For several years George and Mary Watson had been saving up to buy the perfect carpet now that their kids were all
grown and out on their own. What was supposed to be an exciting event for them was about to turn into a costly
carpet nightmare.
It was early April when George and Mary decided to start shopping for new
carpet for their three-bedroom split-level home. Raising three kids and several
dogs and cats through the years had taken its toll on their existing carpet and padding.
There were several "bad" areas around the house where their favorite cat
had accidents and nothing they tried could remove the odor. Their cat had
recently passed away from old age so they thought the time was right to replace
their old carpet.
They visited several carpet stores around town and finally found the perfect
color and style Mary was looking for. The total price was quite a bit higher than
they had hoped but they were getting tired from looking at dozens of colors and
styles and were eager make their final choice. The salesperson said that it
would take about two or three weeks for their carpet to arrive.
George and Mary's new carpet was scheduled for installation on May 5th. On
the afternoon of May 4th George had his two sons come over to help him move all
the furniture out of the way so the carpet could be installed the next day. Most
of the larger furniture had to be moved outside on the deck and some placed into
the garage. The threat of rain forced them to buy plastic sheeting to cover
everything put outside so it wouldn't get wet. The kitchen and main bath were
filled with smaller items so dinner tonight would have to be a delivered pizza.
The carpet installers were supposed to show up first thing in the morning but
as of 9am they had not shown up. Finally about 10:00 am Mary decided to call the
carpet store to find out what was going on. The store manager put her on hold
for a few minutes and when he returned he asked her "Didn't someone call
you last week? "No!" Mary replied. "For some reason, your carpet didn't get put on
the freight truck. Someone was supposed to call you last week and
reschedule your installation. I'm very sorry!" the manager told her,
"The manufacturer says your carpet should arrive here by the 12th."
Now George had to move all the furniture back inside until next week. Mary
had already taken today day off but now she needs to schedule another day off next
week. George would be out of town on the 12th.
The Carpet store called Mary on the 11th to say that their carpet had arrived
and the installer would be out first thing in the morning. The installer finally
showed up at 9:30 am with their carpet. Mary was very excited to finally be getting her new carpet installed.
The installer looked around the house for a few minutes and then told Mary that
there would be some additional installation fees and charges that were not
anticipated. The installation
charge was only supposed to be $199 for the whole job but there were other
add-ons and extras beyond the scope of their "basic" installation
charge. There was an extra charge for the stairs, tack strip replacement and
transition metals, an extra fee for removing the old carpet and pad with pet
stains, and removing and replacing 3 closet bi-fold doors. The additional cost
for installation would be almost $300 more than they were originally quoted and
now Mary was stuck paying for it. The installer wanted the check before he would
begin working. Mary reluctantly agreed to pay the additional installation
charges and wrote the check.
The carpet installer and his two helpers began to remove the old carpet and
padding. They worked so fast that dust was flying everywhere. They replaced some
damaged tack strip and soon the new padding was being installed. Mary tried to
stay out of their way but there were not many places she could go. She managed
to get into a spot in the kitchen and sat on the coffee table and read a book.
Around noon, Mary offered to go out and bring back hamburgers and drinks for the
guys as a kind gesture. She also wanted to be sure they finished the job that day
so she wouldn't have to take another day off from work. As the afternoon rolled
on it was becoming apparent that the job would not be finished in one day. Her
excitement began to fade.
About 3pm the installer approached Mary and told her that there was not
enough carpet to finish two of the bedrooms, including the master bedroom and
that the carpet measurements were miscalculated. He said that he had already
called the store and more carpet would be ordered. The store manager called Mary
and told her that they would have to order another 15 yards of carpet in order
to finish the job. It would be another three weeks to get it and there would be
more fees and charges once the additional carpet arrived. The manager asks Mary
to approve the additional charges and authorize payment with her credit card.
Mary has no choice but to pay for the additional carpet needed and an additional
carpet installation charge of $225 for the installers to come back out and
finish the job. By this point, Mary was getting very angry and frustrated, to make
things worse the carpet installer leaves at 4pm and has not finished the stairs,
the upper hallway and two bedrooms and he won't be back for three weeks.
When George gets home from his business trip he quickly learns about the day’s events
and becomes quite upset too. He tries to call the carpet store to complain but
it is too late. He spends the next two hours moving furniture back into the
rooms that have been completed but because the master bedroom is not done he
cannot set up their king-size bed. They end up sleeping on a double bed the
guest bed in the smallest of their three bedrooms. For the next three weeks they
cannot walk around the house without shoes because there are sharp nails exposed
on the tack strips in several areas where the carpet is not yet installed,
including the stairs that lead to the bedrooms. Stepping on these exposed nails
barefoot would be very painful and damaging to their feet.
Three weeks go by and now the problem for George and Mary gets worse. The
additional 15 yards of carpet finally arrives on time but it is not the exact
same color (dye lot) as the carpet they originally ordered. The installer shows
up and does finish the job but the new carpet does not match the carpet from three
weeks earlier.
Mary calls the store to complain and they tell her there is
nothing they can do. "It is the nature of the business" she is told.
George and Mary are still unhappy with their new carpet. They feel cheated,
overcharged, lied to and scammed. They have made numerous calls to the carpet
store and they do not return their calls. George and Mary thought they knew
enough to buy new carpet. They thought they were doing everything right. They
were wrong.
(This is a very common story that thousands of
consumers will endure when buying carpet. All these problems could easily have
been avoided.)
Luckily George and Mary did buy a good quality carpet and it is holding up
very well. Had they ordered a different carpet their problems could be even
worse. Don't become a victim of unscrupulous carpet retailers. Learn how to buy
carpet wisely from a 30-year carpet expert. Don't let this happen to you!
