Lori's Upholstery

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: The chairs were not in need of carpentry work of any kindI brought her the velvet from the seats so she could match the color correctly not simply throw them awayShe visually inspected the chairs before giving me a price of $cashThe wood restoration work was completed by another firm and paid for by me and the work was excellentIncreasing the cost by over 30% was both arbitrary and capricious Regards, [redacted]

October 26, To Whom It May Concern:In regards to the above case number, *** *** *** was a repeat customerHe knew in the past that, with the type of restorative work and reupholstering that I do, there is a chance that more work may be required of an old piece than the
original estimate to obtain a desirable resultThis was evident in a previous job I did for him on old car seats because they required extra work that was not realized at the initial estimateAn estimate for a job is just that, an estimateThe total for the work could be higher or lowerWhen he was picking up this initial work I had done for him, which he was pleased with, he asked if I could cover two antique chairs in tapestry, I gave him tapestry sample books to take alongHe never asked for the chairs to have a velvet material on themTwo months later, he brought the frames of the old chairs and pieces of the old coveringI gave him the estimate of $(nine hundred dollars)I required a $(one hundred dollar) depositI also asked him for pictures of the original chairs since all he brought were just frames and the chairs were now going to require carpentry work to build them upThe tapestry pattern he chose had a large pattern to it which requires more material to be able to effectively match the pattern around the different parts of the chairThe material he chose was $(fifty dollars) per yard so I requested another $(four hundred dollar) deposit to purchase the materialHe then also asked for gimp, tassels around the bottom edge, and antique pins like that were on the original pieceNone of these items was provided by *** ***He did not bring the $(four hundred dollars) but said I could trust him because he was a repeat customerWhen *** *** came to pick up the chairs was the first time he said that he wanted red velvet on the chairsHe hadn’t said this in the past, he never produced pictures of the original chairs, and he only asked to see tapestry samples, not red velvet samplesThe tapestry was the only agreed upon material to cover the chairs, and the additional gimp, antique pins and tasselsI completed all this work without him giving me the deposit for the material that I requested*** *** also gave me $100(one hundred dollars) less than what he said he was giving me when he picked up the chairsWhen I called him on it, he tried to blame someone else for taking it, however there wasn’t anyone else there that dayHe said he wanted a matching footrest done with the leftover material and he would bring the money when he brought the footrestHowever, on October 21, I received a check from him for the remaining balance and two days later Ireceived your letter, *** *** knew that what I had given him originally was only an estimate and not the final costSincerely,
Lori J

November 5, In my letter of October 26, to your bureau I responded to a customer complaint about two chairs I upholsteredI am now responding to the customer’s rejection of my explanation (your letter of October 28) point-by-point:1.“The chairs were not in need of carpentry work of any kind.”While customer had the wood of the chairs restored prior to bringing them to me, on October when he came to my shop we discussed that there were no back or seat supports, and in order for me to attach the upholstery I would need to employ a craftsman to create the back and seat supportsThe customer agreed to this.2.“I brought her the velvet from the seats so she could match the color correctly...”At no time did we discuss matching this velvet and using two fabrics on the chairsThe customer picked a tapestry fabric from my sample book and did not ask to look at velvet samples.3.“She visually inspected the chairs before giving me a price of $cash.”I gave him an ESTIMATE of $and accepted a check for a down payment of $ 100.4.“Increasing the cost by over 30% was both arbitrary and capricious.”During our conversation on October 7, when he returned the sample book with his fabric selection, I told him it was $50/yard and that due to the big pattern design that he picked there would be some wastage (in order to match different parts of the chairs and to make both chairs match each other.) I requested another $so I could buy the fabricHe never made this interim paymentHe said I could trust him to pay it since he was a repeat customerOn October when he came to pick up the chairs, it was the first time he mentioned he was expecting red velvet seatsI was quite shocked and told him we never discussed thisThen he inspected the chairs and said they were OKHe did not reject the jobHe took the chairs, and in fact, we agreed I would do a matching footrest with the left over material.I gave him my invoiceHe gave me a closed envelope which he said contained $and said he would pay the balance when he brought the footrestAfter he left I opened the envelope and it only contained $When I called him to tell him he was short, he accused someone of stealing $out of the envelopeOf course I should have counted the money in front of him when he gave it to me.Please note my estimate was for $900.00, not $as the customer statedSince he had made a $down payment, and since the envelope only contained $700.00, it appears he was only prepared to pay me $in total regardless of the invoice.As mentioned in my previous letter, I received a check from him on October for the balance of my invoice and two days later received his letter of complaint from you.This customer knows from past work that I’ve done for him (which he gladly accepted) that unforeseen extra work may be necessary when restoring antique furnitureThis is why an estimate is given before work is started, not a final priceIn addition, I felt it wasn’t right that he that he did not pay the interim payment of $I requested for the expensive materials he orderedNor did he supply any photographs or reference materials I requestedStill I did the work and allowed him to take the finished pieces without payment in full at the time based on our past business relationship.I regret that this customer is unhappy, but I do not feel that I owe him the difference between the estimate and the final price.Thank you for giving me this opportunity to tell my side of the story.Sincerely,Lori J

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
The chairs were not in need of carpentry work of any kindI brought her the velvet from the seats so she could match the color correctly not simply throw them awayShe visually inspected the chairs before giving me a price of $cashThe wood restoration work was completed by another firm and paid for by me and the work was excellentIncreasing the cost by over 30% was both arbitrary and capricious
Regards,
*** ***