We had carpet and vinyl flooring installed on September 13, 2010. After one week the carpet showed wear - track marks in hallway and other areas which vacuuming did not fix.
We had requested from the sales person a carpet that would withstand traffic and would be easy to maintain. The sales pitch we received was deceptive and high pressure. We were told the "special" would only be available for one day and we needed to pay in full that day and have it installed the following day to take advantage of the "deal". He received several phone calls from his warehouse saying they were selling it to someone else and we had to do it NOW.
When I complained to Express Flooring they told me to have the carpet steam cleaned, at my expense, to see how it looked. When I refused, based on advice from another Shaw carpet distributor, they said it wasn't their responsibility. So I contacted Shaw Industries, the carpet manufacturer, who requested the Product Name - I asked Express Flooring for this, as it wasn't on the receipt we got from them - they refused to give it to me and said they would get in touch with Shaw themselves - I guess they did because somebody sent a carpet inspector.
The inspection report said the warranty on the particular carpet, which was very low quality, did not cover our type of wear marks. They said the carpet was suitable for light traffic areas or rooms that don't see daily use. Shaw told me to go back to Express Flooring. I did that and they said they could do nothing the carpet was fine. We contacted another Shaw Distributor in our area who came and had a look at the carpet. He said it was inferior quality carpet for which they had grossly overcharged me. Express charged me $5,489.69 for carpet and vinyl worth less than $1,300.
Most importantly - the salesman never told me any of the specs of the product. or what the price per SF for the material was.....and NEVER went through the print on the back of the contract, especially the last paragraph telling you that you have the right to cancel this contract (which did call for a signature) - yet never mentionedit.They also did not give me a copy of the warranty, but told me verbally the carpet had a 20 year wear warranty.Shaw Industries supplied a generic warranty, at my request, which stated the type of wear showing on our carpet was not covered.I filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau but they could do nothing.Express Flooring told them the carpet was high quality and performing as expected and that I was experiencing buyer's remorse. Express told me they only use very high quality, commercial grade, flooring - stuff left over that their "high end clients" paid double what we would pay. Would not give me a breakdown of the costs (explained that they just give you one price "so as not to confuse you. I called to cancel this order the same day I signed the contract and was told by the salesman, Neil Hoffman, that it was too late the check had already been banked. |