EXPRESS FLOORING EXPRESS HOME SERVICES HENRY JAFFE IS A THEFT Phoenix Arizona

Express Flooring has agreed to pay nearly $100,000 for failing to give customers required notices for home solicitation sales, including the right to cancel a purchase. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced the settlement against Express Home Services LLC Friday. The complaint alleged that some Express Flooring salespeople told customers they could not cancel their order because materials had already been cut, were a closeout special or were specially ordered, or that the installation had already been scheduled, Brnovich said in a written statement. The state also alleged that some salespeople required customers to waive their three-day right to cancel.

Michael Hirsch, a manager for Express Flooring, characterized the incidents as "administrative mistakes” with no intent to defraud customers. "There was a process being done by merely a couple of our independent contractor salespeople in order to facilitate customers who wanted to have their flooring installed urgently and agreed to waive their three-day right to cancel,” he said. "We felt that everything was out in the open and fine, but the AG clearly felt differently and to avoid further litigation we agreed to the settlement.” Once the situation was brought to the attention of Express executives, the sales team was instructed that customers should not waive their rights, even if they are the ones requesting the waiver, he said.

"We actually fixed the problem before the Attorney General brought it to our attention,” Hirsch said of the corrective action the company took in November. "We didn’t wait for the settlement to act.” He noted that in the course of investigating customer complaints about installation issues, the matter of some customers waiving their right to cancel was discovered. In the consent judgment approved by the court on May 8, Express agreed to change the contracts used in home solicitations to comply with Arizona law and provide all required notices.

All salespeople will stop telling customers they do not have a right to cancel a contract, the ruling reads. "It is steep,” Kristen Keogh, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, said of the fine. "By bringing this judgment forward we are able to get them to comply.” In addition to the $94,050 civil penalty, Express agreed to pay $5,000 for legal feels in order to settle the complaint. Keogh said she did not know how many complaints were filed. She said the state is aware that Express has changed its practices. The consent judgment indicates the settlement was a voluntary compromise between the state and Express Home Services.