Express Flooring a disreputable company with over 130 BBB complaints Phoenix, Arizona

On April 1, 2012, an Express Flooring salesman, named Henry, arrived at my home to give an estimate on flooring.  He was a somewhat pushy guy, intimating that the price he quoted me that day might change or go higher if I didn't reserve it with a $100 deposit (possibly non-refundable).  He was so eager to make a sale that he told me that Empire Flooring, a company that I was considering, would charge so much more and that their commercials were misleading.  In other words, don't bother calling them because Express Flooring would be cheaper and do a good job.  Well, I fell for his sales pitch and gave him the deposit of $100 on my Master Card.

During our initial meeting, I inquired about the cove base (molding) around the floor, a product that didn't amount to $11 per 20 ft., and he told me that I could possibly use the same one in the kitchen  if it didn't rip during removal.  He was very vague about installing new cove base even though it was obviously needed in the bathroom, but did lead me to believe that it would be taken care of.  The installers didn't even try to remove the base in the kitchen, they just cut the bottom off and left it like that, and without so much as caulking around the edges.  I asked them if they wanted me to go pick up some cove base and they told me "no, they could get it at a discount".  This led me to believe that it would be installed later.  Didn't happen, even though I called and talked with Henry about resolving this issue.

Henry later informed me that cove base was not included in my contract and that I would have to pay more to have it installed (another $150?)  I have the product on order from my local hardware store at a cost of less than $11 per 20 feet (I only needed about 14 ft.).  I just don't understand why the people at Express Flooring made such a big deal over a cheap product that would have taken less than an hour to install while they were here.  My linoleum looks unfinished because of lack of caulking on edges and lack of cove base.  Very tacky!  I would never recommend this company to anybody that wants a job done right.

On Friday of May 6th, 2012, the day they were to install the linoleum, my Master Card was charged $1055 without my permission or knowledge, then they promptly called to tell me that they would not be showing up for the installation because the product was damaged.  I didn't want to pay with the Master Card because I had more money in my Visa account.  Had I known that they automatically snatched money out of an account used for the deposit, I would have informed them of which card I wanted to use.  They left me no choice.  I repeatedly asked them to refund the Master Card and bill my Visa, but they ignored my request.  Admittedly, there was a problem with my Visa paying them the 2nd half of fees due to the limit that was set for purchases (unknown to myself), but that was straightened out within a day.  Henry told me that he would need it in writing for them to refund one card and charge another, and I promptly sent him the letter.  He denied ever receiving it, but it never came back to me.  Somebody there did get it, but just won't admit it because they do not want to cooperate with my request.

Another date of May 9th, 2012 was scheduled for installation after the initial cancellation, but they then called me again to cancel due to the fact that the product I had ordered was discontinued.  Why were they still offering it??  I gave them an ultimatum that if they didn't install that very day, to just forget it and I would hire someone else.  Henry showed up with other samples, including the one I had previously ordered, and I picked another.  The installers showed up around 12:30 p.m. and took over 10 hours to do a poorly done job of installation.  There are multiple areas where there is no caulking around the edges, and there is certainly no cove base installed.  I've had linoleum installed in various homes throughout the past and have never had this kind of problem.  They not only did a lousy job of caulking, but they totally eliminated the finishing touch of cove base.  I can provide photos of of these accusations in the near future.

I treated the workers with due respect by offering them food and water and staying out of their way.  One of them repaid me, allegedly, by helping himself to some medication I had stored in a coffee table drawer.  The bottle was found on the floor with the lid still on and over half the medication missing.  I reported the incident to the police and Express flooring, but was unable to prosecute due to lack of evidence.  In a later conversation with an Express employee, I was told that if one of the men didn't confess, they all three would be fired.  I thought this to be too harsh of punishment for the two innocent men and promptly recanted my accusation.  I told them that the medication was found loose in the drawer and they took my word.  But if you think about it, how can medication jump out of a bottle, put it's lid back on, and fall out of a drawer and onto the floor?  I conceded that it wasn't worth the hassle and tried to drop it, but Henry called me after I reported Express to the BBB and threated me with slander over the medication incident.  Henry is a very disagreeablem deceitful, and unlikeable person when it comes to settling compliants with customers.

If you want a job done right, call your local carpet/linoleum businesses.  Whatever you see on TV is nearly always too good to be true.