Linoleum & Carpet City, Inc.

Review: The business was asked to bid on carpeting for my rental - I live in another state. [redacted] personally brought five samples to show the property manager, two were immediately discarded as too light in color for a rental, but [redacted] tried to convince the property manager that they were more affordable - the property manager (and [redacted]) agreed that they were too light for the rental. [redacted] was notified of our interest in having his company take the contract and a picture with three carpet samples was sent to him indicating we had an interest in the lightest of the three pictured. He responded asking for clarification on which one, describing the picture and the samples in relationship to feet showing in the picture. We responded with the one we chose - and he sent a contract with the installation costs.

Half was paid up front and work began. The property manager stopped back after one day of work was completed and instead of the carpet selected, they installed one of the two that everyone (including [redacted]) thought was too light for a rental. The carpet installed was not one of the ones in the picture of three that [redacted] asked for clarification on the day before, but instead, one of the two lighter ones. [redacted] then tried to convince me on the phone that I was mistaken and it was the one we agreed on - so I sent him the pictures of the installed carpet and the one ordered.

He called me back and told me that I was correct, he was wrong, and offered to sell me the installed carpet at a bargain price. When I told him we wanted the one I asked for in the picture a day earlier, he told me he didn't have the carpet in stock. We had agreed on and contracted for a specific color carpet (although I wouldn't know if the carpet color codes in the invoice were for the ones I picked or not). I was upset about the fact he contracted for work he couldn't do and then [redacted] told me he couldn't see the pictures on this "dumb" phone. (However, if he couldn't see the pictures, he wouldn't have been able to ask for clarification on which one in the picture, he wouldn't have had any reason to change his mind from telling me I was wrong and we were installing the one we agreed on.)

Based on the conversations with the property manager and [redacted] over the phone, it was clear this was not a casual mistake, but a definite attempt to deceive. [redacted] had been trying to move the cheaper, lighter carpet in a clear bait-and-switch. In addition, his bid was to remove the old carpeting and instead, they put the carpeting into a dumpster I brought in for other waste.

This clearly deceptive act will cost me at least one or two more weeks of rent on the property while I have to wait for him to pull the old carpet and get someone else out to bid, contract, and install new carpet.Desired Settlement: Full refund of all charges, removal of all installed carpet, removal of old carpet from dumpster. For every day that the house is not prepared (all of the carpet already installed removed) for the next installers to work, I expect 1/31 of $1200 ($38.71/day) that I would have gotten in rent while waiting for them to rectify their mistake. I'm one of the most forgiving people and willing to work with anyone on mistakes - this was clearly an attempt at fraud.

Business

Response:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We agree that the carpeting installed was incorrect. We disagree with the customers characterization that the mistake was deliberate or fraudulent.

The carpeting was removed the same day that the customer notified us of the mistake (Saturday, October 4th) and the credit of the customer’s deposit of $2,550.00 was processed at our terminal on Monday October 13th.

If we can amicably resolve this complaint we agree to reimburse the customer for the costs associated with the having the dumpster emptied by the dumpster provider.

Warm Regards,

[redacted], CFE

Linoleum & Carpet City, Inc.

###-###-####

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business' response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory. The business may reject the idea the characterization of this transaction as being fraudulent, but it was clear that Mr. [redacted] lied to me on the phone - either to cover gross incompetence on their part, or in an effort to switch the carpet offered during contract and the one they installed a mere 36 hours later. I will send the business information on the cost of the dumpster once emptied.

I dealt with [redacted] on the purchase of high end carpet three years ago. [redacted] was very pleasant during the sale and installation of this carpet and he stated that this is carpet that the Davenport Hotel uses.
After a short time we started to have problems with the installation and carpet fibers pulling out. Mr [redacted] assured me that the seams would blend in over time and the shedding of fibers would stop. Approximately a year after installation the problem was still continuing so I contacted Mr. [redacted] again, Mr. [redacted] came out to my home to investigate the problems again and told me he would contact the manufacturer. It took nearly two years, after repeated calls to Mr. [redacted] to get a answer. During this process Mr. [redacted] was very evasive and hard to get a hold of, he made appointments and would not show up on several occasions. I finally got a letter hand carried to me by Mr. [redacted] stating that the manufacturer would not stand behind its product, and neither would Linoleum & Carpet City, Inc. The manufacturer stated that the problems I am experiencing with their product is normal. This I would expect from a cheap carpet not an expensive high end carpet. Be cautious of dealing with this company. I would think that a reputable and ethical company would take care of their customers regardless of what the manufacturer's song and dance was.