ComplaintsforDirect Flooring Liquidators

• Initial Complaint

  10/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On September 2, 2024, we paid $42.60, including tax, to Direct Flooring Liquidators (Ponte Vedra) for two vinyl plank flooring samples. The company assured us that this charge was not a purchase but a security deposit, refundable once the samples were returned. We followed their instructions, returning the samples on September 6, 2024, within the agreed-upon one-week period. Despite returning the samples on time and in person to their store, the company refused to issue a refund back to our debit card, claiming that the use of ***** *** prevented the refund. Since ***** *** is linked to our debit card, a refund was possible and should have been honored at the time of return while we were in their store. Instead, they promised a check would be issued within 2-3 weeks. No check has been received, and repeated attempts to contact them via phone and email have gone unanswered. We have a receipt/invoice where an employee wrote “refund.” (Photo of this is attached) Yet no refund has been issued to us. Details: • Date of Purchase: 09/02/2024 • Date of Return: 09/06/2024 • Transaction Amount: $42.60 • Payment Method: ***** *** (linked to our debit card) • Attempts to Resolve: In-person store visit, multiple phone calls, and emails without response. • Refund Status: Promised check not received, company unresponsive. The company’s refusal to refund our debit card or issue the check as promised, coupled with the lack of communication, indicates a pattern of neglect that may impact other consumers. We are asking that this matter be investigated, as we believe we have a right to receive a refund based on the agreed terms. This is not the first BBB complaint about this company related to neglected refunds. We are concerned that this behavior could affect other customers who seek to do business with them in the future.

  Business response

  10/23/2024

  This customer got her refund and cashed their check.      All refunds are issued by check. We had back to back hurricanes hit the state and our corporate office took server damage as it is located in the Tampa area. This customer has cashed their check and got their refund 

  Customer response

  10/24/2024

  While we did receive the refund, my concern is that we initially requested it in person on 9/6/2024. We followed up multiple times by phone before the hurricanes, which the company now claims delayed their response. However, Hurricane Helene occurred on 9/24/2024, 18 days (over two weeks) after we returned the flooring samples and requested the refund for the first time, again this was in person. Therefore, citing the hurricane as a reason for the delay is not valid, and we believe this reflects poor business practices. We want to ensure potential customers are aware of this experience.

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 1/18 I came in and met with ***** who sold me an in-stock roll of carpet - he advised if for any reason, I wanted a refund this would not be an issue. I paid a $2000 deposit to hold the carpet that day and on 1/19 the money came out of my account. On 1/26, I found another carpet with another company and went back for a refund. ***, was extremely rude, but canceled my order. After I left, I realized there was nothing showing my bank was credited. I called back and spoke with ***, who told me "line 3 states a check will be cut in 7-10 business days". After not receiving a check, I called last week and was advised a check for $2000 was cut on Monday 2/6 and mailed to me (I am in st augustine - they are in ponte vedra). I was told by the manager ****** on 2/10 if I did not get the check in the mail on Monday 2/13 to call him on Tuesday. I have not received the check. I called yesterday morning and was advised by ****** that he would check on it and call me back. I recd no response. Yesterday evening, I called and was placed on hold for 30 minutes waiting for ******. I hung up and called back and ***** answered and advised he was the only person in the store. He advised he would follow up on the check "in the morning". I called this morning and spoke with ****** who advised, the check was cut last week and it has been mailed and there is no reason I should not have it and they will not be cutting another check. I advised I would pay the stop pay fee, but needed the check to reissued and he refused to contact his accounting dept to request this and advised again they have already cut the check and mailed it and there is nothing more they will do and it was not their fault that i have not received the check. I advised that the mail is not always reliable - he responded with the same answer. I paid them in good faith and followed thru on what I needed to do and thought they would do the same.

  Business response

  02/15/2023

  **** ****** came in and wanted a refund. Every customer is made to sign a copy of a invoice acknowledging all the terms and the policy's and procedures when it comes to how our business operates. First she placed a special order and it states there are no refunds on special orders but I made a one time exception since the material had not shipped from the distributor yet. It states very clearly that all refunds will be mailed via check within 10 business days after a refund is requested. Her Check was wrote on the 6th of February. She came in on 1-26-23 at the end of business day and asked to cancel her order. ***. ****** called back on 2-2-23 and asked if she could come pick up her check here at the store. I stated again that the checks are not made here and that the accountant does them from the corporate office. 

  Attached is a copy of the check that was mailed on 2-7-23 which we had till 2-10-23 to mail the refund check but I called and asked them to try and get it out quicker as she was in the need of the money and since customer service is always a priority they made it happen. With Valentines Day just passing maybe that has caused a delay with the USPS. Mail does not go from Ponte Vedra to St Augustine, When we have tracked packages in the past they go from Ponte Vedra to Orlando then back to Jacksonville then to St Augustine then out for delivery.  It makes no since when St Augustine is just south of Ponte Vedra on why mail would go so far away just to be redelivered to the next city from where it was mailed from, But I can't explain what the USPS Procedures are when moving mail.

  Attached is a copy of the refund check that was mailed within the time allowed per our signed contract 

  Customer response

  02/16/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  

  A couple of reasons. 

    The carpet i puchased was a roll sitting on the floor in the store, it was  not a special order at all.  It was in stock so no special concessions were made at all in allowing me to return the carpet.  Once my deposit of 2000 was paid, I watched ***** put a tag on the end of the roll with my name on it. 

  On the day of my refund request, 1/26,*** stated it was special order and before I walked out I showed him where the tag with my name on it was stuck to the end of the in-stock carpet.

  I was never told about the 7-10 day refund policy until I asked about why I didn't get documentation of the refund.

  In speaking with ***** on Tuesday 2/14, he advised he was not aware of how the refunds were processed which is why I was not told about the 7-10 day check policy.  

  *** never told me either until I called back. 

  I was told the check was mailed on Monday 2/6. 

  the attachment of the check that was provided does not show a signature.  The  account # is blocked but there is no signature shown.

   I know that mail doesn't come directly from Ponte Vedra to St Augustine, but as of today, 2/16, the check has not arrived. I have received mail from Arizona that was mailed out on 2/9. 

  
  

  I am new to my neighbor and we have community mail boxes and I have received other peoples mail in my box.  I get the mail to the correct home, but not all neighbors do this.

  The USPS is not perfect. 

  I work in a job where I issue checks all day long abd when a customer advises a check has not been received within 2 weeks of it being mailed, we issue a stop pay on the check and reissue it and over night the payment to the customer.

   

  I am simply asking that a stop pay be issued a new check cut and I come up there to pick up the check.  

  
  

  Regards,

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

  Business response

  02/16/2023

  **** ****** this is ***ert and when you left that day asking to cancel your order we spoke about the refund policy as well. You said "$2000 is a lot of money for me" I agreed with you and it is a lot of money. You asked is there anyway I can get it faster to you? I said I can't promise anything as we don't do refunds from this location. I was able to get your refund issued faster then the 10 business days as indicated on your invoice. 2-10-23 is 10 business days to issue your refund. 

  The check is not signed, as they don't make copies of the checks that they send out to vendors or to us here at the store with any signature on it, This is done to protect against possible fraud. The account number is blocked out to protect our companies banking info as well. The check that was mailed is signed and there is no post it over the account numbers. 

  You never mentioned that about the development you live in has mailboxes like those and I agree as I have the same p***lem with mail going into the wrong boxes at my home also. So it is possible someone else has had it. 

  If no check comes by end of business 5pm on 2-17-23 which is tomorrow, please let me know and I will personally write you a refund check from the store and request to cancel that check that was mailed. Customer service is always a priority to us, so moving forward please only speak to me if you have any questions. 

  I tried calling you 3 times today to help this come to a end for you but no answer. Below is my personal contact info if you need to reach me.

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

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

  ************-cell phone 

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have paid an amount of $10000 as depost for some one to come and take measurements for our home. Direct flooring mentioned that it is refundable until we agree on every thing. As the installer came and said he has to cut doors as Carpet we wanted was too high we decided to move from Carpet to VInyl flooring. (We were doing wood down stairs and carpet upstairs initally) While we started picking up colors and negotiating the prices, the attituade of the Direct flooring liquidators kept on changing. They are asking for all the payment upfront and we lost our trust.on this company. We have requested a refund of our money and they are not accepting it. They refuse to communicate via email but we have text proofs of all communication. All we are asking is refund of our money

  Business response

  06/20/2022

  The order was for wood flooring downstairs and carpet upstairs in their home. The wood they picked was a special order and can take up to 8-12 weeks to come in due to it being made from natural materials made here in the US. It's not imported and the wood has to go through a curing process then they hand pick pieces as it's  called "select" wood. So they hand pick the pieces that way it has little to no natural variation as the customer picked. They do this because the customer picked select which is the top of the line wood you can get. They wanted it to have little to no variation and normally you would have to buy 20-30% extra if you wanted that look to be able to throw out the pieces you didn't like in the boxes with other wood you can purchase. This wood is the nicest wood we carry.

   The wood that they picked had to be ordered and paid for before 6-1-22 with the manufacture due to a price increase happening on 6-1-22 of 10%. With the supply shortage we are experiencing nation wide and the inflation that is happening *** ***** and my self was making it a priority to get this wood moving cause he didn't want to pay the increase on 2nd. 

  The customer was going to put wood down stairs and carpet up stairs. Their contractor told them after buying their product that the carpet would not work due to it being to thick,  he told them  the doors would not be able to open with that quality of carpet and padding and his doors would have to be cut so they did not rub the carpet. *** ***** called and stated they had to find something else for upstairs due to the doors. They came in a few days later as they knew they had time cause of the wood for downstairs was being produced. So to come see what other options they had for upstairs since the carpet would not work was not a rush for them. Upon arrival of *** and **** ***** they found a vinyl plank flooring that they liked for upstairs. Nothing about the wood for down stairs changed. They were suppose to come in and pay the balance of whatever they were going to switch to and if they couldn't find anything for upstairs that they liked I would have refunded them for the carpet as it was not a special order. They found a vinyl plank flooring for upstairs and wanted to take it home so their contractor can see it.

  As customer service is always a top priority for us *** ***** asked me via a phone call if I could save him additional $1000 more on his entire order because it's now out of their budget with the vinyl plank labor costing more the then the carpet labor and also adding the steps to be done in the vinyl plank as well added to the cost of his labor and materials.   *** ***** said he was coming in day after day to pay for the balance of his materials and never came in, everyday he would say he is coming and no show. It was not super important that he come when he said because the wood they picked they knew was already in motion and that is the only item that we had to order for them so there is no rush on their end to pay the balance. I told *** ***** he could pay the balance when the wood arrived and your contractor was coming to pick everything up . The exotic wood that they picked is the best quality wood on the market and is made to order. *** ***** knew it took 8-12 weeks for the wood to be made,  as the wood as to go through a curing and drying process after cutting it to order to his picking. This wood is so nice you can choose the width it comes in, the overall thickness, the finish, wire brushed or flat or natural, matte, gloss, glue less or gluedown etc there is so many options with this line and is the only line of wood like it that we offer.

   

  *** ***** then tells me that he will pay 10k more towards his order and then pay the balance after the completion of the job. I told him no that's not how it works we don't sell labor nor do we have a way to get our flooring back after install if not paid. We are like a Walmart for floors. We don't sell labor nor do we make money off of the labor. It states our policy's and we go over it with them at the point of sale and have them sign it acknowledging the terms and policy's. *** ***** now wants to cancel his entire order because I would not allow him to take the materials without payment in full. It states there are no refunds on special orders. He told me he wanted to cancel the same day he wrote to BBB. I told him I would have to contact the manufacture to see what there cancellation policy's is. It states on our contract that there will be a 30% restocking fee if we are able to cancel a special order with a manufacture.

   

  I can't allow a customer to come in and make a purchase that my company has to pay for and order so they can start to produce there product to then have a customer tell me he wants to cancel due to me not allowing his installer to take my material that would not be paid for in full and install it with the hope that he will pay the balance.  I have to wait on the manufacture to get back to me and let me know how they are going to handle this. I am sorry that I can't just tell him what he wants to hear prior to getting all the details together. 

   

   

  Please call as this is a very important to me,

  ****** ******* 

  Owner

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

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