make sure you are speaking directly to American Steel and that your deposit is going directly to them. They will take care of you. We do not recommend that anyone ever do business with Beyond The Backyard under any circumstances. They were rude, unprofessional, evasive, deceptive, disrespectful, and borderline criminal in their behavior towards us. read more