When George and Mary agreed to buy carpet from a large carpet retailer, they thought they had it all planned out perfectly. They thought they knew what they were doing. They took their time and looked at lots of samples and visited several carpet dealers before they made their final choice. For several years they 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 George and Mary was about to turn into a costly 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 pets through the years had taken its toll on their existing carpet and padding. There were several "bad" areas around the house where their old cat urinated and nothing they tried could remove the stains and odor. Their cat had recently passed away from old age so they thought the time was right to get new carpet.

They visited several carpet stores around town and finally found the perfect color and style they were looking for. The total price was 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. Their salesperson said that it would take about 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 that night was delivered pizza and in the morning breakfast would just be doughnuts and coffee.

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. "Your carpet didn't get put on the truck for some reason. 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 has to schedule another day off next week too. Next week George had to move the furniture back but again but he also had to be out of town for a few days that week so he had to move out the furniture two days before the carpet was re-scheduled to be installed. Again he had to cover it with plastic to be sure it didn't get rained on.

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. George had already left for work by this time but 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. 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 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 and she 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 arrives. 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 very angry and frustrated, to make things worse the carpet installer leaves by 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 work 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 showed up and finished the job but the new carpet did 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 would be even worse. Don't become a victim of unscrupulous carpet retailers. Learn how to buy carpet wisely from a 30-year carpet expert. 

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