ComplaintsforSimply Floors

• Initial Complaint

  05/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased carpet for our house from Simply Floors in May 2019. We had doubts about the work of the installer at the time but this was our first experience having carpet installed and we did not have anything to compare it to. We had to have the installer come back shortly thereafter to make repairs. Within a year, we had bubbling in the carpet throughout the upstairs. We contacted Simply Floors and the same installer came out to stretch the carpet in June 2020. He spent what we felt was a minimal amount of time and only fixed a couple of the areas where bubbling was occurring. ** December 2020, we reached out again because the bubbling had gotten worse and was happening in more areas. I emailed with **** and he said it was unusual to have so many issues, especially in such a short period of time and agreed to have a different installer come out to take a look and see if there were manufacturing issues with the carpet itself. A different installer came out in January 2021 and stretched the worst areas; he did not comment on whether there was a manufacturing issue. There were still areas where the carpet was bubbling but we decided to let it go. However, throughout 2022 and especially in the last few months, the bubbling has gotten worse. We reached out to Simply Floors again by phone and email in April 2023 but did not hear back until we asked for an update. At that time, ***** told ** that they were swamped, had been out of the office, and had a lot of high-priority deadlines right now. We are extremely frustrated with our carpet as well as the service which we have received. We never received information regarding the warranty for our carpet. We feel like the company is not interested in standing behind its product and service or in making this right.

  

  Business response

  05/08/2023

  I personally spoke with **************** at length about his carpeting.  He sent me photos.  I told him we could not address this right away as we were swamped and had a lot of business travel coming up.  At that conversation he said that was fine with not having a quick response. Approximately 1-2 weeks later he called my office when I was on an extended call and insisted on holding to speak to me.  He was frustrated with waiting for me as I was not on a quick call.  He was therefore rude to my staff after holding, even though it was per his request.  He also emailed me and I responded before I left for the day.  A wrinkling issue is not typically an urgent matter.  It is also not under warranty for wrinkling 4 years after the installation.  We have done two additional service calls at our cost, after the installation even though we had no obligation to do so as both more than a year after an installation.  I only promised to have my husband call to see if he could help troubleshoot the wrinkling issues.  Wrinkling after a year is always a site related issue regarding traffic, wear and tear or absent or improper carpet cleaning.  We will reach out to **************** again to discuss.  Making no promises for warranty repairs, as they do not apply after 4 years.  We are happy to restretch his carpet again for a fee and can give him a quote to do so.  Depending on site conditions, this may or may not be a long term fix. 

  Customer response

  05/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 20029510
  
  I am rejecting this response because we have had issues with the carpet from the time it was installed and wrinkling was evident within months and has been ongoing. We initally offered to pay but were told that was not necessary and the issue would be corrected, whatever course of action needed to be taken. We were told that this could be caused by a quality issue with the carpet because of the amount of wrinkling we were seeing in a short period of time. The company failed to evaluate and/or follow up on its evaluation of the carpet. We never received information about the warranty and have requested it numerous times. We have sought information and assistance numerous times since the issue began. At this point, we do not feel comfortable having this company in our home and will pursue our own remedy. We would like to have a copy of the warranty that should have been provided to ** from the time of purchase.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business response

  05/18/2023

  My response to the consumer complaint.

  1. We did not hear from the consumer about the wrinkling until May of 2020.  The carpet was installed in June of 2019.  So almost a year had passed before we had any mention of a wrinkling concern.
  2. We sent an installer out at that time to look at the issue and he restretched a few areas as a goodwill gesture.  He went back one other time after that but there were no further issues.
  3. Homeowner called again in December 2020.  We again sent a different installer out to restretch the carpet.  We stretched it again January 2021.
  4. We next heard from the homeowner April of 2023, more than 2 years from the time we last did a restretch and nearly 4 years from the original installation.  At this point installers have been out 3 times to restretch the carpet.  This indicates a site condition causing the wrinkling, not an installation error. **************** told me himself that the problem was moving around.  This indicates that he has site conditions contributing to the wrinkling and we fixed them for him, and they continued to occur in other areas of the house due to wear and tear patterns or other factors in the home.
  5. I personally spoke with **************** and told them we could not get to this immediately but that I would have my husband call to discuss possible reasons why is carpet would keep wrinkling.  He agreed that it was not urgent. I also informed him that we would be traveling it could be some time before we could circle back.  Again, he agreed.  I spoke with him on 4/20/23 and he filed a complaint on 5/7.

   

  I completely dispute that this was a problem from the beginning because the homeowner did not bring it up for nearly a year.  We also have no record of the homeowner asking for any warranty information numerous times.   We have gone over and above for this client.  They do indeed have a copy of the installation warranty which is contained in their original contract.  I have included a screenshot of that section of the contract.  We had attempted to reach this customer after the ******************** complaint was filed to make one more goodwill effort to resolve the issue by sending an installer out yet again to restretch the carpet, even though this is well outside our stated warranty period.  To date, we have not had a response in our efforts to schedule.  Wrinkling of carpeting is usually due to wear and tear, moisture in the carpet or other site conditions that cannot be controlled by our company. 

  Since the customer as stated in the complaint that they do not feel comfortable having this company in their home and will pursue their own remedy, we feel there is little for ** to do except close out this follow up ticket permanently. 

  Here is a screenshot of the warranty information contained in the contract .

  I am also attaching the carpet warranty for the carpet they purchased. This warranty document is available online with a simple ****** search, so the ******* could have gotten it at any time in the last 4 years.   **************** told me personally that they have not had the carpet cleaned in 4 years.  This voids any manufacture warranty as expressly disclosed to the *******. 

  Thank you,

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

  Owner-CFO

  Simply Floors

  Office: ************

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

  Customer response

  05/20/2023

   
  Complaint: 20029510
  

  We reject the response from the business. When we filed this complaint, our goal was to obtain the carpet warranty information that was never provided to ** and to explore potential resolutions to the carpet wrinkling we are experiencing. The business, instead, has attempted to rehash the series of events but has not been complete or entirely accurate in doing so.

  We did contact our salesperson shortly after installation to express our concerns with the installer and with the installation but did not hear back. 

  Within a year we were seeing bubbling. The same installer that installed the carpet came out and spent a very short amount of time "fixing" the wrinkling. There were still issues. Since this was during the pandemic, we were not entirely comfortable having someone in our home again but the issues continued and we reached out again later in 2020. When we were finally able to connect with the business, and spoke with ****, he said he would send a different installer out to look at potential manufacturing issues and restrech the areas of concern. He also stated that it was unusal to have these issues over and over again. The installer worked on the areas we were concerned about. We followed up to ask whether there were any findings about the carpet manufacturing but never heard back. We were informed that improper cleaning would void the warranty and asked the business to recommend a cleaning company but they never responded. At this point, we were afraid to do anything to the carpet that would make it worse. We were trying to balance keeping our family safe during the pandemic (and limiting people in our home) with dealing with the issues we continued to have with the carpet.

  The bubbling has been occurring and worsening in the same areas that were always areas of concern, mostly around our closets. These are not high traffic areas. 

  We are troubled with the business's response. We expressed our concerns with the installation shortly after the installation. The business has a history of not responding to messages, emails, and phone calls. Further, by now stating that impromper cleaning as well as lack of cleaning voids the warranty absolves the business of any potential liablity. 

  The business did not provide the warranty that we requested. Instead, they provided a small section of a document that we have no record receiving nor signing. The document that we signed only addresses our responsibility in preparing for the installation. The invoice we received does not have information about the carpet manufacturer and therefore a "simple ****** search" for the carpet warranty was impossible.

  We contacted the company in April *********************************************************************************************************************************** the carpet manufacturer. We felt that two weeks was ample time to respond. We disagree that we were informed that they were traveling and asking to wait on hold was not rude.

  ******** left a message on ******'s phone on May 16 at 3:30 pm and said she would try our other number, *****'s, but never did. We had an emergency this week and did not have a chance to respond before the business filed their response on May 18.

  We have consulted with another company about restretching the problem areas. They noted that carpet was not installed properly. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My wife and I had an expansion and refinish of our hardwood floors in February of 2021. We paid $7,500 for this renovation, plus an additional $800 to get our baseboards refinished due to the installers lack of attention when executing the job. Our sales rep ********* agreed to have our existing floors sanded down and re-finished along with an addition of hardwoods to our living room and office. It has been 1 year since the renovation and the stain has worn off in between the hardwoods and now we have a mixture of bare wood floors and dark stained floors. While completing the expansion, they chipped off the entire end of a plank in the middle of our walkway and stained over it. We questioned this as well and were told it is our responsibility to pay for this repair. My wife and I agreed to pay for this even though it was no fault of our own. When we originally spoke with our sales rep she informed us that our existing wood floors have micro beveled edges and we were assured that after a proper sanding and stain the aesthetic would not be impacted. It is now vividly evident that these beveled edges were not properly sanded down due to the discoloration of our floors. We were contacted by a manager at Simply floors and he did not accept responsibility but instead blamed the humidity in our Colorado home and suggested a full home humidifier. We were referred to Simply Floors by Elk Stone basements who did a fantastic job on our basement, it is a shame that Simply Floors and their employees do not have the same attention to detail and certainly not the same customer service. We are seeking a solution to this issue.

  

  Business response

  02/10/2022

  Customer reached out on February 8, 2022 and complained about putty showing and gaps in the flooring re-finished on March 8, 2021.  Customer was specifically complaining that the gaps were not previously present, and the natural wood color is showing. The issue did not occur until nearly 12 months after the installation was completed.
  After review of the photos sent by the homeowner, it became immediately clear that what the homeowner was experiencing dimensional change due to inconsistent humidity.  This occurs very commonly in ******** in the winter, and we have had an unusually dry winter this year.
  

  Humidity is not something that Simply Floors can control, we followed the proper industry standard for preparing the wood for acclimation and installation and did not have a complaint about gapping or shrinkage until recently. We explained to the homeowner that what they are experiencing is normal for wood in ********, and that the only resolution to the issue was to install a full house humidifier, so as to maintain stable humidity in the home year-round.  Customer was informed if this recommendation in writing prior to the start of work.  They were notified that failure to install a whole house humifier would void any warranty with the floor.  See text copied from signed contract below.
  

  This is a naturally occurring issue that happens in floors in ********, a dry inconsistent climate. ******** is considered a high dessert climate, therefore, humidity is an unpredictable issue with solid wood floors in the state of ********. This issue is out of our control. Natural solid wood has natural shrinkage and growth between the different seasons as the humidity level changes, causing the homeowner to see parts of the floor that were not exposed originally. Here is an explanation from the ********************************** about humidity and wood: Wood is a hygroscopic material, which means that it will swell and shrink as it absorbs and loses moisture. This will happen as a direct result of the environment it is placed in. The environmental factors that affect wood flooring are the temperature and relative humidity of the surrounding air.
  

  The ********************************** also recommends installation of a whole house humidifier to maintain wood floors: Keep in mind that wood flooring is constantly exposed to both long-term (seasonal) and short-term (daily) fluctuations in relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding air. This means that it is always undergoing slight changes in moisture content. These changes are usually gradual, and short-term fluctuations tend to only influence the surface of the floors. Moisture content changes can be slowed, but not entirely prevented, by protective coatings.Maintaining consistent temperature and humidity levels year-round by use of humidification/dehumidification systems will minimize and potentially alleviate noticeable changes altogether
  

  This is why our contract signed by the homeowner states the following:
  ? Shrinkage and expansion:Customer understands real wood is subject to humidity fluctuations. Shrinkage and expansion is expected and will NOT be a warranty issue. This is expected and normal in real wood products. Any repair visits relating to shrinkage will be charged for a trip charge at the discretion of SF. According to WFCA and the ***** ******** is considered a high desert climate and recommends humidifiers with all-natural wood products, in order to minimize the effects of humidity fluctuations in the home.
  ? Whole house humidifier:Customer understands that a whole house humidifier must be installed with any real wood floor, either engineered or solid, in order to maintain any warranty on real wood products.
  

  Regarding the claim of baseboard issues, our contract also states: 
  ? Walls and Paint: Customer acknowledges, as with any remodeling project, scuffs and abrasions on walls and trim may occur. The customer is responsible for any touch *** that are necessary on any painted, stained or papered surfaces. SF will not be responsible for any damage to baseboards.
  

  The final point is that we did not install the customers flooring throughout his home.  It was installed previously by a builder. Simply Floors added a small amount of wood flooring, then refinished previously existing flooring to match.  It was a different color previous to the re-finish and likely this effect occurred before but was not noticeable due to the lighter color of the finish.  The photos show this issue is occurring throughout floor in areas in which Simply Floors did not install.
  

  Simply Floors cannot control the weather and the humidity in the home. In addition, the homeowner signed the contract which included written notice of all expectations regarding installation, potential for shrinkage, humidity,and baseboards expectations, on February 4, 2021. Therefore, no financial concessions will be made.  Simply Floors has fully fulfilled the contract for this project.  

  Customer response

  02/10/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. We have reached out to multiple companies and have received similar responses regarding the gaps in our floors.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩