ComplaintsforFlooring Market, Inc

• Initial Complaint

  08/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hi,I ordered flooring from Flooring Market on June 22nd, 2022. Order #********. I recieved the flooring on June 30th. I immediately opened one box. Upon doing so I noticed instantly that the flooring was not what I viewed in store or my sample that I had in my home for 2weeks. The pieces were mismatched w/a lot of orange undertones. ( I attached photos, the store sample is the square brown solid piece, the mismatched layed out flooring is what I received) I only opened one box for fear of returns. I do not believe this flooring is as advertised or shown. Not 100% Customer satisfaction. I emailed the company right away, they have been prompt with their responses and I do feel that they have not tried to ignore me. Their response is I was sent the correct flooring that I ordered, and it was a high variance floor. They offered to send 5 boxes of flooring and I could piece together the colors I liked. I told them this was unacceptable and I should not have to settle on my flooring. I sent them photos of the sample I viewed, and photos of the flooring I received. The sample is very brown with black undertones, I received very orange pieces and yellow undertones. This is not acceptable. They responded they viewed the photos and consulted with their vendors, and again I was sent what I ordered. After several emails, I was contacted by phone after a discussion of my unsatisfactory with the flooring and that I should not have to settle by piecemealing my floor together. While I believe she was polite I could her frustration with the situation. She concluded with the flooring will be picked up by ***** and I will receive a refund. NOT once in our conversation verbally or through email was I told it would be a partial refund. I attached a photo of my partial refund, they said it is there return policy of a 30% restocking fee, also I pay for return shipping. This not 100% satisfactory, the flooring was NOT as seen or advertised in my sample view.

  Business response

  08/24/2022

  Hello,

  
  This customer ordered 42 cartons of prefinished hardwood flooring. They opened one carton and decided that they did not like the floor. This is an actual hardwood floor, so variation is expected between planks and cartons.
  We shared the customer's photos and concerns with the manufacturer, and they determined that the customer received the correct product, and we agreed. 

  
  With an actual wood floor, it is normal to have some pieces that the customer may choose not to install. The National Wood Flooring Association standards state that a 5% appearance tolerance is acceptable - it's normal to have to cull out some boards.

  
  Customer satisfaction is important to us. As a courtesy, we offered to give the customer five additional cartons of hardwood, worth $675.15, and ship it to them for free ($200+ cost to us), so they could have a wider selection of boards to choose from. 
  Our vice-president of sales called the customer to discuss this. They didn't want additional wood; they didn't want to open more cartons and just wanted to return the wood.

  
  The return was handled as described in our terms and conditions that the customer agreed to when they made the purchase.
  The bottom line is that there was nothing wrong with this floor, the customer was offered more material at no cost to her, and they chose to return it.
  
  ...

  Customer response

  08/31/2022

   
  Complaint: 17661482
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The sample I viewed multiple times was not what I received. the vice president of sales told me I could have viewed an old sample, this is not my fault. it looked nothing like what I viewed. I went down to the store and looked again to compare it to what I ordered. Even the sales associate was very surprised at the magnitude of difference in the flooring. 

  While I am aware of the variance in flooring, and I was expecting some, this is very unacceptable. I opened one box, because it says all boxes must be factory sealed. There was an offer of sending more boxes at a free amount, I knew it was just going to not look appropriate. I explained I should not have to piece a floor together, spending this amount of money and not being satisfied is not customer satisfaction as advertised on your company website. 

  Correspondence through email and verbal communication over the phone I was never informed if I returned the unacceptable product, I would be charged a restocking fee. The vice president of sales said, "the product will be picked up, and you will be refunded" she than asked if I had chosen other flooring, I replied "NO, my husband is not happy with the situation, and we are putting a pin in it for now" her reply was "why it's not your fault" I understood this as the flooring was not as seen or advertised. 

  I have attached photos of the mismatched flooring to show the unacceptable flooring, and the extreme difference in what I viewed, photos of their customer satisfaction from their company website, and where it states all boxes must be factory sealed. 

  The bottom line is there is something wrong with this floor, it is not as shown! If the store samples are "Old" than they need to be removed from the stores. So, this unacceptable flooring does not happen to another customer. 
  
  Sincerely,

  
  *********************

  Business response

  09/23/2022

  Hello,
  
  Customer satisfaction is our priority, so we offered to send the customer $675 worth of additional ******************** at no charge to them.
  
  Hardwood flooring manufacturers are allowed up to 5% tolerance for pieces that *** have defects or not be an acceptable appearance. That is why it is normal for homeowners to order 10% extra hardwood flooring because there *** be 5% that the homeowner doesn't want to use. The manufacturer, Paramount Flooring, states in their installation instructions, "Grade out any pieces with visible defects and stop the installation should a reoccurring problem be found, (over the 5% allowed by industry practices)." The instructions are at www.paramountflooring.com. The customer only opened 1 of 42 cartons, 2% of the flooring they ordered. We offered to send them, for free, five additional cartons, an extra 12%, so they could cull out any boards they didn't want to use on the floor. 
  
  The customer stated they didn't want to open additional cartons because of the return policy. They never mentioned that to us. We asked them to open more cartons, so more opened cartons would have been okay with us. They refused to do that.
  
  The customer is aware of our return policy since they sent a picture of it. However, they did not send a picture of the following paragraph outlining the restocking fees and shipping charges for a return. I have attached a picture of the next section. 
  
  I'm sorry that the customer is unhappy with the outcome. We offered them the choice, and they chose to return it. We shared the photos with the manufacturer, and they determined that they received the correct product. The sample the customer is comparing it to was not ours, and I have no idea where they found it. If they think there is a problem with the sample they saw, they can take it up directly with the manufacturer at www.paramountflooring.com.
  
  For us, this matter is closed.
  
  Thank you. 

  Customer response

  09/27/2022

   
  Complaint: 17661482
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  
  

  Sending additional flooring would not have made a difference this flooring was so mismatched, there is no way it would have ever come together appropriately.  It would have looked horrible. I should not have to piece together a floor in order to get it to look somewhat acceptable. Over the phone I expressed that I did not want to open more boxes and break the shrink wrap on them. Not once did she tell me to go ahead. At this point, I had not read anything about not breaking the seal. (After all this my spouse is who showed me about not to break the seal, most recently) He actually warned me that ordering online is a scam, and not to do it. I should have listened; this has been a nightmare. I feel robbed. I have warned my friends and family to never order flooring online, especially when spending a great deal of money.

  
  

  Also, she never told me over the phone when she said the flooring would be picked up that I would be subject to a 30% restocking fee. This was never discussed. A 30% restocking fee is completely asinine.  I would settle for a refund of $1,499.00 and pay for the $500.00 in shipping, $250 each way. I was shortened $1,999.00. 

  
  

  The matter is not closed when you have an unsatisfactory product sent to a customer. A product that is not suitable for installation.  

  *********************

  Business response

  10/04/2022

  Please see out previous responses. 
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  02/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Flooring Market is not standing behind the product that they sell! On 12/30/2021 I purchased ******************** multi-width solid wood hickory toast flooring from them, totaling $8973.10 after shipping expenses. The invoice number is #********. It was delivered on 1/10/2022 to my residence. When my installer arrived to install the flooring 15 days later on 1/25/22, there were issues with the flooring that were immediately noticeable upon trying to install, including ends of flooring boards that were supposed to be same width not matching up and varying width down the same board from one end, to the middle, to the other end, causing gaps and bows. My installer said that the wood was not usable for a quality floor. He stopped after only about 40 square feet of install and we called Flooring Market. On 2/1/2022 our installer came back, took up the little flooring he had laid and tried again to lay our floor. This again proved impossible, we filed a formal claim with Flooring Market regarding the unusable flooring asking for a refund and for them to take the flooring back. We had ordered 54 boxes of flooring for a sizeable project and only 6 had been opened by the installer. It took a week before Flooring Market started doing anything with our claim (flooring convention going on). We supplied them with pictures of the problem, everything they asked for, and a full account of what the problem is. Since then, they have told us that the manufacturer is blaming us for the problem with the flooring, claiming improper acclimation, telling us there is nothing they will do. Both our installer and the flooring inspector we have contacted have said that there was nothing wrong with the conditions in which the flooring was acclimated. We paid Flooring Market, not ***********, for this flooring that we can't use. We aren't asking for a refund for flooring already installed, we are asking for a refund for uninstalled wood flooring that is defective and unusable.

  Business response

  03/16/2022

  Hello,
  Regarding Complaint ID: ********. We appreciate the customer's patience and apologize for the inconvenience. The manufacturer, LW Mountian, hired an independent flooring inspector to examine the flooring at the customer's house. The manufacturer received the inspection report today that there is a manufacturing issue with the flooring. We will arrange to return the flooring to ***********, and a refund will be issued to the customer. This matter is resolved.
  Thank you.

   

  ***************************
  C&S Flooring Group 
  FlooringMarket.com / FloorLife.com
  ************

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