Home Depot laminate flooring installation rip-off! Redding California

My wife and I went to Home Depot in Redding, Ca and purchased/ordered some laminate flooring and underlayment for a new home we'd just purchased. Several weeks later Home Depot called to notify us our materials had arrived. We went to Home Depot to pick up the laminate flooring and underlayment. I loaded each of the cases of laminate into my car with the help of Greg from flooring, and another employee.

I noticed that each of the cases were wet/damp. Greg said not worry about it. He said to stack the cases no more than four high, and they'd dry out, and the laminate wouldn't be affected. We also found out the wrong underlayment had been ordered. We had to reorder the correct underlayment, at an additional cost of $600.00 +/-

We went to check on the underlayment we had ordered. We were told by an employee that he didn't know if it would be in before the install date, and he offered no assistance in the matter, except to say keep checking back. We spoke to the store manager, who said he'd ensure the underlayment was available by the installation date.

2/7/2003 We were at home when the installers arrived. Dave arrived with his son, and his son's friend (he said they were college students) to complete the installation.

No floor prep was done, as provided for in the contract. No attempt to check the sub-floor for proper level was made. Each of the guys took one bedroom, and immediately began installing the laminate.

As they were over half way done with the bedrooms, Dave mentioned that there was going to be a raised lip between the kitchen floor and the living room (essentially right down the middle of the two rooms, and very visible). I told him that wasn't what we'd wanted, and he said I needed to take that up with Home Depot, and that eliminating the raised flooring in the kitchen would be an additional cost. Dave said the raised kitchen floor would have been readily apparent to the person originally measuring for the flooring, and should have been addressed.

2/7/2003 We went to Home Depot to discuss the raised flooring problem. I told them this should have been identified during the measuring for the flooring, and that my disabled mother, who uses a walker, was staying with us, and the lip could cause difficulties for her.

We spoke to several employees/assistant managers who told us it would cost an additional $450.00 to correct the problem. I told them this was unacceptable. It was their mistake, and we shouldn't have to pay to correct their error.

I asked to speak to a manager. Tim Braun came out, and unknowingly began discussing the problem with the other employees in front of us. He initially said well if they don't like it, we'll take our materials, leave their carpet or whatever on the front lawn, refund them their money, and they can pay to have their old flooring put back in.

Tim Braun finally agreed to take care of the problem, at Home Depot's expense.

2/7/2003 We returned to the house, and spoke to Dave. They were essentially done with the bedrooms, and had begun installing the glue down laminate at the north end of the hallway.

When we walked into the bedrooms, we noticed a crackling like sound as we walked across the laminate. Initially I thought the situation would resolve itself once the entire installation was completed.

2/8/2003 The installation continued with the rest of the glue down laminate being installed in the remainder of the hallway, living room, kitchen, and dinning room.

At about 4:00 P.M. we received a telephone call from Kelly, who was the lead installer(?). He said they'd discovered some of the cases of laminate had been exposed to moisture. He said the flooring was no good, and more would have to be ordered.

When we asked to be able to see the problem, my wife was told that they would only be at the house for 10 more minutes, and wouldn't wait beyond that (the drive alone would take at least 20 minutes).

We also received a call from Home Depot. We were told 5 cases of laminate were damaged due to moisture, and would have to be replaced at our expense. The five cases were going to cost us an additional $450.00 +/-.

We went to Home Depot and spoke to Greg and an assistant manager. I explained that the moisture was present when we picked the laminate up, and Greg said it would be fine. Greg agreed, and Home Depot said they'd pay for the new laminate.

It should be noted that we were told 5 cases of laminate would be needed, and were given an estimate of what we needed to pay based on that number. However, in fact only 2 were needed, and 2 were all that Home Depot ordered. No one could tell me how the figure of 5 cases was arrived at initially. The installers blamed Home Depot, and Home Depot blamed the installers for the mistake.

During our inspection of the flooring, we again noted a crackling like sound as we walked across the laminate in the bedrooms. There were also noises heard as we walked down the hallway.

The installers didn't leave behind any of the excess laminate flooring from the bedrooms, or any of the excess underlayment, and Dave had 2 cases of the glue down laminate in his van with him we were told, when we tried to account for the reason for 5 cases being needed to complete the job, when there were only 3 cases left at our house.

Our job was left incomplete, with a section of the kitchen floor (near where the refrigerator was supposed to be, and along the cabinets in front of the sink) not installed. The underlayment was left exposed, and we couldn't put our refrigerator in the house, because of the lack of sufficient flooring in that area.

No one could provide us with an estimate on how long we could expect to wait for the replacement laminate. We were told that was completely up to the manufacturer.

When the replacement laminate arrived, and was installed by Kelly and another worker, Kelly told us the wrong moldings and transitions had been ordered. The floor was completed, but we had to wait for the moldings and transitions to come in for the job to be completed.

I brought the crackling floors in the bedrooms, and the creaking floor in the hallway to Kelly's attention. He said to give it 30 days, and if the sounds don't go away by then, they'd take a look at it.

Kelly and the other employee returned to put the moldings down. He also had to nail down several of the transitions in the bedrooms to get them to stay down.

I again talked to Kelly about the noises. When I showed him how the flooring moved and crackled in the bedrooms, especially in the bedroom located in the north west corner of the house Kelly said oh yeah, Dave told me there was an uneven floor joist in that room. I asked Kelly why something wasn't said to us about this before the installation was started. Kelly said oh, I thought Dave said he'd spoke to you guys about it. I told Kelly this was the first we'd heard about an uneven floor joist, and asked why they would install the floor over an uneven sub-floor. Kelly said if the problem continued they'd take care of it.

Kelly used pieces of cardboard from boxes in my garage to make homemade shims to place under the wall in a small section of the hallway to try to reduce the creaking noises present there.

We complained to Home Depot about the problems we were experiencing with the laminate flooring. We were told that they'd have an inspector come out to see if there were any problems.

4/16/2003 Jim A. Betts from Betts Flooring Service arrived to conduct an inspection of the laminate flooring installed in our home. Mr. Betts was a representative for Pergo, which is the manufacturer of the laminate flooring installed in our home.

5/2/2003 We called Home Depot to inquire about the status of the inspection previously conducted, and we spoke to Matt Bashaw. He told us in no uncertain terms that the report Home Depot received from Betts Flooring Service indicated no problem with the laminate flooring installed in our home, and he said nothing further would be done in the matter.

I asked if we could obtain a copy of the report submitted by Betts Flooring Service, and after some discussion with his supervisor(s), Matt Bashaw said we could obtain one.

5/5/2003 We went to Home Depot to obtain a copy of the report submitted by Betts Flooring Service. We obtained a copy from an employee named Gavin.

After briefly scanning the report, I told Gavin that it was my opinion that the report didn't indicate there wasn't a problem with the laminate flooring installed in our home. The report clearly reflected that there were no manufacturer defects with the Pergo laminate flooring. However, it stated the problem was caused by an uneven sub-floor, and the fact that some of the planks were incorrectly staggered.

I told Gavin that we paid Home Depot for a professional installation. I told him it appeared the problem was installation related.

Gavin said he'd have to talk to his supervisor(s) about the report. He asked me to return a day or two later.

5/12/2003 We returned to Home Depot and spoke to Gavin. He said the matter was referred to Tim Braun. After waiting to speak to Tim Braun, Gavin returned and said he wasn't available.

Gavin said that Tim Braun had authorized an additional inspection be completed by a company of their choosing. Gavin then said Tim Braun was offering us $600.00 to take care of the problem. Gavin said if we refused the $600.00, and then the inspection found there to be no problems, then we wouldn't get anything.

We refused the $600.00 offer, telling Gavin the problems with the laminate flooring installed in our home would cost more than $600.00 to fix. Gavin said an inspection would be ordered.

5/19/2003 We had Pam Truscott come out to do an inspection, due to the inactivity of Home Depot.

Pam Truscott verbally told us that the flooring problem was Home Depot's responsibility. However, she was very busy and wouldn't be able to complete a written report for several weeks or more. She said she could complete a written report for us later if it became necessary.

5/21/2003 - We called Home Depot to inquire about the status of the inspection. We were told by John that they were still trying to get an inspection scheduled.

6/2/2003 Ed Gamble of Ed Gamble Carpet and Laminate Flooring Inspections arrived to complete an inspection for Home Depot of the laminate flooring installed by them in our home.

7/7/2003 - We called Home Depot about the status of the inspection completed by Ed Gamble. We spoke to Rick, and were told the report was completed, and had been received by Home Depot. I asked if we could obtain a copy of the report, and after some discussion with his supervisor(s), Rick said we could obtain a copy.

The report completed by Ed Gamble stated that the installation of the laminate flooring was defective, and this was the cause of the problems we'd experienced.

7/8/2003 We contacted Home Depot to see what their response to the report completed by Ed Gamble was. We were told we'd have to discuss the matter with Tim Braun. However, he wasn't available.

I asked why we seemed to be getting the run around in this matter. I said they knew the report had been received, yet no one called to let us know. They know the results of the inspection report, yet no one was ready or willing to discuss the remedy Home Depot proposes to correct the problem.

7/28/2003 We called Home Depot to try to speak with Tim Braun. Diana said he was currently on vacation.

8/13/2003 - We called Home Depot to try to speak with Tim Braun. Tim Braun asked what it would take to make us happy, and resolve this matter. I told him that due to the way this matter has been handled thus far, I have no confidence in Home Depot, or the installers who completed the installation of the laminate flooring in our home. I told him I'd like to receive a full refund, and said they could come and get their product.

Tim Braun offered to have the installers come out and remove the flooring, and once we had the sub-floor repaired they'd reinstall the snap together laminate originally used in the bedroom, and put new glue down laminate in the rest of the house.

I told Tim Braun that I didn't trust that the installers were capable of doing a competent job, based upon all of the identified problems to date. He told me he presently didn't have any other installers available to complete the job.

Tim Braun said he had signed affidavits from Kelly and Dave that they had notified us prior to installing the floor that the sub-floor was uneven, and that installing it without first repairing the problem would result in problems with the laminate flooring.

I told Tim Braun that Home Depot's ability to appropriately respond to any problems encountered has been less than adequate thus far. I told him that based on our dealings with Home Depot in this matter, I didn't believe that any potential future problem(s) could or would be resolved in an acceptable manner. I told him that I didn't have any confidence in Home Depot, or its ability to competently take care of any problems.

Tim Braun said he'd check with the District Manager to see what could be done. He said he'd call me back on or about 8/20/2003.

8/20/2003 No contact from Tim Braun

9/22/2003 - I called Home Depot and spoke to Tim Braun. Still no definitive answer as to my request for a refund. Tim Braun said he was traveling to Sacramento, Ca on 9/23/2003 and would speak to the District Manager about the problem.

9/29/2003 Spoke to Cathriana at Home Depot to see what if anything Tim Braun had heard. Tim Braun was unavailable.

10/2/2003 Tim Braun called and left a message saying we needed to contact 800)553-3199 and speak to them to continue working on resolving the problem.

I spoke to Phyllis D. who didn't know why I was told to contact a Customer Service Representative, but she filed a complaint for me Complaint #724629. I was told a Customer Service Rep would contact me within a couple of days.

10/16/2003 We called Customer Service to see what if anything was being done. I was told that Linda Bowden was working on it, and was supposed to be contacting Tim Braun today.

10/21/2003 Called Cust. Serv. Message left for Linda Bowden

10/22/2003 Called Customer Service. Left a message to speak to Linda Bowden and her supervisor. Melissa said Kay was Linda's supervisor but she was unavailable. But Kay would have Linda call me.

10/23/2003 Called Customer Service. Linda tried to call three times within an hour's time, but I was on the internet and didn't receive the calls.

10/24/2003 Linda Bowden called.I explained the situation to her. I told her I didn't think it was fair that I had to pay extra money, which I presently don't have, to repair the sub-floor, when if the installers had identified the problem before installing the flooring, I could have stopped the installation, and obtained a refund.

Linda said she'd check on it, and would keep me informed, even if nothing was occurring.

10/28/2003 +/- - Linda left a message saying she still didn't have any additional information as of yet.

11/6/2003 Tried to contact Linda at 9:30 A.M. and then again at 1:11 P.M. to find out what if anything has been done.

11/10/2003 Tried to contact Linda or Kay at 11:00 A.M. Messages left for both.

11/11/2003 Tried to speak to Kay or Linda. Kay said she has no control over the situation. I asked Kay to have Linda provide me with a written explanation of what, if anything Home Depot was offering to do to correct the problem. I also asked for the contractors licenses for Kelly, Dave, both of their full legal names, and any contractors licenses being used by the Home Depot.

11/12/2003 Linda called and said she'd mail Home Depot's final offer for the resolution of this matter, and would obtain the requested information.

11/26/2003 Received letter from Linda with written proposal from Home Depot. No contractor's licenses were included. She referred me to Tim Braun for any other questions etc

To date Home Depot has refused to correct the problems caused by their improper installation of the laminate flooring in our home, despite two separate reports from inspectors they'd hired, which showed the installation was defective.

Les Anderson, California
U.S.A.

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