Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We requested a consultation from Stephanie in regards to our kitchen reno and some color/rug suggestions for our living room. We pd her $162.00 on 12/1/21 which was $150.00 dollars and 12.00 tax for her initial consultation. We had a plan of what we wanted to do in our kitchen and some renderings from ***** (all new kitchen plan) that we provided her with. She measured our kitchen and said that she would give us a quote to do a rendering using our existing cabinets. We were interested in her quote and how to use our existing cabinets in our space, and discussed with Stephanie that if we pd her for the rendering then the cabinet installer could use that drawing to install the cabinets. She assured us it would. Stephanie provided us with a quote for the rendering and some consultation on paint colors and rug choices. Her estimate was 800.00 for the kitchen drawings which would include paint selection (1 hr) , product sourcing (3-5 hrs), implementation (2 hrs) and $300.00 dollars for the product selection and ordering of rugs and other home decor (6 hrs). We paid her the deposit on 12/15/21 of 610.00 which included a cc fee. We had to return her initial product back to her a few times for wrong measurements, so Stephanie returned to measure the space again. Her final rendering was still off by 2 in on one wall, and 29 in on another. At this point it was clear that she wasn't experienced with her craft and that her rendering would not provide us with the agreed upon product to install the cabinets. We confronted her by email and asked to adjust the final bill. she then retracted and said that she only provided concepts. We do not feel it is fair to charge someone to measure if you are not going to provide accuracy. We gave her the concept and asked for a drawing. We were not able to use the drawing and had to hire someone else to complete the project. She is billing us for her time and travel and drawings that are not usable. We are asking for a refund.

  Business response

  04/07/2022

  I took on a design job for ****** ******* on December 15^th. I did an initial in-home consultation that is a flat fee of $150, which was discounted for friends/family, my normal charge is $200. I did the consult and took measurements only of the living room, dining room and breakfast nook. I did not take measurements of the kitchen during that initial consultation. ****** had given me drawings from a previous contractor from ********* to which I could not make sense out of. ****** had not decided during the initial consultation, which services she would be interested in. Once I gave her my proposal and estimate, she decided to accept the estimate and move forward with design renderings for the kitchen. She signed a design contract with me that clearly laid out my services, pricing and fee schedule. My husband was with me during both the consultation and the next visit, which was to measure the kitchen space. I made it clear that my design drawings and renderings were conceptual and that final measurements will and should be made by a kitchen designer/cabinet maker. My husband was witness to that conversation.

  After the measurements were completed, I began work on the design renderings and drawings which included conceptual hand drawings as well as 2D and 3D design. Leslie, her husband and I had a long zoom call about the design and adjusted multiple times cabinet placement and sizes during that zoom call. Many adjustments were made, they weren’t sure what they wanted and where they wanted to place certain cabinets. I made more than the 2 revisions that were included in her estimate but did not charge her for the additional ones.

  A retainer of 50% was required to begin the job, which was $594, which she chose to pay by credit card. Per my contract I do charge an additional 2.9% processing fee if the client chooses to go that route of payment. To address her complaint about charging for travel, that is in my contract that I do so. 

  On Jan 30^th I received an email from ****** laying out some concerns regarding my drawings and that she was requesting adjustment of her final bill. I responded to her email addressing her concerns and offered to fix the situation and give her a discount on her final bill. I never received an email response back. I did however receive a text message to which I asked her again if a discount and/or correction of the drawing would be considered. Please see attached email conversation as well as email correspondence. I have also attached her contract, estimate and invoice that was not paid.

  After that I never heard back from her. She never responded to the invoices I sent out and then on March 22^nd I received a letter from BBB stating there was a complaint made. This is my response to that complaint. She has never requested a refund but refused to pay the final amount for my time and services. I have investigated collection agencies as well as spoke to lawyers about small claims courts. I have not made any decisions in that regard yet.

  Thank you for your time and please don’t hesitate to call with any questions that may arise in this matter.

  Sincerely,

  Stephanie N**** – Repurposed Interiors

  
  

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